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Lok Sabha elections
Fake passport scam
AISSF chief to take on Tytler in poll arena
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Pollution check
Cops yet to receive 80 pc of licensed arms
Maintenance of parks: BMC shifts onus on residents
Wheat procurement begins in Ferozepur
Ex-MC chief, others join SAD (B)
CIA head constable hit by minibus, dies
Quiz contest organised
Man commits suicide in Fazilka, wife booked
Tiff with girlfriend ends with youth’s murder
School students advised on healthcare
19 hurt in road mishap
Yoga camp concludes
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Lok Sabha elections
Bathinda, April 7 For Raninder Singh, it is the prestige of his father, former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh which is at stake. Because Amarinder has taken the great risk of getting him ticket from here knowing well that the Badals have nourished this constituency during last two years of their regime. Observers say that Amarinder knows his strengths also. He has an overwhelming majority of MLAs from the Malwa belt, as Bathinda happens to be the heart of Malwa. Besides, the Water Treaty Abrogation Act passed by his government when he was the CM could prove to his advantage. However, the simmering discontent against the Badals among followers of Dera Sacha Sauda is certainly going to reflect in the elections because Dera followers are feeling too much victimised at the hands of the Akalis for having voted in favour of Congress during the last assembly elections. Harsimrat Kaur has her own strengths, too. Being the member of the first family of the state, she has an advantage of belonging to the party in power. Not just that, she has been working quite for sometime in the area. Although it would be certainly tough for her to fight against the sentiment of anti-incumbency, she hopes to capitalise on the traditional vote bank of the Akalis in the Malwa region. Moreover, her husband and the deputy CM Sukhbir Badal has brought so much money into Bathinda, which he has promised to turn into another European city. How far the change has translated at the ground level is a million dollar question. There may be some advantage for Harsimrat on account of being in the government. Although the anti-incumbency factor would certainly be dominating but there are certain incumbent advantages as well. Her Nanhi Chhaan campaign against female foeticide for safeguarding the girl child is also certain to yield some good dividends for her. Both the candidates are keeping their fingers crossed, although they express lot of confidence about their victory. Public perception about Raninder Singh’s edge apart, the contest is certainly going to be very tough in Bathinda this time.
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Fake passport scam
Moga, April 7 As many as 226 fake passports made by fraudulent means with the help of the said accused during the years 2006-07 were detected by the police during the investigations. The record of previous ten years, from 1995-1996 to 2005-2006, was yet to be scrutinised by the investigating team. An FIR under sections 420, 465, 468, 471 of the IPC, section 2/8 of the Passport Act and sections 13 (2), 88 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against him, three policemen, Jaswinder Singh, Ranjit Singh, Gurdial Singh and Ranjit Singh an employee of the municipal council besides Om Prakash, a postman. All the policemen involved in the scam had already been arrested besides, ten other persons including some travel agents and individuals who got passports made through fraudulent means. DSP Gurdarshan Singh and the ASI Tejinder Singh, who are investigating the case, told The Tribune that Didar had been arrested from outside the court complex, here. He had come here to file a bail application in a local court. They said that after the scam was unearthed, he managed to get his transfer from Chandigarh to Jammu and eluded arrest in the past one year. “We raided his office in Jammu and his residence at Chandigarh on many occasions but he managed to give a slip to the police,” the ASI added. The fake passports were made by tampering with the official records forging the documents of age, education, address proofs and the police verifications of the applicants. The modus operandi in the fake passport racket was that the police employees posted here in the security branch/passport branch prepared fake documents of police verification and then by manipulating with the travel agents or employees of the Regional Passport Office, Chandigarh, tampered with the original forms submitted for passport issuance. In some cases, even the original forms had been found to have been changed by them. They had also taken into confidence the local postmen who delivered the passports to the concerned persons even as the addresses mentioned on the registered/speed post envelopes carrying passports were fake. In some of these cases, these policemen were themselves involved in taking away the passports from the postmen and then delivering them to the addressees after getting a hefty amount from them. |
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AISSF chief to take on Tytler in poll arena
Moga, April 7 The Congress decision to field Tytler has drawn flak from the Sikh community. At the same time, almost all the opposition parties have been accusing the Congress government of using the CBI for vested political gains. Talking to The Tribune, Karnail Singh said, “I have decided to fight the election against Tytler not for any political gains but to create a public opinion among the peace loving people of the nation who stand by the very principles of justice and condemn the oppressive policies of the Congress against the minority communities.” Soon after his announcement to fight the elections panthic organisations like the Damdami Taksal headed by Jathedar Harnam Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) headed by Simranjit Singh Mann and Akali Dal Panchpradhani headed by Daljit Singh Bittu have announced support to him. President of the Delhi unit of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Manjit Singh UK, has said the option of supporting Peer Mohammad was open and he would discuss this issue with the party leadership keeping in view the larger interests of the Sikhs living in Delhi. PeerMohammed further said that the CBI’s dubious role in giving a clean chit to Jagdish Tytler at the behest of the Congress to clear the path for Tytler to become a member of the Lok Sabha would not be allowed to succeed. He alleged that the successive governments that ruled the nation in the past 25 years had shielded the leaders who were responsible for the mass killing of Sikhs in Delhi and 13 other states. It may be mentioned that this would be first time after the riots that Tytler would be directly challenged by the Sikh community in the elections by pinning hopes on creating a nation-wide opinion against the Congress on this issue. |
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Pollution check
Bathinda, April 7 He said a complete ban on harvesting of wheat through combine harvesting machines at night had been imposed. Elaborating further, Brar said when harvested during night, the quantity of moisture in the wheat increases. “When such crop is brought to mandis, it is not sold quickly due to presence of moisture above the permissible limit of 12 per cent. This leads to a glut of foodgrain in the market.” The administration through the agriculture department had launched a vigorous campaign in the past week to create awareness among the farmers about the harmful effects of the practice, Brar said. Similarly, the burning of wheat straw not only polluted the atmosphere but also adversely affected the soil fertility. At times, it also caused fire accidents in the adjoining areas, he stressed.
