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Loan scam unearthed Nangal (Ropar), April 30 Sarwan Singh, an illiterate small farmer of the same village, lost his mental balance and tried to commit suicide when he came to know that the signatures on a cheque he gave in good faith to the society secretary had been misused. He now owes Rs 18,000 to the local cooperative bank. Similar is the story of about 300 members of the society, who have been allegedly duped by the former secretary. The modus operandi of the secretary was simple. He used to motivate members, generally poor and illiterate farmers, for taking short-term loans from Ropar Central Cooperative Bank through the society. As per the norms, people used to deposit the instalments of repayment of loans with the secretary, who was supposed to enter the amount in their passbooks and further deposit it in the bank. However, the secretary, instead of depositing the money in the bank, used to keep it with himself. The loans extended to the members were short term and had to be returned within six months. The bank had to issue notices through the society to the defaulting members after the expiry of the loan term. However, the members, who on their behalf had repaid the loan, were never issued any notice. Officials of the Cooperative Societies Department, who were deputed to check the records of the society in the interests of the members, also did not take cognizance of the anomalies. It was only a few months ago that the scam in the society, that has left members shell-shocked, was detected. The secretary of the society has been placed under suspension and the Cooperative Societies Department is busy calculating the amount swindled. By rough estimates, officials have pegged the amount swindled from poor farmers at about Rs 20 lakh. The Inspector, Cooperative Societies, who was responsible for keeping a check on the accounts, has also been put under suspension, sources said. Though a case was registered against the secretary under Section 406 of the IPC about a month ago, the police did not deem it fit to arrest him. He was allowed to first approach the District and Sessions Court that rejected his application for anticipatory bail and then the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The High Court has now granted anticipatory bail to the secretary till May 15 on the plea of the marriage of his daughter. |
Rain, hailstorm damage cotton crop, stored wheat Bathinda, April 30 Six children of a school here received injuries when metal sheet fell on them while they were coming out of a school premises. A few vehicles were also damaged when uprooted trees fell on these. Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister, Punjab, said that department concerned had been directed to assess loss to the crop by carrying out special girdawari and added that those affected by today’s rain, would be compensated. Many cotton fields of the cotton belt of Punjab came under a cover of hailstorm and cotton plants were flattened. A section of farmers whose wheat crop was yet to be procured by the agencies from the purchase centres also suffered loss as wheat was submerged in water. The rain gave respite from heat but stagnation of water on all major roads of the city added to woes of the people. All major roads of the city, including the Power House Road, Mall Road, the Bathinda Goniana Road, Amrik Singh Road, Bibi Wala Road and even small lanes were flooded with rainwater. The Sirki Bazar and Guru Nanak Pura and other adjoining areas were severely hit. In these areas some residents alleged that rainwater had entered their houses and sewers had started flowing in reverse direction. Some residents of the Power House Road also claimed that they had to use pumps to remove rainwater from houses. The Municipal Corporation got all main sewers of the city cleared of the waste a few days ago. Stagnation of water at many places exposed efficiency of the system. A shopkeeper on the Bathinda-Goniana road, told The Tribune that Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh who was in the city today should be made to travel by roads in the city, to enable him to have first-hand assessment of the working of authorities concerned. Dr Joginder
Dyal, state secretary, CPI, demanded that compensation should be paid to the farmers whose crops were damaged due to rain. |
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Badal for CBI probe into Bathinda refinery’s fate Hoshiarpur, April 30 He criticised Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister Punjab, for his role towards this prestigious project. Capt Amarinder Singh had stated that the Punjab Government had to bear Rs 700 crore for the setting up of this project. Rupees 400 crore had already been spent on it which would go waste now, he added. He was talking to reporters at the residence of Bibi Mohinder Kaur Josh, a former Punjab Minister, at Piplanwala here today. He alleged that Capt Amarinder Singh had ruined Punjab by his policies and did not bring any new project from the Centre for generating jobs for the youth. He said Capt Amarinder Singh implicated almost all SAD (B) leaders including me (Badal) in false corruption cases. When asked to have open debate with Capt Amarinder Singh on the Punjab issues, Mr Badal said that the Capt was not a person of his status and he was not interested in interact up him. He said he was asking people to compare the performance of his Government with two year’s regime of the Congress in the state. The second issue was the comparison of five year’s rule of the NDA Government with 50 years regime of the Congress at the Centre. Referring to the Sikh Freedom March of the Dal Khalsa in Punjab, Mr Badal criticised separatist forces and said that the march was being patronised by the Congress. The Congress always adopted the policy of divide and rule, he added. He suggested diversification of agriculture and industrialisation of the country for the development. Later he addressed an election rally of SAD candidate Charanjit Singh Atwal, who is contesting from Phillaur constituency. |
