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TOP STORIES

Amarinder rubbishes Badal claim on Dyal
Chandigarh, April 30
The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today clarified that he had presented a memento to Gen R. S. Dyal (retd) in Mumbai in recognition of his work as the Chairman of the Institute of Tourism and Future Management (ITFT), an organisation which has been assisting ex-servicemen in their rehabilitation.

Government fails to make headway in UBDC scam
Gurdaspur, April 30
The Congress came into power in the state riding the wave of corruption allegations against the previous government. An anti-corruption drive was also launched and cases were registered against the leaders of the Opposition.

Mumtaz’s kids ex-students of Amritsar school
Cops in spot as it shows their illegal stay for 3 years

Amritsar, April 30 The district police is in a tight spot again as all three children (currently in local Central Jail) of Mumtaz, a Pakistani national, have been found to be former students of the local Government Kanya Primary School, Kot Baba Deep Singh.

The three children of Pakistani national Mumtaz currently lodged in Central Jail, Amritsar. — Tribune photo by Rajiv Sharma

Beating by employer costs youth eyesight

Amritsar, April 30 A 25-year-old lost his eyesight completely when his employer Makhan Singh of Shakri transport beat him severely when he de- manded salary from him. Police allegedly failed to take any action against the accused even as the hospital authorities refused him admission for treatment. Aman Kumar who lost his eyesight allegedly after being beaten by his employer talks to Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, BJP state vice-president, at Civil Hospital in Amritsar. — Tribune photo by Rajiv Sharma

Drunk cops kill poppy smuggler
Jalandhar, April 30
Death of Satnam Singh Satti, of Jandiala village in police firing on Saturday night, created a controversy as the Jalandhar police claimed the deceased was ferrying poppy husk had speeded up his contraband loaded vehicle after having been signalled by a police party and a section of residents of the area terming it as a ‘concocted story’.

Tribune Special
Punjab plan on whistle-blowers faces rough road
Chandigarh, April 30
In a move which, if finalised, could invite criticism from many quarters and raise serious questions of propriety, the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Government has been considering giving incentives to official whistle-blowers. Simply put, the move is aimed at rewarding government servants who blow the whistle on their corrupt bosses and colleagues.

POLITICS

Rally brings Cong fissures to the fore
Patiala, April 30
The newly established Patiala Vikas Manch today gave a call to oust Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh out of power alleging that the CM was pursuing anti-people, anti-Dalit and anti-trader policies.

COMMUNITY

24 health workers hurt in police lathi charge
Hoshiarpur, April 30
More than 24 members of the Health Services Bachao Sangharsh Committee comprising various organisations of para-medical staff and nurses of Punjab were injured today when the police lathicharged the agitating health employees while they were trying to march towards the residence of Mr Romesh Chander Dogra, Health and Family Welfare Minister, located at Nai Abadi from the venue of their rally at Shaheed Udham Singh Park. All injured persons were admitted to the local Civil Hospital.

Congress workers protest against newspaper report
Batala, April 30
Congress workers held a protest rally at Gandhi Chowk here today under the leadership of Mr Ashwani Sekhri, Parliamentary Secretary, Punjab, against a news item published in an English daily (not The Tribune) on Saturday.

Parshuram Jayanti celebrated
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 30
Bhagwan Parshuram Jayanti was celebrated with fervour by the Brahmin Sabha, Sirhind, at Sirhind today. Hundreds of Brahmin families from the town attended the function. Havan and bhog of the Ramayana were performed at Dashnami Akhara, Sirhind city.

Mass marriage ceremony
Sangrur, April 30
As many as 13 girls of economically weaker sections were yesterday married off at a mass marriage function, organised by the Sahara Youth Club, Moonak, at Aggarwal Dharamshala in Moonak village, about 60 km from here.

Home Guard jawans seek hike in wages
Patiala, April 30
A state-level meeting of the Punjab Home Guards Welfare Association held at the Baradari Gardens here today. The association urged the Punjab Government to accept their long pending demands, including enhancement of daily wages from Rs 150 to Rs 300, and provision of free bus service facility.

Ban books, demands Billa
Amritsar, April 30
Mr Surinder Kumar Billa, president, All-India Hindu Shiv Sena, on Friday served a notice on the Secretary, Dharam Prachar Committee, SGPC, to ban two books published by it.

Bus fire victims cremated
Hoshiarpur, April 30
The mortal remains of Assistant Sub-Inspector of Punjab police Ram Pal Singh and his wife, Sukhwinder Rani, who were killed in bus fire at Jalandhar on April 28, were consigned to the flames at their village, Taggran, about 25 km from here, this afternoon. Sarabjit Singh, elder son of Ram Pal Singh, lit the pyres.