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Cops yet to receive 80 pc of licensed arms
Bathinda, April 7 According to the details procured from the district police headquarters, maximum arms licences were issued in the city with the Kotwali police station recording 8012 licenses. However, only 1200 of the weapons have been deposited till date. The Sangat police station has registered 2811 licensed arms but only 385 have been deposited. The number of licensed arms deposited in the Cantonment police station is 88 out of 170 and in the Maur police station, the figure is 400 out of 795. An SHO, on the condition of anonymity, said, "On the one hand, senior officers issue order to get the weapons collected with immediate effect but after a short while, we receive instructions regarding VIP duties. And ultimately, we would be accused of carelessness. But we find ourselves to be helpless." Besides, about 171 warrants have not been executed in the district. Out of them, the Dyalpura and the Maur police stations are on the top with 24 and 23 pending warrants respectively. Further, Raman, Thermal, Sadar and Rampura police stations have 15 pending warrants each. When contacted, SSP Ashish Chaudhary said, “We try to do things on time but the VIP duties create hurdles in the execution of plans. Sensing the high-profile poll contest here, I have been regularly asking my subordinates to ensure that the weapons are deposited at the earliest.” |
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Maintenance of parks: BMC shifts onus on residents
Bathinda, April 7 Sensing the non-viability of maintaining all 118 parks, under its jurisdiction, the BMC authorities have given the job to the residents, constituting Mohalla Park Committees (MPC), for which 50 paise per square yard is being paid every month, while the rest has to be collected from the nearby residents. As per the details available from the BMC office, there are 43 MPC, which have taken the responsibility of maintaining 69 parks by giving their own share to pay wages to the gardeners. The details show that the BMC had a total of 60 gardeners and some of them have already retired. Around 40 gardeners are deputed only for the maintenance of the Rose Garden, the only fully owned park by the BMC. Having interacted with a number of people, it was observed that a number of parks in Prajapati Colony, Azad Nagar, Paras Ram Nagar, Jogi Nagar, Ajit Road, Multania road and other areas are in a drastic need for overhaul. In some places, boundary walls, grills, swings have broken or rusted. Fountains are out of service and the overgrown grass has not been cut. “There is no staff crunch. A large number of gardeners can be noticed doing ‘unofficial’ jobs at the houses of senior officials,” lamented a resident of Parjapati Colony. The issue of unofficial duty has been raised by the councilors in the past at many general house meetings of the BMC but to no avail. When contacted, the executive officer, BMC, Kamal Kant said, “Though no specific complaint has reached me, yet all the employees are under watch.” “The MPC scheme has been showing positive results, as people are interested in the maintenance, which serves our purpose. Earlier, when parks were maintained by the BMC itself, there hardly a few bothered to carry out the scheme,” he added. It may be mentioned that earlier, under town planning scheme, 25 per cent of the land was to be from owners for the development of public utility purposes, including the roads, parks and other civic services. Later, it was observed that during such process, the BMC authorities found it difficult to get possession of enough number of parks, which are either mired in litigation or demarcation related issues.
