Ludhiana, January 13
The wives and relatives of the four accused persons, arrested by the sadar police in the alleged honour killing case of a couple, today threatened to commit suicide before the office of the Deputy Commissioner and demanded a CBI inquiry into the case, claiming that the accused were falsely framed by the police.

Addressing a press conference at the house of one of the arrested accused B S Randhawa in Haibowal, the relatives, led by the wives of the four arrested accused, alleged that the police had booked them for a serious crime just on the suspicion of the boy’s family without any investigation or evidence.

They said they had no faith in the Punjab Police and wanted probe by an outside agency , preferably the CBI.The relatives have also appealed to the Bahujan Samaj Party leader Avtar Singh Karimpuri to rise above party lines and look at the case from the angle of humanity also. There is no angle of caste hatred or divide in the murder of the couple Harpreet Singh and Amandeep Kaur, claimed Satwant Kaur Randhawa, Gian Kaur and Sukhwinder Kaur wives of the arrested accused B S Randhawa, Kulwant Singh and Sukhdev Singh. ‘‘We had accepted the wish of our darling daughter Amandeep Kaur after seeing the boy,’’ they said, stressing that the boy was loved by all of them and participated whole-heartedly in their family functions after the marriage.

They showed pictures of the couple attending and dancing at various functions of the family. Tejinder Singh, brother of the fourth arrested accused Balwinder Singh, said they all wanted to see the bodies and attend the cremation but were prevented by the police. He also sought to negate the claims of the police that they had arrested the accused from Amritsar and from the railway station here. He said the accused Tejinder Singh and B S Randhawa were called to the police station for identification of the bodies and illegally detained them for two days after their arrest was announced.

Then the police had told their girl’s relatives in Amritsar to gather at one place as they wanted their statement. They took Kulwant Singh and Sukhdev Singh with them and later showed they were arrested in a raid. Satwant Kaur said if they had some ill-will against the couple for marrying outside their caste, they would have done so before the marriage, “Why would we wait all these months and kill when Aman was pregnant?’’She said the police had made false claims about the confession of the accused, ‘‘ Why were they not presented before the mediapersons? ’’ she asked, saying the accused would have spilled the beans. The relatives alleged that the boy’s family was also making false allegations that we had issued threats to the couple.

The relatives have alleged that the boy was not on good terms with some of his relatives and they suspect he was killed by them only. Meanwhile, the police remand of the accused has been extended till January 15 by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr G.C. Garg.

Ludhiana, January 13
Two alert PCR cops foiled an attempt to rob Allahabad Bank, Rajguru branch, on the Ferozepore road late last night by catching one of the four robbers while they were boring a hole in the bank building with the help of gas cutters. The police proved to be lucky this time, as some unidentified robbers had broken into the bank through the wall twice in December 2002 and 2003. Last year, robbers, had decamped with a whopping Rs 48 lakh from the bank.

These two cases are yet to be solved. Constables Makhan Singh and Paramjit Singh on routine night patrol duty, spotted four persons near the rear wall of the bank. The persons tried to flee from the place when the cops approached them. After some chase the cops managed to nab one of the accused, identified as Mukesh Kumar of Bindra Colony in Shiv Puri here.

The PCR cops handed over the man to SP (Detective) Gurpreet Singh, who was near the bank only on night patrol duty and chased others but could not succeed in their attempt. The police then found that the robbers had made about a 7-inch hole in the 9-inch thick wall.

The police recovered a 5-litre LPG gas cylinder, an oxygen cylinder, pipes, iron rods, screwdrivers and some other tools, which the robbers had brought to break into the bank and cut the strong room open. The SP (Detective) said that the police was investigating if robbers had committed robberies in the bank earlier also as those cases were still unsolved. He said that despite previous incidents and suggestions by the police, the bank authorities had not posted any security guard on duty at night. Some security guard could sleep inside the bank, he said. The bank is not located in an isolated place but there is no construction in its immediate vicinity.

