The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Pakka Kalan murder case cracked, two arrested Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 12 With the arrest of two preachers, the district police today claimed to have cracked the mystery shrouding the murder of a 40-year-old married woman of Pakka Kalan village. On the intervening night of July 9 and 10, Surinder Kaur was brutally killed with sharp-edged weapons while her son Panth Preet Singh alias Rinku was sleeping on the terrace. The incident came to light after their neighbours saw blood flowing out of their house. SSP Ashish Chaudhary today said Surinder had an extra-marital affair with one Hakam Singh of Maesar Khana a couple of months back when he was a ‘Raagi’ at Gurdwara Jhandsar Sahib in Pakka Kalan village. She used to give him money and other articles. They had physical relationship, which was objected to by her son. Considering her son a hurdle, she devised a plan with Hakam Singh, who assured to kill her son with the help of his friend Jarnail Singh of Sirsa, who was a preacher at Takht Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo. “The nature of 27 wounds found on her body gave a reason to suspect that the killers too would have been injured while killing the lady. Following the clues, we traced that a man, who was later identified as Jarnail Singh, had undergone surgery at Kiran Garg Hospital in Maur. Both the accused were traced, who later disclosed the sequence of the incident,” said Chaudhary. The SSP said the accused accepted that they were hired for killing the young boy, a drug addict, who had consumed an overdose of a psychotropic cough syrup the same night. “Their motive was to get money, which they received after entering the house. Fearing that the woman could spill the beans during interrogation by the police, they changed the plan and killed her instead. On return, they changed their clothes and shoes on the way, which have been recovered from the bank of Pakka Kalan canal distributary. The accused duo was nabbed on Saturday evening. We have recovered Rs 1.25 lakh, a mobile phone and a SIM card from them, which will be produced in the court as evidence,” Chaudhary said. When asked, the SSP said he would write to the Civil Surgeon to take action against the doctors who treated the accused without informing the police.
	Suspension of summer special irks rail passengers Sudhanshu Verma Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 12 Rail passengers in Malwa, living along the Sriganganagar-Bathinda-Dhuri-Ludhiana section, are a worried lot nowadays. The reason for their anxiousness lies in the anticipation of suspension of a train which they have been enjoying for the last 20 days in the form of a summer special express train. The Northern Railway had introduced a weekly summer special train 461/462 between Amritsar and Sriganganagar via Bathinda for a period of one month from June 22 to clear extra rush. The train would be suspended after its trip on July 27. The residents in the area, who have been facing inconvenience due to inappropriate rail connectivity between major stations even in Punjab, are demanding regularisation of the train terming it as a mode of ‘better-and-fast’ connectivity on the section. The train, having 20 coaches, runs on every Monday. There is no provision of reservation in the train which has status of an express train. The summer special departs from Amritsar at 1.10 pm and reaches Sriganganagar at 9.30 pm after passing through Ludhiana, Dhuri, Barnala, Rampura Phul, Bathinda, Gidderbaha, Malout and Abohar. The train arrives at Bathinda at 6.30 pm. The train starts its return journey at 11.50 pm and reaches Amritsar at 9.30 am. Giving the reason for demanding the regularisation of the train, Hanuman Dass Goel, vice-president, Rail Passengers Association, Northern Zone, said that it was the only train from Sriganganagar on the Bathinda-Dhuri section in the evening. Demanding that the train be run for at least six months, Goel said that even in the past the railways had introduced some trains on the section and suspended them soon citing economic non-viability as the reason. “The economic viability of a train could not be ascertained in less than six months,” he added. Passengers were getting acquainted with the train, he said, adding that after few more months, the train would be able to witness sufficient rush. “Suspension of the train at this juncture would be a step taken in haste,” said Goel, who is also a former member of the Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee. Echoing the sentiment, Guru Prasad Behal of the Zila Rail and Road Yatri Samiti, Sriganganagar, said that the railway should not stop running the train. The train was catering to the need of residents of the areas, said Behal, who is also a former member of the Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee. Behal said that they had made requests for the same to authorities concerned in the railways. Member of Railway Grievances and Reform Committee, Gidderbaha, Sanjeev Kochhar, also said that the railways should not only regularise the train but also increase its frequency. President of Railway Passengers Welfare Association, Bathinda, AK Garg, expressing a similar view, said an express train on the section would be beneficial to several sections, including business community, students and also patients.
