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SPO nabbed in rape case
Ludhiana, May 6 Staying as a next door neighbhour of the victim’s family for the past decade in the police colony, the accused was addressed as ‘Chachu’ (Uncle) by the girl and treated as a father figure by her family since the girl’s birth, who played as a toddler in his house only. Both the accused and victim’s family belong to Faislabad district in Uttar Pradesh. The victim’s family had migrated here in late eighties while the accused had come in early eighties. Both were living in small houses in the police colony, where the victim and his family served as domestic servants in various houses in the colony. The SPO had joined the police force in 1991-92. The accused, SPO Acche Lal, was arrested at about 2.30 am today from his house only where he had returned to take some of his belongings to run away. The medical examination of the girl conducted by doctors at Civil Hospital today has meanwhile confirmed that she was raped. The girl was hospitalised. She was highly traumatised after the incident. The family, too, was having a bitter experience after being hounded by the media. The girl’s mother almost jumped from the second storey of Civil Hospital to stop the media photographers and cameramen from following her. Her threat worked. Later, she told The Tribune that she and other family members were in acute shock. “He was just our family member. How could he” she sobbed leaving the sentence incomplete. SHO Division No 8 police station, SI Gurpreet Singh said the accused had been booked under Section 376, 506 and 342 of the IPC. “I don’t know what happened to me. I made a mistake. I am sorry.” the accused said while breaking down during a talk with The Tribune in police custody. The accused was married thrice. The accused said he had left his first wife because she was a physically-challenged woman. Then he married a sister-in-law of his elder brother. They did not live for long together. Acche Lal claimed that his second wife wanted him to leave his aged parents. He couldn’t and the marriage broke. He was married for the third time in 1997 but has no issue of his own so far. |
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MC contractors’ cartel hampering development
Ludhiana, May 6 Sources in the MC said work of recarpeting of roads was suffering the most as the contractors, who had formed the cartel, supplied premix for the roads. They claimed that they had decided together to pressurise the administration to clear their payments. After floating the tenders and issuing the forms twice, the MC is once again planning to invite the quotations for various development works. Earlier the tenders were invited on February 6 and April 8. But no contract was allotted to anybody for the development works. Angry with the MC for not being able to pay their dues for the works undertaken during the last financial year, the contractors said that they had no option but to boycott further works in order to get their dues cleared. The contractors claimed that the MC officials were not making payments for last year’s works claiming that the civic body was yet to receive its share in the form of excise duty from the state government. ‘‘We were told that as and when the payment arrived, all our dues would be cleared. But why should we wait for such a long time when our bills have already been passed and the work has long been completed?’’ asked a contractor. The contractors said that even as more than a month had passed since the closing of the last financial year, their payments of the previous works were not made. The MC officials, however, denied the allegations claiming that some contractors were trying to malign the image of MC because their work was not up to the mark and inquiries were on against them. The officials further said that the bills of those contractors, whose work had come under a cloud, would not be cleared even if they used pressure tactics. They argued that the MC had already paid a whopping sum to the contractor of the elevated road and it had no problems in paying small amounts if they had done good work. While the civic body and contractors lock horns, residents continue to suffer. Many colonies in the city are without good roads. Recarpeting was not done after these were dug up for laying sewer pipes months ago. ‘‘When the MC claims itself to be so rich, why are we not getting our money? There are many contractors who are not coming out openly against non-payment as they think that they would not be allotted any contracts in future. They keep calling us in their offices and when we go they hand over 10 per cent or more of the total dues said a contractor, who did not wish to be quoted.
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CM lays stone of lawyers’ chambers
Ludhiana, May 6 Prominent among those present on the
occasion were the Sessions Judge, Mr Harbans Lal, District Bar Association president, Mr Balwinder Goel, Ministers, Harnam Dass Johar, Rakesh Pandey, Surinder Dawar, Parliamentary Secretary, Power, Mayor, Nahar Singh Gill, Mr A. A. Pathak, District Attorney, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anurag Verma and Mr Rajinder Soi, secretary PPCC. Later,
addressing the legal fraternity, Capt Amarinder Singh, claimed that the state was being looked upon as most preferred destination for investments. In the last two years the rate of growth had
witnessed an upsurge from 1.3 per ent to 5.6 per cent, industrial production and exports had gone up by 120 per cent and 100 per cent respectively. Similarly sales tax collection had also registered a rise of 15.5 per cent for the first time in two decades. “Till today we have cleared 37 mega-projects worth Rs 10,000 crore. A giant in the automobile industry is likely to set up an automobile unit of light armoured vehicles in Punjab at a cost of Rs 7000 crore, claimed Capt Amarinder Singh. He further said improvement in Indo-Pak relations would certainly go a long way in boosting trade. He assured full cooperation to lawyers regarding shifting of the Consumer Forum near the district courts complex. Terming the grant as a shot in the arm, Mr Goel, DBA president said it would be quite helpful particularly for the young lawyers, who had applied for the chambers. He said it would be a nine storeyed ultramodern complex having 232 chambers and it would be linked with the judicial complex for the convenience of lawyers. Earlier, he was presented bouquets by Mrs Amrit Varsha Rampal, Mr Ahsok Bhakri, and Mr P.D. Sharma. The DBA secretary, Rana Harjasdeep Singh, and Mr Virendra Khara highlighted the problems being faced by lawyers. Senior lawyer, Dharamjit Singh Khera presented a vote of thanks.
