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Kotkapura triple murder case
Police cracks the mystery
Kotkapura, July 5
With the arrest of the accused, the Faridkot district police today claimed to have solved the five-day mystery shrouding the Kotkapura triple murder case that took
place on the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday (June 30-July 1).

Falcon in Gurdwara becomes talk of town
‘Mystery’ bird perplexes people
Bathinda, July 5
Hordes of people have been thronging the gurdwara at Neor village in Bathinda district for a glimpse of the falcon sitting beside the portrait of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. But speculation is rife over how the bird found its way there.

Normal life goes for a toss
Power cuts irk residents
Bathinda, July 5
After some respite for almost a fortnight before the BMC elections, power cuts are back in the city. Power cuts extending from four to eight hours are being imposed almost daily in all parts of the city, making life miserable for the residents.

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	Kotkapura triple murder case Police cracks the mystery Rajay Deep Tribune News Service Kotkapura, July 5 With the arrest of the accused, the Faridkot district police today claimed to have solved the five-day mystery shrouding the Kotkapura triple murder case that took place on the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday (June 30-July 1). As per the information available from the police, resistance in the fulfilment of physical desires and influence of liquor instigated the accused to kill his 42-year-old paramour along with her husband and son. When Shinda Singh, the complainant, visited his sister Darshna along with his wife on July 2, he found the door locked. The entrance was stinking. Peeping through the window, he saw the bodies of Darshna, her husband Vassan Singh (48) and her son Harpreet Singh (17) lying in a pool of blood. On the basis of his statement, a case was registered. After inquest, the police today concluded that Joginder Singh Neela, who allegedly had an illicit relationship with Darshna, had murdered the trio. Darshna used to provide space for immoral activities to various men and women. Neela reportedly did not like it and forbid her from doing so. Frustrated, she even refused to meet him. Disappointed, the accused, under the influence of liquor, killed the trio on June 30, and locked the gate from outside and fled. Confirming the facts, SSP Faridkot Param Raj Singh Umranangal said, “The accused is in police remand.”
	Falcon in Gurdwara becomes talk of town ‘Mystery’ bird perplexes people Rajay Deep Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 5 Hordes of people have been thronging the gurdwara at Neor village in Bathinda district for a glimpse of the falcon sitting beside the portrait of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. But speculation is rife over how the bird found its way there. The presence of the bird was announced from the gurdwara loudspeakers and out of curiosity, people in large numbers started paying obeisance to the falcon with the belief that the bird was dear to the Guru. Rumours are afloat in the city that an advocate had found the falcon in an injured condition a few days back near the courts complex in Bathinda. After giving first aid to it, he handed over the bird to a media person, who was fond of birds. Finding that the condition of the bird had not improved, he presented it to a senior police officer of the district, who also has a penchant for different breeds of birds. When the news was flashed on some TV channels, the media person concerned enquired from the police officer about his falcon. In a reply, the officer said that the bird flew away two days back. After visiting the gurdwara, the media person suspected that the bird present there was the same as the one he had picked up. Despite repeated attempts, Balwant Singh Nandgarh, jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo could not be contacted. It may be recalled that on Friday he had stated that only after personally visiting the gurdwara would he comment on the issue. On the other hand, speaking over phone, Sant Baljeet Singh Dadusahib, a hardliner Sikh religious leader, said that the appearance of the bird could be a message.
	Normal life goes for a toss Power cuts irk residents Anil Jerath Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 5 After some respite for almost a fortnight before the BMC elections, power cuts are back in the city. Power cuts extending from four to eight hours are being imposed almost daily in all parts of the city, making life miserable for the residents. While the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) officials claim that the cuts are being imposed as per the schedule and that the residents are even being notified through some dailies, the residents claim that most of the time, the cuts are not being imposed as per the schedule. This affects their daily chores and commercial activities, they rue. Vijaya, running a boutique in Aggarwal Colony, said that she had many pending orders, as the tailors could not work for more than three hours due to power cuts. Youngsters keen on watching the ongoing Asia Cup Super League matches being held in Pakistan are also very upset, as they say that whenever any match reaches its climax, the electricity goes off and they miss the best part of the match. Industrialists pointed out that poor power supply badly hit small-scale enterprises, which were not in a position to afford alternative measures of power generation. “Using gen sets et al is expensive. For a small industrialist, it means an addition to costs and also labour,” another industrialist said. According to the Punjab State Electricity Board Assistant Engineer, Pritpal Singh, power cuts were being imposed for four hours in the city, and seven to eight hours in rural areas. He said the cuts were being imposed for one to two hours at a stretch as per the schedule, though sometimes half-an-hour cuts are added to these cuts. He pointed out that the demand was for 1,475 lakh units of power per day, while the power availability was 1,235 lakh units per day. He said that if these cuts were not imposed there could a major power crisis.
	City gets no respite from sultry heat Bhanu P. Lohumi Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 5 After facing the problem of severe waterlogging due due to early monsoon showers last month, Bathinda is now baking under a scorching sun and bracing to face outbreak of diseases due to the changes in the weather. The mercury soared to 45 degrees Celsius today but the weatherman predicted some relief by Sunday with the maximum temperature expected to fall to 34 degrees Celsius and precipitation expected to be registered at 20 per cent, raising the chances of rains. The incidence of diseases like typhoid, pneumonia, dysentery, diarrhoea, gestroentritis, fever and others has suddenly increased and the sultry heat has made life tortuous. Amrit Pal, a doctor at the Civil Hospital said these diseases aggravate with change in weather due to scorching heat and increased humidity. He advised people to increase the intake of water, take salted lemon water and ORS, and avoid exposed eatables like chaat, juice, eat cooked food and not to go out unprotected in the sun. He said people should wear cotton clothes to protect themselves against heat strokes which are common during this season and use boiled water.
	‘Rly accords top priority to sanitation’ Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 5 The estimated cost of the project for supplying canal water to the Railway Colony in Bathinda was about Rs 2.20 crore, said senior officials of Ambala division of the Northern Railway (NR) here today. They added that work in this regard was going on in full swing and tender concerning the work had been floated. Railway sources said that the project is likely to be completed in one-and-half years. The officers, including senior divisional operating manager Gulshan, senior commercial manager K.S. Yadav and divisional sectional engineer, Anil Kumar reached Bathinda railway station in the afternoon. They were here in view of the forthcoming inspection of the General Manager (GM), Northern Railway to Sriganganagar-Bathinda section excluding Bathinda. The GM’s inspection of Sriganganagar-Bathinda section was due, sources said adding that the GM is likely to carry out inspection in the last week of July or in the first week of August. Talking to media persons, the officials said that the Railway had accorded top priority to sanitation. Efforts to keep the trains, platforms and railway premises clean had been stepped up and officials concerned had been directed to make all efforts for maintaining railway clean and tidy, they added.
	Ex-servicemen flay SPC Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 5 The Ex-servicemen Welfare Union, headed by ex-Subedar Balbir Singh Sidhu, has expressed its reservations over the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC) on the Special Military Service Pay, which is Rs 6,000 for officers and Rs 2,000 for those below. In a press release issued today, the union has demanded that JCOs should be given Rs 4,000 per month. If they are given just Rs 2,000 per month then it would be a great injustice to them, the union averred. If senior officials in the defence forces fail to pay attention to this issue, then the union would bring the matter to the President’s notice, it said.