Jahankhelan (Hoshiarpur), November 13
Punjab will prepare a force on the lines of the National Security Guards (NSG), besides creating a force of women commandos.

Stating this here today on the sidelines of the passing-out parade of security guards at Punjab Security Training Institute here, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said it was felt that an elite force was the need of the day and the state had the example of the NSG to follow.

Sukhbir said the new force would have a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team, which would be trained to perform high-risk operations. The duties of the team could include hostage rescue operations and counter-terrorism operations.

Meanwhile, sources said an Israeli company had recently given a demonstration on how a specialised force could be created and equipped with special weapons, including heavy body armour, armoured vehicles, advanced night-vision optics and assault as well as high-powered rifles.

The Punjab police wants the special team so created to meet its requirements and is likely to ask consultants to remodel their plans accordingly. Similarly, training as well as weaponry for the SWAT teams would be as per the requirements of the force. There is also the cost factor, with former Israeli army personnel and others who are acting as consultants in this field asking for large sums to transfer key technology and expertise in dealing with hostage as well as terrorists actions.

According to sources, the force eventually wants one SWAT team to be posted in each district for swift and efficient reaction to any eventuality.

As far as women commandos are concerned, it is proposed that new women recruits, who fulfil the requirements, be imparted commando-style training. These women can then be used for sensitive actions, which require them. 

Jahankhelan (Hoshiarpur), November 13
A year ago Punjab was struggling to create jobs for rural youth. Today, it has become the best talent provider for security agencies in the country and is on the verge of exporting this service worldwide.

This was clear today at the sixth passing-out parade of 312 newly trained security guards at the Police Recruitment Training Centre (PRTC).

Recruits passing out today following a two-month free training were literally mobbed by officials of security agencies. Some recruits had as many as four offer letters.

Group 4S CEO Tapash Choudhary said his company alone had given offer letters to 270 recruits today. Kunwar Vikram Singh, who heads the association of security agencies countrywide, said there were not enough men to pass around, with 33 managing directors of national and international agencies descending on the police centre.

Trig security agency head Swaran Salaria said 15,000 trained personnel were needed during the Commonwealth Games alone and that the annual requirement was 10-11 lakh per annum.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal made it clear on the occasion that Punjab would rise to the challenge. He announced that the present training capacity of 10,000 boys per annum would be increased to 15,000 next annum. He also announced that another such centre would be established and that from next year, girls would also be given training as security guards. He said both institutes would also start specialised courses for security managers, armed guards and private commandos, besides teaching languages like English, Arabic, Spanish and French to ensure placements abroad for their “boys”.

The government has also initiated the process of ensuring that the trained security guards are not exploited. They will be listed as skilled workmen under the labour act in the state. Labour minister Tikshan Sood, who was present on the occasion, was asked to consider them as a special category while fixing their minimum wages. Youths passing out from here are getting a salary of around 6,000 to 7,000 per month.

Earlier, the candidates gave practical demonstration of access control, anti-sabotage checking, cordoning and sealing, evacuation, surveillance, chasing, overpowering and immobilisation of suspects, identification of IEDs and explosive materials, besides other tasks.

Later, Sukhbir Badal inaugurated the newly constructed complex of Punjab Security Training Institute consisting of eight new buildings, which include a boys’ and a girls’ hostel, indoor training block, multi-media hall, out-door training block, multi-purpose training laboratory, administrative block and a faculty guest house.

Chandigarh, November 13
The Centre has sanctioned 1,168 posts of Hindi teacher for government schools in Punjab. This is a part of a centrally sponsored scheme that promotes the teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states.

Other than Hindi teachers, 40 teachers for Urdu would also be employed as part of another scheme.

The office of the director general, schools, Punjab, had send the proposal to the Centre, which took the decision yesterday during a meeting of the state officials with officials of the Union Ministry of Human Resources and Development.

Sources added that since the scheme was totally sponsored by the Central government, the Punjab government would not have to contribute anything as salary to these teachers. The entire salary would be paid from the grants given by the Centre.

The state government’s proposal of upgrade of 131 middle schools to matric under the Rashtriya Madhyamic Shiksha Abhiyaan was also taken up during the meeting. Sources said the Centre had agreed to upgrade 70 middle schools this year and the rest of the schools in April 1010.

The cost of upgrade of the schools in terms of infrastructure etc would be paid by the Centre and at the rate of Rs 61.5 lakh per school. Each upgraded school would also employ an additional seven teachers in various subjects.

The sources add that other than Punjab, six other states were also present at the meeting with their proposals. When contacted, director general, schools, Punjab, Krishan Kumar, confirmed that the state’s proposal for Hindi and Urdu teachers had been cleared by the Union government. He added that the 1,168 posts of Hindi teachers and the 40 posts of Urdu teachers would be filled up immediately.

