Jalandhar, October 7
The staff of the state procurement agencies have gone on strike from today to protest against the non-lifting of purchased stocks in the state. This will not only add to the woes of farmers as the arrivals have picked up, but also cause a loss to those who have been camping in the mandis for the past many days.

Harbilas Bassi and Akshar Kumar, coordinators of the Foodgrain Taalmel Committee, said they had no option but to protest in view of the compiling stocks in the markets. “Who is responsible for the security of the purchased foodgrains and where is the place to store it?” they asked.

“We had warned the government that in the absence of ample storage space there was no point in starting the procurement process. Our seniors forced us to start the procurement process and the result was for everyone to see,” they added.

It was a pity that the government had not given serious thought to procurement otherwise the dispute with the rice-sheller owners could have been resolved earlier. The sheller owners were insisting on getting their old stocks of Rs 1,500 crore to be cleared before allowing storage of the present crop, they said.

No senior officer or minister had visited the mandis to see the ground reality for themselves till today, they added.

Bassi said they were not shying away from their duties but had been rattled by the harassment of their colleagues who had been asked to pay lakhs in recoveries by way of shortages in stock. One of our members from Amritsar, JS Sandhu, has even committed suicide, he pointed out.

Kumar said they were willing to start the procurement process again provided the government gives them adequate storage space and smooth lifting of stocks from the mandis. This was in the interests of all, especially the farmers who had spent huge sums on diesel to nurture their crop, he added.

We also appeal to Chief Minster Parkash Singh Badal to take up this crucial issue with the Prime Minister so that the procurement is a smooth affair. If the Chief Minster could secure some relaxations for the millers during the regime of former Prime Minster Inder Gujral, what is stopping him from doing so now, he questioned.

He also added that a delegation would be meeting Food and Supplies Secretary SP Singh to resolve their grievances in Chandigarh tomorrow. 

Ludhiana, October 7
Being lodged n a jail did not dampen the spirits of 31 women inmates, who observed a fast and prayed for the long life and well-being of their husbands on the occasion of Karva Chauth here today.

The inmates, with several of them facing charges of murder, dowry and lodged under the NTPC Act, applied henna on their palms last evening. They woke up early in the morning today and savoured food and sweets.

Their family members kept visiting them throughout. In the evening, the jail authorities organised a pooja for them at the jail temple.

They were allowed to dress up in a colourful attire and even wear bangles that are otherwise not allowed due to safety concerns. Several inmates, who had learnt beauty enhancement techniques, preened up the inmates as brides.

Snehjot Dhawan, Deputy Superintendent, Women Jail, said jail authorities had made special arrangements for the inmates who wanted to observe fast. She said they relaxed the meeting rules for a day today so that the inmates could pray for their husbands.

Dhawan said the authorities allowed the family members of inmates to bring sweets, fuits and other eatables to the premises. “We allowed the stuff inside only after a thorough check up so that nobody could smuggle a contraband in the jail. It was unlike an ordinary day for the inmates. The premises was taken over by the festival spirit. For a day it did not look like a prison,” she said.

Amritsar, October 7
The Holy City of Amritsar is all set to witness the gala celebrations to mark the “Parkash Divas” (birth anniversary of the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Dass). The SGPC is busy giving final touches to a host of events, including the famed ‘attishbaazi’ inside the Golden Temple Complex , “Alaukik Kirtan Darbar” and the “Nagar Kirtan”.

The historic city has already been spruced up for the grand-scale celebrations, which will formally begin with the “Nagar Kirtan” on Thursday. After starting from the Akal Takht at around 11 am, the procession will pass through the earmarked route of Sri Guru Ram Dass Niwas, Chowk Ghanta Ghar, Bazaar Mai Sewa, Bazaar Papdaan, Chowk Chhatti Khuhi, Dal Mandi, Chawal Mandi and will end at Sri Guru Ram Dass Niwas in the evening.

Later, devotees visiting from all over the world would be able to listen to celestial music in an “Alaukik Raag Darbar” at Gurudwara Diwan hall Manji Sahib from 7 pm onwards. The world famous ‘Raagis’, including Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa, Bhai Harjinder Singh (Sri Nagar Wale), Bhai Balbir Singh, Bhai Sarbjit Sing and Dr Gurnam Singh (Patiala Wale), would be rendering classical-music laden “Kirtan” in the tradition style, said SGPC secretary Joginder Singh Adliwal.

