Bathinda, December 6
The advocate-police stand-off escalated today with the lawyers taking a rigid stand and demanding the suspension of the sub-inspector against whom allegations have been levelled of illegally beating up advocates on Wednesday night. Work at the local court here remained suspended with the advocates deciding to go on an indefinite strike, here today.

A large number of protesting lawyers staged a dharna outside the mini-secretariat in Bathinda in the morning and did not allow work to proceed at the courts.

They raised anti-police slogans and demanded the suspension of the sub-inspector in question, Bhagwant Singh, in charge of Civil Lines police post, Bathinda. They also demanded the transfer of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Naunihal Singh.

The lawyers also gave a call for suspending work in all courts of the state tomorrow. They further threatened that the birthday of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, which the SAD (B) and BJP is supposedly going to celebrate at Bathinda on December 8, would also be boycotted with lawyers wearing black badges to protest the reported high-handedness of the police.

In the morning, lawyers at a meeting of the District Bar Association (DBA), decided to go on strike to lend force to their demand for the suspension of some policemen and to express their solidarity with the “brutal” police attack on the advocates.

The protesting lawyers went to the SSP’s residence who simply expressed his ignorance about the matter. The protesters then moved towards the mini-secretariat and started raising anti-police slogans.

ASP (City) Harsh Kumar Bansal and SP (H) D. S. Maan came to meet the protesters, but they refused saying they would discuss the matter only with the SSP.

With a written complaint the representatives of the lawyers later had a meeting with the SSP where the entry of media persons was banned.

After the meeting, J. R. Khattar, president, District Bar Association, Bathinda, told the media persons, “The SSP, in clear words, refused to register an FIR against the policemen in question. He said it would be done only after an investigation. He said the police action was merely intended to implement the law and order. He requested us to bury the hatchet. We expressed our resentment and came out of the hall.”

General secretary, DBA, Har Raj said, “The SSP stated that the sub-inspector was on leave but had been called on duty as the issue was taking a serious turn. But in the morning he had said that he was unaware of the situation. This was just an accident, so where was the threat to law and order?”

One of the advocates in question, Charan Singh Virk, in his written complaint to the SSP, mentioned the incident. According to him, he along with Jasvir Singh, ex-president DBA, was returning from a party last night. Virk alleged that sub-inspector Bhagwant Singh and his subordinates intercepted them, pointed a pistol and snatched his gold chain.

Virk also alleged that the cops also took away the wallet of advocate Harinder Singh, who came there along with some other lawyers.

“SI Bhagwant Singh openly proclaimed that he was close to the SSP and feared nothing,” Virk further mentioned in his complaint. Late in the evening, the advocates submitted a copy of the complaint to DIG Jitender Jain.

When efforts were made to contact in charge of Civil Lines police post Bhagwant Singh, a policeman who attended the call, said, “He is on leave and has gone to Chandigarh for some work.”

It may be mentioned that today’s developments are the fallout of the road accident on Wednesday night. The police had reached there to pacify the matter but the situation had threatened to go out of hand following a brawl between the police and the advocates.

Abohar, December 6
Unidentified miscreants chased and thrashed Anil Kumar and his mother Krishna Devi as the latter sought admission in the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here this evening.

The culprits grappled with the policemen, who were on duty there, even as they tried to intervene. The miscreants fled before more police force arrived.

Due to the incident, other patients in the emergency ward panicked and some of them were seen running helter-skelter.

Anil and his mother alleged that some residents of street number 17 had been selling smack regularly there. The police in the past had arrested all the members of a family including two women under the NDPS Act but they reverted to drug trafficking.

The presence of anti-social elements in the upper streets of the locality close to an abandoned brick kiln posed problems for other permanent residents, they added.

According to them, when they protested over the sale of smack today, six persons attacked them and caused injuries.

Not only that, when Anil and Krishna rushed to the civil hospital for treatment, the miscreants reached there and again started beating them up, they added.

Witnesses confirmed that one of the policemen on duty was also thrashed.

