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Recruitment scam in PRTC, 12 drivers expelled
Patiala, June 8 The PRTC authorities are taking prompt action and have expelled all 12 drivers who were recruited in the Sangrur depot through illegal means by a section of regular employees. These drivers kept plying buses for months and were paid salaries. Mr Gurinder Singh Grewal, Managing Director, PRTC, said he had got a probe conducted at all depots in the state so that such scandals could be detected. He said three officials—Mr Gurjant Singh, Duty Inspector, Mr Jagtar Singh, Sub-Inspector, and Mr Mohinder Singh, clerk—had been placed under suspension while Mr Iqbal Singh, the then GM of the depot had been chargesheeted. He said if it was found that a criminal case could be registered against these officials, the case would be registered. After further inquiry, they officials could be dismissed. These officials had been making money from unsuspected persons by carrying out recruitment illegally. How they used to pay them salaries could not be know yet. The scandal came to surface when Sukhvir Singh, who was recruited as driver by Mr Jagtar Singh, SI, got to know that his name was not in the official record of the PRTC after his bus met with an accident. He tried to settle the issue and claimed compensation. Sukhvir Singh, who had paid a bribe to get the job, moved a complaint to the MD in this regard. Some persons who were recruited illegally were former employees of the PRTC who had been expelled. Mr Iqbal Singh, former GM of Sangrur depot, said he had no role in the scandal. He alleged that the expelled drivers were put on duty by Jagtar Singh without his approval. He said after the scandal came to light, Jagtar Singh took the signatures of a section of expelled drivers on blank papers to use them for his advantage. Jagtar Singh, while denying the allegations, said Iqbal Singh had been trying to shift the blame on him.
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Staff crunch takes toll on Class XII results
Mansa, June 8 According to sources, there are 46 sanctioned posts of English lecturers in the district, of which 30 are lying vacant. The sources said the government had sought cases of MA pass English teachers for appointing them to the post of lecturers three years ago, but nothing had been done so far. Interestingly, despite the acute shortage of lecturers in senior secondary schools of Aklia, Ahlupur, Ubha, Akkawali, Bhame Kalan, Joga, Karandi, Mansa, Bhaini Bagha, Sardulgarh and Aria, their result was over 90 per cent. On the other hand, among the schools that faired badly were Raipur. Only nine students passed out of 54, Ramgarh Shahpuria 8 passed out of 25, Hangrial 2 out of 20, Kushla 6 out of 27, Bhikhi 25 out of 80 and Budhlada 10 out of 30. Among the schools whose students got maximum compartments included Jhunir where 77 out of 123 students got compartment. Similarly, the figure stood at 60 out of 118 in Boha. The convener of the Sikhia Bachao Committee, Mr Darshan Singh Dhillon, blamed the shortage of lecturers for poor result. He claimed that there was not even a single lecturer in senior secondary schools of Bakshiwal, Akkawali, Kularia, Kushla, Fatta Maleka, Karandi, Bhadra, Raipur and Ramgarhia Shahpuria. He sought immediate appointment of lecturers from master cadre so as to save precious years of students’ career.
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Minor boy joins thieves to lead luxurious life
Amritsar, June 8 Mr S.S Shrivastava, SSP, talking to the Tribune said here today that a disturbing trend was coming up in the society. youths were being misguided and juveniles were also being involved in nefarious activities which helped them to meet expenses of their luxurious habits and addiction. Besides Shubham, three others of the group spent Rs 400 each to colour their hair from an international-chain saloon. The gang was involved not only in pick pocketing, snatching, stealing luggages and valuables at religious and public places here but also at New Delhi and Jammu . Kiratpal Singh Sonu, a member of the gang, found orphan Shubham rambling at the Harmandar Sahib about four months ago. He offered Shubham to share his room, where other members of the group also stayed. A Class VII dropout, Shubham, said, “his job was to stand behind the person whose pocket
was to be picked as his tender age would deceive people”. Shubham said they executed their activities as per a proper plan following which all members covered the victim from all sides. After committing the crime the booty was immediately handed over to three different persons to take it to a distant place to eventually share it. The district police chief said they used to live life king size after committing the crime which included living in hotels, eating in best restaurants and shopping in reputed show rooms. They used to identify particular places and days for committing crime which depended on heavy rush. On Amavasya they used to go to harmandar Sahib, Wagah border on Sundays, New Delhi railway station, Jammu and here on other days. A sociologist said it was a result of an apparent fallout of excessive commercialism prevalent in society. Children chose the path of crime to obtain instant money for fulfilling their “dreams”. Mr Srivastava said other arrested persons were Balwinder Singh, alias Raja, Desraj, alias Desa, Kiranjit Singh, alias Chintu, Bhupinder Singh, alias Vicky, Kiratpal Singh, alias Sonu, Sandeep, Gopi, Ranjit Kumar and Akshay Kumar. They were today remanded to two-day police custody.
