J A L A N D H A R

POLL POURRI
Tony gets stay, will contest poll
He has to pay Rs 29 lakh as dues: MC officials

Jalandhar, August 1 A two-time independent MC councillor, Joginder Singh Tony, whose nomination papers for the forthcoming civic polls had been rejected yesterday, managed to get the orders revoked through the Punjab and Haryana High Court today.

Deputy commissioner Ajit Singh Pannu informs media persons about the MC poll arrangements in Jalandhar on Wednesday.— Tribune photo by Pawan Sharma

Tribune Impact 
New connections: PSEB installing transformers
Nawanshahr, August 1
The Punjab State Electricity Board has started installing new transformers to facilitate the demand for new electricity connections in the town.

Nine booked for stealing vehicles 
Phagwara, August 1
Nine persons, including one who had filed nomination papers in the last Beas assembly elections, have been booked under sections 392, 379, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and under the Arms Act on the charges of stealing vehicles and then selling them after preparing fake documents in the market last night.

Atta-Dal 
38,500 families identified
Kapurthala, August 1
As many as 38,500 families will benefit in the district with the proposed scheme of providing wheat flour and pulses at cheaper rates by Prakash Singh Badal led SAD-BJP government. The scheme will be launched at the Independence Day. Deputy commissioner, JM Balamurugan, said Food and Supplies department had already prepared as many as 38,500 blue ration cards for the district. 

Drug peddling: JE among 3 held 
Phagwara, August 1
The police has arrested three members of an inter state gang of drug smugglers, including one junior engineer of the electricity board.

Poll Pourri
Tony gets stay, will contest poll
He has to pay Rs 29 lakh as dues: MC officials 
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 1
A two-time independent MC councillor, Joginder Singh Tony, whose nomination papers for the forthcoming civic polls had been rejected yesterday, managed to get the orders revoked through the Punjab and Haryana High Court today.

Tony had managed to get a conditional NOC from the joint commissioner of MC on July 30, the day he filed his nomination papers. The NOC was said to be revoked a day later with MC officials claiming Tony was a defaulter as he was supposed to pay Rs 29 lakh as his dues.

During the scrutiny of nominations yesterday, Tony’s papers were rejected by RO-cum-SDM-II, Kulbir Singh. Tony then put up his petition through his counsel before the court of judges K.S. Garewal and S.N. Aggarwal. His plea was heard and an order for reconsideration of the matter was passed to the RO today. After receiving the copy in the office, ARO-cum-ADC Ashok Sikka, said Tony could now fight election. A notice of motion has been passed for August 16.

Meanwhile, the objection raised by the RO was that Tony’s NOC had been revoked by the MC as he was to the pay dues for a market building at Rainak Bazaar. But Tony claimed that he no longer owns the building as it was sold off three years ago. “My liability is over and if MC has an objection, the notice should now go to the new owner,” he said.

The move is being seen as an attempt by his rivals to keep Tony out of race. There have been allegations that a senior BJP leader whose right hand man was also contesting from the seat was trying to making things difficult for Tony.

Even today, Tony had to face hardships for getting a symbol. Though the time allotted for the purpose was 3.20 pm, he and his supporters had to struggle for it, take several rounds in the administrative complex and wait outside the office for over three hours to get his job done.

The RO, when contacted in the evening, said he has yet to go through the copy of stay orders and after that a symbol to would be issued to Tony. “I was busy with meetings earlier”, he added.

Nominations withdrawn

Amit Taneja, a BJP worker, who had filed his nomination papers from Ward 45 against Kamaljit Singh Bhatia, an Akali candidate, today withdrew his nomination ending a fight between the alliance parties. He was reportedly instigated to fight MC poll by a senior BJP leader against whom an Akali nominee would contest independently. Meanwhile, several candidates withdrew their nominations today.

In fact around 21 nominations were withdrawn from Wards 21 to 30 from the office of SDM-I Bhupinder Singh. Similarly, 20 candidates also withdraw their nominations, contesting from Ward 31 to 40, from the office of SDM-II Kulbir Singh.

However, nominations filed by 32 candidates were rejected out of 406 contenders by the six ROs yesterday. According to the ARO-cum-ADC Sikka 374 candidates were left in fray after the scrutiny of nominations.

Infighting rampant

Infighting within the Congress and BJP is likely to cause a major dent on the outcome of the two parties. Akalis, which seem to be relatively comfortable on this front as the local leaders have professionally managed in gratifying their rebel candidates.

