Bathinda, August 20
An anonymous bomb hoax call sent the district police in a tizzy, besides creating terror at Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School here this morning. Normalcy returned only after anti-sabotage teams completed an intensive drill.

A joint investigation by school staff and the police revealed that a class XI studying in the school had made the call. He reached the school after making the call.

According to details available, a sweeper received an anonymous call at the school’s reception at about 6.30 am. A heavy voice from the other side told her that a bomb has been planted inside the school. She did not pay much attention to the call and carried on with her work. After about 10 minutes, she received another call from the same number, but heard the caller speaking to his accomplice. She noted down the phone number, as the reception phone had a caller line identification facility, and informed the matter to the principal of the school.

After discussing the matter with the school management, the principal informed the police. However, the students had arrived at the school by then. On learning about the incident, parents of the students thronged outside the school premises.

Meanwhile, the police and anti-sabotage teams of Faridkot range and the GRP staff cordoned off the school and began an intensive search. But nothing was found. Senior police officers called the student, who was present in the school, and his father for interrogation.

Talking to TNS, Jatinder Kaur Sethi, principal of the school, disclosed that the student in question was an average student and used to remain calm. She informed that the student has admitted the mistake to the police, saying that he was depressed. He complained of being ill-treated by his stepmother.

GS Romana, SHO Kotwali police station, said, “We traced the guilty student but did not take any action against him. We will wait for the formal complaint from the school management to take further action.”

Bathinda, August 20
To upgrade its readiness to tackle possible cases of swine flu, the Health Department, Bathinda, has roped in private hospitals of the city.

Giving details, an official of the Civil Hospital said they had already made preparations, including getting ready 10 beds in the isolation ward and adequate medicines.

However, seeing the number of swine flu cases in the country, the district health authorities have roped in Nagpal Hospital, Delhi Heart Care Centre and Aadesh Medical Institute and Hospital to bolster their preparedness. “Hospitals with ventilators could only be approached for help. The samples would be collected by the Civil Hospital only.

Besides the three hospitals, if need arises, the Military Hospital at the Bathinda cantonment can also be asked for help,” Dr D.P. Sekhon, district health officer, said today. “We decided to rope in private hospitals after the Indian Medical Association (IMA) expressed its will to help,” he added.

The Civil Hospital authorities also stated that a swine flu case sent to any of the three hospitals would not be charged by them.

Dr G.S. Nagpal of the Nagpal Hospital said it was time the doctors expressed their will to help. “We have adequate infrastructure to help fight the viral attack. We have beds with ventilators for the swine flu patients, as they encounter respiratory problems. We also have a special computerised machine to detect a viral attack.”

The DHO also stated that there was no need to panic as not a single case of swine flu was reported in the city.

Meanwhile, the DHO also countered the statement of DEO (Primary) of not receiving guidelines on swine flu yesterday. He showed a set of guidelines saying he had a confirmation from the Education Department that it had received the guidelines by 1 pm yesterday.

Fazilka, August 20
The Education Department has decided to initiate criminal action against the teachers, who had produced ‘fake’ certificates at the time of interview for recruitment as Physical Training Instructor (PTI).

According to the available details, the department has decided to register police cases against 11 teachers, who had produced such certificates about a year back.

As per the information collected by The Tribune, the Education Department had advertised 244 posts of PTI about one year back. Thousands of prospective candidates had applied for the posts. They were to be appointed on contract basis.

Some of the applicants produced the certificates of PTI issued by the director of the Sports and Youth Services Pune (Maharashtra). It is stated that the selection committee of Education Department could not establish the genuineness of the certificates at the time of interview. The government in the past had decided not to issue the appointment letters without verifying the certificate. Hence, the department did not issue the letters.

On complaints from different quarters about the certificates, enquiries were conducted by the team of senior officials who visited the office of the Director, Sports and Youth Service, Pune, to verify the certificates submitted by some of the candidates.

Surprisingly, out of the 19 certificates verified by the team, 11 were found to be fake. It has been stated in the report that the roll numbers of the candidates were genuine but the names mentioned in the certificates had been changed to suit the applicants.

