Jalandhar, January 23
Various Centre and state-run schemes for girl child seem to have failed to discourage a common trend of female infant abandonment here. The Pushpa Gujral Nari Niketan on Nakodar Road here has been receiving two to three newborns each month, almost all of them girls.

The heartless parents take the courage to leave their few days’ old daughters in the cradle of the orphanage in the dead of night and run away even before someone hears the bell or the yelling of their baby.

Even the adoption rate of boys is far higher. “All healthy boys, most of whom are received after loss of both their parents, get adopted by some childless couples on preference. Girls still are the second choice,” believes K.D. Sharma, who manages the centre.

One of the twin sons of an insane rape victim “Pagli Munni”, who had been in the headlines of local papers some four years back, has been adopted by a highly influential family through the Nari Niketan after their mother had died days after delivery in the civil hospital here. His brother Rahul, who is crippled because of wasting of his lower limbs, is the only boy left in the centre. There are 35 girls waiting to get their new homes.

Chetna and Nidhi are barely a month old. Rama and Rakhi are three to four months old. Another infant Ria who is suffering from Down’s syndrome has also not been accepted by any family. They are all being well taken care of by the nurses and helpers.

Four-year-old Bani, who has a genetic disorder dwarfism, has also not got any new parents. Three-year-old Jiah, however, is perfectly normal and ready to go to school.

In fact, all other girls are going to the adjoining A.N. Gujral School. There are even some who have finished their school studies. One of the girls is even doing B.Tech from Lovely Professional University. The entire fee expenses are being borne by the Lovely Educational Trust, said Sharma.

There are a few girls who are teaching in local schools. Sharma said that the society had recently married off a few girls. “We act like girl’s parents by looking for a suitable match. Even after marriage, we keep constant contact with her. The girls keep visiting the centre and we make it a point to send them off only after giving them a gift,” he summed up.

Jalandhar, January 23
As if it wasn’t shocking enough to hear about the couple who gave their son away to strangers for money, barely two days after their arrest, the news of the father escaping from police custody has raised serious questions on the functioning of the police.

Eluding police personnel, Balwinder Singh, who along with his wife Sonia, had sold his newborn baby boy to a Kapurthala-based couple, escaped from the local civil hospital this afternoon.

The under trial prisoner dodged two cops - ASI Rajwinder Singh and head constable Jasbir Singh - when he was taken to the hospital for medical check up after being remanded in judicial custody by Gurmeet Kaur, ACJM, Jalandhar.

The three suspects in the case - Balwinder Singh, Sonia and Kulwinder Kaur - were remanded in judicial custody by the court.

Given the peculiar nature of the case, it was all the more important for the police to keep a strict vigil on the criminals. Legal action has been initiated against the negligent cops.

A senior police official said a hunt had been launched to nab Balwinder.

Residents of Kotla village in Jalandhar, Balwinder Singh and Sonia were in police custody for allegedly selling their newborn baby to Rajinder Singh and his wife of Dhilwan village in Kapurthala for Rs 1 lakh. A mediator, Kulwinder Kaur, in the case was also in police custody.

The buyer couple was remanded in judicial custody by a local court on Thursday.

Pathankot, January 23
Punjab Chief Minister and SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal today said that the SAD-BJP alliance would contest the coming Lok Sabha elections by making development as its poll plank and the performance of its government in the state.

Badal, who was here this evening in connection with his ongoing “vikas yatra”, said that due to the unprecedented overall development made in the state in just 22 months of the alliance rule, the Congress had been finding itself in a tight spot and had become issueless in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Addressing a rally organised by Punjab transport minister Master Mohan Lal, Badal said that no area of Punjab would be left undeveloped and people would be given better living conditions.

He slammed that the state Congress leadership for their myopic and self-centred approach restricted to personal gains and petty politics. He blamed the Congress for its dubious role to scuttle the efforts of the SAD-BJP government to ensure overall and balanced growth in the state. He added that because of negative politics of the Congress, the SAD-BJP alliance would win all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

Badal announced a Rs 5-crore grant for the municipal committee (MC), Pathankot, Rs 1.02 crore for the Pathankot constituency, Rs 2 crore for the MC, Sujanpur, Rs 2.64 crore for the villages in the Sujanpur constituency, Rs 2 crore for the MC, Dinanagar, Rs 2.67 crore for the villages in the Dinanagar constituency and Rs 3.3 crore for the villages in the Narot Mehra constituency. In addition, under the border area development programme he disbursed cheques for Rs 1.43 crore and Rs 1.17 crore for the Dinanagar and Narot Mehra constituencies.

Badal said the demands raised by Master Mohan Lal in connection with completion of the bypass, a special package for industries in the border area, setting up of a skill centre for the unemployed youth and setting up of a rehri market to smoothen the flow of traffic in the town would be taken care of and solved at the earliest. He said he would also take care of the demands raised by the MLAs of the assembly segments falling in the border areas of Gurdaspur district.

Earlier, Badal laid the foundation stone of the project connected with 100 per cent sewerage and water supply facilities in the town at a cost of Rs 47.52 crore.

Jalandhar, January 23
The Punjab NRI Sabha now pegs its hopes on Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal who has been allocated the ministry of NRI affairs among other departments about their unfulfilled demands.

Expressing gratitude to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for Sukhbir’s elevation, NRI Sabha president Kamaljit Singh Hayre said the sabha would make achievements under his leadership.

Congratulating the presidents of the district units of the NRI Sabha for their unanimous re-elections at a meeting here on Thursday, Hayre hoped that Sukhbir would fulfil their long-pending demands, including setting up of fast-track judicial courts for NRIs, he added.

Hayre appreciated the SAD-BJP government for making the NRI-1 scheme with which the provision of matching share for NRIs for providing the basic infrastructure for the community development was decreased from 50 to 25 per cent.

The sabha president said the new plan applicable from April 1 last year would attract more participation from NRIs for the development of their native areas.

Hayre also expressed gratitude to the Punjab government for issuing directions that at least DSP-level inquiry would be required before registering any criminal case against any NRI.

Setting up of the fast-track revenue courts and the NRI police stations had already eased several difficulties of NRIs, he added.

Jalandhar, January 23
Two youth, including a student of a Phagwara-based university, were crushed to death and another person sustained serious injuries in two separate accidents on the busy Jalandhar-Amritsar road here today.

Akshi Mahajan, resident of Jammu, was killed when her maternal uncle Dinesh Mahajan riding a motorcycle had a head-on collision with a truck (PAT -4731) near Pathankot bypass. Mahajan sustained serious injuries. The mishap occurred at about 5 am.

Dinesh, a resident of the Industrial Area, was also hospitalised in the civil hospital. According to the police, the truck driver fled from the scene of soon after the accident. In another accident, Sukhdeep Singh, a resident of Kartarpur, was crushed to death on the Jalandhar-Kartarpur road this morning. According to the police, Sukhdeep, riding a scooter, was hit by a truck about 8 am. The police has arrested the truck driver, Mohinder Singh, who is a resident of Ludhiana.

Hoshiarpur: Advocate Pardeep Kapur (32), son of District Congress Committee general secretary Harbans Lal Kapur, died on the spot when the motorcycle he was riding skidded on Sutehri Road last night. In another accident Ankit, son of Jaram Singh of Keharian village, was killed on the spot while Meenakshi, Monica, Raman and driver Sunil Rawat wounded when the Tavera vehicle (TCI-CG-3590) in which they were going to their village from Jalandhar, plunged into a deep choe on the Hoshiarpur-Dasuya road, near Hariana town, last night.