Jagraon, October 4
The murder mystery of an NRI, who was first kidnapped and then murdered, took a new turn with surrender of his wife, Jatinder Pal Kaur (45).

Comrade Surat Singh, cousin of the murdered NRI, Basant Singh, played an imminent role in the surrender. With this, a total of six arrests have been made by the police till now.

Jatinder Pal Kaur, the mastermind behind the entire episode, is said to have illicit relations with Buby (22), who was earlier declared the mastermind behind the kidnapping drama, ransom demands and the murder.

Jatinder Pal is said to have seduced Bubby about 5-6 years back, when she came to India with Basant Singh. At that time, Buby worked as a driver for Basant Singh. Buby is son of her real sister.

About two years back, when Jatinder Pal came to India along with her children, she used to share same bedroom with him upstairs, while the children occupied their room on the ground floor.

Basant Singh was made aware of this, but he never doubted her. They had sermonised a love marriage against the wishes of their parents.

She had planned to harm her husband in such a way to make him handicapped so that she could easily take Buby along with her, and spent rest of her life with him. Due to their family relationship, nobody would have doubted their relationship.

But the situation went out of their control when the gang hired by Buby slit the throat of Basant Singh under the influence of liquor and he died on the spot. She came to India for cremation of her husband, but went underground with the arrest of the culprits and Buby.

Sensing the game finished, she surrendered through her relatives and was sent to jail by Judge Mandeep Kaur, Jagraon courts.

Doraha, October 4
A spare parts dealer was allegedly looted and pushed out of a moving taxi by the driver and one of his accomplices in the wee hours of today near Jaspalon village.

Seventy-year-old Parkash Lal Chabra, who had hired a taxi for Delhi from Sherpur Chowk, Ludhiana, was beaten up and threatened with dire consequences if he raised a hue and cry. The accused stabbed the dealer with some sharp-edged weapon and looted him. Later they pushed him out of the moving car.

The victim received serious injuries and was found yelling by a pedestrian, who then informed his relatives. He was admitted to Sidhu Hospital in Doraha from where he was referred to CMC Hospital, Ludhiana, where his condition is stated to be stable.

According to reports, the miscreants took away Rs 31,000 and a cell phone of the victim. A copy of the driving license, identity proof and income tax return is also reported to be missing.

Victim’s son Avinash Kumar, a reporter in a vernacular daily, said his father used to go to Delhi every week to buy spare parts. He said that his father had hired a white Maruti car which was being driven by a Punjabi-speaking youth. “The one sitting next to the driver seemed to be a Himachali by looks and dialect,” he said.

As the taxi reached Doraha, the duo threatened the victim to hand over all the valuables or face the music. When he refused, the two tried to kill him with a knife and looted him, said the police. Police officials, including SSP Khanna and DSP, Payal, SHO, Payal, and Doraha police post in charge, reached on the spot to take stock of situation.

According to Doraha police post in charge Baljinder Singh, a case under Section 382 of the IPC had been registered against unidentified miscreants. “The search for the mobile phone, which the victim said the miscreants might have lost at the spot, is on,” he said. 

Ludhiana, October 4
Poor connectivity has hit online filing of value added tax (VAT) returns. Apart from traders, who were unable to file their returns for the previous quarter, exporters and those seeking tax refunds are suffering as they are unable to upload their returns on the excise department's website for the past couple of days.

While the quarterly returns have to be filed by the end of this month, traders and tax professionals said it could hit e-filing in a big way if the problem was not solved at the earliest.

"We have been trying to upload the returns for our clients, but are unable to do so. It is causing a lot of inconvenience. Besides, the work is piling up. We fear that the inability to rectify the problem would make online submitting of the returns impossible," said a tax lawyer.

Online filing of returns was made compulsory for those with a turnover of over Rs 10 crore, those claiming refunds and exporters since the last quarter.

Traders said the department should be as "careful" in maintaining its systems. "The department has been insisting on e-filing of returns, but what is the point of online filing if the systems give up. Assessees have been facing inconvenience for the past many days," said Jatinder Khurana of the Taxation Young Lawyers Association.

