Chandigarh, June 6
Punjab, for granting remission in sentence to those convicted in rape cases, has qualified that for such cases, the rape victim should be a major. If the rape victim is minor, less than 18 years of age, remission will not be allowed.

By this change in policy, the Home Department is considering grant of remissions to convicts on the eve of Guruta Gaddi Diwas last year. This policy circular, issued on September 1, 2008, has come to light through an RTI application.

It states that the benefit of remission shall not be given to “any conviction under Section 376, IPC, where a rape has been committed with a minor girl”.

The Tribune report, “Rape of Law: Convicts walk free in Punjab”, published on March 5, 2008, had said how the prisoners convicted for rape were being released from Punjab jails by granting remissions. This was followed by a PIL plea by HC Arora in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the policy of the Punjab government granting remissions to rape convicts, alleging rape was a crime different from other crimes and most heinous.

“The new policy that stressed the age of the victim as criterion for remission to rape convicts appears to have been kept under the wraps. Jagjit Singh, DIG, Prisons, in the reply filed on behalf of the Punjab government did not say anything on the policy decision of September 1, 2008,” points out Arora.

A Division Bench of the HC disposed of the PIL plea on September 24, 2008, by giving liberty to petitioner to submit a representation to the government, with the observation that the state government would take considered decision on such representation.

Arora says the DIG, Prisons, has committed contempt of court by not disclosing to the HC in his reply that the relief claimed by Arora had been partially granted by Punjab government. “He also committed impropriety by signing reply on behalf of the government on September 18, but not making a whisper in the reply about policy decision of September 1, 2008,” says Arora.

Chandigarh, June 6
Vini Mahajan, who belongs to the 1987 batch of IAS, will continue in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as Joint Secretary. Though her original deputation period was to end on April 29 this year, she was given an extension till June 30.

However, the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has now extended her deputation period till April 29, 2011.

She is the second Punjab officer after Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister TKA Nair, whom the PM wants to retain in his team. Nair will be turning 70 later this year and is perhaps the oldest officer in service now.

Another significant decision taken by the ACC is to allow National Security Adviser MK Narayanan to continue on old terms and conditions of service. No tenure has been fixed for him in the new orders.

Among other appointments approved by the new UPA government include that of Alok Kumar, an Indian Revenue Service officer. He has been appointed Chief Vigilance Officer in the Sports Authority of India. He belongs to the 1990 batch (Income Tax).

A number of senior appointments in various ministries and departments are likely to be finalized next week. Most of these appointments were on the hold because of the general elections.

Empanelment of officers for different level positions in the Union government, including Secretary, Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary level which were deferred earlier are also likely to be taken up.

Some of the new ministers have got officers of their choice appointed in their personal staff or departments while others are waiting clearance of the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet. As a sequel to central government appointments, changes in the State Civil administrations would follow.

Punjab, for example, will be getting its new Chief Secretary as well as Director-General of Police by the end of this month.

Ludhiana, June 6
In yet another first in the region, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has developed a mushroom variety with rich medicinal contents.

Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) has extremely rich contents of polysaccharide, tri-terpenes and glucans, besides certain other elements seen as potential health enhancers.

The Research Evaluation Committee of the university has recently recommended the developed variety and needs a mere nod from the Punjab State Variety Approval Committee before a formal release in the market.

The university is working out the project details of the powder and capsule formulation of the products to render them better marketable commodity.

Giving details, coordinator of the research in basic sciences PK Khanna said, “We have developed yet another original medicinal mushroom variety, Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) that, too, has extremely rich medicinal contents. We will first go in for a patent of the woody mushroom variety before a formal release in the market”.

Khanna said, “The varieties have been developed from the strains of mushrooms bought from other countries, including Korea and China. The original specimen did not suit the Indian conditions for normal growth. Shiitake is growing on logs and very expensive. We have developed a cultivation protocol, which allows mushroom growth on cereal straw. These strains have a growing period of 50-60 days against of one year in same varieties found abroad”.