Ludhiana, January 13
Deputy Commissioner Anurag Verma today directed executives officers of all municipal councils and improvement trusts in the district to computerise the working of public dealing branches including water supply, sewerage, house tax bills at the earliest. Mr Verma was chairing a meeting of the executive officers of the municipal councils and improvement trust at the Circuit House to review the progress of the ongoing development projects in the cities and towns of the district. He told the executive officers to computerise the main branches of their offices also to provide better services to people.

Reviewing the progress of vermiculture projects in all the towns, he asked for the selection of the required sites for these projects at the earliest and take required steps for putting up of worms to prepare composite fertiliser from the garbage and waste of households. He said a special workshop by the experts of the Science and Technology Department will be organised on January 18 at Ludhiana to impart training regarding vermiculture to EOs and their staff. Mr Jaspal Mittal, SDM, Khanna, pointed out the discontinuation of the work of laying of sewerage in Khanna city and for providing disposal for sullage water.

As a result, the people of Bhagaur village were facing sewerage problem of sullage on the fields and roads. At this, the Deputy Commissioner asked the SE Sewerage to take the necessary steps to arrange for sufficient funds to complete the work.

Reviewing the progress of setting up cattleponds in all cities, the Deputy Commissioner directed the EOs to construct the cattleponds at the earliest and charge the composition fee from the owners of the cattle impounded wandering on the public places in the cities. Referring to a point regarding the unauthorised colonies, which were being created in violation of the rules in Khanna city, he asked the SDM, Khanna, to send the report at the earliest. He also directed the EO of the Improvement Trust, Khanna, to only take up those schemes, which could be completed and to refrain from taking up, unviable schemes, which created panic among people.

Earlier at a meeting of the BDPOs, the Deputy Commissioner reviewed the progress of the different government schemes, including vermiculture, utilisation certificates regarding the grants, constructed wetland projects, desilting of village ponds, computerisation. The Deputy Commissioner directed the BDPOs to clear all utilisation certificates regarding MPLAD funds and said untied funds be released to the different villages at the earliest. He also directed the BDPOs to execute the vermiculture project at least in one village of their block during this month and accelerate the work on constructed wetland projects.

Ludhiana, January 13
The Division No. 2 police here has booked a financier on the charges of duping the Bank of Punjab, Miller Ganj branch, of Rs 2.50 lakh. The accused, Vishal Joshi, had allegedly taken the money from some persons for depositing in the bank but had pocketed the amount in June last year.

The case has been registered now after investigations by the police. The accused has been booked under Section 420 of the IPC on a complaint of Mr A.C. Bithal, Manager of the bank.Mr Bithal had alleged that the accused was associated with the bank for the purpose of financing cars. He had taken Rs 2.50 lakh from some clients but did not deposit it in the bank.

Doraha, January 13
Reacting to the reports on the chemically harmful liquid being stored in pits on the panchayat land meant for agricultural purposes, the DDPO has directed the BDPO to submit a report. “I have asked Mr Daljit Singh, BDPO, to submit the report regarding the issue and action will be taken against the guilty,” said the BDPO. 

Ludhiana, January 13
Synthetic milk is making inroads into markets in Punjab. While the officials maintain that there is no serious threat as yet, they have seized some samples of the synthetic milk from different parts of the state.

This has prompted the Dairy Development Department, Punjab, to launch an awareness and random check drive across the state from the first week of next month Dr Anil Kaura, Director, Dairy Development Department, said some samples had been found from Rajpura in Patiala district. The department had already launched random checking in Patiala and Jallandhar districts and it would be extended to other districts as well with Ludhiana being one of the important centers, as the consumption of milk is the largest here.Dr Kaura said, however, the problem was not too grave as yet to warrant any concern. 

“But the department will not sit complacent and will take preventive measures in advance”, he asserted. He said while the problem was quite widespread in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhaya Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa, it was likely to creep into Punjab too. Some cases have even been reported from Haryana as well. Synthetic milk is very cheap and can be prepared at the cost of about Rs 3 per kg. It sells between Rs 10 to Rs 15 in the market.