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Congress, CPI join hands for Kushal’s victory Bathinda, April 30 Addressing a rally here, Capt Amarinder Singh made it clear that only party leaders belonging to this constituency would work for the CPI-Congress-CPM alliance candidate. Reciprocating the Chief Minister’s gesture, Ms Bhora, widow of the late MP, Bhan Singh Bhora, said this had given her a new strength and confidence to win the elections. “I felt hurt when you could not make it to Bathinda when I filed nomination papers and now I am feeling that I will win,” said Ms Bhora who also addressed the rally. Capt Amarinder Singh had managed the defection of two CPI MLAs to his party more than a year ago. It was for the first time after the defection that Capt Amarinder Singh and Dr Dyal shared the dais. The Chief Minister said he had been personally monitoring the campaign of Ms Bhora and performance of leaders, especially MLAs, of this constituency. When asked to comment about the defection of two CPI MLAs to the Congress, he said it was the time to bury the hatchet and start a new beginning. The renewed relationship would be permanent, he added. Dr Dyal gave ideological trust to the election campaign saying the issues were much larger that the parties’ interest and the most important issue was to defeat the communal forces. Mr H.S. Hanspal, PPCC chief, who was also present, also apologised for his absence at the time of filing of nomination papers by Ms Bhora. Capt Amarinder Singh and Mr Hanspal gave a purse of Rs 1 lakh to Ms Bhora. |
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Cong, BJP men clash during TV debate Mohali April 30 Giving details of the incident, BJP spokesperson, Kehar Singh Koundel said Zee Alpha was shooting for an-hour long debate between the three candidates from Chandigarh . The debate began at 10pm and every candidate was given stipulated time to speak on election related issues. Various party supporters were watching the shoot on TV some distance away from the actual spot of the debate. During his turn, Mr Jain alleged that Mr Bansal had granted, out of turn, a large piece of land to the Delhi Public School Management Committee, using his influence as an MP. “On hearing this, the Congress supporters, including Mr Subhash Chawla, Mr Devinder Babla and Mr Pradeep Chabbra, started disrupting the shoot, shouting loudly and hurling abuses. Mr Babla was drunk and he also manhandled some of our supporters,” said Mr Koundel. The act was condemned by the TV channel team and Mr Dhawan left the venue with his supporters in tow. The police was called and everyone was quitened down. The shooting of the debate was resumed after an hour in which only Mr Jain and Mr Bansal participated. |
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RSS outfit to back BJP, SAD Jalandhar, April 30 Manch activists are distributing a pamphlet. The pamphlet, does not mention name of any party, but has a set of questions for the voter, which suggesting the voter to vote for the BJP. Leaders and activists of the RSS and the manch held meetings of workers in Jalandhar, Phagwara, Ludhiana and Amritsar in the past week, focusing on the position of the BJP and its three candidates at Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Amritsar seats, it was learnt. Though the RSS was silent on the meetings but, sources maintained that the “matdata Jagran Manch”
has been told to motivate people in favour of the BJP-SAD in general and the BJP workers in particular. It was learnt, there was a feeling among the RSS cadre that unlike in the past the BJP workers at the grassroot level were not pushing ahead with full steam this time, which, cause some damage in certain pockets in urban areas. Sources revealed that the objective behind the move, which gained momentum after results of the exit polls following the completion of second round of voting in the country, was to motivate workers to take part in the poll process. Mr Balwant Rai Gupta, who claimed himself to be the in charge of the “Jalandhar Vibhag” of the RSS, said the RSS was not involved directly. He said front organisations of the RSS were performing their duties on their own. Another senior RSS office-bearer maintained that the manch was formed to support the BJP candidates. The pamphlet of the manch asks voters whether they wanted to go in for a seasoned politician or a foreigner for those who made India a nuclear power or those who opposed it or those who improved the Indo-Pakistan relations or those who opposed it? |
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Trinamool Congress chief
to canvass for Dhindsa Barnala, April 30 Mr Dadhahoor said today that Mr Dhindsa was son of the soil and understood problems of the people of the area. Mr Dadhahoor added his party being a part of the National Democratic Alliance
(NDA), so he would canvass for the success of NDA candidates in Punjab. Mr Dadhahoor said Mr Arvind Khanna Congress candidate’s social service had political motive. He asked why the Umeed Khanna Foundation was not rendering social service in Ropar, Patiala districts. Mr Dadhahoor regretted devoted Congress men were overlooked while offering party ticket. When Mr Dadhahoor was asked why he along with Mr P.A.
