Ludhiana, August 7
A cashier employed by Gaurav Malhotra and Company stole cash, gold and diamond jewellery worth over Rs 50 lakh from the company’s collection office located in Rose Enclave at Sant Nagar near Ghumar Mandi here today. The company owns 56 liquor vends in the city.

According to the police, the incident took place in the wee hours today, when the employee identified as Bablu Nirvan of Jhunjunu, Rajasthan, who was reemployed as the cashier about three months ago fled with cash Rs 36 lakh, two jewellery sets worth Rs 4 lakh and two diamond sets, the exact amount of which is yet to be estimated.

The theft came to light when Raju, who also work as a cashier, woke up this morning and failed to locate Bablu. When he entered the locker room, he found the cash missing. He immediately informed the company authorities, who further informed the police about the incident.

Narrating the incident, the employees said Bablu being teetotaler counted cash and later served drinks and snacks to Raju and two other helpers. After consuming the liquor, all of them fell unconscious. On getting an opportunity he opened the locker, took the cash and jewellery, put it in a bag and fled.

He was able to escape easily as a private gunman appointed by the company was asleep.

The company had not got the accused verified by the police, who was handed over the most responsible job of handling the cash.

Giving details, Kuldeep Singh, a company’s associate said, “As our head- Rawat was on leave we appointed Bublu on the job, as he had worked for us a few years ago we trusted him and appointed him to count the cash collected from various liquor vends.”

The employees of the company alleged that it was a planned move as Bablu’s distant relative had also stayed with him for a few days, recently.

However, companies MD Deep Malhotra was not available for comments, Bhupinder Singh, DSP, Sarabha Nagar, said investigation was on and the accused would be tracked soon.

The DSP said action would be taken against the company for not conducting the police verification of their employees.

Ludhiana, August 7
In yet another incident of water contamination, more than 15 cases of diarrhoea have been reported from Mussalman colony near the Sherpur Chowk. The area having a history of gastroenteritis has made the district health authorities worried.

A team of health officials, after visiting the area yesterday, had cautioned the local municipal corporation to discontinue the potable water supply but to no avail.

The area residents were getting potable water mixed with the sewage that resulted in infection amongst people of all age groups.

Dr Gurjit Singh, SMO, Sahnewal Civil Hospital, stated that a survey was conducted in 1,480 houses in the area followed by 33 group meetings wherein people were made aware of health problems by health officials and paramedical staff. “People were also given ORS sachets, chlorine tablets and were asked to boil the water before consuming it. This is the best we can do under the circumstances as the potable water is undoubtedly contaminated,” said Dr Gurjit.

Meanwhile, District Health Officer (DHO) Dr SS Dhir stated that they had called upon the municipal corporation officials to immediately discontinue the water supply but had not received any reply from their end.

However, the reports of the water samples collected from the Mussalman colony and areas adjoining the Sherpur Chowk are still awaited.

Mussalman colony and areas adjoining the Sherpur Chowk have been declared “high risk” owing to the poor sanitation conditions, bad water supply, illiteracy and ignorance towards personal health.

Sources informed that if the situation was controlled immediately, there is every chance of further incidence of bacterial diseases during the season.

This is the second incident of water contamination in the past one week as the first occurrence in Punjabi Bagh resulted in major gastroenteritis outbreak that took more than 400 people in its grip. Two cases of “cholera” were also reported from the area.

The department of health and family welfare has sounded an alert in the slum areas prone to gastroenteritis as the complaints against water contamination are on the rise. 

Ludhiana, August 7
The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) today sold three single storeyed shops through open auction in the prime residential and commercial area of Green Park Enclave (Canal Colony) at the Pakhowal Road here at a marginally high price over the reserve price. The commercial property, measuring 33.33 square yards each, was sold for a total consideration of a little more than Rs 2.17 crore.

In fact, the PUDA intended to put six shops in the complex under the hammer but in the wake of just about six bidders making it to the auction venue, the officials announced that only three shops were open to bidding.

Those participating in the auction proceedings were required to pay an eligibility fee of Rs 1 lakh which was refunded to the unsuccessful bidders while for others, the amount was adjusted towards 10 per cent of the total sale price of the shop which was to be paid on the spot.

According to PUDA officials, as against the reserve price of the shops at Rs 2,11,920 per square yard, the highest bid was offered at Rs 2,18,100 while the lowest successful bid was Rs 2,17,500 square yard. “The shops fetched a return on the expected lines since the reserve price had been fixed in accordance with prevailing market price for similar commercial property in that particular area,” the officials commented.