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Innovative surgery saves life of newborn
Ludhiana, May 6 A bluish, transparent cyst 2 x 1½ cm in size, lying at the back of the tongue of the baby was removed successfully by Dr Manish Munjal, an ENT surgeon at the hospital. Dr Daljit Singh, Professor and Head, Department of Paediatrics and Principal, DMCH, revealed that this new type of surgery was safer than the conventional method and involved lesser risk. It was not only precise, but also ensured complete removal of the cyst or tumour with minimal blood loss. Moreover, the endoscopic surgical procedure did not involve any stitching or bulky dressings. It had minimal post-operative swellings and led to an early recovery. According to Dr Munjal, the baby, Tanush Aggarwal, hailing from Jalandhar used to have difficulty in breathing since his birth. “A flexible fiber optic endoscopic examination, supplemented with a CT scan, and an MRI study confirmed the presence of a marble sized swelling located at the back of the tongue obstructing the entry to the windpipe of the baby.” He said the swelling was huge and was blocking the entrance to the windpipe. Endoscopes of different angles, which could see around corners, were passed through the mouth and utilised to assess the extent of the swelling and using angled instrumentation, the swelling was meticulously dissected intact from the tissues at the back of the tongue. Bleeding was minimal and easily controlled. The entire surgery was completed in an hour and a half. Dr Munjal said going by conventional methods, the swellings of the narrow spaces in the mouth or elsewhere among the babies were operated upon by blindly feeling with the fingers or by surgery along the side of the neck. This technique, however, had a lot of risk involved because some portion of the growth, swelling could be left behind and profuse uncontrolled bleeding could also be caused by open surgery. “With the use of endoscopic technique, inaccessible swellings and tumours in closed spaces can be visualised even in newborns under magnified vision and can be operated in less time, Dr Munjal added. The parents and relatives of Tanush looked extremely happy when the baby was finally relieved from the hospital with an assurance that he would live a normal life.
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SHO suspended as detainee consumes celphos
Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 6 Mr Rajunder Singh, SHO, had been suspended and sent to the Civil Lines for the negligence shown at the time of sending Hazura Singh of Brahampur village under Ludhiana district in lock-up. Hazura Singh had later allegedly consumed celphos to commit suicide on Thursday night. Mr Jatinder Singh Khaira, DSP, said “Prima facie, he had been found negligent while performing his official duty as he had not taken proper care to ensure that the detainee had nothing with him that might be harmful for his life or any other person who might be lodged in the same lock-up.” He said further action would be taken after Hazura Singh, who was lying unconscious at a private hospital in Ludhiana, gained consciousness. The DSP said a departmental inquiry would be held to ascertain how the detained received the insecticide to attempt suicide. Hazura Singh had been arrested on the complaint of Jarnail Singh of Dhaler village. They had a land dispute and the police observed that Hazura Singh would disrupt the peace if left free.
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No headway in Rs 19
lakh heist
Ludhiana, May 6 The registration number of one of the motorcycles used by the accused and noted by an eyewitness has been found to be a wrong one. The cops found a motorcycle with that number parked in a house in Patiala. Several teams of the police checked parking stands, cinema halls, hotels and isolated places to search for the vehicles but no headway could be made.
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Passing Thru
Is the training of cops in Punjab up to the mark?
Training is a continuous process. It requires regular changes and updating. In 1950s, cops were specifically trained for handling dacoits and then insurgents. Now they are taught on nailing down hi-tech criminals. The Punjab Police Academy is fully equipped and regularly modernised to impart quality training to the cops. It has changed with the needs of the times and will continue to do so. How
has the nature of crime changed over the years in Punjab ? Criminals have become more planned, sophisticated and techno-savvy. Very few crimes take place because of the spur-of-the-moment reaction. Criminals plan their strikes. There is the problem of drug addiction too, which is giving rise to different crimes. How much is the contribution of migrant labour in crime in Punjab? The migrant labour has been coming to the state in search of greener pastures for the more than 25 years. It is no new phenomenon. I think their involvement in crime is being over-emphasised. I don’t subscribe to this theory that the migrant labour is responsible for all or majority of crime. Jupinderjit Singh |
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Councillors’ resignation
sought
Amloh, May 6 They sought the resignations of councillors of Amloh as they had failed to ‘maintain cleanliness’ in the town. It was pointed out that the main street joining the main bazaar with the circular road caused nuisance due to the presence of drainage water on the roads which enters the houses of the residents. In such a condition the danger of spread of diseases is very high. The representation was signed by 21 persons of the ward. A big part of the 45 bighas of Municipal land at the tail end of the drain has been allegedly encroached upon by influential persons and the remaining space is not sufficient for the disposal of sewerage. It was also urged to hold a probe as to how the grants released by the government to provide relief to the residents had been misused. The SDM, Amloh, had also visited the site and directed the council to take necessary steps in this matter.
