Jalandhar, September 27
Notorious prisoner Raja Saipuria and four of his accomplices were shifted from the overcrowded Kapurthala district jail to the Ferozepore central jail on Thursday.

Interestingly, Saipuria was earlier lodged in Jalandhar central jail but was shifted to Kapurthala district jail to avoid violence in Jalandhar.

However, clashes between two groups of prisoners took place in the Kapurthala jail too due to his presence.

The five prisoners were shifted exactly five days after a violent clash between two groups led by Saipuria and Shama, respectively, in the jail on Saturday.

Jail superintendent Jaswant Singh Gill said they were shifted as they had been prima facie found involved in the attack on a group of prisoners led by Shama.

Earlier, an FIR was registered against these notorious prisoners under section 307, and 326, IPC, against Saipuria and four of his accomplices in connection with the attack on prisoners of the Shama group.

The Kapurthala police produced them in the court of the CJM on Wednesday after taking them on production warrant from the district jail and the court remanded them in one-day police custody, Gill added.

After completion of their police remand, the jail authorities shifted them to Ferozepore central jail in order to avoid any further clash.

As many as six prisoners of the Shama group were injured in the clash.

The prisoners led by Saipuria and Shama were arguing over some issue in barrack number one when a clash broke out between them. The prisoners used utensils in the clash.

While the two injured prisoners, Kuljit Singh and Surjit Singh, were rushed to the civil hospital, the other four prisoners sustained minor injuries and were treated at the jail hospital itself.

A resident of Dada Colony in Jalandhar, Saipuria was nabbed by the Jalandhar police in December last year from Chintpurni in Himachal Pradesh. He was facing trial in at least five criminal cases, three of them in connection with attempt to murder.

As many as 477 inmates, almost double its capacity of 250 inmates, were lodged in the Kapurthala jail on Thursday.

Jalandhar, September 27
An inmate of Jalandhar central jail, Gurmeet Nagra, died in the local civil hospital reportedly after a brief illness here this evening.

A resident of Kohala village on Kapurthala Road in Jalandhar, Nagra was a Punjabi singer and had been lodged in the jail since May 18 last year in connection with a case registered against him under the NDPS Act.

Confirming his death, jail superintendent Gursharan Singh Sidhu told The Tribune that the undertrial prisoner’s health deteriorated on Saturday morning following which he was shifted to the civil hospital where he died in the evening.

Giving details, deputy jail superintendent Charanjit Singh Bhangu said Nagra was first taken to the jail hospital where the jail doctor found his blood pressure very low.

He was immediately rushed to the civil hospital where he was oxygenated and was administered glucose. The singer’s condition improved a bit around noon but later it deteriorated and he died in the evening.

On the other hand, his uncle Chanchal Singh alleged some foul play behind his death. Chanchal said Nagra was fine when he (Chanchal) along with other persons had met him a day before in the jail.

Denying accusations, Bhangu claimed that Nagra was a drug addict.

The police had seized opium from his possession in May following which an FIR was registered against him under sections 18/61/85 of the NDPS Act.

Jalandhar, September 27
The president of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE), Kolkata, Dr S. Ganeshan, said the use of alcohol or bio-diesel extracted from jatropha plant as alternative resource of energy was not much advisable because of the problem to dispose of the unwanted by-products that are left after their consumption.

The expert from the country’s prestigious institute was here as chief guest at the annual session of the students chemical engineering congress that concluded at the Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT) here today. Even as these fuels were being termed as green fuels, these were rather less eco-friendly, he added.

The scientist reasoned, “One litre of alcohol leaves behind 14 to 15 litres of waste water and still there is no solution to safely dispose of this water. Burning of jatropha diesel leaves liserines which again are by-products not easy to be handled,” he pointed out.

“Wind mills and other sources as in Tamil Nadu can only be used as add-on fuels. This leaves us with a single option to continue to use fossil fuels to meet our main energy requirements,” he opined.

Dr Ganeshan said there were newer energy resources emerging from the ocean beds. “There are gas hydrates, methane bonded with water and Canadian tar sand. Till date, these are relatively costlier than petrochemicals. But the increasing prices of petrol and diesel, the cost of use of these resources will soon become comparable and their use could become common,” he opined.

The experts across the world were busy finding solutions to problems related to hazardous wastes to check environment degradation and use of catalysts in medicine manufacturing.