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Four held for parading woman naked
Abohar, June 8 Mr Arpit Shukla, SSP, said the police had been rushed to Rajasthan to nab other accused. Those arrested have been identified as Dona Singh, Sarup Singh, Sheila Bai and Preeto Bai. Ashok Singh, son of the victim, had earlier identified the culprits as Meeto Bai, Mohinder Singh, Manga Singh, Chhinda Singh, Hari Chand sarpanch, Guranditta, Dyal Singh and Sikandar Singh. The complainant had alleged that his mother Kartar Kaur and father Khushal Singh were taken to a house under the pretext of negotiation on a dispute relating to trespassing by their son Roopa Singh in the house of Mohinder Singh last week. Roopa Singh had not only denied the charge, but also blamed the daughter of Mohinder Singh for falsely implicating him to escape the exposure of her relationship with another man. Ashok Singh alleged that his father was locked in a room and those present in the house thrashed Khushal Singh and Kartar Kaur, tore her clothes and blackened her face before parading her naked in the village.
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Canada-based portal seeks justice for Jassi
Ludhiana, June 8 Due to slow extradition proceedings in India, a Canada-based portal has come forward to help in the case through its special section called ‘‘Justice for Jassi’’. Thousands of people have signed a petition on the net seeking Justice for Jassi, whose parents, the prime accused in the case, are yet to be tried in a court of law. The Canada -based Asianpacific Post is running the campaign for seeking justice in the case. The petition which is to be forwarded to the Canadian Government will seek the government intervention in the case so that the accused can be tried. There was such a wide spread outrage in Canada and other countries over the murder case that a special documentary was made on the subject. Besides, scores of mediapersons from Canada, the USA and other countries have been visiting Punjab to follow the story. Even some books are being written on the case. An NRI girl, Jaswinder Kaur, had come to India from Canada in 1995 to visit her relatives, she fell in love with a taxi driver Mithu and got married to him secretly in 1999. Soon after the girl left for Canada to arrange for their life in that country. However, her parents and relatives did not agree and she came back alone to live with her husband in 2000. The couple was then attacked by contract killer allegedly hired by the mother and uncle of the girl near Malerkotla in June, 2000. While Jaswinder kaur died in the attack, Mithu was seriously injured but survived.
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Punjab gets back FCI post
Prabhjot Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 8 Mr Sarvjit Singh, a 1992-batch IAS officer, will be the new SRM, FCI, Punjab Region. He will relieve Mr T.C. Gupta, an IAS officer from Haryana, of the additional charge. The post of SRM, Punjab, has remained mired in controversy and scandal for some time now. The previous incumbent from Punjab, Mr K. Siva Prasad (1993 batch) is now facing a CBI inquiry. He was appointed SRM in April, 2003. The CBI had conducted raids on his house in January this year. Earlier, he was relieved of his charge but not sent back to the parent state. The CBI had registered three cases against various officials, including technical assistants, assistant managers (quality control), district managers and Mr Siva Prasad under Sections 120-B and 420 of the IPC and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. While the Ministry of Food was keen on appointing an SRM from outside Punjab, the state government objected to it, maintaining that this post had been traditionally with Punjab-cadre officers. Even the previous Chief Secretary of Punjab, Mr Jai Singh Gill, who also remained Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the FCI, had worked as SRM, FCI, Punjab Region. The Centre, however, cited several cases of corruption and mismanagement in denying the Punjab-cadre officers this position for several months. Mr Sarvjit Singh was till recently Director, Rural Development and Panchayats, Punjab. Besides sending Mr Sarvjit Singh on deputation to the Government of India, another Punjab officer to get a central posting is Ms Kalpana Mittal Baruah. Ms Baruah, a 1985- batch officer, will be the Joint Secretary, Disinvestment, Government of India.