Sangma, former Lok Sabha Speaker, parted company with Mr Sharad Pawar and chose to join hands with Ms Mamta Banerjee to form the Nationalist Trinamool Congress Party, he replied they had all regards for Mr Pawar but he and Mr Sangma were constrained to do so because the principle on which the Nationalist Congress Party had come into existence had been forgotten. |
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SAD activists join SAD (A) Sangrur, April 30 Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, President, SAD (A), was also present at the meeting. Talking to TNS over the phone, Mr Khetla said he and other leaders had left the party in protest against the “wrong” policies of Mr Dhindsa. Mr Khetla said besides him, others who joined the SAD (A) included Ms Surjit Kaur and Ms Bhola Singh, both Zila Parishad members; Mr Dalip Singh Chatha, ex-Director, Markfed; Mr Gurdeep Singh Chhahar, Director, Punjab Agricultural Development Bank, Sunam; Mr Gurlal Singh Ubhian, president, cooperative society, Obhian village; and Mr Charan Singh Shadihari, a senior SAD leader. |
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Ex-servicemen with SAD-BJP combine Chandigarh, April 30 Spokesman for the two factions, Brig Harwant Singh (Retd) said that while the manifestoes of all national parties have largely ignored the demands of ex-servicemen, the SAD manifesto has given due importance to them. The major demands numerated by ex-servicemen include one rank—one pension,
separate pay commission for the defence forces, removal of 33 years service ceiling for full pension, more job opportunities for ex-servicemen and their dependents and due representation of ex-servicemen in development boards and grievance committees. Ex-servicemen present also praised the steps taken by the present government at the Centre for initiating welfare steps for the ex-servicemen as well as taking the country to greater heights in the geo-political arena. This includes a proposal for setting up a national commission for ex-servicemen, strengthening the defence establishment and making the country a nuclear power, and deft handling of foreign affairs. |
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Sadhu Samaj to back Cong candidates Patiala, April 30 He said that though he had remained with the Shiromani Akali Dal for several decades, he was opposed to its President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and wanted to see his candidates defeated in the elections. He said Mr Badal had merely been advancing the political interests of his son and the family. He had pushed aside all hardcore Akali leaders and brought forward those who had been dancing to his tune. Mr Badal was not ready to accept any Akali leader in the party who had the courage to speak the truth about the functioning of the party. Vaid Gurbhajan Singh said Mr Badal had been working for his family by using the name of the panth. He had destroyed panthic institutions and brought a bad name to the party by not checking corruption during SAD-BJP rule in the state. He said those Akali leaders who had become a liability for the panth should be defeated in the elections and forced to resign from the party. It would be in the interests of the Sikhs, he added. |
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Sonia Gandhi to visit Punjab in May 7 Chandigarh, April 30 According to Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) sources, she will address her first meeting at Pathankot on May 2, followed by a public rally at Phagwara on May 3. She will return to Punjab on May 7 to address her third election rally at Sunam in the Patiala parliamentary constituency. Mrs Gandhi will also address election rallies in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh. |
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Rift in Cong denied Amritsar, April 30 In a press statement issued here, Mr Arjun said the party was united and all party workers would work for win of Mr R.L. Bhatia, former MP and Congress candidate from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat. Commenting on the candidature for Mr Navjot Singh Sidhu, BJP candidate he said he had ‘killed’ an old person at Patiala in a fit of rage. He predicted that such a person, with a criminal past, would never be able to win the poll. |
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Show-cause notice to Congressmen In a separate development, the PPCC today issued a show-cause notice to the president, City Congress, Jagraon, Mr Ravinder Mohan (Pinky), and the Block Congress president (Jagraon-Rural), Mr Kulwant Singh Dallah, to explain within two days as to why they should not be expelled from the party for their anti-Congress activities, says a press release issued by the PPCC general secretary, Mr Upender Sharma. |
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JD (S) backs
Tur, 4 others Phagwara, April 30 Disclosing this here this evening, Mr Mittar Avtar Singh, a spokesman for the party, said the meeting adopted a resolution, allowing Mr Bhumbla to discuss with the district units and decide accordingly on the issue of supporting candidates in Ferozepore, Ropar and Hoshiarpur. As for the Patiala, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Gurdaspur constituencies, the decision had been left entirely to the district units, spokesman added. Mr Balwant Singh Khera, a member of the national executive of the party said the party President, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda, and a former Railway Minister, Prof Madhu Dandwate, would address election rallies for party candidates and those supported by it on May 3 and May 6 in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. |