Dr Kaura said chemicals like urea, caustic soda, refined oil and detergents are used in the preparation of synthetic milk. He said, the detergents were added to emulsify and dissolve the oil in water, giving a frothy solution like milk. Refined oil is used as a substitute for milk fat, while caustic soda is added to the blended mixture of chemical and natural milk to neutralise the effect of increased acidity, thereby preventing it from turning sour during the transportation.

Urea or sugar is added for levelling the contents of solid-not-fat (SNF) as are present in the natural milk. The synthetic milk is very harmful for human consumption. It has been found to be a carcinogenic agent. Different constituents affect different parts of the body. It leads to various problems in the digestive system, kidneys, cardiac problems and hypertension. The milk is very dangerous for pregnant women. Dr Kaura said the department would launch an awareness campaign in which people would be educated as how to differentiate between the synthetic and the natural milk. 

Ludhiana, January 13
The Double Income No Kids Syndrome (DINKS) which hitherto rocked big Metros is infecting young couples in Ludhiana at an alarming rate. DINKS has hit the working couples in the high income group in the city, holding responsible jobs, which besides being very stressful entails a lot of responsibility. These kind of jobs exhaust the working couples and they feel raising children would be very difficult under such circumstances. Dr Arun Sood, Senior Consultant, Department of Psychiatry, Christian Medical College& Hospital is of the opinion that the syndrome is the result of both the partners being stressed out by their demanding lifestyle and environment. They have hardly any time for themselves and find it difficult to manage their jobs and children at the same time.

So both the partners are postponing starting a family. The women armed with qualifications as good as their male counterparts get lucrative jobs in banks, advertising agencies, fashion houses, media etc. They make it clear to their prospective life partner that they are not willing to give up their jobs and thus ruin their bright careers. The men readily accept the condition as double incomes would enable them to lead a good lifestyle. The young couples have a lot of responsibilities to handle in the office and by the time they reach home they are totally exhausted. When they lead such busy lives who has the time to further burden themselves with bringing up children. Satisha and Biren have jobs at managerial levels; between them they earn more than Rs 50,000 a month.

The only relief they have is that their offices are a short distance from their home. They are also fortunate to have a part time maid. Yet the life is endless cycle of office work and household jobs. Biren says,” No! Definitely the children are out at this point of our life. First of all we have been married for just a couple of years. We are still adjusting to each other. We feel that we have to give time to our relationship plus there is pressure of work. So to have children at this point of time is sheer stupidity. ”Satisha said,” Unconventional though it may sound, but we are not ready to have a kid at this point of time out of choice because our jobs keep us fully occupied. We come home all keyed up.

There is hardly any time to unwind as I have to prepare dinner. Biren is typical Indian man. It is below his dignity to do household chores." Another couple working in the field of media also felt that they had no right to bring the children into the world as they won’t have time to bring them up properly. They said,” We are educated people so we know our responsibilities towards the children. We want our children to be good citizens. When we have no time for ourselves how can we find time for the kids? The work exhausts us and we have decided that our careers are important to us. So either the children will have to wait or we will adopt a child after sometime when we think we are ready for it.

There are millions of orphans. Least we can do is to adopt a child and give good education and home to the child." The rising prices, the need for good education and a certain minimum standard of life has made us decide not to have kids. We are earning well but not enough to bring up a child. We want to give the very best to our child. Since we don’t have anybody to take care of the children, we do not want to leave our children in a day care centre.

“We know that one income is not enough for the standard of living that we have acquired now. We can’t do without two cars. We have no house of our own. Our first priority is to build a house for ourselves,” said Prema, A bank officer and her husband Sunit, also a bank officer.Dr Rajiv Gupta, a Consultant Psychiatrist talking on the syndrome said, “Earlier, the women were confined to home. But the modern women is working as an equal partner and spending 12 hours on her job.

The society has become advanced and the well educated girls are getting very lucrative jobs. There is a conflict between career advancement and child’s care. Since bringing up children is a full time job, it creates a lot of contradictions between maintaining a careful balance between the job and family. Moreover in the nuclear families, most of the decisions are being taken by the women. Inspite of the husbands wanting children, the wives consider their careers to be equally important and feel that they need to work.” Dr Arun Sood said that this syndrome is the result of the stressful lifestyles of both the partners. They find little time for themselves and rearing children becomes impossible for them. Mercifully the number of such couples is not large.

