J A L A N D H A R

Bathinda clash: Bitta sees Cong man’s hand

Jalandhar, May 15 Without naming anyone, All-India Anti-Terrorist Front president M.S. Bitta has alleged that a Congressman was behind the recent developments in Bathinda where Dera Sacha Sauda head Baba Gurmit Ram Rahim had allegedly tried to copy the ceremonies once performed by Guru Gobind Singh. All-India Anti-Terrorist Front president M.S. Bitta after “purifying” the statue of late Beant Singh and garlanding it, in Jalandhar on Tuesday. — Tribune photo by Pawan Sharma

200 fall ill after eating ‘langar’
Phagwara, May 15
Around 200 devotees, most of them women and children of Phagwara and its periphery, were taken ill due to food poisoning after they consumed 'langar' at a religious function in local Green Park locality this afternoon. All the affected were brought to various hospitals, including local civil hospital, where they were being treated.

SDM assures shifting of liquor shop
Phagwara, May 15
Phagwara SDM Amarjit Paul has assured agitating residents here that the controversial liquor shop will soon be shifted from the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road. The Punjab Brahmin Sabha and residents had been agitating against the existence of the liquor shop on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur chowk that leads to Mata Chintpurni, for past several months.

Railway staff submit memo to SSP
Jalandhar, May 15
Several railway employees submitted a memorandum to SSP Arpit Shukla to demand action against a railway contractor.They alleged that the contractor’s men kept on beating one or the other railway employee living in the railway colony quarters.

Bathinda clash: Bitta sees Cong man’s hand
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 15
Without naming anyone, All-India Anti-Terrorist Front president M.S. Bitta has alleged that a Congressman was behind the recent developments in Bathinda where Dera Sacha Sauda head Baba Gurmit Ram Rahim had allegedly tried to copy the ceremonies once performed by Guru Gobind Singh.

Talking to media persons here today, Bitta also held responsible the same Congressman for an attempt to dishonour late Chief Minister Beant Singh’s statue at BMC Chowk here by SAD (Amritsar) chief Simarnjeet Singh Mann and his supporters.

Saying that he would make public the name of the Congressman after five days, Bitta said Mann had tried to dishonour Beant Singh’s statue at the behest of that Congressman. He dared Mann to repeat the same not secretly but by declaring openly.

Bitta demanded that Mann should be booked on the sedition charge. He also demanded an inquiry into his funding and his alleged links with some militants. “If no probe was ordered in this regard, I would file a PIL in court to request it to issue directions to the Union Government to start a CBI inquiry against Mann,” Bitta added.

Despite repeated queries, he avoided to speak anything directly against the Sacha Sauda dera. He said that the reported attempt made by the dera chief to copy the ceremonies once performed by Guru Gobind Singh was wrong.

Terming the issue as sensitive, he said all the parties concerned should use utmost restraint to solve the issue as it was very sensitive one. He demanded an all-party meeting on the issue. Earlier he washed Beant Singh’s statue installed at BMC Chowk here with milk to purify it and garlanded it to pay his homage. 

200 fall ill after eating ‘langar’
Tribune News Service

Phagwara, May 15
Around 200 devotees, most of them women and children of Phagwara and its periphery, were taken ill due to food poisoning after they consumed 'langar' at a religious function in local Green Park locality this afternoon. All the affected were brought to various hospitals, including local civil hospital, where they were being treated.

When this correspondent visited the local civil hospital, discontentment was witnessed among the attendants of the affected persons.

Doctors attending the patients, including senior medical officer Dr Adarsh Sood, had a tough time to treat the ailing persons due to crowd of attendants and local residents who rushed to the hospitals on hearing the news of food poisoning to the devotees who had consumed langar at Dayanand Ashram on 'Sankaranti Day' today.

Though former minister Joginder Singh Mann, Phagwara SDM Amarjit Paul and DSP HPS Khakh rushed to the hospitals to enquire about the health of the ill persons, but Phagwara MLA and Punjab Cabinet Minister Swarna Ram could not be seen
anywhere.

This correspondent saw two newly wed couples among the ill persons admitted in civil hospital.

Shortage of beds was also observed in the hospital due to overcrowding of patients and some of them were seen being treated in waiting hall of the civil hospital.

When The Tribune visited private hospitals of the town, including Gandhi Hospital, Virk Hospital, GB Hospital, Aggarwal Hospital, Malhotra Hospital, Basra Hospital etc it was also observed that more than 60 patients with same symptoms were admitted for treatment.

Phagwara SDM Amarjit Paul who visited civil and private hospitals told that a four-member board consisting of SMO Dr Adarsh Sood, Naib Tehsildar Raj Kumar Nanda, DHO Dr S. Gill and SHO Sarwan Singh Bal would be constituted to investigate the matter if need be.

Meanwhile, ASI Gurmej Singh was sent to Dayanand Ashram who took the samples of the food supplied in langar, including dal, raita, chappatis, halwa and drinking water, were sent to civil hospital.

SMO Dr Sood told that about 45 patients were admitted in local civil hospital while several were discharged after the treatment.

SMO told that the condition of all patients was stable now. She said there was no casualty due to food poisoning

On the other hand Swami Dayanand while talking to newsmen said that more than 400 devotees had taken the langar.

She suspected that contaminated water supplied by Phagwara Nagar Council could be the cause behind food poisoning to the devotees.

Meanwhile, former Phagwara MLA Joginder Singh Mann and Shiv Sena, Punjab, vice-resident Pawan Parbhakar have demanded a high-level enquiry in 
the matter. 

SDM assures shifting of liquor shop
Tribune News Service

Phagwara, May 15
Phagwara SDM Amarjit Paul has assured agitating residents here that the controversial liquor shop will soon be shifted from the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road. The Punjab Brahmin Sabha and residents had been agitating against the existence of the liquor shop on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur chowk that leads to Mata Chintpurni, for past several months.

J.M. Balamurugan, deputy commissioner, Kapurthala, taking cognisance of a complaint filed by Devi Dyal Prashar, president, Brahmin Sabha, Punjab instructed Phagwara SDM Amarjit Paul to take action in this regard. The residents were assured by the SDM that the liquor shop would be shifted immediately. The Brahmin Sabha, Punjab, has urged the state government to shift the “most controversial” liquor shop located on the main Phagwara-Hoshiarpur Chowk here immediately.

The Brahmin Sabha in a letter addressed to Kapurthala DC, had complained that on a visit to Mata Chintpurni a country wine shop located on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur chowk was doing brisk business. The running of the wine shop on the said chowk hurt the sentiments of the residents, he added in his complaint. The Brahmin Sabha has also requested the DC to arrange for the relocation of the shop immediately.

Railway staff submit memo to SSP
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 15
Several railway employees submitted a memorandum to SSP Arpit Shukla to demand action against a railway contractor.

They alleged that the contractor’s men kept on beating one or the other railway employee living in the railway colony quarters.

The railway employees alleged that the contractor’s men had allegedly beaten up Ram Pal and Mangal Singh in a recent incident.

Subsequently, they went to police division number three to lodge an FIR but no policemen listened to them, they alleged. Following which they met the SSP who directed the police station concerned to take appropriate action in this regard.