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Govt staff catching poll allergy Patiala, April 30 A similar submission is made by an engineer enlisted by the district administration for supervisory duty on the polling day, May 10. But the nature of his ailment is a little different. He claims he is suffering from a slip disc and unable to travel. He also has a certificate from a qualified doctor to prove that he is not just making an excuse to seek exemption from election duty. Then there is a teacher who says his father is confined to the bed. “I have to take care of him as there is no other male member in the family,” he says. He too has a certificate from a doctor confirming that father is ill and needs an attendant. These are not exceptional cases. Nearly 100 employees selected for poll duty approach senior officers daily to get their names struck off the duty roster. It appears that every second employee put on duty is either ill himself or one of his close relatives is seriously ill. However, the officers responsible for assigning duties are not easily impressed by the medical certificates and excuses. “We know that most of the employees are just making excuses to avoid duty. They put all kinds of political and other pressures on us to get exemption from duty,” says an officer concerned. “If we start acceding to every request then by May 10 there will be no one available to man the polling booths. There is a requirement of about 5,800 employees in the district to conduct the elections,” says the officer. However, he points out that “because of the large number of employees feigning illness, at times people with genuine problems also have to suffer. But we do try to find out who has a real problem and we exempt such employees.” This problem of employees “falling sick” at election time is not confined to this district. It is a countrywide problem that officials appointed to make the election arrangements have to face. However, it is also a reality that a few influential employees do manage to get their names deleted from the election duty roster. |
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Poll staff shortage reported Patiala, April 30 The AROs, at a meeting held with the Returning Officer Tejveer Singh , said in each of the nine Assembly segments that comprise the Patiala parliamentary constituency, at least 50 more poll personnel were required. The constituency comprises the assembly segments of Banur, Ghanuar, Samana, Shutrana, Rajpura, Lehra, Samana, Dakala and Patiala town. Meanwhile, Mr Tejveer Singh, who reviewed the preparations for the elections, said that 5,800 poll staff, drawn from Patiala, Ludhiana and Sangrur, will be on election duty. The Returning Officer further said 1400 personnel would be coming from Ludhiana and 650 from Sangrur would be on duty at the 1297 poll stations. Mr Tejveer Singh maintained that instructions had been issued to all AROs to make arrangements for shade, water and other basic amenities at all poll stations. The AROs had completed the first round of rehearsals, while the second round would be held in the first week of May. Mr Sunaina Tomar, election Observer for this constituency, also held meetings with the Returning Officer and the SSP, to review the law and order arrangements. |
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Cops ‘beat up’ BJP activist Fazilka, April 30 According to Mr Rakesh Kumar, two police personnel visited the residence of his maternal uncle Darshan Lal in Gandhi Nagar locality in the morning. When he tried to enquire them about the reason of their visit, the cops allegedly rebuked him and beat him up with sticks. He alleged that he was beaten up as his mother Bimla Rani had been canvassing for the SAD-BJP candidate. Mr Rakesh Kumar was admitted to the Civil Hospital. Soon after the incident, a large number of SAD-BJP workers gathered in front of the police station and raised slogan against highhanded attitude of the police. They staged a dharna which was addressed by Mr Rakesh Dhuria, president, BJP mandal, Fazilka, Mr Bajrang Lal Gupta and Mr Mohinder Partap Dhingra, both former presidents of the local Municipal Council, Mr Ramesh Verma, vice-president, district BJP unit, and Mr Tajinder Singh Namdhari, member, Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee, Ferozepore. Meanwhile, Mr Bishan Chand, ASI, recorded the statement of Mr Rakesh Kumar. Mr Davinder Singh, SHO, city police, denied allegations of police support to the ruling party. “The facts stated by the injured are being investigated”, added the SHO. Mr Bajrang Lal Gupta, press secretary, (elections) BJP, Fazilka unit, has in a complaint faxed to the Chief Election Commissioner of India, the Election Commissioner, Punjab, the SSP and the Deputy Commissioner, Ferozepore, alleged that in Fazilka officials of the Punjab police are canvassing in favour of the Congress candidate. |
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Parties booked for defacing Town Hall building Amritsar, April 30 Mr Raminder Singh, Deputy Commissioner –cum District Returning Officer said that the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, had complained that posters had been pasted on the building of Town Hall without permission from the MC by political parties last evening. He said that the MC Authorities had got the posters removed the expenditures involved would be recovered candidates, concerned besides legal action against them. |
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Muslims are not victims, says Ahmadiya leader Qadian (Gurdaspur), April 30 According to Mr Sadat Ahmad Javaid, secretary (external affairs) of the Ahmadiya Muslim Community, the Ahmadiya sect is the most progressive sect within Islam. Refusing to comment on the appeal of the Shahi Imam of Delhi to the Muslims all over the country to vote for the BJP, he asked why Muslims should be asked to do that. Nobody asked Hindus to vote for a particular party, he added. The Ahamdiyas want that the Muslims should identify themselves as part of the Indian mainstream than think of themselves as victims. “Why should we make our problems look sectarian and exclusive?”, he asked, pointing that it was the same problem of economy, education and employment for everyone, be it a Hindu, a Muslim or a Sikh. He blamed self-proclaimed mullahs, acharyas and gyanis for trying to divide people in the name of religion. Untill now, the Shahi Imam had been spitting venom against the BJP and now he wanted us to vote for the same party. The Gujarat riots were highly condemnable “but we should not forget the stand taken by the judiciary and the National Human Rights Commission. The Supreme Court is still trying to ensure that the victims get justice”, he said, adding that such remedial measures helped to restore the faith of the minorities in the democratic system. |
