Jalandhar, September 19
The CIA staff of the district police suspects involvement of some Indian Oil, RPF officials and policemen in the theft of petrol from a goods train near Suchi Pind railway station on the intervening night of August 26 and 27.Talking to The Tribune, superintendent of police (Detective) Paramvir Singh Parmar said petrol cannot be stolen from a stationery train without involvement of some officials.

However, he said, the picture would be clear only after the arrest of the three accused - Sudhir Kapoor alias Billa of Ambika Colony, Surinder Kumar of Chohkan village and Parmajeet alias Pammi of Phagwara - named in the FIR.

The FIR was registered on the statement of ASI Lakhbir Singh, under sections 420, 379, 285 and 120 B of IPC at Sadar police station on August 27. Interestingly a separate FIR was also lodged in this regard at the RPF thana. The investigation was handed over to the CIA staff but no accused has been arrested till now.

Parmar said the possible hide-outs of the three absconding accused were being raided. “They would soon be put behind bars and the names of the suspected officials would also be known after their interrogation,” he added.

Notably, the fuel theft from rail tankers, attached to goods trains, had been going on for the past several months. The theft came to light last month when the pump, with the help of which the petrol was being transferred from the tanker to a truck (bearing number PB 05 A 9702), accidentally caught fire.

Jalandhar, September 19
It’s high time that a commission headed by a sitting Supreme Court judge is appointed to apportion the blame to those responsible for the rise of militancy in Punjab, the number of innocent youth killed by the police and the use of extra-judicial measures adopted to contain the problem.

President of Akali Dal 1920 Ravi Inder Singh, talking to mediapersons today, said the matter should be settled once and for all so that the dark chapter in the history of the state was put behind. The matter was once again at the centre stage following the arrest of DGP S.S. Virk.

Only a commission could name the key players and those who operated behind the scenes to orchestrate violence and were now reaping rich dividends, he pointed out.

He said the scope of the commission should also include the number of persons tortured and killed, whose properties were destroyed or confiscated or those who were forced to flee the country fearing state persecution.

Condemning the vindictive policy allegedly being pursued by the Badals, he said political opponents were being targeted and were being framed in false cases. Many such cases had been registered against senior leaders of their party, he added.

The former Speaker alleged that the CM had reneged on his poll promise of waiving the debt of the farmers. This had been done in deference to the BJP and the influential arhtiya lobby. The matter of waiver had also not been taken up with the Centre, he said.

The government had hiked the registration fee of lands that had affected the farmers. The sale and purchase of land had gone down and the government revenue taken a dip, he said. He said new office-bearers of the party would be announced soon.

Jalandhar, September 19
The police succeeded in persuading a resident of Jaitowali village to postpone the proposed wedding of his minor daughter till she tuned a major. When contacted, Sadar SHO Tarsem Singh said the minor girl’s father Joginder Pal was unaware of the law under which wedding of a girl below 18 years was prohibited.

The man was told about the law and that a case could be registered against him and his family members if he went ahead with the wedding of his minor daughter, said the SHO.Joginder Pal assured the police that he would not marry his daughter Jaswinder Kaur (16) and would tell the would-be bridegroom’s family not to bring the “barat” to his house.

The SHO said no action was taken against the girl’s father and other persons as they had agreed not to marry Jaswinder Kaur till she attained the age of 18.

The SHO said the police received an anonymous call about the proposed wedding of the minor girl on Wednesday.

Joginder Pal works as a labourer and has five daughters. Jaswinder Kaur is his second daughter whose wedding was fixed with Jassa of Jethupur village in Aadampur.

Jalandhar, September 19
The International Human Rights Organisation (IHRO) and its affiliate, the Sikh Affairs Coordination, today rebuked all those political and apolitical leaders who were playing with the sentiments of the people in the name of Lord Rama whose entity has been questioned in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court by the government.