Early in the morning on October 9, the birthday of the guru, the devotees would be able to participate in ‘parbhat pheris’, to be organised from a number of historical gurdwaras including, Gurdwara Attari Sahib, Sultanwind, Gurdwara Pipli Sahib, etc.. Amidst the usual religious fervours, the devotees participating in the ‘parbhat pheris’ would be led by “Panj Piaras” and would lead to the Chowk Ghanta Ghar at the Golden Temple Complex where an “Amrit Sanchar” programme would be held around 12 noon. A “Kavi Darbar” would be held at Gurudwara Diwan Hall Manji Sahib from 8 pm onwards followed by the traditional “Jalao” programme at the Sanctum Sanctorum.

The world famous ‘aatishbazi’ would be held in the complex in the night. An exhibition on books on the Sikh history has already been going on at the entrance of the Golden Temple and it would be there till October 9.

Amritsar, October 7
In a bid to propogate the message enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib and the principles of the Sikhism among people other than Sikhs, the SGPC-run “Dharam Parchar Committee” has initiated a two-year correspondence course on the Sikhism.

Interestingly, the course has evoked a huge response from Non-Sikhs as more than 800 aspirants have sought admission in it from states like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, UP, Maharasthra, Gujarat, Orissa, and Assam. The course has already drawn more than 3,000 applications and 28 of applicants and prospective students hailed from countries like the UK, the USA, Canada, and Germany.

It was for the first time that the SGPC has started a course on Sikhism in Hindi even as the similar course was going on in the Punjabi language for the past two years.

“More and more people want to know about the Sikhism, its history and works of the Sikh gurus. It is evident from the response we have got from the ongoing correspondence course in Punjabi and from the number of applications for the course in Hindi, which we are going to start from this session,” said SGPC chief Avtaar Singh after releasing a book in Hindi, “Sikh Dharam Addhiyyan: Prarambhak Jaankaari,” authored by Dr Jasbir Singh Sabar, director, correspondence wing, Dharam Prachar Committee.

“The seats in the Hindi stream are unlimited. We are flooded with queries from all states and from abroad also. My book informs the reader about the gyst of teachings of Guru Granth Sahib and life of the Sikh gurus. We are planning to start such a course in English also,” said Dr Sabar. He said no student was charged anything for the course and the material was being shipped to student’s home free of cost by the SGPC.

Amritsar, October 7
The dust raised by the three-month-long Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina and MP Navjot Singh Sidhu controversy has started settling down. Chhina has been made chairman of the Punjab Small Industry and Export Corporation and MP Arora, regional deputy director of the Punjab Local Bodies Department (Amritsar region), has been subsequently appointment administrator of the Amritsar Improvement Trust for the time being.

Arora’s appointment was apparently a conscious effort by the Punjab government and particularly the Punjab Local Bodies Department and they did not want any more controversies to engulf the Amritsar Improvement Trust that has been in the news for Sidhu’s “self-imposed exile” from his Amritsar constituency.

Though, a number of Amritsar-based politicians were vying to takeover the “hot seat”, but the government, it was learnt, was not in a mood to take any hasty decision as it did not intend to “burn its fingers” second time by appointing a person not acceptable to certain quarters both within the SAD or the BJP.

Sidhu was disturbed over Chhina’s appointment as the chairman of the trust and it was the reason that he had stayed away from his constituency.

Arora would be holding additional charge as administrator of the Amritsar Improvement Trust apart from the post of regional deputy director of Local Bodies for Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Taran Tarn districts. He was also acting as Land Acquisition Collector of the Amritsar Improvement Trust.

The orders regarding the appointment of Arora have been issued by DS Bains, Principal Secretary, Punjab Local Bodies. The administrator of an improvement trust enjoy vast powers as he was capable to pass any resolution on his own whereas, it was not so in the case of a chairman.

Arora has confirmed that he has been given additional charge of the Amritsar Improvement Trust and he would take charge tomorrow. Prior to his shifting to Amritsar, Arora, a senior PCS officer, had worked in the capacity of the Commissioner of the Patiala Municipal Corporation and as District Transport Officer, Hoshiarpur.

Bathinda, October 7
Activists of the SAD (Amritsar, Panch Pardhani), a political outfit floated and headed by Sikh hardliner Daljit Singh Bittu, have alleged that their party cadres are being harassed by the police at the behest of the state government.

The party said its followers were being harassed and ‘mentally tortured’ by the cops without any provocation.

Addressing a press conference, Baljinder Kaur, a lecturer in BR Mohindra College, Rama Mandi, claimed that her father Darshan Singh, who is also general secretary of the party, was picked up by the cops from their native village in Jaggaramtirath (Talwandi Sabo) last night without any reason.

She added the cops relented when she told them that they would get the ‘police action’ highlighted in the media.