As per the terms and conditions of the sale, the successful bidders for the shops will be required to pay another 15 per cent of the sale price within 30 days of auction. For payment of balance 75 per cent amount, they have an option to make a lump sum payment within 60 days of the issue of an allotment letter and avail a rebate of 5 per cent, or else pay the balance amount in 4 equated yearly installments along with 12 per cent interest per annum.

Ludhiana, August 7
After virtually hounding out former Deputy Commissioner Sumer Singh Gurjar from the city, Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker and BJP leader Satpal Gosain is now after government officials of the city stating, “Most of them are corrupt and have amassed crores.”

Gosain said he had reports that many officials from different departments were accepting bribes and amassed property disproportionate to their known sources of income within a few months of being posted in the city.

He said he was sending their cases to the CBI for a thorough probe into their assets. ‘‘Only an independent inquiry can establish what all these officials have been doing in the past, ’’ added Gosain.

Refusing to name the officials and even the departments where they were serving, Gosain that it would not be appropriate at this juncture to name anybody. ‘‘I will send a thorough report to the CBI mentioning even the ‘‘benami’’ properties of these officials. Everything would be crystal clear, ’’ he quipped.

Though a few departments in the city are better known as dens of corruption, a senior leader of a party in coalition with ruling party has left many an eyebrows raised. Gosain refused to say anything on whether he had taken up the matter with the Chief Minister or not.

Ludhiana, August 7
The PAU Teachers’ Association under the aegis of the Punjab Federation Of University and College Teachers’ Organisation organised a protest rally on the PAU campus from 10 am to 12.30 pm here today.

At least 350 PAU and GADVASU teachers took part in the rally and raised slogans against the state government for delay in the issuance of notification of pay scales for teachers in the state.

PAUTA president Dr KN Sharma addressed the teachers and apprised them of the state government’s apathy towards the teaching community. He highlighted various obstacles that the state government is creating in the implementation and issuance of the notification of the revised pay scales.

He demanded that the government should issue the notification at the earliest otherwise the agitation would be intensified.

Dr KS Sangha, secretary, PAUTA, added that unnecessary hurdles were being created for delaying the notification. Since 80 per cent of the financial liability for the pay scales of teachers was to be borne by the UGC/ ICAR therefore, the financial burden on the state government was negligible, he said.

Dr Bajwa, president, GADVASU Teachers’ Association said, “Since the Akali-BJP government claims to be pro-farmer therefore, it becomes all the more important that it releases the pay scales of PAU and GADVASU teachers, as both the universities are working for the overall development of the farmers of the state”.

Sahnewal: The local unit of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union staged a dharna here in protest against the failure of the Punjab Government to notify the revised UGC pay scales by the Government of India on December 31, 2008.

The members of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union have urged the Punjab Government to issue the proposed part notification without any further delay and take decision on the allowances and other benefits at the earliest.

Mullanpur Dakha: The local unit of the PCCTU at GTB College, Dakha, observed a dharna today as part of its series of demonstrations on a call from the PFUCTO. The dharna was observed to draw the attention of the government towards the non-fulfilment of its promises to the teachers, especially the new UGC grades.

Prof Kanwaljit Singh, general secretary of the local unit, highlighted the issues confronting the teaching community and how successive governments had shown step-motherly treatment to them.

Ludhiana, August 7
The efforts of the department of health and family welfare to make people aware of the preventive steps to be taken against “dengue” have fallen flat as the team from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) along with the anti-larvae wing continued to spot AEDES larvae and mosquito in every nook and cranny of the city.

These teams today spotted AEDES larvae in the coolers at Borstal Jail, which was immediately destroyed. Bhag Singh, in charge anti-larvae wing, Ludhiana, said the jail inmates along with the staff were told about the preventive steps to be taken to ward off “dengue”.

The teams also burnt the old mats of the coolers, dried them and got them re-painted.

Presence of AEDES larvae in five out of 15 coolers at the local railway station further points towards the lack of awareness among the “educated staff” working in the government sector.

The anti-larvae wing in charge stated that the railway officials were asked to immediately discard “used tiers” scattered at the station. “The tiers are a perfect place for the breeding of AEDES mosquito as they store rainwater that stays still in the damp and dark cleft,” added Bhag Singh.

Thereafter, they visited government dispensaries at the Tajpur road, Basti Jodhewal and Shivpuri besides delivering health education lectures to the staff.

