Amritsar, July 22
Even as Jathedar, Akal Takht, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti has refused to comment on the winning of confidence vote by the Dr Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, Jathedar, Patna Sahib, Giani Iqbal Singh has congratulated the Prime Minister on this historic victory.

Talking to The Tribune from Patna Sahib, Giani Iqbal Singh described Dr Manmohan Singh as a true and honest Sikh who had quoted hymns from Dasam Granth while seeking confidence vote on the floor of Parliament. However, Jathedar Vedanti, who had eulogised Dr Manmohan Singh earlier, today preferred to keep mum.

Meanwhile, Bhai Ranjit Singh, a former Jathedar, Akal Takht, has said it was moral defeat of the SAD which had failed to support the government of the first Sikh Prime Minister. He said it was ridiculous the SAD leadership had stated they could not support Dr Manmohan Singh merely on the basis that he was a Sikh.

The former Jathedar said the SAD had been using Sikh religion for vested political ends and even the Dharm Yudh Morcha was launched from Akal Takht/ the Golden Temple. When it came to protect the government, led by a Sikh, they had committed a historic blunder.

Meanwhile, there is lot of jubilation in the town, especially in the houses of Surjit Singh Kohli and Daljit Singh Kohli, brothers of the Prime Minister. They distributed ladoos to mark the victory.

On the other hand, the BJP burnt the effigies of the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi in protest against bribe given to three  BJP MPs.

Congress leaders, led by Prof Darbari Lal, a former deputy speaker, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, distributed ladoos in the morning much before the counting of votes. Manjit Singh Calcutta, a senior Akali leader and member of the  SGPC expressed satisfaction over winning the confidence vote.

Jalandhar, July 22
The three accused in the Rita Bawa murder case were remanded in five-day police custody by a court here today.

A party of the Ludhiana police today produced Mohammad Kadoos, Mohammad Rehman, Bittu Yadav and Mohammad Rehman in the court of judicial magistrate Barjinder Pal Singh, seeking 10 days’ police remand.

Two suspects, Mohammad Kadoos and Bittu Yadav denied their involvement in the case. Bittu claimed having been framed after he came to the rescue of his son whom the police was framing in the case.

The Ludhiana police restrained mediapersons who had been camping outside the main gate of the Jalandhar judicial complex since morning from interacting with the suspects.

Rita Bawa, principal of Kanya Maha Vidhyala (KMV), Jalandhar, was found murdered at her official residence on the college premises, along with her cook Kishore Mandal and two security guards Tarsem Lal and Shamsheedin, on January 6 morning.

Sources in the police claimed a trap had been laid to nab Sachin, the alleged mastermind of the Rita Bawa murder case, in Bihar. Sachin had left the job and returned to his village weeks before the crime.

The principal had certain obscene CD and photographs of a college student, daughter of an influential person. A couple of days before her murder Bawa had altercation with some persons who visited her office demanding the obscene CD and photographs, sources in the college disclosed.

Doubts have been raised on the functioning of the Jalandhar police that recovered cash and jewellery worth crores in two different searches at Bawa's residence after the murder. Why the police did not recover all cash and valuable in one search? 

Ludhiana, July 22
Several students from all over the state, who took the management entrance test (MET) conducted by Punjab Technical University (PTU) at Punjabi University, Patiala, this year, have alleged that their results have been tampered with by the authorities.

The result of MBA/MCA aspirants declared on July 18 on the Internet for a few hours did not match with the one displayed by Punjabi University, Patiala, last evening, alleged the students.

Talking to The Tribune, a student from Amritsar said he had seen his 520th rank in the list displayed by the official site www.punjabiuniversity.ac.in on July 18. After a few hours, this site could not be opened.

"Last evening when I tried to access it again, to my utter shock, it showed my rank as 1,182. How can this be possible? Had I known about change in the list, I would have taken out a print-out as evidence," he said.

Another student Priyank Sandhir said many of his friends who got low rank were “given” ranks near 2,000. "My Punjab ranking was 173 as per the result declared on July 18, but the revised list shows me at 407th position. This is not done, such lapses can ruin our careers," he said, adding that when his father tried to contact officials at the varsity, nobody listened to his grievance.

Interestingly, when some parents raised objection to the issue, they were told that though the ranks (declared on July 21) were final, the whole picture would be clear at the time of counselling itself, said one of the students from Jalandhar.