Baljinder believed that one probable reason of harassing the cadres was that her party had decided to fight the SGPC elections. Sensing this, the state government’s intelligence agencies were unduly bullying the party cadres.

She also claimed that earlier her grandmother Malkit Kaur, an SGPC member from Maur Mandi, was picked up by the police and was subjected to harassment.

Baljinder added the police forcibly took away her pen drive, her fathers ATM card, mobile phone and Rs 1,100 when it raided their residence at Jaggaramtirath village. She pointed an accusing finger at the Mansa SSP who planned the raid through Bathinda CIA staff inspector Rajinder Kumar.

She urged the Deputy Commissioner to provide her father with

security as she feared that he would be implicated in a false criminal case.

Sangrur, October 7
The condition of the swine flu patient, detected in Sangrur five days ago, has been improving rapidly. He is under constant supervision of the health authorities though his treatment is being continued at his house here. However, no other family member of the patient has shown symptoms of the disease so far.

The senior medical officer of the local civil hospital, HS Bali, said Mohit Kumar (24) had no fever and two capsules were being given daily to Mohit. His family members too were being given one capsule each daily as a precautionary measure. Besides this, all family members had been given masks.

Bali further said Mohit was being treated at his house as the family had refused to come to the hospital. Due to this, the doctors were visiting him at his residence for treatment.

The case came to the knowledge of the doctors on October 3 when they sent Mohit’s throat swab for virus culture to the PGI, Chandigarh. Next day, they received the result that showed that Mohit was a swine flu positive case, Bali added.

One of Mohit’s cousin had come from abroad recently. It was from him that the victim got infected with H1N1 virus. 

Amritsar, October 7
More than 200 countries, including poor ones like Bangladesh, have been able to eradicate polio from their soil, but the deadly disease continues to haunt India with at least 395 cases reported from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.

What was considered to be a matter of solace for the Indian authorities was that the number of polio cases have witnessed a drop from 559 in 2008 to 395 in 2009.

A perusal of the data and graphics of the UNICEF’s India Office revealed that UP and Bihar were two states that had been most affected by P-1 and P-3 types of the polio virus. If 314 persons were detected to have been afflicted by the virus in UP, Bihar, too, seems not lagging behind at 74 cases. New Delhi also reported four cases this year.

“Poor sanitation conditions and lack of awareness are the main reasons behind the situation,” said UNICEF experts, adding that absence of basic amenities, particularly in UP and Bihar, were also responsible for the proliferation of the virus even as the situation was improving with each passing day.

They say polio is a disease that is caused by a wild virus that multiplies only in the intestinal tract of human beings. The virus is of three types---P-1, P-2, and P-3 and no cure is available.

According to the presentation of Dr Sahir Pall, regional team leader, North Region, WHO’s National Polio Surveillance Project-India, the presence of the disease, also called poliomyelitis, could have been more than 3,000 years old.

An Egyptian stele dating back to the 18th Egyptian dynasty (1580-1350-BCE) shows a priest with a deformity of his leg characteristic of the flaccid paralysis typical of poliomyelitis.

“Even Bangladesh has eradicated polio from its soil, we are yet to achieve this goal,” said Dr JS Yadav, chairman, International Media Institute, Gurgaon.

Patiala, October 7
Relatives of an octogenarian couple Sirjit Singh Sekhon (85-year-old) and his wife Satwant Kaur Sekhon (80-year-old), who were found murdered in their Bhupindra Road residence on February 28 last, have alleged police inaction in the case.

The deceased couple’s son-in-law RR Bali, daughter Daman Bali, and grand-daughter Roop Taneja, alleged that the police had not made any progress in the case so far.

Bali said three persons had been named as suspects in the FIR lodged at the Civil Lines police station. These included Manreet Singh, Kartar Singh and driver of the slain couple Daljit Singh.

He said the police had detained Daljit Singh for almost three months and let him off but the other two suspects were never questioned. The relatives even took up the matter with Punjab Governor and other senior police officers of Punjab but to no avail.

On February 28 last, the couple was found dead in a room and both of them had head injuries that had probably been caused by a sharp-edged weapon.

The couple had two sons, the elder Rajiv Sekhon died over two years back, while the other son, Sarabjit Singh, who has been missing since last year, is a retired Colonel. One of their daughters is settled in the United Kingdom.

Property issue seems to be the reason behind the murder. were left untouched. He said they would soon move the Punjab and Haryana High Court and also seek transfer of the case to the CBI.