IHRO chairperson D.S. Gill said he had forwarded a research paper prepared by its coordinator (Sikh Affairs) G.S. Lamba to the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to take into consideration their viewpoint on this issue and recommend prosecution of the erring individuals for injuring religious beliefs and sentiments of both Hindus and Sikhs under section 295-A of the IPC. Lamba, a Sikh scholar and jurist, has put forth the outfit’s view based on Gurbani in his research paper quoting: “Ram katha jug jug atal”(Guru Gobind Singh in Ramavtar), meaning the story of Rama is immortal.

Guru Granth Sahib has respectfully canonised the names of the mythological gods, goddesses, etc., preaching that all sang praises of him at his doorstep. Gurmat is unequivocally clear about the belief that the only entity to be worshipped is the “One” who does not take birth and does not come in any form, said Lamba in his paper.He adds that Gurmat does not object if Akal Purakh is remembered by the name of Rama, Krishna or the likes, but it certainly shall not equate Rama or Krishna as God and, thus, the row whether Guru Granth Sahib has references to Rama or not is nothing but a politics of intrigue aimed at electoral gains to the dismay of both religious communities, Gill added.

The issue whether Rama is a mythological, historical or a fictional figure has divided North and South and even the Hindu scholars. The divide over the status of Rama and Ravana, too, is visible. Whereas in the North, Rama is revered, the same status is not conferred on him in the South, he points out. 

Jalandhar/ Amritsar, September 19
The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Punjab has flayed the decision of the government to levy luxury tax on the hotel and restaurant industry in the state. P.S. Budhiraja, president of the association, said the decision was unfair since the trade was in a shambles due to the almost non-existent inflow of tourists. The occupancy rate was less than 30 per cent at any given time as compared to other states in the region, he added. He said only businessmen came to Punjab and for that they were already paying a VAT of 12.5 per cent as compared to 4 per cent by Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand hotels. Any additional tax would hit them, he pointed out. Meanwhile,the Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association has condemned the recent decision of the Punjab government to slap an additional 10 per cent luxury tax on double bedroom charges above Rs 2,000.

AHRA general secretary AP Chatha, in a release issued to the press, said hospitality industry was already suffering due to a drastic drop in the inflow of tourists in the last few months.

He said since the state government has already levied a 12.5 per cent VAT in comparison to 4 per cent in neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, the additional burden of luxury tax makes no sense.

“The government should have brought down VAT to 4 per cent before levying a new tax to ensure that the hotel industry was not overburdened.

On one hand government is issuing statements that tourism industry would be given boost, but on the other it was levying taxes on the industry which was already facing the heat,” he added. He urged the government to take immediate steps to bail out the industry. 

Kapurthala, September 19
Deputy Commissioner J.M. Balamurugan suspended two Mandi Board employees as they were found absent from their duty during his visit to different grain markets in the district on Wednesday.

According to an official spokesperson, the suspended employees are supervisor of Lakhan Ke Padde grain market Malook Singh and auction recorder of Ibrahimwal grain market Surjan Singh.

Besides, the DC also suspended the licence of the Nadala Trading Company as the weight of paddy filled sacks was found more than it should have been.

Three sacks were weighed and their weight was found 800, 700 and 600 gm more.

Balamurugan directed officials concerned to make arrangements for the basic facilities in different mandis of the district.

Batala, September 19
The 519th marriage anniversary of Guru Guru Nanak Dev was celebrated here today with great religious fervour. A nagar kirtan was held in the main bazaars of the town on the occasion.

As per tradition, a “barat” consisting of thousands of devotees led by a beautifully decorated palanquin carrying Guru Granth Sahib arrived at Batala on Tuesday night from Sultanpur Lodhi, the native place of Guru Nanak Dev.

The “barat” was accommodated at Gurdwara Dera Sahib on Wednesday morning. The bridegroom, led by Guru Granth Sahib, reached Gurdwara Kandh Sahib and the religious ceremonies were held in the traditional style of “anand karaj”.

The bride, Bibi Sulakhani, was married to Guru Nanak Dev 519 years ago and the marriage anniversary is celebrated at Batala, the native place of the bride. Traditional “sithnian” and “ghorian” were recited during the marriage ceremony. — OC