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Post office in damaged building
Bathinda, June 8 Sources said the roof caved in on Sunday night causing damage to the furniture and front office counter. The matter was reported to the Post Office Superintendent on the same day. Mr Makhan Lal, Divisional Secretary, All-India Postal Employees Union,said the Assistant Superintendent visited the site on Monday and asked the staff to resume work at the city post office. As the entire record was kept at Sirki Bazar, they returned to the sub-post office the next day to continue work in a room on its back side. Sub-post office in charge Surasti Devi also admitted that the Superintendent had asked them to continue work in the premises. Though the customers were still queuing up at the post office for their work, it was causing inconvenience to them. Mr Chander Mohan Ruby, a local resident, said: “The post office authorities should take urgent measures to set the things in order, as it had made work difficult for the staff as well as customers.” Superintendent RP Sharma said he had brought the matter to the notice of the circle office and the police. He said it was a rented accommodation. Suspecting foul play in the matter, he said they couldn’t shift the sub-post office immediately and added that they were in touch with the landlord through the police to sort out the matter.
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Rs 990 cr for water, sewerage, says minister
Hoshiarpur, June 8 He said it would be ensured in the second of scheme that none of the city/town of Punjab remained without basic civic amenities. In the third phase, damaged roads of all cities and towns would be repaired. Besides, street lights would also be provided. A sum of Rs 600 crore was being spent on providing infrastructural facilities in rural and urban areas of state. Ch Jagjit Singh said a dedicated fund of Rs 4.50 crore had been created for making regular monthly payments under social security schemes. Back-log of the pensions had also been cleared for the first time in Punjab. He said 50 cities and towns in Punjab were being covered under the Municipal Development Project. Besides, 50 cities and towns were being covered for providing 100 per cent water supply and sewerage facilities. Ch Jagjit Singh handed over cheques of Rs 1.85 crore under the Punjab Nirman Project and Rs 58 lakh under the Municipal Development Fund to the Municipal Council, Hoshiarpur. He also provided a cheque of Re 10 lakh to Mr Ram Lubhaya, MLA, for providing water supply in Shamchaurasi segment of the district.
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Police ‘releases’ truck impounded by excise officials
Patiala, June 8 Discontentment and disappointment gripped excise officials when they came to know that the police had performed the vanishing trick allegedly under pressure of a senior IPS officer of Punjab. Following the incident, the excise authorities are left confused about how to handle the situation. They are of the opinion that how they can seek help from the police when the police “itself” has done the job. Information gathered by the TNS revealed that a private truck belonging to a transport company, known for its illegal activities, was impounded by a team of the enforcement wing with the help of policemen belonging to the CIA police station for evading sales tax while the truck was being unloaded at a godown in the transport area here today. After impounding the truck, two Excise and Taxation Officers (ETOs) parked the truck on the premises of the police station and informed the authorities there. After some time, the ETOs started getting messages from the police station that the truck had to be released following pressure from a senior IPS officer. When contacted, Mr Kuldeep Kumar, Additional Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Enforcement), Punjab, said after he came to know about the incident he immediately sent Director, Investigation, Excise and Taxation, to the police station to take stock of the situation. But by the time he reached the police station, the policemen had already released the truck without informing the officials of the enforcement wing, he added. He said he had sought a detail report from the ETOs and would write to the higher authorities for taking action in this connection. When asked if the department would get a criminal case registered in this connection, he said who would register the case on the complaint of department officials when the policemen themselves facilitated the escape of the truck. On the other hand, Mr Manjeet Singh Brar, SHO, CIA police station, said a truck was impounded by the police on a tip-off that it might be carrying poppy husk. He added that truck was taken to the police station, which was later released when nothing was found after a thorough search. He said no truck impounded by the excise officials was parked on the premises of the police station. However, when Mr Brar was asked about the registration number of the truck, which was searched by the policemen on the suspicion of carrying poppy husk, he said he did not remember the number. When asked that whether he himself participated in the search of the truck, he said his staff members carried out the search and that was a genuine one. Meanwhile, a section of excise officials pointed out such incidents that too in the home town of the Chief Minister was uncalled for and bound to hamper their performance and faith in the system.