The authorities had deployed four policemen on duty on rotation basis inside the hospital after a spree of similar incidents in the past but the trend of attacking injured persons by their rivals, remains unchecked, sources in the hospital said. 

Abohar, December 6
The Insurance Ombudsman for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, has directed a private insurance company, ICICI Lombard, to reimburse the expenses incurred by a resident of the Abohar sub-division on his treatment in a private hospital. A copy of the order was today received by the complainant here.

The complainant, Harmeet Singh (71), is a member of the Kera Khera Multipurpose Cooperative Society and had become a member of the Sanjivni Healthcare Scheme being administered by the Sanjivni Trust. He was issued a card, bearing number 86010500136174, which was valid till March 30 this year.

During the tenure of the policy, he received injuries on the right lower limb which could not be treated by the local doctors. He was admitted to the Dayanand Medical College Hospital (DMC) in Ludhiana and incurred an expenditure of Rs 54,048 during five days on treatment.

He lodged a claim with the Third Party Administrative (TPA) Medsave Health Care Limited, Ferozepur, in January this year. However, no receipt was issued against the papers and the same were returned in the second week of February rejecting the claim without assigning any reason, he lamented.

The insurer stated that as per the conditions of the policy, reimbursement of expenses could only be done in case of a government hospital. Since the DMC was a registered hospital on the panel of the TPA, the reimbursement was not possible.

The ombudsman held that cashless facility was denied to the complainant. He had no alternative but to make payment and seek reimbursement. Since cashless facility was to be organised under the aegis of the TPA, the liability was to be borne by the insurer.

Reimbursement of admissible claim as per the approved rates for private hospital should thus be paid by the insurer.

Bathinda, December 6
When you hear the name DJ Bally Sagoo, songs like `Aaja Nachle’, `Dil cheez hai kya’, or the remixed version of `Mehbooba o Mehbooba’ start echoing in your mind. From Hindi to bhangra, reggae to dance, mainstream to underground, Bally Sagoo has been soaking in these influences throughout his life.

And moreover it was Bally Sagoo who introduced remixes to the Indian music scene and won applause as a DJ at a time when the vocation was unheard of in the country.

Be it Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Hans Raj Hans, Malkiat Singh or lesser known artists like Surjit Khan, Gunjan, Ashok Gill, you name any singer and this guy has worked with him or her at one point of time or the other.

This DJ-turned-actor was in the city today to promote his debut Punjabi movie `Sajna ve Sajna’ in which he is featuring against Bollywood’s Preeti Jhangiani.

Singers turning into actors have become a new trend in the movie industry. First, Sonu Nigam tried his luck into acting, but failed miserably. Then Himesh Reshammiya hit the jackpot with his movie `Aap Ka Saroor’, which was a blockbuster.

Now Bally Sagoo has tried his luck into this field with his new movie produced with a budget of Rs 40 crore, Rs 30 lakh of which was spent only on music. ``In this movie, I play my real self, Baljit Singh Sagoo, an aspiring singer. As I have been born and brought up in the UK, with this movie, we are projecting the problems of UK-based NRIs. Facing the camera was not a difficult job because I have been doing it for the last many years during music video shoots. But mugging up the dialogues was really a daunting task.’’

He was also accompanied by the movie’s director H. S. Dhami. 

Abohar, December 6
The police can effectively meet challenges posed by hi-tech criminals only if it withdrew its general duty from the investigation wing so as to enable it to concentrate on investigation, says Vikramjeet Duggal, the first IPS officer from Abohar.

Duggal, a degree holder in electrical engineering, had visited his hometown after finishing the first phase of training at Mussourie. He was a student of the LRS DAV Senior Secondary School and DAV College here.

Talking to The Tribune, he said many reform committees had been constituted by the Central government but the reports were regretfully dumped.

“We can’t expect success with old methods. Criminals are going hi-tech every day. Cyber crime is on the rise. To tackle that, cops need at least a three-month computer training,” he said.

Better infrastructure was needed to control everyday crime, he added.

Believing that low literacy rate was equally responsible for the lack of awareness in society about the Right to Information Act, Duggal said only a few have so far moved applications under the Act.