Ludhiana, January 13
Forty craftsmen have come on a common platform and displayed their crafts at Karagiri Craft Bazar in Nehru Sidhant Kender here till January 16. Mr Iqbal Singh , president of the Bhartiya Dastkar Samiti, said the aim of organising the demonstration was to give the city residents an idea about how hard these “dastkars” work. “Most of the customers say that the things are expensive. If people saw how laborious is a ‘dastkar’s’ work, they would not hesitate to pay.

Our idea is to give these people their due and also help customers buy goods directly from them and thus omit the middleman." Taking to Ludhiana Tribune, Pokhar Ram, a puppeteer, said, “The art of making puppets runs in our family. As far as I can remember, I was involved in one or the other aspect of puppet-making. Puppet-making requires a lot of patience. First we take a piece of wood and sand paper.

Then we chisel out features first the nose, then eyes and lips. Then we apply white “mitti” on it and sand paper to make it smooth. The next step is to apply water colours to define the features. Clothes are made by the needy women. After they finish the household work, they are able to make five dresses of puppets and later on they embellish with ‘gota’.. finally the puppet is ready to go on stage or for sale.” Shubh Ram, the potter, had exquisite pots with figurines on it. He demonstrated how they painted clay pots with gold or copper colours after they are baked He said,”We take ordinary “mitti” from the fields and soak it in water. Afterwards we strain it and mix it with chalk ‘mitti’ and knead it to firmness.

Then different shapes are given by our hands on the potter’s wheel. Figures are made separately by us. Later they are attached to the urns or the pots and kept for baking. After baking, they are taken out. We then smoothen the surface with sand paper and then use enamel paint to give it a rich look and texture." The most exquisite laces were brought from the South. John Mary said, “These laces are called ‘pillow laces’. We use a rolled pillow of straw on which the pattern paper is fixed. We fix ball pins and sticks on it. Then the deft fingers go from one point to another weaving out a gossamer-thin lace.

“She displayed a 6-inch square lace on a table cloth and said that it took two ladies six months to make it. She further said that they used anchor threads and thus the lace in spite of looking delicate was infect very strong. Raju Krishnamurthy explained all the processes involved in the lustrous finished pearl strings that he had brought from Hyderabad. He said, “Basically all pearls- fresh water pearls — cultured and natural — come from Japan.

They are separated according to their sizes, colours and then graded. Then the pearls are bleached by keeping them in water for 10 to 12 days. The next step is to take a 750-ml bottle. In the bottle, 350 gm of pearls, 150 ml of water and 2 to 3 ml of solvent ether is put and bottle is closed tight. After 48 hours, the bottle is opened and then the pearls are washed with “reetha powder” and then beaded. He further said that pearls get spoiled if perfume is used. Pearls also get choked with sweat. If they get wet in sweat, they should be kept in clean fresh water and then restrung.

Ludhiana, January 13
Anu Patel did not let the misfortune of her life put her down but the divorce determined her resolve not only to stand on her own feet but also help other destitute and needy women. Anu belongs to Ahmedabad and is currently in Ludhiana as she is displaying articles using Kutch embroidery at a handicrafts exhibition organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Dastkar Samiti.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Anu said, “After doing postgraduation I wanted to join the IPS. But fate had a bad marriage in store for me. My husband tortured me mentally and after taking the humiliation for a few years , I got a divorce. I came to my mother’s house and decided that I will not be a burden on my parents. ”Anu left for Kutch the next day. She formed an NGO called the Bhagwati Mahila Utkarsh Society. Armed with her knowledge of traditional Kutch embroidery, involving intricate bead and mirror work, she decided to teach the village woman finer points of this embroidery.

She said, “First few months were tough as the women closed the doors in our faces. But we persisted. Finally the patience and perseverance paid off and the women started coming out. Kutch women have learnt embroidery from their childhood. What they needed was finesse. We taught them that and after that each woman received Rs 10 per hour from the government. After finishing their household work, they could put in five hours of work.