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Commissioner, Mayor tiff hits development work
Patiala, June 8 To arrest the damage being done to the party by the tiff going on between Mr Sharma and Mr Alhuwalia, at the earliest, keeping in mind the coming assembly elections, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has summoned both Mr Sharma and Mr Alhuwalia tomorrow for a meeting with them to sort out the matter. Information gathered by TNS revealed that Capt Amarinder Singh took this decision today after a section of councillors owing allegiance to Mr Sharma and Mr Alhuwalia met him separately in his private residence here with their complaints and problems. Capt Amarinder Singh listened to both the parties patiently but did not express any opinion over the situation. For the past many days, the Municipal Corporation was being used as a battle ground and the tiff between Mr Alhuwalia and Mr Sharma started affecting the development works in this erstwhile princely town represented by the Chief Minister. Information revealed that Capt Amarinder Singh was feeling helpless over the development, which had been taking place in the Municipal Corporation affairs. Mr Alhuwalia was the fifth Commissioner to Municipal Corporation ever since he became chief minister of Punjab. Mr Sharma, when contacted, said that about 32 municipal councillors, who met Chief Minister today, complained to him that Mr Alhuwalia had not been implementing the decision taken by the general house and finance and construction committee (F and CC). Instead of implementing the decisions, Mr Alhuwalia had been opposing the same. He added that not only this, Mr Alhuwalia had also transferred 31 employees of the municipal corporation without consulting him and without taking his consent despite the fact that state government had given clear instructions that every transfer, which the commissioner of any municipal corporation would do, would be in consultation with the commissioner. He said he had cancelled all the transfers of employees made by Mr Alhuwalia.
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PSEB imposes weekly off on industry
Patiala, June 8 According to a press note, the weekly off for Amritsar (city and suburban) and Nawashahar will be on Monday, for Gurdaspur and Ferozepur on Tuesday while for Faridkot, Hoshiarpur and Sangrur the weekly off will be on Wednesday. It added that for Ludhiana (suburban), Muktsar and Tarn Taran the off will be on Thursday, for Ropar and Bathinda on Friday. For Mohali and Kapurthala Saturday will be observed as the off while for Patiala, Khanna (barring Mandi Gobindgarh) and Jalandhar Sunday has been kept as the off. However, the weekly off will not be applicable on industrial consumers being fed through rural AP feeders.
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Road blocked over petrol price hike
Rajpura, June 8 Hundreds of vehicles and commuters were put to a lot of inconvenience as they were stranded on the road in the sweltering heat. The protesters squatted on the road and did not allow the vehicles to pass through the road. Addressing the protesters, Mr Surjit Singh Garhi, executive member of the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), alleged that the Congress governments had a history of pursuing “anti-people” policies. The hike in the petroleum prices would push the essential commodities out of the reach of the common man, he alleged. Coming down heavily on the Punjab Government, Mr Garhi alleged that the development works had come to a standstill in the wake of the “lopsided policies” followed by the government.
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Children’s quarrel turns ugly
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 8 According to information available, Gurpreet Singh (13), son of an ASI posted in the CRPF, and his neighbourhood friend, Sukha (11), son of Karam Singh Ghola, a farmer had a quarrel while playing a few days ago. Ms Ranbir Kaur, mother of Gurpreet Singh, alleged that on the night of June 5 she was beaten up by the father of Sukha, and Balbir Singh, his uncle. She further alleged that on the morning of June 6, her son was taken away forcibly by the two and beaten up mercilessly. When contacted, Mr Balbir Singh, uncle of Sukhi, alleged that Gurpreet had beaten their child mercilessly following which he was treated by a private doctor. A case has been registered against Balbir Singh, Karam Singh and Gurdev Singh.