MET for MBA/MCA aspirants by the PTU is conducted every year at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, PTU Jalandhar, and Punjabi University, Patiala, by rotation. This time, it was conducted at Patiala on July 13, in which approximately 10,000 students from all over Punjab appeared.

The students have been asked to report on July 26 for counselling.

Dr Jaspal Singh, VC, Punjabi University, Patiala, talking over phone, said there was some technical fault with the computer. "We had to hold the results for two more days, as thorough verification was being done by officials.

There was no fault in paper checking, preparing lists, examination etc. It was not manual but software's fault. Still if parents or student feel, they can contact the university authorities immediately to clear all their doubts," he said.

Chandigarh, July 22
The Punjab Youth Congress today claimed that the victory of the UPA in the trust vote on the nuclear deal issue was a win for the common man who had reposed his faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Youth Congress president Vijay Inder Singla said people of the country had put pressure on their elected representatives to support the trust vote and this was the main reason behind the UPA victory. He claimed that the issue of vote buying had been deliberately raked up by the BJP once it realised it was going to lose the trust vote.

Singla said the UPA victory was also a slap on the face of the SAD, which opposed the trust vote.

He said the Prime Minister had again proved his love for Punjabis by quoting Guru Gobind Singh to drive home his point that the government was on the path to victory in the vote of confidence.

He said SAD had chosen to ignore the sentiments of the entire Sikh and Punjabi community in India as well as abroad and would meet just punishment at the hands of the people of the state in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Baba Bakala, July 22
Employees of the revenue department here are up in arms against SAD MLA from Beas Manjinder Singh Kang for the alleged slapping of a panchayat secretary yesterday.

The employees today organised a dharna to protest the slapping of the secretary who had refused to do any favour to Kang. They decided to hold a chain fast near the office of the SDM till they got justice.

State joint secretary of the Punjab Subordinate Services Federation Avtar Singh, while addressing the protesters, demanded for a criminal case against Kang for allegedly slapping and abusing panchayat secretary Salwinder Singh.

Avtar Singh said the panchayat secretary, who was also the returning officer, had told the MLA that the elections of sarpanches would be held as per the Panchayati Raj Act.

However, when The Tribune tried to contact Kang on his mobile, every time his supporter attended the call.

The employees, in a memorandum submitted to the SDM, alleged that the MLA wanted the panchayat member of his choice to be elected as sarpanch in Dhardeo village in Rayya block. When the panchayat secretary refused to oblige him, the MLA called Salwinder at the canal rest house in Rayya and abused and slapped him in the presence of his supporters.

Job-oriented training for jail inmates
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 22
The Punjab government today formulated a scheme to utilise the optimum potential of inmates lodged in various jails of the state to impart skill development training to them on the one hand and provide job opportunities to them on the other.

A decision to this effect was taken by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during a meeting with top functionaries of the departments of jail, technical education, industry and employment generation here this morning.

The CM asked senior officers of these departments to have interaction with representatives of the industry to ascertain the quantum of job work to be undertaken by the inmates. He cited an example of hosiery and woollen products in Ludhiana where the services of inmates in local Borstan and Lady's jails could be utilised.

Chandigarh, July 22
The Punjab government has constituted a task force on working business process re-engineering as well as on languages and access to higher education for recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission.

Stating this here today, a spokesman of the Punjab government said the recommendations made by the two working groups had already been accepted by the government. It had been decided to convert the groups into task force to ensure the forceful implementation of the recommendations made by them.

Pathankot, July 22
A military band competition and mass band display was held at Mamun Cantonment, near here, yesterday. Unit bands of Rising Star Corps participated in it.

The show commenced with the arrival of the chief guest, Lt-Gen Vinay Sharma, GOC of the corps. The sprawling greens of Fort of Gurj Stadium reverberated with the harmony of pipers bands and buglers.

Various bands marched in formations and their melodious compositions kept the audience riveted for nearly an hour. The first prize was won by 3rd Battalion Gorkha Rifles, second by 19th Battalion J&K Rifles while 13th Battalion J&K Rifles got the third prize.

Moga, July 22
Former sarpanch of Ramuwala Kalan village Harnek Singh, who is facing charges of sexual exploitation of a woman, today refused to cooperate with the local chief judicial magistrate to get his DNA tested to find that the if he had any relation to the child born to the victim.

Assistant sub-inspector Jaswant Singh, who is investigating the case, had moved an application before CJM Tarsem Lal Mangla through the prosecution yesterday demanding for the DNA test. Harnek Singh has been out on temporary bail (arrest stay) till July 31. The court had summoned him to appear in person in the court today.