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Complaint to CEO against Chahal Chandigarh, April 30 The letter, a copy of which was released to the Press, says that Mr Chahal was Media Adviser to the government and not to the Congress. He has been issuing directions to the officials and misusing the machinery in favour of the ruling party, thereby trying to jeopardise the process of a fair and free poll. Enclosed with the letter are newspaper clippings and photographs showing Mr Chahal at a press conference of Capt Amarinder Singh in Jalandhar yesterday. The letter seeks personal intervention of Mr T.S. Krishnamurthy. A copy of the letter has also been sent to the Punjab Chief Electoral Officer, Mr G.S. Cheema. |
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Moga DC to probe charge against SSP
Moga, April 30 The Deputy Commissioner today confirmed that he had initiated an inquiry and asked for a written reply of the SSP as early as possible. On April 17, when the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, visited Sarainaga in connection with 500th birth anniversary celebration of Guru Angad Dev, he held a meeting at the residence of a former Chief Minister, Mr Harcharan Singh Brar, whose daughter-in-law Karan Kaur Brar is contesting from the Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency. Mr Chhina was spotted and a newspaper highlighted the issue. The matter was later reported by the Election Observer to the Chief Electoral Officer. The SSP then gave an explanation that he was called by the Chief Minister in his official capacity in connection with inquiries about law and order. The next day on April 20, the Chief Minister also stated at Amritsar that he has called the Moga SSP in his official capacity but later the SAD made a complaint to the Chief Electoral Officer in this regard.
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CM favours direct export of wheat to Pakistan Moga, April 30 Addressing a public rally in support of the party candidate from the Faridkot parliamentary constituency, Ms Karan Brar, the Chief Minister pointed out, the wheat was sold for over Rs 1600 per quintal in Pakistan, while the farmers in Punjab did not get more than Rs 630 per quintal. The wheat is transported to Delhi, then Mumbai from where it is shipped to the Middle East. It is from there that it reaches Karachi. He suggested that wheat could instead be directly supplied from Punjab to Pakistan and the farmers here could get at least Rs 200 more for each quintal of wheat they produce. He promised that he would pursue the matter with the next government at the Centre, which would obviously be led by the Congress. The Chief Minister claimed that there was a mood for a change in the government at the Centre. He said people across the country had indicated that they wanted to reject the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre and their obvious choice was the Congress. He asserted that the Congress and its alliance partners would win all 13 seats in Punjab. He claimed that the work done by his government during the past two years was sufficient reason for him to feel confident about people voting for the Congress and candidates supported by the party. He claimed that
the government had successfully procured all wheat and paddy that had come to the mandis and the farmers did not have to pay anything as bribe to any of the
officials. The Chief Minister criticised the Akali Dal-BJP alliance terming it as the most corrupt and opportunistic alliance. He declared that after the elections, the Punjab Government would also initiate action against the former ministers belonging to the BJP for indulging in corruption. Asking people to vote for the party candidate Ms Karan Brar in Faridkot and defeat Mr Sukhbir Badal, he alleged that the Badals had only “looted the state”. “Do not give them a chance to loot you again”, he warned, while claiming that Ms Brar was honest, efficient and a deserving candidate. The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president, Mr H.S. Hanspal, also addressed the rally. |
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Medical College admissions:
govt, SGPC on collision course Amritsar, April 30 The Secretary Health and Registrar of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, wrote to the SGPC to stop the admission process as the state government had not issued notifications in this regard so far. Taking serious notice of the letter by the Secretary Health and Registrar of the University, the Association of Unaided Sikh Minority Medical/Dental Institute of the SGPC, has declared that it would go ahead with admissions as per advertisements in the various national newspapers in this regard. The meeting of the association was attended by Mr Alwinder Pal Singh Pakhoke, working president SGPC, Mr Manjit Singh Calcutta, and Mr Dilmegh Singh — both secretaries of the Shiromani committee. Dr U.S. Dhaliwal, principal, Guru Ram Dass Medical College and Dr B.S. Tung, decided to go ahead with the admission process on the plea that state government had no authority to stop it. The meeting also decided to approach the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary for their intervention before filing ‘contempt of court proceedings. Mr Satish Chandra, Secretary, Research and Medical Education in his letter to the SGPC-run medical/dental colleges wrote, “We have received an information that you are going ahead for entrance tests on your own. Your action