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Badal to lead jatha to Pak
Amritsar, June 8 Mr Navjot Singh Sidhu, BJP MP from Amritsar, was also expected to join the jatha scheduled to cross over to Pakistan on June 12. The Pakistan Government has given permission to 200-member token jatha to join in the nagar kirtan. The SGPC is making elaborate arrangements for the jatha.
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BKU activists hold dharna
Abohar, June 8 The police cordoned off the house, but the BKU activists, including women and children, managed to get past it. They also blocked traffic for some time. The BKU had earlier submitted a memorandum to the Congress legislators, giving an ultimatum for the dharna today. The union lamented that the police had unearthed a godown allegedly used for preparing spurious Bt cotton seed in Gopal Nagar Colony last month but neither the owner of the godown nor the farmer and husband of a sarpanch who had hired the godown had been arrested. A senior sales officer of a seed manufacturing company, who allegedly connived with the farmer, was also moving freely. The BKU said despite repeated requests by Agricultural Officers, the police took five days to register an FIR but even then the accused were not booked under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act and Section 420, IPC. Union leaders said the ego clash among three Congress legislators was responsible for the poor law and order situation in the subdivision. The BKU said the wrong agriculture and loan policies of the government were responsible for economic disaster in the farming sector. Most of the farmers were not in a position to repay the loans. The government had not followed the price index of 1967 properly. The government should write off loans due to farmers, the union said. The activists urged the UPA government to fix the minimum support price for cotton at Rs 3,500 per quintal. The union later staged a dharna outside the commercial establishment of Mr Sunil Jakhar, MLA. His brother Sajjan Kumar, vice- president, PPCC, assured office- bearers of the BKU that their grievances would be conveyed to the Chief Minister and the PPCC President.
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Traffic blocked against DC’s ‘behaviour’
Hoshiarpur, June 8 They were protesting against the attitude of the Deputy Commissioner, who kept them waiting outside his office for more than 20 minutes when they went there to submit a memorandum to be forwarded to the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India for imposing a complete ban on the screening of “The Da Vinci Code.” Mr Lawrance Chaudhry said a deputation of the CFP went to the office of the Deputy Commissioner to submit him a memorandum regarding the complete ban on the screening of the controversial film “The Da Vinci Code” at about 1 pm. They were told to wait for five minutes. When they again approached the PA to Deputy Commissioner after five minutes, they were again told to wait for 15 minutes more. After the expiry of 15 minutes, when they were not called inside the office, they walked out from the premises under protest and raised slogans against the Deputy Commissioner. Later they blocked the vehicular traffic in front of the mini secretariat. The SDM approached and asked them that Deputy Commissioner was busy in hearing a case and now he was available in his office, but they demanded that the Deputy Commissioner should come there to collect the memorandum. After about two hours, the Deputy Commissioner came there and the memorandum was presented to him. The blockade was lifted and the traffic resumed.
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MC gets regular president after 14 months
Sangrur, June 8 On the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr V.K. Bhalla, additional secretary, Local Government, Punjab, today conducted the election at PUDA Bhawan, Mohali. Talking to The Tribune today, Mr Ranbir Singh, Executive Officer (EO) of the Municipal Council, said Ms Punia, Mr Moti Lal and Ms Bhagwanti were unanimously elected president, senior Vice-President and Vice-President, respectively of the council at the meeting. Ms Rana is an Independent Councillor, while Mr Moti Lal and Ms Bhagwanti are the Congress and the BJP members, respectively.
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Mann seeks permission to visit Pak
Chandigarh, June 8 Mr Mann has stated that he wants to visit Pakistan in connection with the procession to be taken out from Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore, to mark the 400 years of the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev. In his petition, Mr Mann has also prayed that his passport, which is in the custody of the Amritsar police in connection with a case of sedition against him, be returned to him to allow him to make the journey.