Chandigarh, October 7
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today granted police protection to daughter of Sarabjit Singh in view of her apprehensions of threats to life and liberty in the wake of her inter-caste marriage.

Even as her family is fighting a virtual battle to secure pardon for Sarabjit and his repatriation to India, Swapandeep had sought protection from her family after her marriage.

Taking up her petition this morning, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain directed the state of Punjab, and in particular, the Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police to ensure that the lives and liberty of Swapandeep Kaur and her husband were protected.

In the petition, Swapandeep Kaur had asserted that she was born in 1988, while her husband Sanjay was born in 1979; and they had married in accordance with Sikh rites. In an attempt to substantiate the contentions, a marriage certificate was also annexed along with the petition.

Justice Jain observed the couple had married against the wishes of Swapandeep’s family and apprehending danger to their lives and liberty had submitted an application to the Tarn Taran SSP.

He added counsel appearing on behalf of the girl’s relatives asserted they would not interfere in the couple’s married life. But their counsel was still insisting on direction to the SSP to provide adequate security. He, while passing the protection orders, added both petitioners were major.

Chandigarh, October 7
After the Moga sex scam, another ‘flesh trade’ racket allegedly involving over 10 Punjab Police personnel has surfaced. If the allegations in a writ petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court are to be believed, the cops were using two women for blackmailing innocents with implication in rape cases.

In the petition against the state of Punjab, the director-general of police, and Ferozepur senior superintendent of police, Raj Rani asserted former station house officer of Guru Harsahai police station Iqbal Singh was carrying out the entire operation in connivance with 10 other cops.

Taking up the petition, Justice Mahesh Grover issued notice of motion to the state and other respondents for November 11.

Seeking probe by an independent agency, the petitioner alleged Iqbal Singh lured her “to extract easy money and made her a tool to collect huge amounts from rich, influential and young men” after threatening them with implication in false cases of rape or under the prevention of immoral trafficking Act.

The cops would carry out raids in their houses and threaten them with the revelation of their names to the media.

Giving details of the modus operandi, the petitioner said Iqbal Singh told her that the numbers of some young boys would be provided to her. After they were called to some isolated place, raids would be carried out and money extracted.

She added Iqbal Singh used come with a photographer. Posing as a journalist from some news channel, he along with the cop, would pressurise the youngsters to marry the girls, lest criminal cases were registered and their photographs handed over to the newspapers for publication.

Two of the victims belonging to Motiwala village even mortgaged their house for handing over the amount to Iqbal Singh. In an apparent attempt to substantiate her contentions, the petitioner has even named at least seven persons, who were made to pay huge amounts.

Referring to the Moga sex scam, the petitioner through counsel CM Munjal said in similar circumstance a Division Bench of the high court (headed by Justice Mehtab Singh Gill) handed over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation vide order dated December 11, 2007.

Barnala, October 7
The Bhadaur police has registered a case against 13 persons in the infamous Tallewal case where five innocent persons had spent five years in jail for the fabricated murder of Jagsir Singh of the same village.

The case has been registered against all, including Jagsir Singh, under Sections 420, 120-B, 193 (false evidence), 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence), 195 and Section 196 of the IPC on the complaint of former Sarpanch Nachhattar Singh, who along with his son Seera and three others had spent five years (1996-2001) in jail on the charge of murdering Jagsir who is still alive. Seera had committed suicide in 2003.

The police said it had registered a case against Jagsir Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Gurdev Kaur, Surjit Kaur, Amar Singh (residents of Tallewal village), Gurdev Singh, Jeeta Singh ((Raisar village), Mukhtiar Singh, Surjit Singh (Tajoke village), Gurcharan Singh (Barnala), Jangir Singh (Bhadaur), Karnail Singh (Dhilwan Nabha) and Bikar Singh (Deepgarh). However, no arrest has been made so far though police parties were conducting raids, the police said.

Regarding non-inclusion of the name of any police official in the FIR, the police official said it was not done as Nachhattar Singh had not mentioned the name of any police official in his complaint.

When contacted Nachhattar Singh said Jagsir Singh, his father Sukhdev Singh, mother Gurdev Kaur and sister Surjit Kaur were among those against whom a case has been registered for fabricating false evidence.

Jagsir’s family members had got an FIR registered with the Bhadaur police station on June 11, 1996, against Nachhattar Singh, his son Seera, Nikka Singh, Surjit Singh and Amarjit Singh, for the murder of Jagsir. Later, a body was found from Gharreli village in Bathinda that had then been identified as the body of Jagsir by his family members. In July 1998, all five persons were sentenced to life imprisonment, but they got bail in 2001 after spending more than five years in jail.