is totally pre-mature from the university’s action since the government is yet to fix percentages for minority, government and management. Secondly, no college except CMC, Ludhiana would be allowed to conduct its own test for filling the minority quota. It is brought to your notice that any step taken by you without the issuance of notification of the government would be absolutely illegal”. However, the SGPC said that the state government had failed to form two committees as per the directions of the Supreme Court. Till the formation of both the committees the SGPC had all the rights to go ahead with the admission process. As per the Punjab government’s notification dated April 16,2001 educational institutions run by the SGPC are minority institutions and only Sikh students are supposed to be admitted against 50 per cent of the total number of seats. The SGPC was further authorised to do reservations amongst 50 per cent seats thus filled by Sikh students only. Mr Calcutta said that the SGPC was a statutory body, elected by Sikh members only as Sikhs were in minority in Punjab, Haryana, UT Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, UP, AP and Rajasthan. Hence for admission of 50 per cent candidates, the competitive examination is held not only for Punjab domicile candidates but for the Sikh candidates who were domiciles of above states. Earlier, the SGPC had written to the state government that all private and professional colleges in Punjab had been allowed 50 per cent management quota in seats in accordance with the judgment of the Supreme Court. |
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Control of Sikh institutions divides Tohra loyalists Patiala, April 30 There are several reasons for the infighting but the immediate one is control of the Sikh Educational Society that runs Sikh educational institutions — two in Punjab and four in Chandigarh. Among these institutions are Sikh National College at Banga near Nawanshahr and Sikh National College at Qadian in Gurdaspur district besides four institutions in Chandigarh — a Guru Gobind Singh College for boys and girls, a pharmacy college and a school with the same name. Election of the president of the society is to be held tomorrow at Chandigarh. Earlier Mr Tohra was its president. He had delegated his power to the Vice-President of the society, Mr Gurdev Singh Brar, a former IAS Officer, to run its routine affairs. Mr Brar has proposed that since Mr Tohra has passed away, it would be appropriate to elect a new President. He is of the view that powers were delegated to him by Mr Tohra and these only could be used till he was alive. Sources told The Tribune today that Mr Tohra’s supporters were divided in two factions over the election of the President. One group is led by former Principal Bharpur Singh, who is the secretary of the
Society. He is a candidate for the office of the president. The other group is led by Mr Kirpal Singh Libra, a former Akali MLA, from Sirhind. Mr Libra, a close confidant of Mr Tohra, is also candidate for the office of the President of the Society. Mr Bharpur Singh, who was also very close to Mr Tohra, has been associated with the administrative control over the institutions run by the society. He is backed by Mr Mehar Singh Bala, Mr Karnail Singh Doad and others. Mr Kirpal Singh Libra is said to be backed by Mr Sukhdev Singh Bhour, General Secretary of the SGPC and Mr Maheshinder Singh Grewal. According to sources, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, President of the SAD, has extended his patronage to the Libra group. In fact, Mr Bharpur Singh group has never accepted Mr Parkash Singh Badal as its leader. This group always remained close to Mr Tohra but against Mr Badal. Mr Mehar Singh Bala, told The Tribune today that he and his other associates had serious ideological differences with Mr Badal. “We have never accepted him as our leader”, he added. Sources said that Mr Harmel Singh Tohra and Mr Sukhdev Singh Bharpur, today approached Mr Bharpur Singh to ask to pospone the election to elect the President tomorrow. However, Mr Bharpur Singh refused to oblige them. Then there was talk of sharing offices of the
Society. But Mr Bharpur Singh did not agree to this also. He said that politicians should have nothing to do with the society which was set up with
the purpose of spreading education. There are 78 members of the society. Among them are former Vice-Chancellors such as Mr Khem Singh Gill, Mr J.S. Grewal, and three former judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court- Justice Harbans Singh, Justice K.S. Tiwana and Justice H.S. Rai. As many as 10 members of the SGPC are also part of the society and have the right to vote. Apart from this there educationists, doctors and others who are members of the society. |
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PU accepts report
against Principal Chandigarh, April 30 In the Syndicate, meeting, the report submitted by the inquiry officer, Justice S.K. Jain (retd), who had held Principal Surjit Singh guilty of changing his date of birth by fraudulent means, was accepted. It was further held that the university should write to the management of the college as well as the DPI (Colleges) Punjab to take suitable action against him. In the case of the inquiry conducted by Mr S.S. Lamba into the tampering of birth certificates by Mr Vidya Sagar, a superintendent in PU’s Geology Department, the Syndicate while holding him guilty decided to stop two increments. Deliberating on the fate of about 600 students who had failed to submit the required admission-related documents in time, it was decided to form a committee to deliberate on the matter in depth. Earlier, the Vice- Chancellor of Panjab University, Prof K.N. Pathak, in a statement said the Council of the Asiatic Society had selected Professor Indu Banga, Department of History, Panjab University, for the award of Hem Chandra Roychaudhuri Birth Centenary Gold Medal of the Asiatic Society for her contribution to the field of Indian history. Professor Jatinder Mohan, Department of Psychology, has been appointed president of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology in its meeting held on October 14. The tentative schedule for declaration of results is as fallows
