Jalandhar, June 9
In a significant judgment, a special CBI court at Patiala has sentenced two Congress leaders and two former FCI officials to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for three years for supplying sub-standard rice.

Special CBI Judge Harminder Singh Madaan sentenced Sukhdev Raj, the then Assistant Grade-I official at FCI hired godown at Dhilwan in Kapurthala, its former assistant manager Manjit Singh, Namdev Arora, partner of Arora Rice Mills, and Jaipal Midha, partner of Friends Rice Mills, to undergo RI for three years and to pay fine of Rs 20,000 each in default of payment of fine to undergo further RI for six months under section 420 of the IPC.

Namdev Arora is a Congress councillor from ward number eight in Kapurthala where as Jaipal Midha is a local Congress leader in the district.

All the four convicted persons were also given RI for two years and fined Rs 10,000 each in default of payment of fine to undergo further RI for three months under section 120-B of the IPC.

Further, both Manjit Singh and Sukhdev Raj were also sentenced RI for three
years and fined Rs 10000 in default of payment of fine to undergo further RI for
three months under section 13 (1) (d) read with section 13(2) of the Prevention
of Corruption Act.

In its 132-page order pronounced on May 14, the Special CBI Court issued directions that all the sentences would run concurrently.

The case under sections 120-B, 420, 468 of IPC and sections 13 (1) (d) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, was registered with CBI Anti Corruption Branch against the four accused on May 10 in 2003.

As per prosecution story, Sukhdev Raj and Manjit Singh in connivance with rice millers Namdev Arora and Jaipal Midha fraudulently mixed sub-standard rice stock of private millers with FCI rice stock and then dispatched a consignment of around 2,400 MTs of rice (common Sela) through special train 119 from Beas to Cooch Behar in West Bengal on January 26 in 2001.

Kapurthala, June 9
Convicted Congress councillor Namdev Arora has been booked in another case of cheating. The police registered a case against councillor from Ward 8 Namdev Arora and his 11 family members on the charge of getting themselves registered as voters at two places and for keeping two voters’ identity cards.

An FIR was registered against them under sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC and also under section 31 of the Representation of People’s Act on June 6 at Kapurthala city police station.

According to the FIR, Arora and his family members registered themselves as voters at Ibrahimwal in Bholath tehsil and then they also got themselves enrolled as voters at Basant Vihar, Mall Road, without getting their names deleted from Ibrahimwal.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer Raj Kamal Chaudhary has ordered an inquiry to the SDM after getting the complaint from Pritam Singh of Mansoorwal Dona village.

Assistant Returning Officer-cum-Tehsildar and the SDM have found the allegations stated in the complaint prima facie true in their inquiry.

The District Attorney, Kapurthala, also recommended registration of the FIR against them under relevant sections after going through the contents of the complaint and those of the inquiry report.

Arora was already sentenced to three-year in jail in a case of cheating by the special CBI court at Patiala last month.

Jalandhar, June 9
The Technical Services Union (TSU) organised a dharna on the call of its state-level body here on Tuesday against the proposed unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board.

The PSEB employees of Model Town, Phagwara, and cantonment divisions of Jalandhar circle gathered at Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall and held a protest march towards Shakti Sadan where they sat in dharna.

The TSU leaders said the date of extension given by the Union Government to the PSEB was going to end on June 15.

This was the reason why the TSU had decided to intensify its agitation against its proposed unbundling.

Nawanshahr, June 9
The local police has arrested Amarinder Singh, alias Soni, resident of Mazari village, Balachaur, and Balwinder Singh, alias Lucky, resident of Dhamai village, Garhshanker.

They had injured Jasbir Singh, munshi, city police station, and robbed him of mobile phone, Rs 2000 and $ 200 on August 23, 2007, when he was returning to his village Mujjafarpur in the evening.

Giving details, Satpal Singh Bhangu, DSP, said while the two were nabbed by the police during a naka on the Langoya-Barnala road, their accomplice, Sunny of Mazara village, near Haroli, Una district, Himachal Pardesh, managed to escape.

The police had recovered the stolen mobile from them. Besides, cases had been registered against them at Anandpur Sahib and Nawanshahr city police stations.

The police at another naka near Bhangal Kalan village has nabbed Kulwinder Singh, alias Lally, resident of the local Ibrahim Basti, Kamaljit Singh, alias Kamal, resident of village Punu Mazara, and Varinder Singh of Sloh village.

They were involved in snatching of a mobile phone and Rs 2,800 from Bablu Kumar Yadhav, an ice-cream vendor, at Barnala Kalan village on May 19. Their accomplice Ram Tirath, alias Sonu, is still at large.

Hoshiarpur, June 9
Two motorcyclists at a pistol point snatched one gold chain, two gold rings, a pair of gold earrings, one mobile phone set and Rs 15,000 from Surinder Singh, alias Sabi, of Tanda, while he was going with his relative near Khakh village on Sunday evening.

According to police sources, Surinder along with his relative was going to Zahura village from Tanda. When they reached near Khakh village, two youths on a motorcycle (no number plate) snatched their valuables.

In another incident, five youths, including Avtar Singh of Badla, Ranjit of Nadaun, Hamirpur (HP), and Tirath Singh of Jugial village, came to Bansal petrol station on the Dasuya-Hazipur road on two motorcycles and fled after snatching Rs 18,000 and a mobile phone set from manager Jarnail Singh of Badla.

Hoshiarpur, June 9
The Dasuya police last evening booked Roby, son of Meeta, Jipsa, son of Ramesh, and Onkar, son of Paramjit Singh, all of Kotli Khurd, under sections 376 and 511 of the IPC.

According to sources, a daughter of Karamjit Singh of the same village alleged that the trio tried to rape her on June 3 while she was going home.

In another case, Surjit Singh, son of Raj Mal of Talwara, stated that some persons had attempted to abduct his teenage daughter Nitika (13) while she was returning home after attending the school on June 6.

The Talwara police has registered a case under sections 366-A and 511 of the IPC in this connection.

Batala, June 9
Davinder Pal, state vice-president of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), while talking to mediapersons here stated that there was a strong sense of insecurity among the local bodies employees and retirees regarding discrimination at the hands of the Punjab government as it had not separately notified them regarding the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission report.

The employees are not being treated as government employees. Neither the Finance Minister nor the Chief Minister uttered a single word about granting the benefits of the Pay Commission report to them, said Pal, adding that the government was not giving proper relief to the local bodies employees after the abolition of octroi in the state and the employees are not being paid their salaries for months together.

Pal elaborated that retirees of the local government did not get their pensions even after the lapse of a year as the funds were not released by the government.

He alleged that some of the retired municipal employees had died due to lack of medical treatment and basic amenities as they were not being paid pensions and other retirement benefits.