“It should take less than a fortnight for the written communication to arrive from the Centre following which we will give an advertisement in newspapers to fill up these posts. We are trying to make teachers available to students for at least in the last three months of the current session and from day one of the new session,” he added.

Amritsar, November 13
Mohinder Singh Kaypee is likely to stay as the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), and the Congress high command might not make any changes in its state unit, as the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) chief Sonia Gandhi was learnt to be satisfied with the success of the ongoing worker enrolment drive of the PPCC.

The success of the worker recruitment drive of the PPCC could be gauged from the fact that over 32 lakh enrolment forms have been sold by the party during the past one month, which was far ahead of the 14 lakh mark recorded by the PPCC during the previous Congress regime in the state. The enrolment drive is going to conclude on December 31.

Kaypee, AICC sources revealed, met Sonia Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence today and discussed the state of affairs of the Punjab Congress, apart from pondering over the party’s performance in the recent polls. Sonia Gandhi, sources close to Kaypee pointed out, made it clear to Kaypee that he was going to stay as the party’s state unit president notwithstanding rumours within the state unit that he was going to be replaced.

Kapyee was made president of the PPCC about a year ago, as the AICC leadership, it was learnt, was of the view that the move would not only appease Dalits but also strengthen the party’s base further among Hindus of the state. Moreover, the sober outlook of Kaypee and his proximity to the Radha Soami sect headquarters at Beas also apparently worked in his favour at the time of his installment as the working president of the PPCC.

“The meeting between Soniaji and Kaypee was held in a very cordial atmosphere and Kaypee got a go ahead signal from her,” said a senior PPCC leader who was also camping in New Delhi. Kaypee, however, was not available for comments. The pat for Kaypee has come at a time when a number of senior Punjab-based Congress leaders were camping in New Delhi to seek “blessings” of Sonia Gandhi.

Jalandhar, November 13
The path to recovery is fraught with several problems. This is something that the leather industry here is realising in the post recession phase. Though it is back on tracks with export orders beginning to trickle in, getting back may not be that easy especially as the industry faces a serious shortage of skilled manpower.

Having entered into a phase of stabilisation - thanks to a positive economic sentiment in the US - the 250-odd leather units here are desperately trying to get skilled labour back. Ironically, after the meltdown brought this industry on its knees last year, the units here had laid off hundreds of employees. Now almost all units here have displayed huge sign boards for vacancies, but there are no takers.

Gaurav Sud, managing partner in Prime Leathers, says most of the skilled labour, who had gone to their homes in Bihar and eastern UP, has not come back. “They have got jobs back home through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and are not willing to come back here. Being highly labour-intensive jobs, most new people prefer not to work in the industry. Thus, most of the units here are now facing a 20- 30 per cent shortfall in labour that will affect our output,” he says.

The leather industry in Jalandhar has 50 tanneries, 15 fabrication units, besides 200 other allied units. Over 15,000 persons get direct and indirect employment.

Like most other industries in the state, this industry flourished on its own, without much support from the government. “In 2004-05, the annual turnover of the industry here was around Rs 600 crore. But it is now down to just Rs 300 crore, mainly after China opened itself to the world, giving us a stiff competition. The global recession last year had given a major blow to the industry. Though the export orders are now coming back, labour crunch now is hampering growth,” says Col JS Paul, president of the Punjab Leather Federation.

Leather goods manufacturers feel that in the current scenario the government should now step in to save them from collapse. Ranbir Singh Bhatia, MD of Gee Kay International, says the Chinese government is providing a lot of incentives to its leather industry in terms of duty drawbacks that is helping them cut costs. “The government here too should offer similar incentives to us so that we remain globally competitive,” he says.

(To be concluded)

Bathinda, November 13
The Dera Sacha Sauda leaders today put off their state-level congregation that was slated for November 15 at Salabatpura in Bathinda district.

It has come as a relief for the administration as radical Sikh organisations had warned of dire consequences if the congregation was allowed to be held.

Senior officials, including the IGP (Patiala zone) were asked to make the Dera leadership agree to defer their programme as a preventive measure to douse the heat over the Dera-Sikh controversy.

Though sources said the programme was deferred due to the efforts of the administration, the Dera leaders claimed they have done so due to some other programme of the sect.

In a press release, Ram Singh, a member of the 25-member state committee of the sect, claimed that the programme has been deferred due to a fresh arrangement of the sect at its headquarters located at Sirsa in Haryana, where a large number of followers from Punjab would attend the Naam Charcha.

As per sources, besides the congregation it was also expected that the chief of the sect, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, would hold a video conferencing at Salabatpur on November 15. This had irked the hardliners.