While a senior BJP leader is said to be working against party candidate from Ward 30, Amarjit Singh Amri, a Congress man close to former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, is said to be working against Rajinder Berry, a Congress candidate from the same ward. Even a senior Congress leader from Jalandhar North is said to be supporting BJP candidate Rakesh Rathore from Ward 20 after his own nominees were not given a party ticket from the ward. Former Congress mayor Surinder Mahey has been quite vocal on the issue saying he would show his back to the candidates who have been given a ticket by former Congress MLA Mahinder Singh Kaypee. Similarly, the BJP district president Shiv Dyal Chugh fighting from Ward 33 and who is also in the fray for MC mayor is also facing a revolt from within his party and the alliance party with Akali leader, Harbhajan Singh Multani, fighting from the same seat.

Tribune Impact 
New connections: PSEB installing transformers
Parmod Bharti

Nawanshahr, August 1
The Punjab State Electricity Board has started installing new transformers to facilitate the demand for new electricity connections in the town.

The board has installed a new transformer at Friends Colony and the process in Pandora Mohalla, Vikas Nagar, New Teachers Colony and Bakker Khana Road has also been started.

The transformers would be installed soon and the connections would be released immediately after making the newly installed transformers operational, said senior PSEB officials.

Earlier, the PSEB authorities have been delaying the installation of transformers on the excuse of shortage of requisite material and staff.

About 100 applicants have been waiting for their turn to get electricity connection but the PSEB has been denying them the same as the transformers in their localities have already become overloaded. The Tribune has also highlighted this problem in an article ‘Residents fret as PSEB dilly-dallies’ dated July 17. 

Nine booked for stealing vehicles 

Phagwara, August 1
Nine persons, including one who had filed nomination papers in the last Beas assembly elections, have been booked under sections 392, 379, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and under the Arms Act on the charges of stealing vehicles and then selling them after preparing fake documents in the market last night.

This was stated by DSP H.P.S. Khakh while talking to this correspondent here this evening. He said the booked persons were Jasbir Singh, alias Jassa, resident of Sudhar village (who had filed nomination papers in the last Beas assembly elections), Bhupinder Singh, alias Bhinda, resident of Baba Bakala, Harpinder Singh, alias Happy, resident of Tilak Nagar, Delhi, presently residing at Bhalojala village, Randheer Singh, alias Dheera, resident of Buttar, Jaswinder Singh, alias Sindh, resident of Budha Theh, Santokh Singh, resident of Jheree Nangal village, Batala, Tony, resident of Sandhar village, Bhundi, resident of Khalchian, Swaranjit Singh, alias Happy, resident of Jeet Nagar, Beas.

DSP Khakh said the gang was operating in many states and stealing vehicles from different towns. The gang, with the help of one gang member, Randhir Singh, who was reportedly working as a clerk at a government office in Baba Bakala, prepared fake documents of these stolen vehicles, which were later sold in the market.

The DSP said the gang members attempted to sell some stolen vehicles in the town but when a few citizens got suspicious, the gang members escaped. — OC 

Atta-Dal 
38,500 families identified
Dharmendra Joshi
Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, August 1
As many as 38,500 families will benefit in the district with the proposed scheme of providing wheat flour and pulses at cheaper rates by Prakash Singh Badal led SAD-BJP government. The scheme will be launched at the Independence Day. Deputy commissioner, JM Balamurugan, said Food and Supplies department had already prepared as many as 38,500 blue ration cards for the district. Free wheat flour and pulses would be provided to blue ration card holders only, he added. Distribution of blue rations cards among the beneficiary families had already begun, he said. Over one-fourth of the total cards had been distributed and the remaining would be distributed within the next few days, he added.

District food and supplies controller, Gulbahar Singh, said arrangements for wheat flour and pulses to be given to beneficiary families in the district have already been made. 

Drug peddling: JE among 3 held 
Our Correspondent

Phagwara, August 1
The police has arrested three members of an inter state gang of drug smugglers, including one junior engineer of the electricity board.

The police also seized one kg heroine worth Rs one crore from their possession on Tuesday. DSP H.P.S. Khakh said one of the accused has been identified as Darshan Singh, a resident of Ogar village in Gurdaspur, posted in Jalandhar as assistant junior engineer. The other accused have been identified as Jaswinder Paul and his brother Jatinder Paul, residents of Central Town. The accused were arrested near Bhogpur on Tuesday.

Giving details about the arrest, DSP Khakh told during police interrogations, the three accused have confessed their crimes. In his confession the assistant junior engineer Darshan Singh revealed that he came in contact with Bhushan Lal of Jammu, a drug peddler, through another villager Malkiat Singh.

Meanwhile, Darshan also contacted, the two brothers, Jaswinder and Jatinder, who were selling medicines. Darshan Singh with the help of Bhushan Lal organised a gang of drug smugglers and brought a consignment of heroine to sell in the market.

The police nabbed the accused when they were in the search of the customers. A case has been registered against them, while the other gang members were still absconding.