Jalandhar, May 20
It was a complete homecoming for Dalip Singh Rana, “The Great Khali” of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), when he reached the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) campus, his parent department, here today. Police officers, serving as well as retired, and children gathered at the complex in large numbers to have a glimpse of the wrestling champ.

At an impressive function, the PAP authorities honoured Khali and congratulated him for bringing laurels to his battalion as well as the country.

Overwhelmed by the response of his fans, an elated Khali said: “I had no idea that back home there is a huge fan following of mine. I came here with a mere thought of meeting some PAP officers and visiting the Harmandar Sahib, but I had no idea that people will give me such a warm welcome”.

He stayed in the complex for over two hours. Inside the campus, all roads leading to PAP-Multipurpose Hall, where the function was held, was virtually blocked by the fans of Khali.

At the function, ADGP Rajan Gupta assured Khali of all possible help and maintained that he could take special leave any time. “Your achievements are an asset for us and you can come back anytime and join the PAP. Moreover, we have decided to keep a regular post for you so that you can come and join here anytime”.

Former DGP M.S. Bhullar, the man behind Khali’s rise from a rustic boy to a wrestling champ, said it was for the first time that an Indian had broken the US monopoly of winning the WWE fights.

“The PAP has played one of the biggest roles in shaping my career as a WWE fighter,” Khali said.

The World Heavyweight Champion made his WWE debut in April, 2006. He signed Hollywood films as well. His first film was “The Longest Yard” released in 2005 and the other one “Get Smart” scheduled for release in 2008. These days he is busy with two Bollywood films “Kushti” and “Rama-The Savior”.

Meanwhile, Khali also visited the Police DAV Public School. Such was the scene that the jam-packed school building was reverberating with the cheering sounds of “Khali-Khali”.

Sanjay Bumbroo adds from Amritsar: Chaos prevailed at the Rajasansi International airport as hundreds of fans vied with each other to have a glimpse of Khali, who arrived here from Mumbai.

Khali’s fans, especially small children had arrived at the airport along with their parents in the wee hours to greet the wrestler with posters, bouquets and kirpans. He was to arrive at 6.45 am. However, the flight reached at about 8.20 am. As soon as the news broke that Khali had alighted from the aircraft, the crowd rushed towards the main entrance of the main terminal building.

Hundreds of members of Divy Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan (Ashutosh) had arrived from Jalandhar to receive the WWE champ, who is also a member of the religious sect.

A police party, headed by an SP-rank official, had arrived at the airport to receive Khali. The local police band played tunes of patriotic songs as soon as he came out of the main terminal building. However, most of the fans had to return disappointed for the police team and Divy Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan (Ashutosh) had made a security ring around Khali.

Members of the Anti-Terrorist Front had to stop the convoy of Khali on the Amritsar-Jalandhar bypass to honour him with a 21-foot Tricolour garland.

The Central Industrial Security Force did not allow the media to enter the main terminal building even though it did allow some of the Khali’s fans to carry their video cameras and other gadgets to the waiting lounge, ignoring security norms. Vijay Yamuna, DSP (CISF), refused to listen to the media complaints in this regard.

Chandigarh, May 20
The name of Manmohan Singh Brar is being considered actively for Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission (SGJC) chairman’s post which he held earlier also during the Akali rule. Brar was removed from his post during the Congress rule to make way for the appointment of Kashmir Singh Patti, who was replaced by Brar earlier when former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra was rehabilitated in the SAD after bitter fued with then party chief Parkash Singh Badal.

It seems now Brar’s loyalty to Badals will again stand him in good stead and it is the turn of Patti to be put in the dock courtesy his alleged proximity to Congress leadership during its rule.

The government had paved the way for Patti’s ouster by ordering an inquiry into a complaint filed against him by SGPC secretary Harbeant Singh and others. He was accused of misconduct besides overstepping his jurisdiction among other charges. Patti resigned his post yesterday even as the inquiry officer in the case had recommended his removal claiming Patti refused to participate in the inquiry held at Amritsar.

According to sources, Brar’s case has been vetted by the advocate general’s office. Chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh said the entire case was under process. He said Brar’s name was under consideration, but it was premature to arrive at any conclusion on this score.

Sources said Brar’s appointment was only possible once the dust raised by the resignation of Patti settled. They said earlier also during Badal’s previous tenure Patti had been removed from the chairmanship of the commission and had appealed against the decision to the Supreme Court. He was reappointed member and later elected chairman unanimously during the Congress rule .

