The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Old couple’s murder Grandson behind the plot, held P.K. Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 18 A property dispute between father and son has emerged as the major cause of murder of an old couple, Iqbal Singh and his paramour Gurmej Kaur, in the city on the night of January 14. The couple was strangled by several identified persons at their residence in Fateh Singh Colony, Jhabal Road, here. Harpreet Singh, grandson of deceased Iqbal Singh, and four others have been arrested. What had baffled the investigating police team was involvement of an advocate, an uncle of accused Harpreet Singh, who is the grandson of deceased Iqbal Singh. The advocate, who is identified as Davinder Singh, was at large since the registration of the murder case under sections 302 and 34 of the IPC at Sadar police station. According to investigations, Harpreet hired four persons and gave them a “supari” of Rs 1 lakh for killing his grandfather and his paramour. A retired patwari, Iqbal Singh, a resident of Khaparkheri village, who was now residing in Fateh Singh Colony with Gurmej Kaur, had sold his four acres of land at the village for Rs 75 lakh and received Rs 5 lakh as “biana”, which he gave to his daughter Amarjit Kaur, the complainant in the case. When Iqbal Singh’s son Baldev Singh and grandson Harpreet came to know about the deal, they felt that Iqbal Singh was going to give his whole property to his daughter and paramour. Iqbal Singh had already given a plot in Fateh Singh Colony to Gurmej Kaur. District police chief Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh said the other accused who were arrested in the case were Sarmail Singh, alias Shaila, Jaspal Singh, alias Pala, Mukhtiar Singh, alias Mukha, all residents of Khaparkheri village, and Tarsem Singh, alias Sema, of Guru Ki Wadali village. He said the culprits had confessed to the crime. He said during investigations it also came to light that Harpreet, in connivance with his advocate uncle Davinder Singh, contacted the four accused and gave them money for committing the crime. According to the plan, Harpreet, along with the other four accused, went to the house of Iqbal Singh in Fateh Singh Colony on the night of January 14 and strangled Iqbal Singh and Gurmej Kaur. The SSP said out of the amount given as “supari” Rs 85,000 had been recovered and raids were being carried out to arrest the absconding advocate.
	Rain brings relief to farmers Jalandhar, January 18 Light to moderate rains lashed Punjab for the second consecutive day today even as the night temperatures remained above normal throughout the state. The rain is considered good for the wheat and other winter crops. There were reports of rain from Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ferozepore, Faridkot, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and other parts of the state. The minimum temperature remained 3 to 5 degrees above normal in the state as the sky remained overcast. The minimum temperature in the holy city of Amritsar rose by three degrees from yesterday and was recorded at 7.8 degrees Celsius last night. The minimum temperature at Adampur, however, fell and was recorded at 8.6 degrees, while at Halwara it also fell and was recorded at 9.4 degrees. The minimum temperature in the border town of Pathankot fell by one degree and was recorded at 11.4 degrees Celsius, while at Bathinda in the Malwa belt it went up by 5 degrees from yesterday and was recorded at 12.6 degrees. The city had light showers this morning with the sky remaining overcast. The Met Office at Adampur has forcast light showers during the day tomorrow, while the weather may clear up in the night. The Weatherman has warned of fog tomorrow morning. — UNI
	Cautious admn brings down dargah Carries out a late night operation with the help of the police and roadways employees to reclaim the ‘encroached land’ near the bus terminus Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 18 Apprehending fierce resistance from the followers of a 50-year-old dargah adjacent to the boundary walls of the local bus terminus that was causing traffic chaos, the local administration, police and the roadways employees carried out a late night operation to reclaim the ‘encroached land’. The well-planned operation that began at 10.30 pm yesterday went on till 6.30 am today with the entire debris removed from the site. The only marker indicating the existence of the structure was an uprooted peepal tree. To the relief of the officers involved, there was no opposition from any corner. Even through the day today, there was no demonstration by anyone at the site. As the operation began, the whole area was cordoned off. No vehicle, including buses, was allowed to pass across the road in front of the site. Throughout the night, the buses used the entry and exit gates on the Garha Road and further plied out via the Defence Colony. The removal of the structure was necessitated because it came in the way of one of the arms connecting the under-construction railway overbridge near Sadar Police Station here. While the other part of the construction work was nearing completion, construction of this portion of the bridge had not even yet started. As per the plan, all buses coming to the bus stand over the bridge would get down from a causeway to be constructed near the site. The operation was given a go ahead by the DC while it was executed by tehsildar Rajeev Verma, DSP Parminder Singh, Punjab Roadways GM-1 Inderjit Singh Chawla and GM-2 Parneet Singh Minhas. When contacted, Baba Sohan Lal Topi Shah connected with the site alleged that the administration had been unjust to him. “They came unannounced and when I opposed it showing certain legal documents, they took me to the bus stand police chowki saying that they would discuss it there,” he said. He said there was no idea in holding a dharna. “I will fight it out through a legal battle as I have already been doing it,” he added.