Harcharanjit Kaur Brar, director public instructions (Secondary), while confirming the scandal said the department has sought legal opinion before launching police action against the candidates. She said that on finding the certificate to be fake the candidates were not issued appointment letters and department has initiated steps to register an FIR against the 11 candidates in Chandigarh.

NGO Shiksha Sudhar Committee, patron, Raj Kishore Kalra, while reacting on the issue, said that registration of criminal case against the cheat is a welcome step.

He disclosed that about three years back too at the time of appointment of 629 Art and Craft teachers, the certificates of 129 candidates were found to be fake. All of them were let off without any action against them. Due to laxity in recruitment process, the trend of producing fake certificates is on rise, he added.

Kalra has demanded that government should scrutinise all the document of the candidates before their appointment. He has demanded of the Education Department that after the expulsion of these 11 candidates, the process of issuing appointment letter to the eligible candidates on merit list should be expedited. 

Bathinda, August 20
With the arrest of 14 accused bookies, Bathinda police unearthed a cricket gambling racket, here this evening. The accused were reportedly running Satta on the ongoing cricket match between the Australia-England during the Ashes series.

Nabbing all of them red handed, Police recovered cash worth Rs1.80 lakh, some computers and TV sets from the spot.

According to details available, acting upon a tip-off, a team of Thermal police station conducted raid at a bungalow in Adarsh Nagar, owned by a state level Congress leader.

Police sources informed that one of the accused Tarsem Kumar had taken the bungalow on rent, where he used to run the illegal trade.

The arrested accused have been identified as Mohan Lal, Janak Raj, Ashok Kumar, Mahesh Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Kuldeep, Anil Kumar, Som Parkash, Sanjay Kumar, Bharpoor Singh, Tarsem Kumar and others.

Confirming the facts, SHO, Thermal police station, Gurdev Singh Bhall said, “Procedural formalities are being completed but all have been booked under sections 13 (A), 13 (3) (G) of the Gambling Act and 420 of the IPC. They will be produced in the court on Friday.”

Ironically, shaken over the arrest of bookies, said to be top shots in the trade, a number of leading personalities of the city were seen present outside the police station.

Ferozepur, August 20
Close on the heels of recovery of huge quantity of heroin in Gurdaspur sector yesterday, the Border Security Force (BSF) in a joint operation with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) team recovered another consignment of heroin from the Dona Telu Mal area along the Indo-Pakistan border in this sector here today.

According to the BSF sources, the four Pakistani intruders apprehended near BoP Tapu along with huge quantity of drugs and arms on Sunday last, during sustained interrogation by the NCB, revealed that a consignment of heroin was concealed near DT Mal area near border fencing, which was to be retrieved by their Indian associates anytime.

Following the input from NCB which had conducted the interrogation of Pak intruders, the P-I (adhoc battalion) BSF, launched special search operation ahead of the fencing.

During the search, the troops noticed some freshly dug soil towards the forward slope of the flood protection bandh between the border pillar 195/3 and 195/4. On further digging of that area, two packets of heroin weighing one kg each were recovered by the BSF-NCB joint team.

The DIG BSF Rajesh Gupta said that the heroin consignment was hidden between the fencing and the international border amidst thick "Sirkanda" growth on the bandh.

He said that the heroin packets carried stamp of an Afghan company, "Honey Bee", which suggests that the contraband had its origin in Afghanistan.

Earlier, the BSF had handed over the four Pakistani intruders identified as Allah Basaya Masih alias' Raju", Akbar Masih alias " Kaku", Faqir Hussain alias " Tanvir" and Mohhammed Akhtar to NCB for the interrogation, who had taken their remand till August 21. Sources said that the NCB was likely to take further remand of these intruders for another round of interrogation.

The DIG said that till date, the BSF has recovered 37.510 kg heroin worth over 200 crores, eight pistols, 22 lakhs fake Indian currency, five Pakistani SIM cards and arrested eight drug smugglers including four Pakistani nationals since January this year. 