Ludhiana, May 20
It was the acting manager of Muthoot Finance and his industrialist friend who allegedly stole gold worth Rs 2.82 crore and nearly Rs 3 lakh from the company office here yesterday. The police said today that it had arrested the acting manager, Ratish Pillai, and his childhood friend Puneet Aggarwal for the crime.

Both are aged around 25 years and are unmarried.

The IGP, Sanjeev Kalra, and the SSP told reporters that the duo had planned the burglary well, but faltered at the last step.

They had taken away the gold and cash on Saturday evening only. Pillai had not locked the strong room and the main door while leaving the office that day. This ensured easy entry despite the elaborate security system.

The accused entered the office on Monday morning, but did not fill the gate entry password to pass it off as a burglary.

The police has recovered the entire quantity of gold and cash from them.

Kalra claimed both entered the office on Saturday after all employees had left. They filled a bag with cash and gold and took it in a Honda Eterno car belonging to Puneet.

They had booked a room in a hotel, where they divided the booty. Puneet concealed the gold at his factory in Focal Point and cash at his house in Urban Estate. They burnt the chits from pawned gold so that the police could not track them down.

On Monday, Pillai reached the office and put his key in the outer lock. He did not put his password in order to show it as an unauthorised entry, which set the alarm off at the Gurgaon headquarters of the company.

The company authorities then called him on his mobile. The police said though Pillai was in his office when he received the call, he told the caller that he was near his house at Mundian village and going for a hair cut. He said he would rush to the office.

He called up the company at 7.52 am, stating that everything was gone and informed the police about the incident.

“There was no breakage and the locks were opened. We were surprised that the burglars took away everything in 25 minutes only. This made us suspect that it was the handiwork of an insider,” the SSP said.

Keys of the locks helped the police track down the suspects. The strong room and main locks were locked and operated with two keys each. Keys of the strong room were in the possession of the acting manager and the deputy manager and the outer keys were with Pillai and a peon.

When the police interrogated the employees, they said they had given both keys to Pillai.

Amritsar, May 20
All 44 Congress MLAs who had presented their resignations to All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi, will hold a protest dharna against the large-scale rigging and irregularities in the recently held Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections.

The dharna will be organised on May 24 two days after the Amritsar (South) Assembly constituency by-elections on May 22 outside the residence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and further course of action will be decided thereafter.

Elaborating this, recently elected spokesman of Congress Legislative Party (CLP) Partap Singh Bajwa in a press conference here today said this was a serious move and the government should not take it lightly. He said if the AICC president gave her approval it would become a platform for Governor’s rule in the state.

Taking at dig at former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, he said he should desist from making statements which would decrease the moral of Congress leaders and workers. He said the decision to submit resignations was made after taking the consent of all MLAs and he would also have to ultimately follow this.

Answering media queries, the former PWD minister alleged that large-scale rigging and irregularities were committed under the patron of SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal. The irregularities had put all previous records since Independence to shame. He said as now paramilitary forces would be deployed in the constituency during elections, the SAD would not succeed in its nefarious designs.

Amritsar, May 20
SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar has served a legal notice, through his counsel, to PPCC president Rajinder Kaur Bhattal for making allegations that the funds of the committee were being used by the SAD for byelection in Amritsar.

It said that Bhattal had alleged that Rs 40 lakh of the SGPC was used by the SAD, and the SGPC men had distributed wheat bags among the voters.

However, the counsel refuted all allegations levelled by Bhattal as false and categorised them malicious and devoid of truth. It said committee funds are spent after the budget was approved following discussion in the meeting of the general house of the SGPC.

The notice called upon the PPCC chief to withdraw her allegations and get published a suitable apology in the press, and if the same was not done within a week from the receipt of this notice, a civil and criminal case would be filed against her in the court.

Chandigarh, May 20
The Election Commission (EC) today postponed the elections to 19 Gram Panchayats in five districts, which were scheduled to be held on May 26, and ordered the removal of six election officers.

Disclosing this here today, a spokesman for the commission said the polls to Gram Panchayat Talwara in Ludhiana district was countermanded and fresh date for the poll would be notified separately. Besides, the elections to Gram Panchayats Daulatpura and Sularpur in Jalandhar district were also postponed. In Tarn Taran district, polls to 13 Gram Panchayats, Baikan, Baikan Khurd, Tatle, Sugga, Bua Patti, Abadi Bhagwanpur, Balher, Blehar Khurd, Saddra, Kale, Marri Kamboke, Marri Udoke and Darajke, in Sangrur district Gram Panchayat Mohala and Jhundan and the polls to Gram Panchayat Saidoke in district Moga were postponed. Fresh dates for these polls would be notified separately.