B.Com-I (May 21); B.Com-II (May 22), B.Com-III (May 23); B.Com ( Hons) — (May 23); BCA-I (May 28)’ BCA-II (May 24); BCA-III — May 25), BBA-I (May 20); BBA-II (May 20), BBA-III (May 20); BA/BSc-I (June 25); BA/BSc-II (June 6); BA/B.Sc-III (June 21); BA/BSC-III; (Hons) — June 23. |
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Punjab for extending Virk’s stay Chandigarh, April 30 Though senior officers in the Punjab Home Department are maintaining strict silence over the issue, sources assert that a letter was shot of to the Government of India on Thursday. The move is significant as the officer — posted as Intelligence Chief in state police — was likely to succeed Mr A.A. Siddiqqui as Punjab’s Director-General of Police (DGP). The battle between the Centre and the state over the issue of deputation, it may be recalled, had taken a “curious turn” after the Ministry had written directly to Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Virk. In its order sent directly through speed post to ADGP Virk, the authorities had asked him to report back for duty to the Government of Maharastra without delay. The sources had claimed that a Joint Secretary had asked ADGP Virk to join the duty in his parent cadre of Maharastra not later than April 30 failing which the Ministry would initiate action against him under the All India Service (D&A) Rules of 1969. It was added that the officer would be deemed to have been released by the Punjab government. ADGP Virk, the order asserted, was continuing in the Punjab cadre. His stay in the cadre would be considered unauthorised from April 2. The order had further added that the state government in November 2001 had assured the Ministry about ADGP Virk’s release immediately after the completion of election process in the state, but nothing was done in this regard. Going into the background of the matter, the sources reveal that ADGP Virk’s inter-cadre transfer to state of Punjab for a year was approved by the Union Government on February 27, 1996. He reported for duty in Punjab on April 2, 1996. His deputation was extended till April 1, 1998 on the Punjab Government’s request. Subsequently, the Punjab Government continued to request the Union Government for extending the deputation till the Home Ministry refused to agree. |
Pak pilgrim released Amritsar, April 30 Mr Iqbal Singh, Additional Director- General, GRP rushed to the Attari railway station following an SOS of the Central Government for breaking the impasse . While the GRP had insisted that Mr Khalid could not be released as per the rules of the land, all pilgrims alighted from the train at about 10 pm when it was about to leave for Amritsar from the Attari railways station. They pleaded that Mr Khalid was innocent as he had got the currency from an unauthorised money exchanger before boarding Samjhauta Express at Wagah on the Pakistan side. Officials of the railways, customs and other sister agencies at the Attari railway station had a tough handling the situation as they were not well equipped to cope with the situation. However, Mr
S.K.Madan, Station Superintendent said he had made all arrangements for providing tea and snacks to the pilgrims. |
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Militants’ families honoured Hoshiarpur, April 30 On the second day of its “Sikh Freedom March” which reached here today, the radical Sikh group lambasted the BJP and the Congress for patronising those who were responsible for unleashing terror against minority communities. Families of slain militants were honoured with a ‘siropa’ by the outfit president at a rally held outside the district courts complex. Reacting to Mr P.S. Badal’s accusation that the march was meant to create a wedge between the Sikhs and the Hindus, the outfit chief, Mr H.S. Dhami, said: “Our mission is not to create any unrest but to get a respectable place for the Sikhs.” |
High Court Chandigarh, April 30 In a petition filed in the High Court, the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union, through its president, Dr V.K. Tiwari, has sought quashing of the order of the Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar, who is also the District Returning Officer, asking some teachers of private colleges to report for poll duty. The college teachers have said that the Election Commission had no authority to force them to do election-related work. A Division Bench of comprising Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar and Mr Justice Amar Dutt issued notice of motion for May 3. |
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Grewal is district Bar president Bathinda, April 30 For the post of vice-president, Mr Rakesh Gargi, who got 265 votes, defeated Mr Guriqbal Singh Chahal by 17 votes. Mr Deepak Kumar Gupta, who got 258 votes, won the joint secretary post by defeating Mr Mandeep Singh, who got 247 votes. Mr Kuljit Pal Sharma, who secured 404 votes for the seat of secretary, defeated Ms Pushpinder Kaur Randhawa, who secured 108 votes. Meanwhile, Mr Chander Mohan Ruby, joint secretary, Punjab Law Forum, congratulated the office-bearers and urged them to work for the welfare of the association. Mr Laxmi Narayan, a senior advocate, was the returning officer. |
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114 cases settled in Lok Adalat Amritsar, April 30 Ms Harpreet Kaur Jiwan, Presiding Officer, Labour Court-cum-Additional District and Session Judge, presided over the programme. |