Ferozepur, August 20
The Ferozepur police has busted an inter-state gang of thieves involved in theft of heavy trucks and arrested five members of the gang, besides recovering five trucks costing Rs 80 lakhs. This gang used to steal trucks and then sell them off after preparing their fake documents.

SPS Parmar, Ferozepur SSP, said that the arrested members of the gang have been identified as Vinod Kumar, Bitta, Gurpreet Singh, Prem Kumar and Jagmohan. He further said that the arrested persons were involved in several acts of robbery and cases were pending against them in Gurdaspur, Faridkot and some other districts.

Moga, August 20
The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Moga, Karunesh Kumar Kakkar, has issued a notice to the SHO of the city police station for illegally detaining a hotel owner for the past two days.

Parminder Kaur, wife of a local hotel owner Sukhchain Singh, filed an application before the CJM court that her husband was picked up from their residence by the local police during the evening on August 18 and since then he was neither released nor produced before any court of law.

She also alleged that her husband was being tortured by the police in illegal detention.

Her counsel Ramesh Grover argued that this act of the police was illegal and therefore the court should take cognizance of this matter to save the hotel owner from the 'clutches' of the police.

The court while accepting the application of the aggrieved woman has issued a show-cause notice to Kuljinder Singh SHO (City) and sought a reply from him in this regard by Friday morning.

Bathinda, August 20
To mark the 65th birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, the district administration celebrated the Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Divas by organising a district-level science competition at Khalsa Senior Secondary School here today.

The theme of the competition was renewable energy. The winners of the sub-division-level competitions held recently participated in three events of model making, speech and painting. A number of models that students made after day-long efforts and using various articles attracted all. Visitors appreciated models like solar cooker, multi-tasking equipment, wind pump, hydro-pumps and many others.

Surinder Pal Sidhu, district education officer (Secondary), was the chief guest while Jaspal Singh, senior manager, PEDA, Sadhu Ram Kusla, assistant project officer, Waheguru Pal Singh, DPRO, Dilbag Singh Talwar, principal, Khalsa Senior Secondary school were among the prominent personalities present.

Results:

Model making: (Seniors): 1 Akshita Rani and Sandeep Kaur, 2 Gagandeep and Gurjat Singh, 3 Mohit Sharma and Rashpreet Singh; (Juniors): 1 Arshdeep and Jaskaran, 2 Manpreet and Sandeep Kaur, 3 Hardeep kaur and Paramjot.

Painting: (Seniors): 1 Ramandeep Kaur, 2 Lakhwinder Singh, 3 Narinder Goyal; (Juniors): 1 Karanveer, 2 Bavan Preet 3 Parmeet Kaur.

Speech: (Seniors): 1 Nikhil Singla, 2 Ramandeep Kaur, 3 Sandeep Kumar; (Juniors): 1 Ramandeep Kaur, 2 Priyanka, 3 Gurparsad.

Meanwhile, activists of the District Congress also celebrated the day paying homage to Rajiv Gandhi. They pledged to serve the society and strive to eradicate drug-addiction, a social evil.

Fazilka, August 20
A large group of Congress activists celebrated the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with enthusiasm today. A programme to pay tributes to Rajiv Gandhi was organised at the Congress office of three-time municipal councillor Davinder Sachdeva in the Grain Market.

Block Congress Committee president Roshan Lal Khunger, Davinder Sachdeva, former PPCC executive committee member Mehar Chand, senior Congress leader Karan Singh Sawansukha, former municipal councillor Raj Kumar Challana, former president Bar Assocation Rajesh Kumar Angi, sarpanch of village Chananawala Davinder Singh Sawansukha, retired manager of the State Bank of India KL Ahuja, Narinder Sachdeva, Youth Congress leader Pardeep Sharma Minta, Uttam Sain and other garlanded the portrait of Rajiv Gandhi.

Paying tributes to Rajiv Gandhi, Block Congress Committee president Roshan Lal Khunger said that foundation of the progressive India was laid by Rajiv Gandhi. The heights, achieved by the country in the IT field, was the result of the vision of the late prime minister. 