Organising secretary Dr Ajay Bansal said as part of an exchange programme signed by the IIChE, five delegates from Australia, Malaysia and the UK also participated in the congress. They have been taken to the Indian Oil Corporation, Panipat refinery, Indo-Swift, Dera Bassi, and Jagatjit Industries, Hamira

Phagwara, September 27
The police here arrested six persons, including two former militants, on the charge of lifting vehicles and recovered two pistols, two cartridges and two knives from their possession.

Stating this in a press note here today, DSP Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh said the Satnampura SHO nabbed the six persons from the Hadiabad locality, near Nakodar road.

The arrested persons have been identified as Nishan Singh, alias Shana, an active member of a guerrilla force during militancy, Dilbagh Singh, alias Ladhi, who was a KCF mililtant, Sukhdev Singh, alias Sukha, Kuldeep Singh, alias Bittu, Jagjit Singh, alias Jeet, and Tarlochan Singh, alias Bhola.

Khakh said they were signalled to stop their two cars at a special post in the Hadiabad locality, but they tried to flee.

During preliminary questioning, they confessed they had made a gang of over 10 persons for lifting vehicles and used to sell the stolen vehicles after preparing fake documents. Several startling revelations are expected during their further interrogation, Khakh added.

Jalandhar, September 27
The civil hospital will celebrate World Health Day tomorrow in its non-communicable diseases cell as per the guidelines of the World Heart Foundation.

A rally will be organised on the occasion to create awareness among the people about the magnitude of heart diseases. The local branch of the IMA will also take part in the function. Eminent cardiologists will speak on the causes and prevention of heart diseases. A special medical camp will be organised for the detection of the diseases in the following week where cardiac consultation and other investigations like EECGH and lipid profile will be done free of cost during hospital hours.

Besides this, health awareness and screening camps will also be organised in the industrial units that employ a large number of people.

Special lectures are being held in the high schools in Kartarpur, Kala Bakra and Jamsher blocks to make the children aware of the importance of wholesome and health food, role of exercising and avoiding tobacco and intoxicants in their adult life.

Amritsar:Celebrating World Heart day today, Fortis-Escort Hospital announced to hold a week-long awareness drive for various heart diseases and their prevention.

Sunil Kapoor, executive director of the hospital, said the activities would include free heart risk assessment as per the international guidelines, besides organising a bicycle rally and a mega camp on October 2. The hospital would also reach out to the public through schools by holding declamation and painting contests regarding prevention of heart risks. Dr. Arun Chopra, cardiologist, said heart diseases were emerging out to be one of the biggest causes of mortality the world over. He said by 2025 it was estimated that nearly one in three adults, over 25 years of age, will have high blood pressure.

Jalandhar, September 27
To help provide job opportunities to the youth of the district, the Jalandhar Chamber of Industry and Commerce is organising the second rozgar mela on the premises of the District Industries Centre, Focal Point, here on October 3.

Addressing mediapersons, deputy commissioner Ajit Singh Pannu said the mela would help the youth of the district who were sitting idle and falling in bad company or getting addicted to drugs. He said even those who were addicts and were presently under treatment would be given a chance.

Jalandhar Chamber of Industry and Commerce president Narinder Sehgal said the industry had grown from 5 to 10 per cent due to which it was facing a shortage of labour and skilled workers.

The event would solve the purpose of both industry as well as the youth. The vacancies included security personnel, clerks, technical, computer operators, etc.

Besides, 70 to 75 per cent of migrant labourers and 20 to 25 per cent local labourers worked in industries.

But the shortage of migrant labourers had created a big problem for the industrialists these days. That was why they had mooted the idea of employing local labourers, especially from villages, so that both parties were benefited.

The first mela was organised in April this year in which out of 1,400 vacancies more than 300 candidates got jobs.

Hoshiarpur, September 27
Punjab medical education and research, parliamentary affairs, labour and forest and wildlife minister Tikshan Sud yesterday said the clean chit given by the Nanawati Commission to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had exposed the anti-Hindu propaganda of the Congress.

In a statement issued here, Sud said a high-level independent judicial commission under Justice Nanawati had concluded that the incident of burning of S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002, was a pre-planned conspiracy and not an accident.

The first part of the report gave a clean chit to Modi, saying there was no evidence of his or any Gujarat minister’s role in the case.

Sud demanded a public apology from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for making attempts to defame Modi, just for short-term electoral benefits.

The BJP leader said it was the policy of the Congress to organise riots to fetch a few more votes and to polarise society, whereas the BJP got votes on the plank of development and credibility of its leadership.