Thus each lady earned Rs 50 and their financial position became better. After the earthquake in Kutch they were reeling under financial crisis and thus the money earned helped them a lot.”Anu said , “Marketing of articles was a big problem. I got in touch with people that contact the NGOs and artisans and provide platform for sale without the middleman coming into the picture. Mr Iqbal Singh who organises Karigiri Craft Bazar under the aegis of the Akhil Bhartiya Dastkar Samiti helped us display our products.

I am proud to say that the turn over of the NGO at present is Rs 9 lakh. I am happy that due to our efforts 10,000 women have started earning.' Not resting on her laurels, Anu has come back to Ahmedabad where she had started teaching slum women the same art. Her NGO has started schools for the children of these women. After polishing shoes or doing some other jobs, children are taught in the evening. Anu said, “We have with the help of the government, LIC and contribution of women provided each one of them with health insurance of Rs 20,000. We arrange blood donation camps for patients suffering from blood cancer.”

Amloh, January 13
A seminar on “Rural based problems and their solutions”, directed by Master Nirbhai Singh Dhaliwal, was organised by the People’s Theatre Amloh at the local Government Secondary School. Professor Baljinder Singh from Public College Samana stressed the need to organise such seminars in rural areas to create awareness among people regarding their problems.

Ms Manjinder Sahi people should be saved from the western culture and the use of western rags. Mr Satish Kumar, Child Development and Project Officer, gave a call to people to cooperate with the theatre so that such programmes continue in the area. Among those who participated in the seminar included Mr Kulwant Singh, story writer Jasvir Singh Rana, Nirmal Singh, Sahit Sabha president Surjit “Seet”, Mr Sukhdev Tibbi, Ms Rajinder Kaur and Raj Paheri.

Ludhiana, January 13
It was to be seen to be believed. Bhai Mian of Delhi flying over 100 kites on a single string. To mark Lohri, a kite flying show was organised here today, which held the audience mesmerised with its uniqueness.

The show was held at Sarabha Nagar market. The highlight of the event was Bhai Mian, a kite-flying specialist from the Jama Masjid, Old Delhi, who is the only person in India to accomplish the amazing feat of flying more than 100 kites on a single string. His unique talent has won him popularity in not only India, but also abroad where he has performed at various Indian cultural festivals. He would also perform at the upcoming Dubai shopping festival.

Ludhiana, January 13
A lawyer, Mr Munish Kumar Khanna has been appointed vice-president of the Punjab Pardesh Youth Congress (PPYC) by the President of Punjab Pradesh Youth Congress. He said he would devote himself to the uplift of the party.

Doraha, January 13
Three persons belonging to Gurdaspur have been booked under Sections 406, 420 and 120-B of the IPC for allegedly defrauding one of their relatives by luring him to be sent abroad.Jaspal Singh, son of Mukhtiar Singh, of Sahnewal has complained to the Sahnewal police that his father-in-law Gurbachan Singh and his two brothers-in-law, Harjinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh, had cheated him by extracting Rs 1.50 lakh from him and falsely promising him to be sent to Germany in due course of time.

Khanna, January 13
One person was killed and three others were injured in a road accident near the Malerkotla chowk on the G. T. Road today. According to the information a truck rammed into another truck standing on the G.T. Road at the Malerkotla chowk.

The driver of the truck, who was identified as Madan Lal, resident of Anant Nag district in Srinagar, died on the spot. Two of the injured have been identified as Guljar Ahmed Balbir Singh, a police constable posted at the city police station.The police has sent the body of the victim to the Civil Hospital for the post-mortem examination. A case under Section 174 of the I P C has been registered in this connection. 

Ludhiana, January 13
Burglars broke into a shop, selling mobile phones, and decamped with phone sets worth Rs 20,000 and Rs 1000 cash in Jamalpur last night. Mr Prempreet Singh, owner of the shop, said a servant of another shop spotted the broken locks and informed him. The burglars decamped with some mobile sets that were under repair.