Ferozepur, August 20
In commemoration of 60 years of triumph and valour of Vajra Corps, Major General TS Gill, GOC, Golden Arrow Division, today flagged off a trekking expedition to the arduous glacial track between Padam in Jammu and Kashmir to Manali in Himachal Pradesh, which has heights varying up to 6000 metres.

The trekking expedition team led by Lieutenant Colonel Arun Chandel, consisted of two officers, one JCO and 20 other ranks from the 19 Grenadiers.

The team, which embarked on its journey today, will complete the same on September 13.

On the occasion of their flagging off ceremony, the GOC, while lauding the pioneering effort undertaken by 19 Grenadiers, gave valuable tips to the trekking team from his vast experience.

Later, while speaking to the media, the GOC said that the aim of the trekking expedition was to foster a spirit of adventure in all ranks and expose the troops to healthy outdoor activities so that they remain mentally alert and physically fit.

He said that this expedition will also help the team learn more about adventure skills, and at the same time it will go a long way in educating them about diverse culture and rich traditions, which our nation is endowed with.

The trekking team will cover a total distance of 207 kms from Padam-Raru-Cha-Kurgiath-Junkar-Koksar to Manali with 13 night halts.

Bathinda, August 20
Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants will be installed within 21 months to supply potable water to all villages of Ferozepur, Bathinda, Faridkot, Mansa and Muktsar districts facing problem of saline groundwater.

Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal ordered this today during a meeting with Water Supply and Sanitation Department. He asked the secretary, water supply, to coordinate with the Health Department and form a multi-disciplinary high-level committee to examine the quality of water in these areas and find if it had any link with the rising incidents of cancer.

Reiterating the determination of the SAD-BJP government, Badal said that apart from covering all villages under Rs 1,280-crore World Bank scheme, his commitment was to supply potable water to every village of Punjab. He added that the RO systems installed at a cost of Rs 34.82 crore were working successfully in 327 villages —98 villages in Bathinda, 78 in Mansa, 129 in Muktsar, 11 each in Sangrur and Taran Taran.

Muktsar, August 20
Member of Parliament, Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, undertook a whirlwind tour of Lambi assembly segment, which falls under her Parliamentary constituency.

After laying the foundation stones of three link roads to be constructed at a cost of Rs 20 crore, she trained her guns on the Central government's policies towards Punjab, particularly towards the farmers of the state.

Accompanied by a plethora of district level Akali leaders, Badal said that though she was thankful to the Centre for having released Rs 1,441 crore to prevent water-logging in south west Punjab, yet the Central government could have done much more to put a stop to the scourge of waterlogging in the area.

Harsimrat added despite the fact that 60 per cent of wheat and 40 per cent of rice was contributed to the Central pool by the Punjab farmers every year, yet the Central government was doing nothing to protest the interests of the agrarian sector in the state.

The MP said that those panchayats doing significant spadework to fight these social evils, will be given grants by the Punjab government, which would be used for development of their villages.

Admitting that 70 per cent of the state's youth was under the influence of drugs, she said drug smugglers whom she called 'peddlers of death' would not be spared. Harsimrat distributed Rs 15,000 each to 25 people under the shagun scheme and Rs 35,000 each to 17 families living below the poverty line (BPL) so that they could construct their houses.

Moga, August 20
The All India Sikh Students' Federation (AISSF) and US-based organization Sikhs for Justice has jointly initiated a campaign to record the statements of the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots by making a video film so as to present it to the UN for creating international pressure on the Indian government to seek justice.

A team of the AISSF and Sikhs for Justice organized a camp here on Thursday and recorded the statements of many riot victims. A similar camp would be organised at Mohali tomorrow for the districts of Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib and Chandigarh (UT).

Talking to The Tribune, AISSF president Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad said that these camps would be organised in 14 states and 30 cities across the nation in the coming weeks.

He said the AISSF would organize a function on September 13 at Zira in the Ferozepur district to honour the riot victims and chalk out a new strategy to get justice. "We have also proposed to protest outside the court of chief metropolitan magistrate at New Delhi on August 22 to protest against the shifting of the pending criminal case against Jagdish Tytler". It may be mentioned that the CBI had objected to the legitimacy of this court to hear the case against Tytler.