The officers must develop a cordial relationship not only with the people but also with their subordinates in order to create an environment for the free flow of information, he said.

Grievances of the lower rank employees need to be redressed by adopting a positive thinking, he added.

On his first phase of training at Mussourie, he said it provided him with an opportunity to interact with his batch-mates who had come from different states.

Trekking and other activities will certainly be useful in the coming days, he added.

Duggal said the force must be friendly and cooperative to law-abiding citizens but should take stern actions against the offenders irrespective of their status and affiliations.

Special efforts were required to counter the drug-peddlers as they not only weaken society but also affect the economy adversely, he said.

Barnala, December 6
To celebrate the 51st death anniversary of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) organised a rally at Barnala here today.

Congress leader Madanjeet Singh Balian, a close associate of the former chief minister Amarinder Singh, left the Congress and joined the BSP at the rally.

While addressing the rally, he said Ambedkar was a great scholar who prepared the Indian Constitution. If it had been implemented in its spirit, the country would not had to face the struggle it was witnessing today, he added.

Ran Singh, state secretary of the BSP, said only Ambedkar’s vision could save the country from social evils.

Expressing faith in the leadership of UP chief minister and BSP supreme Mayawati, he said only she was capable of fulfilling Ambedkar’s dream. — OC

Barnala, December 6
Ram Setu Shila Yatra was accorded warm welcome at various places in the city today. Scores of social and religious organisations put up welcome arches. Community kitchen was also organised. Devotees held a march through the main bazaars of the city. It began at the Sarvhitkari School and halted at the Maura Wali Kutiya Barnala where Ram Niwas Sharma, district president of the Brahmin Sabha and cashier of the Ram Setu Suraksha Manch, welcomed the yatra.

The yatra passed through Aggarwal Chowk where Des Raj Jindal welcomed it. Finally, it culminated at Pharwahi Bazar Barnala. At Pharwahi Bazar, a big cultural function was organised by the Hindu Jagaran Sabha. — OC

Mansa, December 6
The committee for fixing time-table for schools suggested reverting back to the old schedule, from 9 am to 3 pm, but the education department here has added 45 minutes in the duration. Due to this, school timings will now be from 9 am to 3.45 pm every day.

The government had, a day earlier, announced a new time-table for primary schools, decreasing the duration of school by an hour but for secondary schools, no such decision could be arrived at.

The state education minister had formed a committee that recommended the old time-table of six hours’ duration. But the decision has been flayed by teachers who want timings fixed for secondary level also.

Bathinda, December 6
Two persons, Jaspreet and Sunil were injured in a firing incident, at Kaur Singh Wala village in the district, on Wednesday night.

Reacting to the incident, Dyalpura police registered a case against the accused Midda Singh and Noni Singh. Shockingly, both the injured reportedly left the hospital without informing anyone and returned in the evening, on Thursday.

Giving details, police sources said that Midda Singh owed Sarabjeet Singh some amount of money for a piece of land. A verbal duel followed over the issue that led to a brawl. Getting aggressive, Midda Singh allegedly fired a .12 bore gun which injured Jaspreet Singh and Sunil. Finding them absent, the policeman on duty, submitted the files to the record room. When the injured returned, they requested access to the old files but it was refused.

Abohar, December 6
A team of the CIA staff led by sub-inspector Gurbhej Singh on Thursday raided a small room in the fields in village Ghuriana in the neighbouring Balluana Assembly segment and seized 3.5 quintal of poppy husk.

The search was carried out in the presence of DSP Parampal Singh, sources confirmed in the evening. Major Singh, son of Sajjan Singh, a resident of the same village, was arrested under sections 15, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act.

The DSP said preliminary investigation indicated that Major Singh had been receiving regular supplies of poppy husk from a Sikar-based smuggler and had stacked the consignment in the fields.

He was allegedly involved in such activities for long, he added.

Poppy husk was found packed in 10 bags each weighing 35 kg. It was available in the neighbouring areas of Rajasthan at government-approved shops. — OC