Apprehending the overall situation in terms of last year’s “dengue outbreak”, a senior official of the health department stated that it was not just the responsibility of the health authorities to create awareness in general public.

The municipal corporation, too, had an important role to play, which is missing even after all larvae, spotted from the city, the official added.

Dehlon, August 7
Activists and office-bearers of the party in regime distributed sweets and burst crackers to express their happiness over the success of all three SAD-BJP candidates in the assembly byelections yesterday.

Councillors led by Municipal Council president Usha Rani Sood and Ravinder Puri expressed gratitude to residents of the town, who had impressed upon their friends and relatives in the Jalalbad, Banur and Kahnuwan constituencies, to support the SAD nominees during the election.

“We are grateful that a large number of residents of the town acceding to our requests had impressed upon their friends and relatives residing in these constituencies to support the SAD nominees,” said an elated Sood and her colleagues in the council.

However, gloom descended on the Congress camp. The activists and office-bearers of the opposition parties alleged that the party in regime had used unfair means to win the seats.

Ludhiana, August 7
The 1 Punjab Remount and Veterinary Squadron, NCC, College of Veterinary Science, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), held a function here today to facilitate NCC cadets, who participated in the equestrian events held during the Republic Day celebrations at New Delhi and brought laurels to the university.

Dr Simrat Sagar Singh, dean, College of Veterinary Science, was the chief guest. During his address to the cadets, he said along with studies the students must give emphasis on physical fitness too.

Officer commanding Lt Col Ranbir Singh, 1 Punjab Remount and Veterinary Squadron, NCC, welcomed the chief guest and enlightened the achievements of the cadets.

He informed that recently the unit had constructed an obstacle course for the cadets, which would be helpful for the cadets while facing interviews by the Service Selection Board (SSB) for getting inducted in the officer cadres in the armed forces.

Ludhiana, August 7
The Punjab Parents Association (Hindu Sikh Jagriti Sena and Parents Association) todayhailed the verdict of the Supreme Court on the fee hike by the private schoolsin the country and said that their stand had been vindicated. President Praveen Dang and general secretary Rakesh Jain, Parents' Association, started the agitation against the fee hike by the private schools from a street and today their voice had reached the national level.

The leaders of the political parties in Punjab had failed to come for their help, but they were happy that the Supreme Court has listened to their plea.

They said they were grateful to the Supreme Court for doing justice to their demands. Dang and Jain called upon the managements of the private schools affiliated with the CBSE to stop fleecing the parents and follow the guidelines of the constitution of the country.

The Hindu Sikh Jagriti Sena had started the agitation against the alleged fleecing of the parents by the CBSE affiliated private schools six months ago and forced thedistrict administration to order an enquiry into the fee hike and other charges.

The schools have hiked the fees under the garb of the representation of the report of the Sixth Pay Commission and were charging Rs 15,000 to Rs 60,000 for the new admissions to the nursery and LKG classes.

The Additional Deputy Commissioner, who had conducted the inquiry, had found a lot of irregularities being committed by the managements of the private schools. 

Ludhiana, August 7
The CBSE has expressed its concern over the misuse of mobile phones in the classrooms by the students and teachers and has directed the stakeholders to restrict the use of mobile phones in schools.

According to the directions issued by the CBSE on July 29, “The use of mobile phones needs to be restricted in the school environment. The board is of the opinion that all stakeholders connected with school education such as students, parents, teachers and heads of institutes should restrict the entry of mobiles in schools.”

The CBSE communication reads, “Mobile phones can be a cause of distraction, lack of concentration, anxiety, fear and sometimes even misuse. Even if the mobile phones are on silent mode, they can be a source of disturbance within the classroom, as students can make use of the SMS during the class hours. The cameras, which are common feature in most mobiles these days, can also be misused. The principal, teachers and other staff should not be seen using the mobile in classrooms, playgrounds, common areas, laboratories and other parts of the school premises.”

While talking to The Tribune, students revealed that how the mobile phones were being misused. A section of students said with a strength of 75 students in a class, it was difficult for teachers to check the misuse. In fact some said use of mobile phones was a lot of fun, as many had clicked pictures of their teachers and made their profiles on the orkut.

Another student said, “Some students put the headphones in their ears and keep on listening to the music during the class hours. If they are unable to talk in the classrooms, they carry the mobile to the washroom and call or message from there. During examinations, some students put the Bluetooth inside their turbans and get themselves connected to the sources, who keep on briefing them regarding the questions in the paper.”

