Kapurthala, October 3
Less than three weeks of an attack on a police party in Bhut village, the Kapurthala district cops had to again bear the wrath of miscreants when a PCR team was assaulted by two persons in Lahori Gate area on Tuesday evening.

According to police sources, the two-member PCR team, including head constable Ram Jeewan and constable Ranjit Singh rushed to a shop in Lahori Gate after receiving a wireless message that two persons had attacked one of the shops in the area. When the cops reached the spot, they saw the two accused, identified as Kooki Pehelwan of Malkana locality and his nephew Sonu, fleeing the spot. The policemen followed the accused and were about to nab the duo when near Baba Telu Shah Di Kutia the latter suddenly attacked them.

The cops received multiple bruises on their body. Constable Ranjit Singh’s uniform was also torn in the attack. To add to the insult, the accused managed to run away. None of them could be arrested till filing of the report.

An FIR under sections 332, 353 and 186 of IPC has been registered at city police station on the statement of constable Ranjit Singh. A separate case has been registered against the accused for issuing threats and forcibly entering a shop in Lahori Gate area on the complaint of Baljit Kaur, an area resident.

Notably, on September 16, over 15 persons had pelted a six-member police team with stones when the latter had gone to the native village of a proclaimed offender to arrest him. As many as three cops were injured in the incident.

When contacted, SSP Rakesh Agarwal said the two incidents were isolated ones. “The accused in both the cases have been booked under stringent sections and they would be behind bars soon,” he added.

Jalandhar, October 3
HIV positive persons took part in a meeting held to discuss the problems faced by them and find their solutions. As many as 10 women and two men discussed issues to take them up with the government at the meeting organised by the Voluntary Health Organisation of Punjab (VHAP) under the banner of NGO Kiran here today.

Coordinator for the programme Sarbjit Singh said he planned to start a marriage bureau for HIV positive persons to help them find a companion in life. “We are also taking down their common demands like free travel in buses, more ART centres in the state, starting a second line of treatment and bringing them under the atta-dal scheme,” said VHAP executive director Manmohan Sharma.

The patients heard one another recounting problems faced by them socially, ranging from the indifference shown by their kin, denial of their right to spouse’s property, social boycott, financial problems and uncertainty over future of their children.

A 45-year-old woman, who lives with her elderly parents here, disclosed how her life changed a decade ago.

“We were well-settled in Mumbai. My businessman husband often travelled to Germany. We had a daughter who was just a toddler when my husband passed away. The doctors had detected him to be HIV positive after tests conducted in his last days. Later, I and my daughter were also found to be HIV positive,” she said.

“My parents brought me back here. We both were on medication that cost us nearly Rs 7,000 per month. I improved a lot but my daughter remained frail. Destiny snatched her away from me a few years back. I felt very lonely when a friend suggested that I should marry someone who too is HIV positive. My second husband was drug-addict so I have moved papers for a divorce,” she said. Now she counsels people going through the same trauma at the Anti-Retrovirus Treatment (ART) centre, Gurdaspur.

The widow of an Army jawan, in her early 30s, another participant recounting her story, said, “My in-laws showed me the door the day my husband died of AIDS four years back.

My husband died after having served the Army for eight years but the officials are not ready to give me widow pension. I had a four-month-old child who too passed away because of the disease he had inherited from us. I am living with my parents at Chhapar village in Ludhiana who too are finding it difficult to bear my daily expenses.”

Another woman said she was a graduate and was desperately looking for a job. A widow now she said, “I am living with my ageing parents but I do not want to be burden on them. I have not disclosed them about the disease, for I do not want them to be tense about me,” she explained.

Yet another young, cheerful and seemingly healthy woman who is the widow of a bus driver, said she got to know about the disease when she had undergone a test at the time of pregnancy. “I took medicines in time and my child is thankfully HIV negative. I have no regrets in life and my only worry is my daughter.”

Amritsar, October 3
Celebrity alumni of one of state’s oldest women college will grace the platinum anniversary celebrations of their alma mater.

