Patiala/Nabha, December 8
High drama was witnessed this morning at the Maximum Security Prison Nabha, as the jail inmates went on a strike, refusing to eat anything and threatening to set the jail ablaze. Amid heavy sloganeering against the jail authorities for providing them “substandard” foodstuff and ignoring all their demands, some of the protesting jail inmates even took away some LPG cylinders from the jail premises and threatened to set the jail ablaze.

Gauging the seriousness of the situation, top brass of the police, including DGP Prisons Anil Kaushik, DIG Jails Jagjit Singh, Patiala Deputy Commissioner and SSP Dipinder Singh and Ranbir Singh Khattra respectively rushed to the jail to pacify the inmates and bring the situation under control. To avoid any untoward incident, the jail was turned into a fortress with deployment of a heavy police force.

Sources said that besides notorious criminals, many Kashmiri militants were currently lodged in the high-security Nabha jail. Out of a total of 500 inmates in the jail, including convicts and undertrials, the number of women inmates stands at 33, whereas inmates from foreign countries including Pakistan, China, Afghanistan and Kenya are 17.

According to sources, resentment against the jail staff was brewing among the inmates for the past some time. The inmates were extremely perturbed with the alleged sub-standard food being given to them. Besides demanding STD facility in the jail, the inmates also claimed that the jail staff, having strength of around 100 cops, was insufficient.

It is learnt that the police officials talked to the inmates and pacified them by promising to look into their demands. Speaking to The Tribune, DGP Prisons Kaushik confirmed that jail inmates complained about the food being provided to them. “We will go into the demands of the jail inmates,” he said, while claiming that the situation was under control.

Minister for Jails Hira Singh Gabria said he had sought a detailed report about the incident from senior police officials. Regarding the demand for an STD facility in the jail, he said, “We had started an STD facility in Ludhiana Central Jail and will be extending the facility to other jails gradually. But holding the jail administration to ransom is not the right manner to get the demands fulfilled.”

“A few months back, mobiles and narcotics were seized from the jail inmates. They had also manhandled one jail staffer. Now, the jail inmates want to pressurise the jail administration, so that their wrong activities continue uninterrupted,” said a senior cop, preferring anonymity. 

Jalandhar, December 8
The Union Government has been urged to take immediate steps to deal with the rapidly growing number of swine flu cases in this region.

There is need to break the cycle of such cases. The response from the state governments, especially Punjab and Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh is casual. As mostly young lives are being lost, there is panic and anxiety among people.

The casual attitude of the authorities concerned is also apparent in the PGI, Chandigarh, where a swine flu case check-up enclosure has been set up at the entrance to the emergency where the inflow of other patients and their attendants is maximal. Such an enclosure should have been set up at an isolated place where only suspected cases should have been reported.

Already 74 positive cases of swine flu have been reported from Punjab and the official number of deaths in the state has been put at seven. However, the number of deaths is much more than the official figure, it is learnt. Some deaths have gone unreported. Mostly there has been a loss of young lives.

Besides Punjab, a large number of positive cases of flu have been reported from Chandigarh and Haryana. Some deaths have also been reported from Haryana. Earlier, most of the persons suffering from swine flu were either NRIs on a visit here or persons who had returned after a short visit from abroad. But most of the cases are of persons who have got the infection locally. In Punjab most of the cases have been reported from Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali.

Health experts say that a coordination committee of senior health officials of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh should be set up immediately to deal with the situation. Dr Puran Singh Jassi, former Director, Health Services, Punjab, said there was need to enforce the preventive instructions immediately.

Meanwhile, Dr Deepak Bhatia, Swine Flu Nodal Officer, Punjab, said workshops for private doctors were being held all over the state to make them aware about the symptoms of swine flu and the steps to be taken to keep such patients at isolated places. He said teams of doctors had been told to visit schools to educate students and teachers.

Amarinder seeks President’s rule
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Sukhbir’s debut speech on law & order backfires
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 8
Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was shell-shocked at the reaction to his maiden suo motu statement on the law and order situation in the state that led to acrimonious scenes, including tossing up of turbans of some members belonging both to the treasury and Opposition benches in the Vidhan Sabha today.

Sukhbir Badal, attending his first session as an elected member of the House, declared the government would not allow the holding of any function that was likely to jeopardise the hard-earned peace and communal harmony in the state. "The government has not allowed nor would allow anyone to disturb peace in Punjab," he said.

He appealed to all political parties, organisations and individuals to "co-operate with the government” maintaining that peace and communal harmony would be maintained at all costs.

It was this statement that the Opposition did not want to hear till it had put its viewpoint across through an adjournment motion. While Sukhbir Badal went through the ritual of reading out his statement amidst slogan-shouting and protests from the well of the House by the entire Opposition, it was not the type of start he wanted to make in the state legislature.

Making a detailed statement on the function held by the Divya Jyoti Jagran Sangthan in Ludhiana on December 5, he said tension arose when some organisations declared their intent to stop this function.