RS Patial, hailing the CBSE directions, said teachers in the school were not allowed to carry the mobile phones in the classroom. Their mobile phones were kept in the reception and whenever there was any important call, they were called to attend it. He added that they had also banned use of mobile phones by students, as they often indulged in cheap SMS.

But the parents insisted that those students who came to the school on their own conveyance should be allowed to carry their mobiles so that their location could be found out. In such cases, the students should lock their mobiles in their scooters or other mode of transportation. 

Khanna, August 7
Sale of the Arunachal Pradesh lotteries is going on unabated for the past a few months in the area despite ban.

Only those weekly, daily and other lotteries, which have been recognised by the Punjab State Lotteries, could be sold in the state.

These banned lotteries are sold by offering heavy incentives to the agents and it is also printed on these that a buyer might get Rs 1,00,000 or even luxury cars.

The agents mostly target villagers and labourers, who get easily lured by them in lieu of Rs 20. Lottery agents said they get 40 to 60 per cent commission from the banned lotteries. They only get 10 to 15 per cent commission from the approved Punjab State Lotteries. Sources said these lotteries were released from agents of Ludhiana.

According to officials of the Punjab State Lotteries, these lotteries could not be sold in Punjab as per the Lotteries Act of 1998. Efforts are being made to curb the menace, the officials added.

Ludhiana, August 7
Himanshu Jindal, a student of BCom III, yesterday claimed that he had been elected president of the newly formed Student Welfare Association of Kamla Lohtia SD College. Jindal is the third president of the college. Two students of the college have already proclaimed themselves to be the presidents of the students’ organisation. Meanwhile, college principal Deepak Kaushal said he wasn’t aware of the today’s election. A few students did assemble outside the college. The principal said, “ We have not recognised any student organisation as the state government has banned the student elections in the colleges.”

The supporters of the Jindal group claimed that they were doing this for the welfare of the students. Students alleged that there was lot of groups in the college. The principal said today’s incident took place outside the college. If students with outsiders support proclaim themselves as the student leaders, we can’t help it but can take strict action.

Ludhiana, August 7
Two students from PAU department of microbiology Neemisha and Shefali Mishra, who appeared in the national-level test conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Reserch (ICAR) for admission to PhD have bagged first and second rank, respectively, for the year 2008-09.

With this high score, students can get admission to pursue their PhD at any state agricultural university in the country. Presently, Neemisha is pursuing her PhD (microbiology) at PAU, while Shefali has secured admission in PhD (microbiology) at Karnataka University, Dharwad.

Dr Maninder Arora, head of the microbiology department, has congratulated the students for bringing laurels to the university. — TNS

Doraha, August 7
Students and staff of Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Doraha, celebrated Green Day today.

The students from classes nursery to III planted saplings to mark the occasion.

A short cultural programme was also organised in which the nursery students recited poem, “Hathi Raja”. The students of classes KG and Prep presented a folk dance of Punjab.

Principal Manjusha Vinayak congratulated the students for organising such an event. Kheer and puras were served towards the culmination of the programme.

Ludhiana, August 7
Two groups of students allegedly clashed on Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU)campus, Ludhiana, here this afternoon.

The reason behind the clash is said to be the alleged appointment of Baljinder Singh Kataria, a fourth-year student of College of Veterinary Sciences, GADVASU, as the president of Veterinary Students' Union, this morning.

Sources said some students of College of Agriculture, PAU, along with a few outsiders armed with sticks and swords created a ruckus on the university campus.

They further alleged that the group clashed with Kataria's supporters and tore off the posters put up on the GADVASU campus in support of Kataria's candidature in the election for the students' leader. However, no one was hurt in the clash.

Meanwhile, the police was called in at the spot. Though no untoward incident was reported, the police personnel were deployed on the campus as a security measure.

Ludhiana, August 7
Additional Sessions Judge GS Saran has convicted Dr Davinder Ashok of Pakhowal on the charges of attempting to rape a woman of same village,who had come to his clinic for getting her mother-in-law treated.He was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for three and half years.

Pronouncing the verdict, the court held that the prosecution had successfully proved the charges levelled against the accused. Fine of Rs 3000 was also imposed upon the convict.