In the case of Gram Panchayat Talwara in Ludhiana district, the commission has ordered to remove Amarjit Singh, returning officer, and directed the additional district electoral officer, Ludhiana, to send a panel of three names for the selection of the returning officer.

Further, Amarjit has been suspended for dereliction of election duty and disciplinary action initiated against him. The commission has also concluded that Gurlavleen Singh, SDM, Jagraon, has failed to discharge his duties and shown a careless and negligent attitude even when the complaint was referred to him by the commission.

The commission on the report of the election observer, regarding Gram Panchayat Mohaala in district Sangrur, has removed both returning officer and assistant returning officer. The district electoral officer, Sangrur, has been directed to lodge an FIR to fix responsibility in the alleged tampering of papers. The disciplinary action would also be taken against both officers.

He added that the commission had recommended to postpone the panchayat elections to Jhudan village in district Sangrur and the deputy commissioner had been directed to lodge an FIR with the police as per the recommendations of the observer. Both returning officer and assistant returning officer had been immediately removed. Disciplinary action would be taken against them.

In the case of Gram Panchayat Saidoke, returning officer of block Nihal Singh Walal, Moga district, who has acted in extremely irresponsible and illegal manner, has been removed. The district electoral officer, Moga, has been asked to take disciplinary action against him.

Amritsar: Hundreds of Congress workers from Majitha and Tarsikka sub-divisions today gheraoed the office of Puneet Bhardwaj, additional deputy commissioner (Development), here for rejecting nomination papers of party candidates on “flimsy grounds” for elections to the panchayats to be held on May 26.

The Congress workers did not allow the ADC to enter the office complex at 1.30 pm, but later, on the assurance of the ADC to look into their grievances, allowed him to enter his office.

Talking to The Tribune, Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lalli, president, District Congress Committee (Rural), alleged that the ADC had rejected the papers of Congress candidates on the directions of Bikram Singh Majithia, minister for information and broadcasting, and Virsa Singh Valtoha, MLA.

He claimed that Bhardwaj wanted to oblige the ruling party because a high-level inquiry into his “hush hush” visit to foreign country without permission was pending with the chief secretary. The Congress president said such a “tainted bureaucrat” could not perform the duty relating to election.

Sangrur, May 20
Teachers, under the banner of the Sikhia Bachao Manch, today held a dharna in front of the office of the deputy commissioner here in protest against the election duties assigned to women teachers.

The protesters alleged without considering problems of women teachers, they had been put on election duties at far-away places, some at a distance of 60 km from their respective houses, in violation of the orders of the Election Commission. According to them, the commission has exempted some categories, including unmarried girls, widows, physically challenged persons, pregnant women and couple cases, from the election duty.

District president of the Democratic Teachers Front Master Tarsem Lal said the administration had not even spared widows, unmarried girls and physically challenged teachers, forcing them to take the path of demonstration. Leader of the Government Teachers Union Sarbjit Singh alleged that the administration had not assigned election duties to the women employees of the office of the deputy commissioner.

Gurdaspur, May 20
Taking a serious view of the complaints relating to the Panchayat elections, the chief election commissioner, Punjab, has asked the district electoral officer to submit a comprehensive report in this regard within 24 hours.

Sources in the administration said that following this, Gurdaspur election observer Jagjit Puri held a meeting of the local administration last evening. Sources said the election observer asked the officers to investigate and sort out the complaints of rejections of nomination papers of candidates contesting the elections in various parts of the state. 

Amritsar, May 20
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his Cabinet colleagues, who camped here for more than a fortnight for electioneering, failed to notice vandalism of the walled city’s heritage.

The Amritsar chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (INTACH) has documented about 300 buildings in the walled city, most of which are facing a slow death due to the indifferent attitude of the authorities concerned. The inventory of historical buildings, prepared by INTACH, points to the indifferent attitude of all concerned.

The 250-year-old SGPC-managed Lohgarh gurdwara fort, built by sixth Sikh Master, Guru Hargobind, to secure the place from foreign attackers, was re-built with concrete due to the indiscriminate repair done in 1997 through kar sewa. Its original design, however, was retained. The repair, carried out in 1995 with modern material, has also given a new look to the 350-year-old Gurdwara Guru Ka Mahal, the birthplace of Guru Arjan Dev. None cared to preserve the beautiful frescos of an ancient Shivala near Ghee Mandi.