Quota hike proposal condemned
Hoshiarpur, April 30
Mr Surinder Saini, president, General Category Welfare Association, has criticised the proposal of the Central Government to hike reservation in higher educational institutions.

COURTS

Verma elected District Bar Assn chief
Ropar, April 30
Mr Amrit Lal Verma won the election to the post of the president of the District Bar Association (DBA) by defeating his rival Udam Singh in a close contest here today. The election results were announced by the Returning Officer, Mr Surinder Singh, about 5 pm here. Mr Verma was polled 118 votes while Udam Singh 107 votes out of 251 DBA members.

AGRICULTURE

Khadoor Sahib, April 30 Farmers in the border belt of the Amritsar district were forced to abandon orchard farming due to the receding water table and non-supply of canal water. Charantjit Singh of Fatehabad village near here, who owns a 50-acre orchard of mango, peach, litchi and other ornamental trees, said he was forced to uproot mango and other trees planted 100 years ago as he was not getting canal water from the Goindwal minor distributory for the past three months. A litchi tree that has dried up due to shortage of water at an orchard in Fatehbad village, near Khadoor Sahib. — A Tribune photograph

BKU honours 100 farmers
Sangrur, April 30
After their release from the Sangrur, Bathinda and Patiala jails recently, 100 farmers were honoured by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) at a function at Gandhuan village yesterday.

ADMINISTRATION

Inside Babudom
More IPS officers needed, demands Punjab Police
Chandigarh, April 30
The top brass of the Punjab Police has sent in a demand that the state needs at least three directly recruited Indian Police Services (IPS) officers every year. Since 1998, the Union Government has been infrequent in its annual allocation of IPS officers to the Punjab cadre. At times just one officer is allocated to Punjab and on one occasion nobody was allocated.

CRIME

One killed, Rs 5,000 looted
Tarn Taran, April 30
Three unidentified persons looted Rs 5000 after killing Charanjit Singh (36), a farmer at Bhathal Sejha Singh village, 20 km from here, last night. The Sarhali police has registered a case under Section 460, IPC.

Man kills brother
Amritsar, April 30
Pal Singh of Haler village in the Ramdass area in Majitha police district killed his brother, Harpal Singh, over minor dispute. The police has registered a case under Section 302, IPC.

EDUCATION

Lecturer faces allegations of concealment of facts to PU
Chandigarh April 30
A Ludhiana-based lecturer selected to the post of the deputy registrar at Panjab University faces allegations of misrepresentation and concealment of facts to the university to secure the job.

Good communication skills a must, say linguists
Patiala, April 30
A function to mark the distribution of diploma certificates among successful teacher trainees was organised at the Northern Regional Language Centre (NRLC), Department of Ministry of Human Resource Development, at Punjabi University here today.

Dr Madhukar Anand performs at Punjabi University, Patiala, on Saturday. — Photo by Rajesh Sachar

World Dance Day celebrated at Punjabi University                          
Patiala, April 30
The World Dance Day, celebrated by the Punjabi University Dance Department, was marked by an innovative performance representing a “dialogue between ghungroo and tabla” by a noted dancer and disciple of Pandit Birju Maharaj, Dr Madhukar Anand, at the University’s Charlotte Auditorium here today.

Placement exercise at institute
Rajpura, April 30
In yet another massive placement exercise in the region, over 2500 students from 30 colleges yesterday reported at the Chitkara Institute of Engineering and Technology (CIET) for a joint placement programme of Birlasoft Limited at Jhansla, near here.

Farewell given to M.Com students
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 30
The outgoing batch of M.Com was given a warm send-off by M.Com first year students at Mata Gujri College on Friday. College Principal Gurmohan Singh Walia was the chief guest in the function. Summerjit Kaur welcomed the chief guest, staff members and senior outgoing students. Cultural programme was presented on this occasion.

Lecture on Prophet Mohammad
Sangrur, April 30
The Punjab circle of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind organised a lecture on the life of Prophet Mohammad on the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi in the complex of Prem Sabha Shishu Niketan High School here today. Mr Gurtej Singh, SDM, was the chief guest.

BUSINESS

Industrialists protest erratic power supply
Batala, April 30
Local industrialists under the banner of the Northern India Engineering Association hold a rally here on Friday in protest against the erratic power supply. The industrialists led their procession from Simble Chowk to Gandhi Chowk where they sit on dharna for about an hour and blocked the traffic.