Punjab produces nearly 50 per cent of the total mushroom growth of one lakh tonne in the entire country. Of the total, more than 85 per cent of the country’s produce is the Button Mushroom variety used in the common household. The major chunk of mushroom produced in Punjab near Dera Bassi is exported. Besides PAU, the state has approximately 350 mushroom farmers all over the state.

Khanna said, “Over the past few years, the number of the mushroom farmers in the state has decreased. At the same time, the state has witnessed a major increase in the produce consumption”.

It is felt that the produce had big financial gains and the farming technology carried a lot of importance, particularly in the context of smaller farming areas. The product is also becoming a common household food item. Besides availability of the seed crop at the campus, these are also available at the special centres at Jalandhar, Patiala, Sangrur and Hoshiarpur.

The university is also working details of a tie-up with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, and the Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan.

Nurmahal, June 6
The Congress has started electioneering for the Nurmahal Assembly byelection as its working president Lal Singh addressed several rallies on Saturday. The SAD-BJP alliance has yet to start campaigning after the byelection was put off following disturbances after the Vienna incident.

The by-election was scheduled to be held on May 28, but put off to June 12 after violent protests in Doaba following the murder of deputy head of the Dera Sachkhand Ballan, Sant Ramanand.

The Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP government has reportedly again written to the Election Commission to postpone the byelection. The Congress is against again postponing election and appealed to the commission in this regard claiming law and order situation was conducive to hold elections.

Congress working president Lal Singh on Saturday addressed rallies here in favour of its candidate Gurbinder Singh Atwal. The SAD has yet to start electioneering in favour of its candidate Rajwinder Kaur Bhullar, widow of late MLA Gurdeep Singh Bhullar.

PPCC secretary Virendra Sharma said Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Jalandhar MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee would address rallies in favour of Atwal in next few days.

SAD leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said his party would start campaigning from Sunday. On the SAD leaders who had been told to address rallies on Sunday and in the next few days, he said all areas had been covered, now door-to-door campaigning would be done. He added electioneering programme would be finalised tomorrow.

He said the SAD had not started campaigning as it was waiting for a reply on the state government’s plea of again postponing the election.

Four candidates are in the fray for this seat. Besides Bhullar and Atwal, CPM candidate Harbans Singh Uppal and Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist) CPI (ML) Hans Raj Pabwa are also in the fray. A direct contest is likely to be between Bhullar and Atwal.

BSP candidate Lekh Raj’s papers were rejected during scrutiny as he had filed the papers without having filling two party authorisation forms.

Jalandhar, June 6
As toll has been raised on several state highways in Punjab in a few weeks, the Punjab Sangharsh Committee, a body of road users of Hoshiarpur belt, has given a call to intensify agitation against it.

“We will take our vehicles to the Kathgarh toll barrier on June 20 and try to pass through the barrier without paying the toll,” said Harish Khosla, head of the committee. He said, “The committee had made several representations to the Punjab government regarding toll, but no one listened to us”.

As the law was violated and toll was imposed without setting up the Punjab Infrastructure Regulatory Authority, there was no reason to pay toll at the rates fixed by the state government in connivance with private companies without following any criteria. “On the basis of our understanding of the rules and regulations, toll on the Dasuya-Balachaur stretch of the highway should not be more than Rs 37 (one way) because the rate fixed was 35 paise per km. However, companies were charging Rs 120,” said Khosla.

He said the regulatory authority, which should have been set up in three months of the enactment of the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB), had not been set up yet. “Though the PIDB has taken up several infrastructure projects in hand, it was not setting up the committee. By doing so it did not want to give people the right to challenge the project cost and user charges to be levied on it,” said another member of the committee.

“The right of way is a natural right of every citizen. The roads, which have been converted to toll highways, were natural paths followed by people to move from one place to another. The government, which had been collecting various taxes to build roads, etc, has no right to levy toll on such roads,” said Khosla.