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Dharna held against police inaction
Jagraon, May 6 Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, former president of the SGPC, Mr Harsurinder Singh, member of the SGPC, Gurcharan Singh Grewal, president Sikh Students Federation (Mehta group), and Mr Jagjit Singh Talwandi, MLA from Raikot, blamed the police for not arresting all the persons involved in the incident. They appealed to the SSP to ensure the arrest of all involved in this. They also demanded reinvestigation of the incident in which Raj Kumar has been named as accused. They said he was innocent. They presented a memorandum to Mr Randhir Singh, DSP of Jagraon, to bring to book all guilty persons.
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IDPD criticises govt bid to bridle MCI
Ludhiana, May 6 In a statement here, the IDPD president, Dr L.S. Chawla and general secretary, Dr Arun Mitra apprehended that the Bill was aimed at exercising bureaucratic control over the highly technical body (MCI) and to do away with its autonomous functioning. They said the move would completely jeopardise the working of MCI and also affect the standard of medical education in the country. Dr Chawla, himself a former member of the working committee of MCI, further maintained that the MCI, with medical professionals as its members, had been discharging its responsibility well. In order to overcome certain shortcomings, what the government ought to have done was to achieve a better level of coordination with the MCI functionaries so that the standard of medical education could have further improved and updated. “Towards this end, highly placed academicians and medical professionals from prestigious institutions like All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Council of Medical Research, Armed Forces Medical College and the PGI should be nominated to the MCI rather than handing over the body to bureaucrats.” The IDPD functionaries further called upon the government to make public the proposed Bill, drafted by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in this respect, initiate a national debate among medical professionals, not to show any undue haste in pushing the Bill through in the present session of Parliament and retain the supremacy of MCI in all matters pertaining to medical education.
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CAT for budding managers today
Ludhiana, May 6 The seminar would be focusing on interactive exercises; simulated GDs to identify the right managerial personality traits. The trainers would also check the presence of mind and lateral thinking with extempore from the audience. Mock CAT-cum-scholarship test would also be conducted . A feedback and detailed analysis of the test would be provided on the spot. The TCY experts will discuss the strategies and quicker ways to tackle the different sections.
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Russian prof praises India’s spiritual
heritage
Ludhiana, May 6 Dr Shilin was on a visit to Punjab Agricultural University here today. He underlined the need for drawing a balance between spirituality and scientific progress. While the scientific progress would provide humans material pleasures, the ultimate joy lay in spirituality and India could lead the world in this field. He appealed the scientific community in PAU to ensure that the natural environment was safeguarded at all costs. Otherwise nothing would be left if we finish our natural wealth, he observed, while maintaining that a balance needed to be maintained between the environment and industrial
progress.
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Training camp for delinquent
Ludhiana, May 6 Initially 50 boys between the age of 18-21 years will be trained in tractor repair, diesel engine repair, scooter repair for 6 months. The resource persona and material will be provided by Jan Shikshan Sansthan which is working under Ministry of HRD, Government of India.
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Man assaulted over land dispute
Jagraon, May 6 In another incident, Dhanwant Singh Dhanna, Gurdip Singh and Ajmar Singh of Sohian have been booked by the local police under Sections 452, 323, 506 and 341 of the IPC for assaulting Nirmal Singh of their village.
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Poppy husk seized
Jagraon, May 6
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120 kg of poppy husk seized
Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 6
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Club formed to boost Rs 300 cr sewing machine cluster
Ludhiana, May 6 The three associations have formed a Sewing Machine Development Club (SMDC) under the Government of India’s Cluster Development Programme. “The collective initiative would help undertake measures for development more effectively,” said Mr S.S. Bedi, Assistant Director, Small Industries Service Institute, who is also a Cluster Development Executive. Under the Cluster Development Programme, the Small Industries Development Organisation, Ministry of Small Scale Industries, selected sewing machine and its components cluster from Ludhaina. The cluster in Ludhiana is one of the 21 clusters selected by the organisation across the country. The programme aims to give a boost to the development of over 800 units in the sewing machine and its components cluster. While the estimated annual turnover of this cluster hovers around Rs 250-300 crore, there also are a few units that are engaged in exporting their products to several developing countries to the tune of Rs 50-55 crore annually. “The cluster approach, emerged within the last decade, has proved to be one of the most effective and innovative ways for development of small scale industries in the country,” Mr Bedi said. Organisations like SIDO, UNIDO, SIDBI and the SBI have initiated various programmes for development of SSIs in clusters. These agencies have also introduced special packages for modernisation and sustainable growth. Now that three associations have joined hands, they have decided to create an industrial park and industrial plots. Besides, members wold be registered with the SMDC so that they were able to avail of the facilities under the Cluster Development Programme. “We would also visit industrial units in India for conducting marketing and technology study, besides arranging for exposure and study visits to international markets for technology upgradation,” Mr Bedi said. Mr Ram Krishan, president, SDMC, said the joint platform would not just provide a platform for modernisation, it would also help the sewing machine industry to face the WTO regime and face global competition.
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