	Height of protest Jobless linemen climb electric tower Anirudh Gupta Ferozepur, July 12 Unemployed electrical diploma holders from ITIs today climbed the 132 KVA high tension electric tower and threatened to commit suicide in protest against the failure of the state government to provide them with jobs. The incident took place at the old power house complex in Jalalabad. It is notable that SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal is contesting the by-election from this constituency and is supposed to file his nomination papers tomorrow. The unemployed diploma holders alleged that since 1997, when 3000 linemen were provided jobs in the electricity board, no recruitment has taken place for the last 12 years. The protesters included electricians, wiremen and lineman diploma holders who have been promised jobs on several occasions earlier. Praful C. Nagpal adds from Fazilka: Jalalabad SDM Rajiv Parashar informed that the protesters had relented late in the evening. A five-member deputation of the protesters went to Ferozepur to meet the CM who assured them of considering their demands after the bypolls.
	Now Jalalabad becomes paradise for protesters EGS teachers to hold rally on July 15 Anjali Singh Deswal Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 12 After Bathinda, Jalalabad is becoming a favourite venue for launching agitations. With Sukhbir Badal contesting byelection from the place, Jalalabad is attracting attention from scores of agitators from the length and breadth of the state. After the ETT Teachers’ Union, B.Ed Teachers’ Front and Rural Medical Services Association planning mass rallies at Jalalabad, now the EGS Teachers’ Union has decided to hold a rally there on July 15. Kulwant Kumari, state president of the union, said, “The government has not done justice to us. We have been left without a job, a decision that came abruptly from the government. We sat on dharna for over a month in Bathinda and faced manhandling from police on various occasions. Even women were not spared and thrashed in the presence of the Chief Minister. It was only after we climbed a water tank to end our lives that the government assured us of giving an advertisement to provide us admission in ETT course, which would enable us to work as teachers further. The government had assured that we would admitted to the course and classes would commence in June but nothing has been done.” The union members stated that they met higher-ups several times to ask about the status of their course but the authorities failed to give a satisfactory reply. “The Badals were successful in befooling people of Bathinda in the Lok Sabha elections but this will not happen again. We plan to distribute pamphlets in all villages under Jalalabad. Future course of action would be decided on July 15 during our rally,” Kulwant added.
	Son of traders’ board chief declared defaulter Rajay Deep Tribune News Service Bathinda, July 12 Madan Lal Kapoor, chairman, Small Scale Traders’ Board, Punjab, who enjoys the status of a cabinet minister, is again in news for the acts of his sons. Earlier, Kapoor courted a controversy when his younger son beat up a youth in public. This time, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has termed his elder son Lalit M. Kapoor as a defaulter for not repaying the loan amounting to Rs 4.78 crore taken for setting up a medicine manufacturing unit in Vadodara. The bank has invited public tenders to sell a mortgaged house located near Hira Wala Chowk in the city bearing municipal number 6157 and 6158. The house is owned by Lalit M. Kapoor. Talking over phone, Madan Lal Kapoor said his family was in regular touch with bank officials to settle the matter without selling the property. His younger son Amit Kapoor stated that the bank had given them some time. Inviting tenders within the said period was a breach of trust. He termed the move of the bank as an attempt to defame them so that they could easily negotiate for repayment. Amit said, “My elder brother had taken a loan of just about Rs 2 lakh to set up a plant named ‘Sysmed Laboratories Private Limited’ in Vadodara about 10 years back. We tried to settle the loan on one time settlement (OTS) condition. We offered Rs 2.25 crore to clear the debts but the bank has been calculating the interest as loan, which we are unable to pay. We would approach courts also but will not let the house be sold.” The officials of the IOB could not be contacted as the banks were closed today.