While objecting to the congregation, Sikh organisations had been claiming that the Dera-Sikh controversy had erupted in May 2007 from Salabatpura itself when the Dera chief had allegedly dressed in an attire similar to one associated with the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, and also imitated the ‘Amrit Paan’ ceremony in the name of ‘Jaam-e-Insaan’. The incident had triggered tension in the state.

SSP (Bathinda) Ashish Chaudhary said: “With the proposed programme of the sect, tension had gripped the district due to which we had made arrangements to tackle any untoward situation. Fortunately, the programme has been deferred and the situation has returned to normalcy.”

Chandigarh, November 13
As many as 28 per cent of the samples taken by the Health Department during the run up to Diwali failed to meet the criteria with adulteration occurring the most in ghee and coloured sweets.

There were also instances where khoya sweets did not have any khoya in it, disclosed state Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla on the sidelines of a function held here yesterday .

The minister said the government had gone in for a transparent and tamper-free system to analyse the samples for probably the first time. She said this was possible due to the creation of a central laboratory in Chandigarh, which had become fully operational with 32 analysts on duty.

“Earlier, despite the fact that we had four laboratories at Patiala, Amritsar, Bathinda and Chandigarh, we had only nine analysts on duty. Everyone knew where his sample was to go and the analysts were prone to pressure on this account,” she said. The minister said now all samples were coded and even analysts did not know whose sample they were processing.

She said with the establishment of an integrated laboratory in Chandigarh, samples could be dealt with quickly and efficiently.

She said during the festive season, the department had checked samples quickly so that sweet manufacturers did not face any problem. The department had processed 4,000 food samples this year, she added.

The minister said work of the State Forensic Laboratory had also been streamlined after it was shifted to Kharar from Patiala.

She said though she wanted state government doctors on deputation with the Union Territory to be repatriated, this was not being done. “Deputation means a two to three year stay. We have five doctors who are on deputation since 1982 and at least 60 per cent who are in Chandigarh since 1994,” she said.

Meanwhile, the minister has sent a mail to the president of the Punjab Chemists’ Association asking why he had gone to the trouble of inviting her if the association was to serve liquor at its meeting held on November 8 in Amritsar. 

Chandigarh, November 13
Bureaucrats, and even politicians, are apparently shying away from supplying information about their sale/purchase of immovable properties within the “capital periphery of Chandigarh”.

As many as 34 IAS officers, five PCS officers, 32 MPs, ex-MPs, MLAs and ex-MLAs have so far not furnished the details of the properties purchased or allotted in and around Chandigarh. In all, replies from 123 officers and others are still to be received - at least this is what a senior Punjab Police functionary has insisted.

In a report submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Punjab additional director-general of police (ADGP) Chander Shekhar has asserted the IAS officers requested vide letters to send in their replies are: Ajit Sharan, Ambrish Kumar, Amardeep Bhatia, B. Singh Lali. Davinder Singh, DS Dhesi, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Gurdial Singh Sandhu, JS Ahlawat, Kakumanu Siva Prashad, Satinder Singh Sahni, Jatinder Singh Sahni, ML Tayal, Mandeep Singh Sandhu, Manohar Kant, Mohammed Shaheen, Mohinder Singh, Narendra Bhoshan, PK Monga, RK Rao, RPS Talwar, Rajeev Arora, Rajesh Khullar, Rakesh Gupta, Sanjay Sethi, Sham Lal Goyal, Sudhir Garg, Sumita Misra Singh, Sunil Kumar Gulati, Ujal Singh Bhatia, Sukriti Likhi, Vijay Singh, Vikas Gupta and Vivek Aggarwal.

The report placed before the Division Bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Nirmaljit Kaur also mentions the names of representatives of people in this context.

The names are: Ajaib Singh Mukhmailpura, Ajaib Singh Rounita, Ajay Singh Mirankot, Amrik Singh Dhillon, Arunesh Shakir, Avtar Henry, Balbir Singh Ghunas, Charanjit Singh Athwal, Chuni Lal Bhagal, Dayal Singh Sodhi, Jagdish Rai Swahney, Harmohinder Singh Pardhan and Jagdish Kaur Dhillon.

The other names are: Jagdish Singh Garcha, Prem Singh Lalpura, Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Manoranjan Kalia, Mukhtiar Kaur, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Raghbir Singh, Raj Mohinder Singh, Raja Narinder Singh, Ram Lubhaya, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Rattan Singh Ajnala, Romesh Chander Dogra, Santosh Chaudhary, Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal, Sher Singh, Shingara Ram Sahungra and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Zora Singh Mann.

ADGP Chander Shekhar is looking into the matter on the directions of the high court. The matter will now come up for further hearing before the Division Bench on March 5, next year.