Principal of Saroop Rani Government College for Women, Jasmeet Nayyar, said she had received acknowledgements from over 600 alumni who would be joining the celebrations which would be held at the sprawling grounds of the college on October 6. Among the heavyweights, include DG Police Reforms and Development Dr Kiran Bedi, her ilk and DGP Uttaranchal Kanchan Chaudhary, TV producer and director Kavita Chaudhary, acclaimed film personality Deepti Naval and theatre director Neelam Mansingh Chawdhary, she added. Nayyar said the college has the history of producing women leaders. “The quality of education gave them a sense of pride, as a result many of them reached the pinnacle of glory in various professional spheres,” said the principal, while addressing mediapersons here. She said the main attraction of the function would be a play “Rukh te Chirrian” which would unfold the history of the institute. Kiran Bedi would lead the alumni parade and inaugurate the new gymnasium.

Nayyar further said the college project “each one educate one” reaches out to the students belonging to weaker sections of the society. — OC

Nawanshahr, October 3
A resident of Alachaur village, Jaswinder Singh (42), was trapped in a 30-foot-deep well at around 2 p.m. today when he, along with five labourers, was deepening it. Soon after getting the information, senior officials of the administration reached the spot and a rescue operation with the help of the Army was started at around 3 p.m.

The operation is expected to prolong till midnight and till the filing of this report, it was learnt that about 5 feet digging was still left to be done. According to sources, the major concern of the officials was now to save the existing structure of the well. The apprehension of collapse of the existing structure was is haunting the officials.

Deputy commissioner Gurpal Singh Bhati, along with senior civil and police officials, was supervising the rescue operation. The 13 Dogra Regiment led by Col D.K. Bishnoi was carrying the operation where three digging machines had been deployed. The villagers were also assisting the civil and Army officials in digging the adjoining land and clearing the earth for making a safe approach to reach the depth of the well.

According to available information, Jaswinder, who is a contractor, was deepening the well along with five labourers. As per the labourers, the victim ignored his companions’ advice to come out of the well when a small chunk of soil fell upon him. But he continued the task and a major chunk of earth fell upon him, burying him under it. 

Jalandhar, October 3
After getting directions from Inspector-General G.S. Grewal, the General Railway Police (GRP) registered an FIR of murder under section 302, IPC, after two months in connection with the death of Aman Kamar of the Ekta Nagar locality in Rama Mandi on July 26.

A department inquiry against Jalandhar cantonment police post in charge ASI Ravinder Kumar has been initiated in this regard. GRP SP Shamsher Jang Bahadur Sharma would conduct the departmental inquiry against the ASI.

Confirming this, Sharma told The Tribune that the FIR had been registered against three persons on the complaint of Aman’s father but the allegations levelled in the FIR would be investigated by GRP SHO Manjit Singh.

The GRP did not get any post-mortem report in this regard so far as viscera of the deceased had been sent to the forensic laboratory in Patiala to know the cause of his death, he added.Aman was found in an injured condition on the rail track on July 26. He was taken to the civil hospital where he succumbed to  his injuries.

At that time, the police had taken a routine action under section 174 of CrPC but Aman’s father Pradeep Kumar suspected foul play behind his death. Now after his repeated requests, the FIR of murder has been lodged at GRP thana against three persons. 

Hoshiarpur, October 3
A bid to snatch a bag containing Rs 50,000 by four women was foiled by people at Nasrala village, 7 km from here, today.

According to SP (D) Sushil Kumar, at least four women, who have been identified as Nargas, Sheela, Sonan and Preeti, all residents of Jatkheri, Madhya Pradesh, snatched a bag containing Rs 50,000 from Harbhajan Kaur of Ajram when she came out from the State Bank of Patiala, Nasrala branch, after withdrawing the amount.

Harbhajan Kaur raised the alarm and her son, who was following her mother along with sarpanch of Khanpur village Gian Chand, and people of the area overpowered the women snatchers and handed them over to the police.

The SP (D) said during interrogation they revealed that they were members of a gang based at Jalandhar and they used to chase those persons, especially women, who withdrew money from the banks and snatched the money. Raids were being conducted to nab other members of the gang, he added.

A case under sections 382 and 511 of the IPC was registered.