Ludhiana, October 4
The Haibowal police has booked Anju Rani, a resident of Civil City, for allegedly trying to kill her mother-in-law by splashing boiling cooking oil on her face.

The victim, Chanda Bala (65), sustained burn injuries and was rushed to the civil hospital on September 29. According to reports, Anju had strained relations with her mother-in-law ever since she got married to Amarjit Singh four years ago.

On September 29, both of them had a heated argument over some issue and in a fit of rage, Anju splashed the burning cooking oil on Chanda Bala’s face.

The police has registered a case under Section 307 of IPC against Anju Rani. However, no arrested has been made so far.

Khanna, October 4
Jagir Singh, a resident of village Ramgarh, was killed in an accident late last night. Jagir was on his way towards his village on a bicycle, when a speeding vehicle hit him near the Markfed. 

He was rushed to the civil hospital, where he was declared brought dead. A case has been registered at Sadar police station.

Ludhiana, October 4
The Daba Chowki police has booked two youths for allegedly abducting a minor and keeping her in illegal confinement for four days.

The girl returned home soon after the police registered an FIR against the two accused.

The girl, a resident of Gurcharan Colony near Lohara, alleged that she was abducted by the two youths from Jain Colony while she was returning home on the evening of September 30. She was kept in a room near Daba Colony and was drugged for three days. She was released by the accused yesterday.

The girl was taken to the civil hospital for medical examination this evening.

According to ASI Dalbir Singh of Daba Chowki, the police has nabbed the accused, Harjinder Singh, alias Roma, and Rohit Kumar, who abducted the girl.

The accused were produced in the court which sent them in one-day police remand.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 4
Regardless of their political allegiance, Muslims of Mandi Ahmedgarh and neighbouring villages have accused the successive governments of ignoring their demands.

Though the Congress and the SAD chief ministers have been releasing grants on Eid during their respective tenures, none of them ever bothered to announce a single penny for the Muslim organisations of this area, they alleged.

In a communication to Chief Ministers Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Badal, office-bearers of some Muslim organisations of the area have accused the successive governments of ignoring their demands.

What to talk of receiving grants for educational institutions and dispensaries, members of the community had to contribute for upkeep of graveyards and Idgah. The Muslim leaders regretted that no chief minister or a MLA ever visited the town to greet members of their community on Eid.

According to Munir Mohammad, president of Muslim Youth Front and Hamir Mohammad, general secretary of Muslim Welfare Organisation, the successive governments had by now sent grants worth crores for the construction and renovation of buildings owned by the Muslim organisations of a nearby town, but none of them ever bothered about Muslims of local town and surrounding villages.

The legislators of the constituency also did not raise their voice in this regard, they alleged.

"While a large number of Muslims, after being allured by the Congress and the SAD leaders, leave for Malerkotla to show solidarity with their respective leaders, only Idgarh at Dehliz road fails to accommodate men offering prayers during Namaz on Eid.

We have to sit and stand on road in front of Idgah when the Idgah is fully packed during Eid celebrations," rued Munir Mohammad, urging local Muslims to impress upon their respective leaders to take up the issue with the chief minister.

Ludhiana, October 4
The onset of festive season has failed to bring cheer to employees of the government schools in Ghungrana and Khera villages, who are hard pressed to make both ends meet.

Absence of a head in both these schools has led to non-disbursal of salaries to the staff.

Both Government High School, Ghungrana, and Government Middle School, Khera, are sans heads as their headmasters have been transferred.

"We have not got our salaries for over two months which has made it tough for us to make both ends meet. It is very difficult to sustain a family of six without salary. I am the only earning hand and with the festivals coming up, things have become worse for us. The issue needs to be sorted on an immediate basis as a large number of employees are affected," said a teacher.

Further refusal by the senior-most teacher of the school, Gurcharan Kaur, to take charge has aggravated the problem.

Gurcharan Kaur refused to accept charge as a result of which the salaries of the staff could not be disbursed for over two months now.