Chandigarh, November 13
Punjab additional director-general of police (ADGP) Chander Shekhar has said the role of those involved in the purchase or sale land in Nayagaon-Karoran area by “fraudulent means and in illegal manner” is being inquired into and has asked for a six-moth extension to complete the probe into the case.

In a report submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the ADGP asserted that the matter was pending with Mohali Deputy Commissioner and the “local government”.

The assertion assumes significance as the names of many “high-ups” in and around Chandigarh are involved in this case.

In the report placed before the Division Bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, the ADGP said the information provided by the Mohali DC showed that a plot measuring 22,965 kanals and nine marlas in Nayagaon-Karoran village was owned by “shamlatdeh hasab rasab jar khewat” before June 28, 1995.

But through a mutation dated June 28, 1995, “shares were carved out (of the plot) and some of the co-shares sold the land to different societies and private persons”.

Giving details, the ADGP submitted a list containing the names of: Dashmesh Education Society, Worldwide Immigration Consultancy Service, Green Earth Society, Worldwide resort, Sukhwant Singh, Paramjit Singh, Karanbir Singh, Naresh Chahal, Neena Sandhu, Harjit Singh, Seema Dhaliwal, Karnail Singh, Garja Singh, Saurav Gupta and Sanjeev Kumar.

Seeking a six-month extension to conclude the inquiry, the ADGP added suitable instructions may also be issued to the DC, GMADA chief administrator and other authorities to “provide full co-operation” to the inquiry officer at the earliest.

He added Mohali DDPO and DFO be also directed to “supply relevant information on the latest progress/action taken in the case of 2,455 violations of the area falling in periphery”.

The matter was brought to the high court’s notice by Nayagoan resident Kuldip Singh. Accusing a senior police functionary of a land grab bid in Nayagaon, he had sought protection, while praying for registration of an FIR and a CBI probe into the dealings.

The inquiry was entrusted to the ADGP after Justice Ranjit Singh of the high court took cognizance of the matter. 

Amritsar, November 13
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Parmjit Singh Sarna and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member Manjit Singh Calcutta has criticised SGPC chief Avtar Singh for the sikh body’s effort to effect changes in the widely-accepted Nanakshahi calendar.

“Position of the SGPC chief is respectable, but the effort to reverse any decision that was endorsed by the Akal Takht as was in the case of Nanakshahi calendar was nothing but an insult of the Akal Takht. Now, such an effort was being made when the calendar was already endorsed by the Akal Takht and also by the SGPC. Even after the 11-member committee formed by the then Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti had not received any suggestions regarding amendments in the calendar,” the leaders said.

“The calendar is a symbol of separate entity of the Sikhs and credit for this goes to the then SGPC chief Kirpal Singh Badungar. Now, if the calendar was changed people will remember SGPC chief Avtar Singh like Mohammed Tuglaq, who had changed his capital under influence of his whims and fancies,” they added.

Jeewan Singh Wala, November 13
A close relative of the ruling Badal family was found murdered under mysterious circumstances at his house in Jeewan Singh Wala village in Bathinda district this morning.

Narinder Singh (76), cousin of Paramjit Singh, alias Lally Badal, ex-member, Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), was found lying in a pool of blood when his driver along with villagers entered the house at 7.30 am.

He bore severe injuries on his head, face and arms.

Narinder Singh was a well-known personality of the area and is said to be a big landholder.

Though the family members refused to divulge details, villagers suspected the assailants might have entered the house when Narinder Singh was alone at his house on Thursday night.

The villagers said the family members informed that the accused did not take away money, but decamped with three weapons, belonging to the deceased and his sons.

Senior police officials reached the spot and recorded statements of the kin and villagers.

Among others, Lally Badal, who is a first cousin of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, was also seen present on the spot.

Before the body was taken to the Civil Hospital, Talwandi Sabo, this afternoon, a team of forensic experts and dog squad checked the house. During the search, the police recovered the base of one .12 bore gun from the terrace of the house.

Reliable sources in the village informed that it was not the first incident when Narinder Singh was attacked. About eight years ago, two youths, Gurpal Singh of the same village and one Malkit Singh of Gobind Pura, entered his house, but he was not there. Fearing identification by two of his servants, they killed both servants. Once convicted for murder, one of the accused was on parole these days.

Later, about one-and-a-half-year ago, three youths, Bhola Singh, Tejinder Singh and Ginder Singh, of the same village, allegedly attempted to kill him at his house, but were nabbed and booked in a criminal case.

Villagers added that two of them were on bail and just two days ago, Narinder Singh had appeared in the district courts, Bathinda, to attend the proceedings.

DSP Surinder Pal Singh said a case had been registered under Sections 302 and 460 of the IPC against unidentified persons. We are acting upon various theories to investigate the case. As of now, the family members have accused no one but we have received some information from the village, following which, we are hopeful of cracking the case soon.