"The administration did not bar these organisations from holding their protest in a peaceful and democratic manner. But conditions of grave and widespread violence arose when some uncontrolled and armed persons took advantage of the situation and started marching towards the site of the proposed function. The administration used patience and persuasion to stop them by refraining from use of force to the extent possible."

“After they forced their way past the first and the second blockades and attacked the third and the last barrier, the police first used tear gas and cane charge before resorting to firing in the air. But these armed persons attacked the police in which some police officials received injuries. The refusal of these armed persons to stop created the danger of serious widespread violence. The police was forced to open fire to avert a major tragedy. One person died in the firing while 11 others were injured."

Sukhbir Badal said he had been deeply pained over the incident and announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh and a government job to one member of the bereaved family.

The situation was now fully under control. Regarding migrant labourers incident, he said the situation arose after one migrant, who had gone to the police station to lodge a complaint, felt ignored. At this the complainant gathered some other migrants and they started attacking pubic property and vehicles besides stopping traffic. Curfew was imposed at night to bring the situation under control.

Provoked by anti-migrant rumours, a crowd of migrants resorted to violent protests the next day also, setting vehicles, including one belonging to the Army, on fire. To save the situation from taking a serious turn, curfew was imposed. The situation was now under control, the Deputy Chief Minister added.

Nangal, December 8
To check effectiveness of National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Nangal Unit’s in-built protection, prevention, controls and safety appliances to eliminate potential release of any toxic liquid or gas in the environment, a mock exercise was carried out by declaring on the site emergency for ammonia leakage.

On hearing the emergency siren fire, safety, ambulance and other departments swung into action. Affected people were given first aid on the site and then shifted to NFL and BBMB hospitals for treatment.

DC Ropar Priyank Bharati; specialist, NDMA, Brigadier BK Khanna; director, Disaster Management, Bhopal, Dr Rakesh Dubey; director, factories, Punjab, Hardial Singh Gill; and general manager in-charge, NFL, Nangal, BG Singh supervised the mock drill.

SDM Lakhmir Singh and DSP Nangal HS Hundal were informed by NFL official regarding the on-site emergency. The SDM immediately declared off-site emergency. People from affected areas were shifted to relief camps in Punjab Roadways buses at Gurdwara Bhabhour Sahib. Other affected persons were shifted to BBMB hospitals.

Senior officials from Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahar, Mohali, Una and Bilaspur districts also participated in the mock drill.

Ludhiana, December 8
The district administration has assured industry and the migrant population that the interests of the latter will be well-watched to avoid any unruly incident in future. It said that normalcy had already been restored in the city but the police force from other states would stay for some time to maintain law and order.

Talking to mediapersons here today, the DIG, Ludhiana Range, S.S.Chauhan said that in migrant-dominated areas, the police would put such persons on duty who would be sensitive to migrant workers. SSP Ludhiana, Sukhchain Singh said that cases against 50-60 persons had been registered by the police. They were responsible for violence in the city.

"Out of these, 42 persons have already been arrested," said the SSP, adding that the situation turned ugly only because of rumours spread by certain anti-social elements. He rubbished allegations that the police did not register the complaint of a victim (migrant labourer) on December 4. "The police had registered the complaint of the victim, Sunil Kumar", he said.

Meanwhile, the two officials sent by the Bihar Government--- Deputy Labour Commissioner Amar Kant Singh and Joint Labour Commissioner R.P.Mandal-- today said that labourers were still feeling insecure.

"We have urged the administration to look into their problems so that they are convinced. Savings bank accounts of migrants should be opened so that they are not robbed while going back home with their earnings. Many of them have lost their homes and small shops. The Punjab Government should compensate all of them", said Amar Kant Singh.

Ludhiana, December 8
“I was not behind the mob that created frenzy in Ludhiana.’’ These are the words of Upendra (18), alias Sunil Kumar, who is the victim of a robbery incident that allegedly flared up violence in the city. Upendra, who was allegedly waylaid by a group of three miscreants on Thursday evening, was tracked by the police today. He said he was never robbed of cash, but was injured.

He added that he was yet to lodge a complaint with the Dhandari police post when the news spread like wildfire, flaring up tempers of migrants, who laid siege to the police post and vandalised it.

“It was just a phone call to my brother-in-law that made the entire issue blown out of proportion. He called up his neighbour, who in turn called up a local leader. That was all. There was no stopping anybody,” said a scared Upendra, who had literally gone into hiding all these days. “I never asked anybody for help except my brother-in-law. We then went to the police post. But the news spread that I was robbed of and killed. People vandalised the police post within a few minutes,” he said.

Narrating the turn of events, Sunil, a migrant from UP and now a resident of Jagdish Nagar, said when he was coming back to his home on Thursday, a youth allegedly stopped him and asked for cash at knifepoint.

“I was pushed into a trench and two more youths came, who caught hold of my jacket. I left the jacket with them and ran for safety. That was the entire incident,” he said. “While I was saved that night, over reaction by his well-wishers almost made his life a hell,” he added.