Successive governments and the district administration have to own up the blame for demolishing heritage sites spread over four centuries in the city.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh took a keen interest to develop and beautify Amritsar during his rule. He followed the Mughals in laying gardens and constructing buildings, including forts, most of which now on the brink of ruin. He got Sri Harmandar Sahib gold-plated following which it got the name Golden Temple. At this time the Sikh school of art also got patronage.

PPCC president Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said instead of ‘wasting time’ to woo voters, the Chief Minister should have utilised the time to identify the heritage buildings for preservation.

Another temple of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s period Shivala Noormahalian Da, having domes with floral patterns, is in private hands.

Some of the mosques in the walled are alsonot in good condition due to lack of maintenance. Buildings like Chitta Akhara, where frescos are still in a better condition, need to be conserved.

The old heritage haveli having frescos depicting Maharaja Ranjit Singh, along with his courtiers, holding a durbar, unique floral designs and patterns, different floor patterns, tiles and beautifully-carved wooden doors and windows has also been lost. Its walls had a wall painting, which was whitewashed indiscriminately. The haveli also had elegant Japanese tiles. The Mohrakashi technique of frescos, stained glasses, carved wooden windows, floor patterns, all show that the building was part of the heritage of the British era.

Amritsar, May 20
The Communist Party of India (CPI) and the CPM today announced their support to Navdeep Singh Goldy, Congress candidate for the Amritsar (South) byelection.

After a joint meeting of the CPI and the Congress held here today, Dr Joginder Dayal, national executive member of the CPI, said the Left parties had decided in principle to defeat the communal alliance of the SAD and the BJP. He said though no senior leader of the CPM was present at the meeting, the decision was already taken by the state leadership of both Left parties to support the Congress.

Talking to The Tribune, Dr Dayal said though the Left parties had been supporting the UPA government at the Centre, they had been critical of the Central government for inflation and other anti-people policies.

Among others who attended the joint meeting were Mohinder Singh Kaypee, working president of the PPCC, Tej Parkash Singh, Amarjit Singh Asal, district secretary of the CPI and former Mayor Sunil Dutti.

Dr Dayal, however, warned that the Left parties won’t keep on supporting the Congress if it formulated anti-people/worker policies.

Sangrur, May 20
Additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Indu Malhotra today held talks with the representatives of the management of Akal Academy, Cheema, near Sunam, and parents of the Hindu students of the academy as part of an inquiry, which began today. Earlier, the academy had made it mandatory for all students, including Hindus, to wear turbans.

Parents of the Hindu students told the ADC that the academy rule forced them to withdraw their wards, who had been studying there for the past several years.

Talking to The Tribune, Malhotra said she both parties to deputy commissioner V.K. Ohri for a final solution to the problem. They held talks in an amicable atmosphere. She expressed hope that a solution to the problem would come out soon.

She said for the time being status quo had been maintained, which meant that the Hindu students would wearing “patka” and they would not be forced to wear turbans. No fine would be charged from the Hindu students, she added.

Another meeting would be held on May 22.

Attari, May 20
After two years of flagging off the Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus service by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation has sent a 20-seater luxury mini-bus due to continuous less occupancy.

Most of the commuters prefer to visit Pakistan with Sikh/Hindu jathas, which normally board the Samjhauta Express or special trains. Many times the bus between Amritsar and Nankana Sahib had plied without even a single passenger.

Hoshiarpur, May 20
A deputation of Kakon inhabitants and CPM workers led by state secretary of the CPM, Punjab, Mangat Ram Pasla met the SSP here and demanded withdrawal of cases registered against some inhabitants of the village allegedly at the behest of a minister of the SAD-BJP government following an alleged attempt to tamper with records of Panchayat elections by BJP leader Satish Bawa, along with some of his supporters, at 9 pm on May 17. They also demanded the release of the arrested inhabitants of the village.

In a press note here today, district press secretary of the CPM Kultar Singh alleged that on May 17 night Bawa, along with his supporters, went to the village at 9 pm and got opened the locks of Government Elementary School by the school watchman and went inside to tamper with the records relating to Panchayat polls lying there. When they were trying to tamper with the record, some villagers assembled there and tried to stop them. After a brief skirmish, Bawa and his supporters who had come there on a motor cycle, fled after leaving their vehicle.

Instead of taking any action against Bawa and his supporters, the police arrested four of the villagers.