	CM’s Gurdaspur visit may run into trouble Chander Parkash/TNS Gurdaspur, January 18 The visit of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to the district on January 23 during his ongoing “vikas yatra” is likely to witness a strong protest from the candidates who have not been issued appointment letters as ETT teachers by the authorities concerned. Though the SAD-BJP leadership in the district has been trying its best to ensure the success of the rallies to be held by the CM on January 23, activists of the Berozgar BEd Adhyapak Front, Punjab, have decided to hold a protest rally at Batala where Badal would be addressing a rally on January 23. The activists said 473 candidates of the district had been waiting for their appointment as ETT teachers for the past many weeks and if the authorities concerned failed to issue appointment letters to them till January 22, they, along with their families, would be holding a protest at Batala on January 23. They added that a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the front here today. On the other hand, people of Gurdaspur, including a large section of Congressmen, are agitated over the fact that the SAD-BJP combine has deprived the area of any development project so far. They alleged that in the past about two years, the CM had not announced even a single development project for this border district, which needed advancement in every field, including roads, educational facilities, industries, civil amenities and transportation. They said if Badal failed to announce a development project which could sufficiently address the needs of the area, during his visit, they would launch an agitation in the entire district and would mobilise people at the grassroots level against the discrimination being done to them by the present ruling set-up. Meanwhile, Badal would be visiting Batala and Pathankot, apart from other places of this district, on January 23. He is expected to release grants worth crores for various projects connected with the sanitation facilities in Batala and Pathankot.
	Reviving dying art of gatka Kusum Arora Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 18 Brandishing a sword in the air with poise in her eyes she swung as if to catch hold of her opponent. The girl caught the fancy of the onlookers with her composed skills. Coupled with a loud echo of “Bole So Nihal” and dhol beats she added zest to the event. Meet Simratpal Kaur, one of the budding gatka players, who received accolades for her fine martial arts. She was here to take part in the gatka competition organised by the Akal Khalsa Sports Club under the aegis of Sikh Welfare Council International. Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the event, Simratpal said, “Gatka is not just about following the Sikh path but also keeping yourself mentally fit. In fact many of my friends think that I lead a very religious life, whereas I enjoy life as my friends do. It is just that my way of leading life is a bit different from others as I have been born and brought up in a religious family.” A student of BA-III of BD Arya Girls College, she started learning martial arts at an early age. An initiative to revive the dying art of gatka among the young generation, the competition was held for the first time here. Usually considered as a men bastion gatka was not a much popular art form among women. However, to popularise it, the event was kept open for girls of all age groups. Jagdish Kaur, an instructor and president of the Mata Ganga Ji Miri Piri Gurmat Academy from Kathar village, said, “We are running a special academy for both boys and girls at our village. Besides providing training in the academy, we also conduct camps in other educational institutes. But our prime concern is to include girls in large number as well and empower them with self-defence skills.” Jagdish Kaur has been conducting special evening classes for the youth. “In the recent past some of my students participated in gatka competitions at Chandigarh and Delhi as well. We motivate the youth to shun drugs and anti-social practices,” she added. As many as 15 academies across the region participated in the event. These are Shri Guru Kalgidhar Akhara, Basti Sheikh, Mata Ganga Miri Piri Academy, Kathar, Akal Khalsa Sports Club, Bahodipur village, Bhai Lalo Gurmati Academy, Raj Karega Gatka Akhara, Tanda, Meghowal Akhara, Hoshiarpur, Bhai Bachitar Singh Akhara, Hoshiarpur, Kartarpur Akhara, Shri Guru Arjan Dev Akhara, Khandola village, Guru Nanak Mission School, Jalandhar, GN Khalsa College, Daroli Kalan village, Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, and Mata Sahib Kaur Girls College, Jagpalpur. Meanwhile, boys of all the age groups too participated. The boys from Shri Guru Kalgidhar Akhara, Basti Sheikh, presented a dummy performance of gatka in which the young boys stole the show.
	Rape Case Residents rue police ‘indifference’ Tarn Taran, January 18 The Dehati Mazdoor Sabha and some other organisations have taken serious note of the fact that the accused in a rape case has not been arrested by the Patti police even though a week has passed since the incident. The representatives of the organisations have threatened to gherao the Patti police station in case the police fails to arrest the accused before January 26. Sat Pal Sharma and other leaders of the organisations told this correspondent here today a that a teenaged girl of Kairon village,18 kilometers from here, was allegedly raped by one Daljit Singh of the same village, a week back. The leaders said the police had registered a case under sections 452 and 354 of the IPC and section 376 (rape section) was added later only after the people protest against the indifference of the police. The leader further said the police denied issuing docket number to the victim. Only when the public put pressure, did the police get the girl medically examined from the local civil hospital rather than from the Patti civil hospital. The leaders said the accused are moving about freely in the village and have been serving threats to the family of the rape victim. When contacted, Bachitter Singh, SHO, Patti, said the accused got a stay order against his arrest till February 5, 2009 against sections 452 and 354 of the IPC. — OC