3 killed, 22 hurt in mishaps Sangrur, April 30 The Sunam police said a mini bus, coming from Kharrial village to Sunam today, overturned near Sunam killing 12-year-old girl Bhuchi, of Cheema village, and injuring 22 persons. All injured were admitted to the Sunam Civil Hospital. The injured persons, who belonged to Kharrial, Dhandholi Kalan and Gujran villages, included Harpal Kaur, Gulab Kaur, Paramjit Kaur, Palo Devi, Kaur Singh, Gurnam Kaur, Maghar Singh, Jaspreet Kaur, Gurjant Singh, Des Raj, Ravinder Kaur, Tek Singh, Jeet Singh and Rajinder Kaur etc. In another accident, Chinu, a youth, was killed on the spot when his motor cycle and a truck met with an accident on the Prem Basti road here today. Ranjit Singh, of Sahoke village, was reportedly killed on the spot when his scooter and a tractor collided on the
Badbar-Longowal road last night. |
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Indonesian woman complains against former husband Amritsar, April 30 According to information Cheenimanji Neel, Indonesian girl, stated that she had married Sukhbir Singh son of Onkar Singh who had gone to Indonesia in search of employment and had two children him. However, she said she obtained divorce from her husband a few months ago. She alleged one of her children was detained by her-in-laws, Onkar Singh and his wife and were refusing to return the child. Mr Swarn Singh, SHO, Sultanwind police station, said the police had also received letters from the Indonesian embassy for recovering the child. |
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JE booked on rape charge Moga, April 30 At first, the police was reluctant to register a case and tried to hush up the matter, forcing both parties for a compromise, but the victim later made an appeal in writing to Ms Preneet Kaur wife of the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, an Congress candidate for the Patiala Lok Sabha seat. She asked the Senior Superintendent of Police, Faridkot, to hear the victim and give her justice by registering a case. According to the FIR, the Junior Engineer allegedly entered the quarters of the victim at about midnight on April 20 and raped her. Later, she raised an the alarm and then with the help of her neighbour approached the local police, which did not register a case. No arrest has been made so far.
— PTI |
Maid servant held on charge of attempt to murder Amritsar, April 30 In a complaint registered under Section 307 and 328 of the IPC, Mr Sudesh Kumar Dhawan, a resident of Basant Avenue today alleged that Rinki had mixed an insecticide in their food with an intention of killing him and his family. The fact came to light when his wife Kamlesh Dhawan and daughter-in-law Harpreet Dhawan were hospitalised after eating the food. The girl ran away after the incident. Mr Vikram Sharma, SHO, Civil Line police station, confirmed her arrest. He revealed that the family members had scolded her after she was allegedly found stealing in the house about 15 days ago. He said the accused had confessed her crime. |
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Rs 50,000 looted from petrol station Sangrur, April 30 Sources said the looters came on foot and bolted the employees of the petrol station in a room there. Mr Sushil Kumar, DSP, Sunam, told TNS that it seemed to be the handiwork of local criminals and expressed hope that the looters would be nabbed soon. |
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Poppy husk smuggler held Moga, April 30 Stating this here today the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Mukhwinder Singh Chhina, said the police on a tip off raided the premises of Surjit Singh Chhina and recovered three bags of poppy husk which he had hid in one of the rooms of the house. A case has been registered. |
Out-of-format question paper set right Bathinda, April 30 Information gathered by TNS revealed that thousands of students appeared in the examination at various Centres in Bathinda, Mansa, Sangrur and Patiala. As per the instructions given to the students in the syllabus the question paper had to be divided in four sections. Similar instructions were also printed on the question paper. But ignoring these instructions, the paper was instead set in five sections. A professor of the subject at a local college said as per the instructions, Section A was to have two questions, Section B three questions, Section C three questions and Section D, a compulsory Section, framed with 10 questions of 1.5 marks each. In the question paper given to the students today, the Sections A and B were set according to the guidelines, but Section C contained only one question instead of three. The remaining two questions, which should have been in Section C, had been shifted to Section D. Thus Section D contained only two questions. Ten questions, originally belonging to Section D, had been shifted to a new section, which was neither mentioned in the syllabus or the instructions printed on the question paper. This led to confusion and resentment amongst the students. A large number of students sought a clarification from invigilators the invigilators most of who were not teachers of the subject, found themselves helpless to tackle the situation. However, the centre superintendent at a local examination centre brought the error to the notice of the university authorities at Patiala. Following this, the authorities had to restore the original structure of the question paper and necessary guidelines were issued in this regard on telephone. The students said university ordered two questions of Section C, which had been moved to Section D, be shifted back and the extra Section E, which contained the questions of Section D to be renamed as Section D.The students said though this clarified their doubts, much time had been wasted by then. It could not be ascertained as to how many examination centre all over the state got the clarification from the university in time. |
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GND varsity exams postponed Amritsar, April 30 Dr R.S. Bawa, Registrar of the university, said that the revised datesheets for these examinations had been sent to the principals of the colleges concerned, the heads of teaching departments and the centre superintendents. |
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