“If any private company wanted to build its own highway, it should buy the land and spend money to build the same. However, the highways built with the taxes collected from people could not be converted into toll roads just for their maintenance and widening, etc,” said Khosla.

Asked about the two new proposed express highways, Khosla said if any company in its private capacity wanted to build such express highways by buying the land with its own money, there was no objection to it.

Chandigarh, June 6
As many as 27 posts of assistant professor are lying vacant for want of re-designation by the Research and Medical Education Department, causing resentment among doctors in the state.

Although in private medical colleges, doctors with post-graduation qualifications are appointed directly as assistant professor in accordance with the regulations of the Medical Council of India, in Punjab it is required for an assistant professor to have one year of rural service and two years of teaching experience as a lecturer.

According to sources in the Director of Research and Medical Education (DRME), despite the fact that a large number of lecturers are eligible for re-designation as assistant professors, the cases are waiting to be cleared for years. The sources said the government had promoted 29 lecturers as assistant professors in 2003 and no case had been cleared after this.

They said the DRME office had sent a proposal to the government for effecting promotions as assistant professors on May 18, but a decision had not been taken on the matter till now.

Doctors claim re-designating lecturers will not entail any financial burden on the government as they were already getting a higher salary than their entry scale as lecturer. On the other hand, they claimed such re-designation would save the government from embarrassment and threat of de-recognition of state-run medical colleges by the MCI, which can go for inspection of undergraduate or postgraduate courses any time in the coming days.

Due to shortage of senior faculty in medical colleges, the state government had to stop some super-speciality courses like MCh in paediatric and plastic surgery departments and closed important departments like cardiology and cardio-thoracic surgery a few years ago. They said timely promotions were also needed to create senior faculty members, adding that enhancement of retirement age of medical teachers was only a stopgap solution to the problem of the shortage of medical teachers in the state-run medical colleges.

The doctors awaiting promotion have also urged the Minister and Secretary of the Research and Medical Education Department to fill the posts of assistant professor on priority before the axe of the MCI falls on the medical colleges.

MoS for External Affairs Preneet Kaur in Patiala on Saturday. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar

Patiala, June 6
Giving abundant and open hints that India wanted long-term and cordial relations with Pakistan, Union Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Preneet Kaur said India expected to elicit Pakistan's firm response against terrorism which had turned out to be a global threat.

Meanwhile, Preneet Kaur also made it clear that India was not satisfied with the steps taken by Pakistan against those responsible for terror attacks in the country. "A dialogue with Pakistan is not possible till it takes stern measures and the fifth round of the bilateral talks could not take place due to same reason," explained Preneet, who descended on the city for the first time after her elevation as a Union minister.

She was accompanied by a number of Congress leaders, including, former MLA Brij Lal Goyal, Hardayal Kamboj, GS Punia, KK Sharma and Shailendra Monty.

Talking about Pakistan and the infamous Mumbai terror attacks, Preneet Kaur said India had already handed over "sufficient proofs" in the case to Pakistan but still no concrete action was taken against the accused or those behind the attacks by the neighbouring country.

Referring to alleged racial attacks on Indian students in Australia, Preneet said the Indian government was concerned about the issue and it was evident from the fact that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister Dr SM Krishna were constantly in touch with their respective Australian counterparts. "I am also very worried as thousands of students from Punjab are studying in that country," she said, adding that the Indian government was seeking a high-level probe in the Vienna attack on Dera Sachkhand sect leader Sant Ramanand.

Back in her hometown, Preneet said she expected full cooperation of the state government in her ongoing efforts to bring Central aid to the state. "It is my priority to get maximum benefit for Punjab and its residents. But it needs cooperation of the state government as it is the state agencies which have to implement Central schemes in the state. I will work whole heartedly for the people of Punjab," asserted Preneet.

