Bathinda, August 18
The construction of new 66-room OPD block started at the Civil Hospital here today.

As per the details available, the Punjab Health System Corporation allotted the job tender to a local private construction firm. The job is to be completed in a year at the cost of Rs 4.73 crore. The repair work of the existing OPD block is included in the contract.

The three-floor building will have 22 rooms on each floor. The total covered area would be around 4,300 square meters. The building would be equipped with a lift besides a staircase.

Vinod Kumar, SMO, Civil Hospital, said, “As of the plan, the OPD will be shifted to the new building and the old building, after getting repaired, will be used for indoor patients’ wards and emergency facility only.”

It may be mentioned that the existing building of the hospital was proving unsafe with cracks in walls and roofs quite visible. The hospital recently got some new machines which the authorities had been finding tough to install.

A new building was badly needed as the hospital had been witnessing a rise in the number of patients visiting the OPD apart from other medico-legal cases during the past couple of years.

Ferozepur, August 18
The Vigilance Bureau has registered a case against five persons including the president Anil Sethi and executive officer Tilak Raj Verma of the Municipal Committee Fazilka under section 420,120B of the IPC, 13(1)D, 13(2)88 PC Act for allegedly misusing their position to benefit a third party by transferring valuable property of the MC at rates much lower than the actual market price.

According to the information, MC Fazilka had taken a loan of Rs 1 crore from Oriental Bank of Commerce for river water supply project and had mortgaged land measuring around 53 acres (423 canals) in lieu of the same. However, the MC failed to pay back the loan in stipulated time. Thereafter, the bank officials referred the case to the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), Chandigarh, for recovery of the loan.

The DRT, in its order May 12, 2008, instructed the MC to pay an amount of Rs 1,27,37,680 besides 16 per cent interest to the bank. However, this time too, the MC failed to repay the loan as no one took the matter seriously. Consequently, the DRT in its order March 2, 2009, ordered the auction of the land, which had been mortgaged by the committee and appointed Sandeep Sukhija advocate as the auction officer.

On March 24,2009, the MC passed a resolution no. 157 authorising its president Anil Sethi to liaise with the bank to save the valuable land. However, the auction could not be set aside. On 16/04/2009, the MC auctioned the said chunk of land to the only applicant, Naresh Bansal at the rate of Rs 2.51 crore whereas the collector price of the said land amounted to Rs 10.15 crores and the market price was considered to be still higher, which was pegged at Rs 18.5 crores.

The entire matter was brought to the notice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court through civil writ petition no. 6812 by the Akali councillor Satinder Singh “Savvi”. However, when the matter came up before the court, the MC officials said that they had arranged a sum of Rs 2,28,57,184 for liquidating the outstanding liability towards the bank so as to save the property. MC also told the court that additional amount due towards the bank has also been deposited with the recovery officer. However, the petitioners contended that the entire exercise had been manipulated by certain officials in a bid to transfer the land in a fraudulent manner. Earlier, the matter had also been investigated by the SSP Vigilance Bureau, who had recommended registration of case against the erring officials.

In its order, the court said that the petition had become infructuous. However, it should not prevent any action, which the authorities may like to take against the officials, who misused the position to benefit third party to transfer valuable land in discharge of the debt. The others persons against whom the case has been registered include Rajinder Singh senior manager OBC, Sandeep Sukhija advocate and Naresh Bansal, the purchaser of the land.

Meanwhile, Fazilka MC president Anil Sethi said it was not the fault of the municipality and the matter was being given a political colour. He said the DRT might have tried to sell the land through wrongful means. Maintaining that the MC earlier could not pay the amount due to the election code of conduct, Sethi hoped the matter would soon be sorted out.

Dhanaula said even after 25 years of the Sikh massacre, many affected Sikhs, had been going pillar to posts for getting justice.

He said that during the past years, several eyewitnesses of the Sikh massacre had died, if the justice process kept on moving on the current pace, many justice seekers would also depart from this world in the years to come.

Dhanaula also said that in the ensuing SGPC elections, the Sikhs would teach a lesson to the SAD (Badal) for not raising voice in the larger interests of the community.

Mansa/Bathinda, August 18
Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today claimed that the SAD-BJP government had been making efforts for the overall development of Punjab.

Addressing gatherings at the villages in Mansa, Harsimrat said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal would hold sangat darshan in every assembly constituency from the next month.

She handed over cheques for carrying out development work in seven villages under Budhlada block, including Kanakwala, Chehlan, Sirsiwala, Gorakhnath, Peeplian and Andianwali. She assured people of fulfilling the promises she made during polls.

Meanwhile, showering largesse on the second consecutive day of her visit to her Bathinda constituency, MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today announced to construct a 66-KV grid sub-station at Aklia Kalan village to solve the problem of voltage fluctuation.

Addressing the grievances of residents of Mehma, Ablu Khurd, Kothe Lal Singh and Aklia Khurd, she handed over a cheque to irrigation officials to lay a new water-line to remove the problem of water supply for irrigation in these villages.

She stated that the SAD (B) was going to open grievance redressal offices in Bathinda and Mansa where people can lodge their complaints.

Moga, August 18
Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh implored the judiciary to clear backlog of cases by speeding up trial, in an interesting development, the district and sessions court of Moga has acquitted a rape accused within five days of trial, after the framing of charges against him, by recording the statements of four witnesses in a single day.

As per the details available from the court file, one Jaswant Singh, a resident of Malleana village was booked by the police on charges of raping a minor girl of the same village on January 16, this year.

The minor girl had stated to the police that she was abducted and raped by him on January 15, this year.

The charges of rape were farmed against the accused in the court of additional sessions judge SK Aggarwal on August 13, this year. After this, the court took up this case for a speedy trial.

Interestingly, the statements of as many as four witnesses were recorded by the court today and a decision to acquit the alleged rape accused was also pronounced on the spot in the open court.

Bathinda, August 18
Due to alleged negligence on the part of Sangrur police, an undertrial, Kuldeep Singh of Hisar (Haryana), who was brought here to appear before a local court on Monday, managed to escape from the police custody.

Kotwali police booked the two cops, head constable Karam Singh and a constable Balvir Singh, who had taken him from the Sangrur Jail and also the under trail, in this connection.

As per details, the under trial had criminal history. In one of the cases, he was booked here for robbery charges. While returning to the Sangrur jail after being produced before a court, the accused managed to flee along with the handcuff from bus stand.

Acting upon the complaint of ASI Jaswinder Kaur, in-charge, bus stand police post, Kotwali police booked the absconding accused and the two cops under sections 224 and 223 of the IPC.

Confirming the facts, the complainant said, “During the preliminary investigation, the roles of cops came under scanner. So they too have been booked. They, howver, are yet to be arrested.”