He was booked under Section 376 and 511 of the IPC at the Raikot police station in May 2004 on the complaint lodged by the woman who resides in Pakhowal. She had stated to the police that on May 7, 2004, her mother-in-law was ill. She got her admitted to the accused’s clinic, where she was administered glucose for a few hours. Later on, she was discharged. The doctor advised them to visit the next day.

On the next day, her mother-in-law was again administered glucose. Meanwhile, the doctor called the woman inside his room. Then he tried to focibly rape her. However, she succeeded in getting herself freed from the clutches of the accused.

Jagraon, August 7
A minor daughter of a migrant labourer has accused a youth of raping her for six days and another for helping the other one in doing so. In the complaint lodged with Jagraon SP (D) Raj Pal Singh, Guru Parshad of Jagraon has stated that Montu of the same area lured his 14-year-old daughter to visit Gurdwara Nanaksar on June 18.

From there he handed over his daughter to Shiam Shahana, who took her to Dugri, a village in Himachal Pradesh. There Shiam forcibly raped her for six days. He even used to beat her up if she refused to accept his advances.

On June 23 Shiam sent Kamal to Jagraon with a person known to him who dropped her at the Sherpura Chowk. Meanwhile, on June 19 her parents had lodged a missing complaint with the local police. Kamal returned home and narrated the entire incident to her parents.

Taking it as their fate, victim’s parents at first did not lodge the complaint with the police. This encouraged Montu and Shiam, who again threatened to kidnap her. Upset over this, Guru Parshad along with Avtar Singh Rasulpur of the Rural Labour Union, Madan Singh, Gurmit Singh and a few residents of the area met the SP (D) who assured to take strict action against after an inquiry. 

Raikot, August 7
The health authorities have seized a huge quantity of psychotropic medicines from a local medicine shop. A team of experts led by Drug Inspector Dr Rajesh Suri along with Raikot SMO Dr Ugar Singh Sooch raided Guru Nanak Medical Store at the Barnala Chowk on Sunday and seized the medicines.

The drug inspector had received a complaint that the chemist shop was being operated without any license and qualified pharmacist. The owners were also accused of selling habit-forming medicines without any prescriptions.

The team sent a decoy customer to the shop to whom the scheduled drugs were sold without any prescription. The team seized unaccounted 13,000 tablets, 400 capsules and 57 cough syrups bottles from the medical store. They also found the shop owner was operating without any license and qualified pharmacist. Moreover, there was no sales and purchase record available in the shop regarding types of medicines available in the shop. The drug inspector said they had registered a case against the chemist shop owner under various sections of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940. A case in this regard would be forward the Drug Controller of Punjab for necessary action.

Meanwhile, this team yesterday raided a clinic of RMP Jagdish Singh situated at Dadahoor village. The health department had received a complaint that Jagdish was practicing medicines in the village on the basis of bogus license. Though the RMP was not available as the shop was closed, the team recovered a few discriminating documents that revealed his license was bogus. A complaint has been lodged against Jagdish with the Raikot police. 

Doraha, August 7
The zonal-level basketball competitions were organised at Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School (SGHPS), Doraha, recently.

Teams from various schools participated in the competitions. Director Jaspreet Kaur and trust member of Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Amarjit Singh, were present during the opening ceremony.

The teams of Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Doraha, bagged the following positions:

Basketball (Boys): 1st position in the U-14 and U-17 categories Basketball (Girls): 1st Position in the U-15 category and IInd position in the U-14 category.

Ludhiana, August 7
Green Land Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar bypass branch, scored a thrilling two-run victory over Government Model Senior Secondary School, PAU, in the final to emerge champions in the PAU Zone Inter-School Zonal Cricket Tournament (U-16) organised by the Punjab education department at the SDP College for Women here today.

Green Land School won the toss and chose to bat first. In the stipulated 20 overs, they made 102 runs for the loss of four wickets. The main contributors were Avinash and Balwinder, who chipped in with 36 and 31 runs, respectively. For Government Model Senior Secondary School, Abhishek Bagga was the lone wicket taker. He sent down four overs, conceded nine runs and scalped one victim.

Government Model School batsmen were cruising well when Green Land bowlers struck and contained the former's innings to 100 runs for nine wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Bhupinder top scored with 29 runs, followed by Rahul who made 19 runs while Abhihek and Akshay Kumar contributed eight runs each. For the winners, Manpreet Singh was the pick of bowlers, who grabbed three wickets for 23 runs in four overs. Akashdeep, Harjot Grewal and Jatin captured one wicket each after giving away six, nine and 16 runs, respectively.