Additional public prosecutor Lakhvir Singh told The Tribune that the CJM, while turning down the demand of the police, had given an advice to the investigating officer to use his own powers under Section 53, 53 (A) and 54 of the CrPC to get the DNA test of the former sarpanch.

According to the Section 53 (A) of the CrPC, “examination shall include the examination of blood, blood stains, semen, swabs, in case of sexual offences, sputum and sweat, hair samples and finger nail clippings by the use of modern and scientific techniques, including DNA profiling and such other tests, which the registered medical practitioner thinks necessary in a particular case”.

Harnek Singh was booked on the charges of sexual exploitation and rape two months ago on a complaint of the woman from Badhni Kalan village. Though the complaint was made in March, 2004, the FIR was registered after more than two years, probably due to the pressure of a local politician.

Harnek Singh’s had filed an application before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana for regular bail. The High Court had fixed July 31 as the date of hearing on his bail application.

Meanwhile, the investigating officer had applied for seeking copies of the latest ‘zimni’ orders of the CJM’s court so that the police could oppose the regular bail to Harnek Singh in the High Court on the pretext of the DNA test.

Chandigarh, July 22
On a call of the Punjab State Aided School Teachers and other Employees Union teachers and employees of aided schools held a dharna in front of the office of the DPI (Schools) here today. Retired employees of aided schools also took part in it.

They were protesting against the non-restoration of the pension scheme and retirement benefits withdrawn on June 1, 2003, and denying approval to fill sanctioned posts of teacher and other staff in aided schools. Non-release of grant for six months was also the reason for the dharna. Because of the non-release of grant, many employees have not got salary. Other demands include 15 per cent house rent allowance for schools falling in the jurisdiction of Bathinda Municipal Corporation, grant of interim relief and enhanced medical allowance on a par with government employees.

Gurcharan Singh Chahal, president, and N.N. Saini, general secretary, respectively, of the union, said the SAD-BJP government had promised to accept all pending demands of aided school employees when it came to power. However, after being in power for one year and five months, the government had done nothing for employees of aided schools. It was not releasing even grant in time, they added.

Manohar Lal Chopra, adviser, Dr Gurmit Singh, Ram Gopal Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Sharma, K.K. Joshi, Ranjit Singh, S.S. Bal, Puran Singh Sandhu, Jalwant Singh, Jagdish Singh, Mahesh Gautam, Narinder Nidhi, Pawan Bansal, Jagmohan Singh, K.C. Chaudhary, Kamlajit Singh and Bhupinder also addressed those on dharna.

They urged the Chief Minister to intervene to get the demands of the union implemented. A meeting of the union has been convened on July 27 at Nawanshahr to plan next action.

Chandigarh, July 22
The faux pas committed by the Punjab Technical University (PTU) in its counselling schedule for engineering, architecture and pharmacy courses for the 2008-09 session has sent the students and parents in a tizzy.

This would put hundreds of non-Punjab students, including those from Chandigarh, competing for the 15 per cent AIEEE quota, to disadvantage as their counselling had been scheduled at the fag end of the counselling session(from September 16 to September 30).

This is despite the fact that the information brochure mentioned that the counselling for the 15 per cent seats of the non-Punjab category would be held immediately after the first counselling of the Punjab state quota.

However, PTU seemed to have put the cart before the horse by scheduling the counselling of the reserved categories such as sikh minority, backward classes, sportspersons, disabled persons, wards of the defence personnel and freedom fighters immediately after the Punjab state quota candidates.

With the first counselling for the 85 per cent category (Punjab state quota) ending on July 26, the long gap between counselling for the non-Punjab candidates for the 15 per cent AIEEE seats would leave hundreds of the students at the mercy of a private universities in the region.

“The Chandigarh students were already at a disadvantage since the quota for them had been reduced to 50 per cent as compared to earlier quota of 85 per cent in Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh. With the counselling for non-Punjab students scheduled for September, uncertainty had gripped the students, particularly the average students, who are at the middle and bottom of the AIEEE merit list,” alleged a student on condition of anonymity.

A.K. Sharma, a parent, alleged that the non-Punjab candidates had been left in lurch by the PTU allegedly to favour a particular private university. “With uncertainty ruling the roost most of the non-Punjab students would prefer to seek admissions in the private university for assured admission than wait for September counselling,” Sharma alleged.