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SHO, ASI among 7 cops booked
Abohar, June 8 According to information, Mr Jagir Singh of a village near Sangria had moved an application with the judicial court there against the police officials. He alleged that the police party, led by Jagrup Singh, came to his house in a Tata Sumo in the wee hours on May 13 and took away his brother Mithu Singh. He further said the police wanted to mount pressure to force the brother-in-law of Mithu Singh, who had been named in the FIR registered in connection with a murder near Fazilka. Mithu Singh was allegedly kept in illegal custody at the Ruhrianwali police post and tortured. He was finally released on May 18. Interestingly, the Sangria police denied that the raiding police party from Fazilka had taken their assistance. The case has been registered
under directions of the court.
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3 killed in road mishaps
Hoshiarpur, June 8 Sarabjit Singh of Rama Mandi (Jalandhar) died when a truck hit a bus (PB-07P-8454) in which he was going to Jalandhar, near the Piplanwala area here last evening. Naresh Kumar of Doraha village succumbed to his injuries on the way to the DMC, Ludhiana, last night. Sources said that he was injured when a tipper (PB-07D-7177) hit his motor cycle (PB-08-A4-7349) near Balbir Colony. Ramandeep Singh of Kadiana succumbed to his injuries at the Civil Hospital here last night. He was wounded when his motor cycle (PB-07B-5004) skidded near Bainstani while he was coming to Hoshiarpur from his village.
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SGPC move to reinstate Dr Dhaliwal runs into rough weather
Ludhiana, June 8 In a letter addressed to SGPC president Avtar Singh, who is also the president of the Guru Ram Das Charitable Hospital Trust, Dr Walia has said, “I wish to put on record that faculty’s morale is at the lowest ebb in view of Dr Dhaliwal’s anticipated reinstatement brushing aside overwhelming evidences against him.The faculty apprehends that the same vicious cycle of victimisation, coercion to pass and fail students and rude/arrogant behaviour will once again become the order of the day”. Dr Walia has appealed to Mr Avtar Singh and Mr Prakash Singh Badal “to visit the Institute, students’ hostels and interact with faculty, employees and students to have first hand knowledge about Dr Dhaliwal’s behaviour and conduct throughout his service here”. The Director-Principal has also accused one of the members of the committee, Dr Kripal Singh Chugh of shielding Dr Dhaliwal and justifying his actions although these were contrary to the precedents and resolutions of the trust. He said in his letter, “Dr Chugh is in serious error and he is not appreciating the position in its correct perspective”. Dr Walia remarked in his letter to Mr Avtar Singh “I have no axe to grind in the affairs connected with the ongoing enquiry against Dr US Dhaliwal, suspended Director Principal, because I am retiring from service next month. But I shall be failing in my duty if I do not apprise of what happened during the enquiry committee meeting held on June 5,2006”.
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Dharna by ITI employees, students
Hoshiarpur, June 8 Mr Iqbal Singh, zonal president, said memorandums along with their charter of demands from all ITIs in the state had been sent to the department concerned and the government, but no response had been received in this connection. State unit secretary Harvinder Bhardwaj called private ITIs commercial shops where poor students were being exploited. Mr Jaspal Singh Virk, condemned the centre of excellency scheme. He alleged that some of the officers of the department wanted to implement this scheme only to consume Rs 9.6 crore. Mr Sunil Sharma urged the Chief Minister to accept the genuine demands of the employees.
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3-member panel to probe teachers’ posting
Amritsar, June 8 Mr Sarvesh Kaushal, Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of School Education, issued a communiqué to this effect here to the media. The three members who constitute the committee are Mr R. Venkatratnam, IAS, Special Secretary, Department of Education, as its Chairman and Ms Seema Jain, Director, General School Education, and Mr Bant Singh, Under Secretary, Department of School Education, as its members. The communiqué further said the committee was constituted after a section of the media had reported irregularities in the posting of teachers at the level of the DPI (Secondary Education), Circle Education Officers (secondary education) and District Education Officers (secondary education). It said as the allegations were vague and not specific so a suo motu action was not practical. It urged all employees of the education department that any such specific complaint of corruption supported by an affidavit be presented by the aggrieved employee personally to the chairman of the committee on any working day at his office on the fourth floor, Punjab Mini-Secretariat, Sector 9, Chandigarh.
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BA/BSc (III) results today
Amritsar, June 8
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