When contacted the teacher initially expressed her ignorance about the orders, but later she told The Tribune: "Someone from the school informed me about the orders. But I don't think I'm capable enough to take over as the headmistress of the school. I am a teacher and don't possess the skills of an administrator. I have given an application to the district education officer (secondary), requesting her to spare me from the responsibility. I have been on leave since the past few days. But if things are forced on me, I will resign from my job."

Staff members rued that they were being made to suffer for no fault of theirs.

The DEO (secondary) could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Raikot, October 4
The 10-day NSS camp at SGG Janta Girls College concluded today with a colourful cultural programme. MLA Harmohinder Singh, senior vice-president of the managing committee Harjit Kaur and principal Dr Savita Uppal were present.

A number of lectures were organised during the camp. Dr Paramjit Kaur, principal of Khalsa College, Sidhwan Khurd, delivered a lecture on the importance and need of the NSS. A declamation contest on ideology of Shaheed Bhagat Singh in the present times was also conducted. Kamaljeet Kaur discussed the importance of nutrition among women and children. Discussions on the role of youth in globalisation and drug abuse among youths were also held during the camp.

Dr Sandhu conducted medical examination of the students after giving them useful tips on health management. The Raikot MLA called upon the participants to put up a joint fight against the injustice being done to women.

Khanna: An NSS camp organised at AS College for Women concluded today. Khanna SSP, Arunpal Singh, was chief guest on the occasion. Principal of the college, Rekha Bhardwaj, presented an elaborate report on the camp. Cultural programme was also organised, wherein dance and songs were also presented.

Doraha, October 4
Tarlochan Singh Sethi, an advocate based in Doraha, has accused the former acting chief of the municipal council of bungling worth lakhs of rupees during his tenure.

The advocate said the former chief had abused his position as the acting president and a member during the term that ended on April 20, 2008. Levelling serious allegations against him, the advocate said: "In total, the former chief paid building application fee of Rs 55,084 for four properties while the calculated amount to be paid comes to Rs 12,72,978." He added that the aforesaid information was received under the RTI Act, 2005.

The advocate alleged that the former council chief had not paid the building application fees as per the rules, which, he blamed, was in the knowledge of the authorities concerned too. He also blamed that the former acting chief was allowed to contest the elections despite the fact that written objections were filed against him with the Payal returning officer.

In an application to the principal secretary, local bodies, Punjab, the advocate has demanded that the inquiry of the case be referred to the vigilance department for proper investigation and necessary action.

Refuting all these charges, the councillor affirmed that sitting on a responsible post of an acting president of the municipal council, he had done nothing against the common interest and could never think of crossing his legal boundaries at any stage of his tenure.

As far as the paying of insufficient building application fee is concerned, he clarified that he had paid the fees exactly according to the rules. “Agricultural land has been excluded from building application feeslaws. Since my farmhouse is purely an agricultural piece, there is legally no tariff to be paid. Even then, I had deposited fee for the erected part and the boundary wall strictly as per law,” the former chief added. 

Ludhiana, October 4
Demands like 33 per cent reservation for women and steps to enhance equal participation of women in all spheres of life dominated the 12th state conference of Punjab Istri Sabha, which kicked off here today.

National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) national vice-president, Amarjeet Kaur, said the quota for women was important for their development as they had been always deprived of their rights in the society. Women’s participation is as important as that of men for any country to progress, she added.

Terming the Indo-US nuclear deal as danger for the nation, she said the arms race started by the US was a big threat to humanity. It was unfortunate that Indian government was aligning with a country like US, which had been intruding various nations on the pretext of fighting terrorism. Citing example of the US’s attack on Iraq, she added that US itself was spreading terror with its actions and had caused around 12.5 lakh deaths of the innocent.

Refuting the Centre government's claim that the nuclear deal would solve the power problem, she said only a small part of electricity needs of the nation would be fulfilled by the deal, which would be expensive and raise health concerns.

Cautioning the deteriorating law-situation in the country, Punjab Istri Sabha (PIS) president, Sheela, said the news of kidnapping and rapes of women had become a common practice and had prohibited women to participate in public activities. She motivated the participants to struggle for better law and order situation.

The spokespersons also raised a voice against social evils like female foeticide, dowry and terrorist attacks to create awareness among masses.