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Wheat procurement begins in Ferozepur
Ferozepur, April 7 SDM Gurjit Singh Pannu, K.C. Kajal deputy director Food and Supplies, Vijay Mechant DMO, Sukhdev Singh DFSC, Ajaib Singh, DM Markfed besides officials from PUNSUP, Punjab Agro, FCI, State Warehousing were present during the meeting. Earlier, the DC accompanied by these officials also toured at least 12 villages including Sandhe Hasham, Kulgari, Makhu, Zira, Talwandi Bhai, Mudki, Vara Bhaika, Ratta Khera besides grain markets in Ferozepur City and Cantonment areas. The DC told this correspondent that due to heavy rains and hailstorm which had lashed this region a couple of days back, the arrival of the wheat in the grain markets was slow. He said that the moisture content in the wheat which has arrived in the market was also more than the stipulated limit of 12 per cent. Hence, the farmers have been advised to let the wheat dry under the sun before bringing it to the grain markets. The wheat stock in which moisture content was below the specified limit was purchased by the agencies at Rs 1,080 per quintal on the spot. The DC said that various procurement agencies had been allotted different purchase centres for smooth procurement. He further said that adequate arrangements for providing gunny bags had been made. Besides, authorities had been instructed to provide facilities like clean potable water, toilets, tarpaulins, electricity and other requisite required to the farmers. He said that a district-level control room had been set up in the office of the district mandi officer whereas at sub-division level, SDMs have been directed to monitor the procurement drive for which flying squads have also been constituted. |
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Ex-MC chief, others join SAD (B)
Mansa, April 7 Speaking on the occasion, Sukhbir claimed a wave in favour of the SAD. Talking about the Patiala seat, he claimed that SAD (B) candidate would win with by over one lakh votes. He declined to comment on the issue of Jag Jeet Singh Banni. |
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CIA head constable hit by minibus, dies
Abohar, April 7 As per information gathered from different sources, the CIA staff had laid a naka near the city bypass, outside village Alamgarh, last night to check smuggling of contraband from Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan. Head constable, Jagdish Kumar, a resident of village Panjkosi of Abohar sub-division, signalled a car to stop for checking. As he was crossing the highway to check the car that was halted on the roadside, a private minibus hit him. More policemen from the CIA staff office located on the same road rushed and shifted Jagdish to the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital but he succumbed to his injuries. The body was handed to the parents on Tuesday after post mortem. A case has been registered, sources added. Meanwhile, Harjinder Singh of village Jat Jhorar in Malout sub-division, who was arrested by the CIA staff yesterday for carrying opium from Rajasthan, has been sent to judicial custody. Bhangar Singh of Dharam Nagari has also been remanded in judicial custody after arrest under Excise Act. |
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Quiz contest organised
Abohar, April 7 Principal Dr Sanjeev Kumar Sharma of MIMIT College, Malout, was the chief guest. Principal Iqbal Singh Rumana of the host college welcomed him. Praveen Midha, head of the department, ECE MIMIT, presided over the session. Chairman, Sanjeev Midha, exhorted students to update their knowledge. —
OC |
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Man commits suicide in Fazilka, wife booked
Fazilka, April 7 The deceased had been living at village Jatwali for about two years. His wife Paramjit Kaur allegedly had an affair with one Kulwant Singh of the same village for about six months. Lachman was depressed over it. His family members tried to advise his wife. However, Paramjit Kaur allegedly eloped with her paramour Kulwant Singh six days back leaving her minor children with her husband. The deceased could not tolerate this. Kala Singh, brother of the deceased Lachman Singh, has also corroborated the statement of his father. SHO Sadar Maninder Bir Singh, said that a case under section 306, 34 of the IPC has been registered against both the absconding lovers. |
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Tiff with girlfriend ends with youth’s murder
Bathinda, April 7 A few days back, both of them had a tiff and in a fit of rage, Vijay Kumar had slapped her. A woman leader of the Shiv Sena, today in the evening, called the boy and his mother to sort out the issue. Both, along with some others went to their house, where around 20 youth laced with sharp-edged weapons assaulted Vijay Kumar, following instructions from the girl’s mother, Geeta Rani. Sensing the situation, his friends managed to take him away. The assailants then started searching for him. After an hour, he was found lying in pool of blood in a nearby hut. A resident called the police helpline after which he was taken to Civil Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Police rounded up Manju Rani, the girl in question, and her mother Geeta Rani. The mother of Vijay Kumar, Sheela Rani said his marriage was slated for May 4 and he was her only son. When contacted, SHO Kotwali Harmeek Singh said, “We have been interrogating the women while our teams have been searching for the brothers of the girl, Raju and Narinder, the main accused in the murder case.” |
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School students advised on healthcare
Bathinda, April 7 On the occasion, various competitions were organised. Students cut fruit chaat, vegetables and salad in attractive patterns and arranged different sprouts in plates in admirable designs. —
TNS |
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19 hurt in road mishap
Bathinda, April 7 According to details available, most of the injured belonged to village Shekhe Kalan of Moga district. Though the cause of mishap was yet to be ascertained, some of the injured said the driver, in an attempt to avoid a collision with a vehicle, took a sharp turn, which resulted in the mishap. On receiving the information, volunteers of the Sahara Jan Seva reached the spot and rushed all the injured to the Civil Hospital, Bathinda. The injured have been declared to be out of danger. |
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Yoga camp concludes
Bathinda, April 7 Swami Surya Dev, a disciple of Swami Ram Dev, taught meditation techniques to the attendees. Elementary knowledge of yogic practices and diet for the prevention of diseases was also imparted with a special emphasis on stress-related diseases. Talking to TNS, the yoga guru, who had held various camps in different towns of the Malwa belt, lauded the overwhelming response of people towards yoga. Vijay Goyal, chairman, the Sahara Jan Sewa, also delivered a lecture on ‘psychotherapy and yoga’. |
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