Sangrur, June 5
In a case related to belated compliance of its order by Spice Communications Limited and modification in the order on its own by the company, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, comprising president MD Sharma and members Harvinder Sharma and Nisha Sarad, on Thursday ordered Spice to pay complainant Rakesh Kumar from Sunam a fine of Rs 10,000, failing which to undergo six-month simple imprisonment.

The forum on August 22, 2008, had directed Spice to give full talk-time on recharge coupon of Rs 111 and Rs 3,000 in lieu of consolidated amount of compensation to Rakesh.

The complainant stated that Spice had not complied with the order of the forum within the stipulated period . As per the complainant, the company paid him a sum of Rs 3,020 through cheque on March 31, 2009.

Patiala, June 6
Rajesh Chopra, a Hoshiarpur-based money changer, who was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on May 28 in the Capt Amarinder Singh dispropotionate assets case based on allegations that Chopra had siphoned off “Amarinder money” of over Rs 26 crore to countries like the UK and Canada, has been remanded in judicial custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate RK Jain till June 18 after Chopra’s denial that he had any links with the former chief minister.

Chopra, who was arrested by the VB on June 18, was running on police remand which was converted into judicial remand by the court of RK Jain after hearing Chopra and arguments of his counsel JPS Sarao and that of public prosecutor Sahibjit Singh Brar. The VB had demanded further police remand for Chopra but the plea was turned down by the court which sent Chopra to judicial custody till June 18-the next date of hearing.

Chopra had accused the VB of torturing him and had contended that he had no direct or indirect links with Amarinder. Chopra told the court that he had never met Amarinder. “How could I send money to a man whom I have never met?” Chopra was learnt to have conveyed to the court.

Sangrur, June 6
On a report of the health authorities, the Sunam police has registered a case against an “untrained dai” Balwinder Kaur, alias Sandeep, of Lehragaga town under Sections 4 and 5 of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, and the Pre-conception (PC) and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act.

Giving this information today, Sangrur civil surgeon Dalip Kumar said, “Ramlo Devi, wife of Mira Ram, a resident of Lehragaga, was admitted on April 27, 2009, in the hospital of Dr Rajiv Singla at Sunam with 17-week pregnancy. As per the ultrasound report, it was a case of uterus rupture. At that stage it had seemed that an effort had been made to abort the foetus”.

“I formed an inquiry team of three doctors of the civil hospital. In the light of the report of the team, I forwarded a complaint to the Sangrur SSP to register a case against Balwinder Kaur under the PC & PNDT Act and the MTP Act,” he added.

The civil surgeon further said as per the report the patient (Ramlo) had purchased injections and other medicines from Sandeep, whose original name was Balwinder Kaur. Balwinder, who was an untrained dai and a municipal commissioner of Lehra Municipal Council, tried to terminate the pregnancy of Ramlo after giving her medicines. Due to this, he had got registered an FIR against her, the civil surgeon added.

Tarn Taran, June 6
Two cases of rape have been reported in the area during the past 24 hours for which the police has booked four persons.

In one case, a teenaged girl was gangraped. According to sources, the victim was of Dhotian village, 12 km from here. She in her statement said, “Bhail Singh, alias Bhola, a boy of the same village by luring her to marry him, took her somewhere, where three unknown persons were already waiting. She alleged that all four raped her one by one. She managed to escape from their custody somehow and narrated the incident to her mother and the matter was brought to the village panchayat. The village elders suggested that the family should lodge an FIR with the police. The Sarhali police has registered a case under Sections 316 and 376, IPC, against the accused, who are still at large.

In the second incident, a Dalit girl of Jaunake village falling under the Harike police station, was raped by a boy of her own community, Jagroop Singh, alias Jupa. The 15-year-old girl in her statement to the police alleged that when she was returning home after finishing work in the village, the boy took her to an abandoned house of one Harbans Singh, where he locked her in a room and raped her. However, the accused ran away when the mother of the victim reached the spot.