Among others present were NFIW vice-president Promila Loomba, federation secretary Nisha Sidhu, PIS secretary Mohinder Samber and Ludhiana unit chief Gurcharan Kochar.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 4
Claiming that characters in Ramlila portrayed ideals and roles of human beings in various capacities, organisers of Ramlila at local town and surrounding villages have called upon residents to imbibe principles from lives of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and Sita.

Staging Ramlila, besides replaying episodes of Ramayana, helped in promoting the dying theatre art, claimed the organisers.

Activists of various dramatic and art clubs have been staging episodes from Ramayana at MGMN Senior Secondary School, Grain Market, and surrounding towns.

Councillor Bimal Kumar Sharma and Des Raj Sharma, office-bearers of committee organising Ramlila at Gandhi School and Grain Market, called upon the residents to imbibe benevolent traits from the lives of various characters of Ramayana.

“At the same time we should learn reasons for the downfall of Ravana, who was one of the mightiest kings of that time," stressed the organisers.

Earlier artistes of the Ramlila Committee and Bhartiya Mahavir Dal organised a marriage procession before dramatising “Sita swambar” at MGMN Senior Secondary School here last night. A large number of "baratis" joined the religious procession that marched through the Railway road, Chaura Bazaar, the Mahavir road, Bhagat Singh Chowk, Gandhi Chowk and the Dehliz road.

Activists of the Bhartiya Mahavir Dal, the Har Har Mahadev Sangh and the Shri Ram Mandir Committee joined the procession. Shlokas and bhajans were recited during the show. Director Bharat Bushan and Toni Kansal led the procession. 

Ludhiana, October 4
One time an artist herself, Ranjeet Grewal is today satisfying her passion for art through her newly opened Aafreen Art Gallery. She considers paintings the most recognised form of artistic expression. She loves to step into this mesmerising world, and find what her heart is looking for.

At one time holding a brush in the hand and making strokes proved a stress buster for this artist but today her weariness goes away once she has a look at varied expressions through the eyes of various artists. However, very soon she will once again revive her zeal to paint and will be depicting her ideas on the canvas.

Though the city is not too enthusiastic when it comes to art and culture but they need to be exposed to the same. "I recently held my exhibition at Sutlej Club and will be holding many more in the days to come. I was the first in the city to start flower business and many people told me that it would not work but I followed my heart and my business flourished. Similarly, this too may take some time but people are likely to develop taste for art," she believes.

Grewal's art gallery will display the works of some renowned artists like Dilip Choudhary and Anuradha as well as serve as a platform for the upcoming artists of the region. "Since the art galleries in Punjab are very few in number, I would love to provide a platform for budding artists so that they can get proper exposure through the medium created by me," quips she.

The meaning of the name of her art gallery 'Aafreen', she says, is “praise or create”. And, she is hoping that people will visit her gallery and praise the creations.

Ludhiana, October 4
Insufficient credit availability is affecting the functioning of local small and medium enterprises. Bank credit to the small industry is declining and so is the share of the SME credit in priority sector advances, said P.D. Sharma, president of the Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Industrialists said SMEs were already passing through turbulent times due to rise in input costs, steel rates which had doubled within a year. As a result, credit requirement had significantly gone up and sufficient finance availability was critical for the industrial segment, they said.

"The growth of credit to industry in case of Punjab is also very disappointing," added Sharma.

Industry representatives also rued that high rates of lending were affecting them adversely.

President of the Auto Parts Manufacturing Association G.S. Kahlon pointed out that problems like long time taken in clearing of not only outstation, but also local cheques should be sorted out on an urgent basis. "The credit for local cheques is made available only on third day whereas in metropolitan cities it is available the same day," he said.

Ludhiana, October 4
Member of Parliament from the city, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, has expressed resentment over the recommended pay-scale hike for the armed forces.

The MP said the Sixth Pay Commission had given a step-motherly treatment to the armed forces that led more tough life as compared to the civil officers. He said those working in armed forces lived away from their families for years in extreme conditions and protected us by being vigilant day and night.

He added that he was not against the benefits being provided to the bureaucrats, but just wanted that equal justice should be done to those serving in armed forces too.

Raikot, October 4
The Raikot police today booked a commission agent for committing fraud with a farmer. On November 24 last year, Shamsher Singh, son of Bachan Singh of Bhaini Baringa, complained to Ludhiana SSP R.K. Jaiswal that a commission agent (arhtia), who had shop in the Raikot grain market, committed a fraud with him. 

He complained that the commission agents, Kewal Krishan and Paramjit Singh, through whom he had sold his produce, had to pay him Rs 27 lakh. They delayed the payment on one pretext or the other. Sometimes, they even agreed to transfer their plots of equivalent amounts in the name of the complainant, but later refused to make any payment.

The Ludhiana SSP referred the matter to Jagraon SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, who, in turn, entrusted Raikot DSP Narinder Pal Ruby to conduct the inquiry wherein it was found that the allegations were true, The report was sent to Jagraon SSP on Feb 2, but he returned the report saying that certain things were not clear. After revising the inquiry, the Raikot DSP again sent his report to the Jagraon SSP, who after consulting DA, legal, recommended the case to be registered. A case was registered under Sections 406, 420 and 120-B. 

Ludhiana, October 4
The hearing on a bail plea moved by tehsildar-cum-sub registrar (west) Arvind Parkash Verma in bribery case was adjourned till October 6, as the judge concerned was on leave.

The bail application was pending in the court of Additional Sessions Judge G.S. Saran along with the bail plea of one more accused Parminder Pal Singh.

The tehsildar was arrested on the charges of accepting Rs 10,000 bribe on September 19. The Vigilance Bureau sleuths had taken action following a complaint of an NRI. He remained in police custody for four days and later sent in judicial custody. 

Ludhiana, October 4
Preparatory camp for visually impaired players of Punjab began at VRTC School, Haibowal, here today. As many as 33 'special' players, including 18 boys and 15 girls, are attending the camp to prepare for the 16th National Games for the Visually Impaired to be held at Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana, from November 17 to 20. Punjab chief parliamentary secretary, Harish Rai Dhanda, inaugurated the camp and also announced a grant of Rs 21,000.

Vivek Monga and Harmanpreet Kaur have been selected to lead Punjab men's and women's squads, respectively, for the forthcoming event. Other members of the camp are: Seema Rani, Kamaljeet Kaur Preeti, Gurvinder Kaur, Anu Monga, Sunita, Sandeep Kaur, Anuradha, Kulbir Kaur, Gurcharan Kaur, Deepika, Deepa, Inderpreet Kaur, Gurvinder Singh, Aman Kaur, Jagjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Gurbir Singh, Sandeep Singh, Rajinder Singh, Kapil Dev, Varinder Malik, Harpreet Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Harjinder Singh, Mangat Ram, Shamsher Singh, Harmeet Singh, Pritpal Singh and Gurvinder Singh.

Ludhiana, October 4
Hosts Ludhiana registered victories in football in the under-17 and under-19 sections on the penultimate day of the 54th Punjab School Inter-District Games being held simultaneously at Guru Nanak Stadium, Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agriculture University and Government Senior Secondary School, Bharat Nagar Chowk ground, here today. The games are being organised by the Punjab education department.

In under-17 section, Ludhiana beat Muktsar 1-0, while Muktsar overpowered Barnala 3-2. In other matches, Mansa pipped Ropar 2-1 and Sangrur got the better of Hoshiarpur 1-0. In the girl's under-19 category, Ludhiana drubbed Moga 8-0; Barnala beat Jalandhar 5-1; Hoshiarpur blanked Patiala 3-0 and Mansa defeated Amritsar 3-1 in a tie breaker.

In girls’ handball under-19 section, Ludhiana wing outnumbered Ropar 24-17; Hoshiarpur beat Sangrur 7-5; Ropar outclassed Hoshiarpur 26-16 and Kairon wing defeated Ropar 27-17.

Sudesh Bajaj and Rupinder Singh Ravi, district education officer and assistant education officer (sports), Ludhiana, Ajit Pal Singh, Gurmit Soshi and others were present during the matches today.