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Ludhiana Violence
Tehsildar Assault Case |
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Justice DK Jain (left), Judge, Supreme Court of India, and
Justice Mukul Mudgal, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, discuss a point in the Amritsar District
Courts complex on Saturday. Photo: Vishal Kumar
Captain Amarinder Singh holds a sword at a
Congress rally held in Mohali on Saturday. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu
Capt refutes reports on support to Sarna
Review
Telangana move sign of danger: CPM
Terrorism period certificate still must for arms dealers
SGPC gets latest machine to print Guru Granth Sahib
Delivery Death
Nand Singh’s martyrdom anniversary observed
An elderly ex-serviceman salutes the statue of Jamadar Nand Singh, winner of
the Victoria Cross, on his 62nd martyrdom anniversary that was observed at the Fauji Chowk in Bathinda on Saturday. A Tribune photograph
Govt against private tech colleges, alleges assn
Board disaffiliates 187 schools
LIC told to pay Rs 8 lakh
Economists push for ‘right to work’
Cops take to yoga to beat stress
Stay on computer test
Bid to rob migrant, 3 held
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Witness says he was forced to turn hostile
Kanchan Vasdev Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, December 12 Paramjit Singh, alias Pamma, a resident of Gill village, who was named a witness in the case alleged that the reader of SP-City-III had made him sign on two blank papers in his office in the presence of accused Simarjit Singh Bains’ brother on December 2. The witness has shot off letters to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; District and Sessions Judge, Ludhiana; Civil Judge JPS Wehniwal; District Magistrate; and Chief Director of the Vigilance Bureau complaining that he signed on plain papers under threat. The letter, a copy of which is with The Tribune, states that he was summoned by SP-III. When he went to his office, he was told by his reader that the police official was away. The kin of accused were sitting in the reader’s room. “When I went inside the office, the reader bolted the door from inside. Then the reader kept on telling me to turn hostile in the case. I told him that I saw everything on the day of assault and I cannot back out. But they kept on forcing me. To save my life, I signed on two blank papers. I am sure those papers would be misused,” said Paramjit. SP-III Harjinder Singh, who is also heading the new SIT in the case, however, rubbished all the allegations. He said nothing of this sort can happen. “He is free to come to me anytime and record his statement. We are conducting this probe very fairly. We have no clash of interests,” he said, adding he was not pressurised either by the government or the accused in the case. “If he is a witness, he will remain a witness,” said the SP.
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Mediation wins faith of public: Justice Jain
Amritsar, December 12 In town, on the occasion of the sesquicentennial celebrations of the Amritsar District Courts and Bar Association, Mr Justice Jain, the chief guest, suggested that judicial officers and advocates change their mindset in the interest of the common man. “The practice of mediation, which implies out-of-court settlement, should be encouraged. There are hundreds of advocates and judicial officers trained by the Supreme Court as mediators and the success rate of case verdicts by them stands at over 55 per cent. This saved the courts’ time for “more sensitive” cases and wins the faith of the common public too,” he said. Stressing upon the cordial relationship between the bench and the bar, Mr Justice Jain emphasised regular interaction between the judges and lawyers to dispel the misconceptions resulting out of lack of communication. Advocate-General, Punjab, HS Mattewal, who represented the state government on the occasion, announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the Amritsar Bar Association on behalf of the Chief Minister. Mr Justice Mukul Mudgal, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, said the celebrations provided an opportunity to lay milestones for the present generation and the generations to come. He said the city had produced eminent jurists like Justice HR Khanna and freedom fighters like Saifudin Kitchlu, Sarbdyal Khanna and great martyr Madan Lal Dhingra. Mr Justice Hemant Gupta also spoke and stressed on the need of redressing the system for dispensing speedy justice. Bhupinder Singh, District and Sessions Judge, Amritsar, proposed the vote of thanks. On this occasion, six members of the Amritsar Bar who had completed 50 years of practice, seven legal luminaries including Prof Laxmi Kanta Chawla, Health Minister, Punjab, and RL Bhatia, former Governor, along with nearly 20 judges, who had started their career from Amritsar District Courts, were honored. Earlier, Mr Justice Mudgal flagged off the “Solidarity Amongst Legal Fraternity March” from Ram Bagh to the District Court Complex, organised by the Amritsar Bar Association and judicial officers.
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Capt seeks Prez rule in Punjab
Mohali, December 12
Addressing a gathering at the office of the Mohali Congress Committee here as part of the party membership enrolment drive, he said the incidents had revealed the poor political management of the Badals. “Despite intelligence reports of trouble simmering in Ludhiana, government officials failed to act. There is no accountable in the government,” he added.
Demanding President’s rule in the state, he said the Akalis’ rule has led the state into crisis. He emphasised that no such untoward incident happened in the state during the previous Congress government.
On being asked about the differences between senior party leaders on heading the enrolment drive, he said leaders do not wait for instructions. “It is everybody’s duty. I have not waited for any orders,” the former CM said, in context with a recent statement made by Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal in Vidhan
Sabha.
In the same breath, he supported the conduct of Bhattal after the fracas during zero hour in the Vidhan Sabha. He said Speaker NS Khalon should have suspended the Akali leaders responsible for the fracas. “The Speaker, who has been named in a CBI case, is being protected by the Akalis,” he said.
Others who addressed the gathering were Jagmohan Singh Kang, former minister; Ravneet Bittu, MP, Anandpur Sahib; Balbir Singh Sidhu, Kharar, MLA, and Rajbir Singh
Padiala.
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Capt refutes reports on support to Sarna
Chandigarh, December 12 Talking to The Tribune here today, he categorically said, “As an individual I will ask all Sikhs to come together to ouster the SAD from the SGPC. But that is my personal opinion and not that of the party. The Congress is a secular party and does not mix religion with politics.” On his relationship with the other senior leaders in the party, the former Chief Minister said he had a very good working relationship with both CLP leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and party President Mohinder Singh Kay Pee. “These two could not join me in my recruitment drive because Kay Pee was busy in Parliament and Bhattal in the Vidhan Sabha, we may have difference of opinion over issues, but we enjoy cordial relations”, he added. Sangrur: Asserting that the Punjab Congress will neither participate nor support any one in the coming SGPC poll, Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal on Saturday said that it was either the prerogative of the CLP leader or the PPCC president to decide on extending the party’s support and not that of an individual. Bhattal addressed a press conference today at PWD guest house at Sangrur.
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Review Prabhjot Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 12 While members of the Congress Legislature Party were attentive participants in the proceedings only on the first day when obituary references were taken up, at no stage for the rest of the sitting of the august House, participation exceeded even 50 per cent of the total active membership of the House that stands at 116 with former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh still debarred from attending it. Incidentally, all members who boycotted the proceedings but had marked their attendance on each of the four days of the sitting of the House would be entitled to allowances and perks on a par with those who participated in the proceedings. It was perhaps for the first time in the recent history of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha that the Opposition either stayed away or boycotted all business sittings on one pretext or the other. Even question hour that normally is spared from boycotts and walkouts did not escape the fury of protests of the Opposition benches. Looking at the proceedings, the most debatable issues or persons in the winter session were Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Leader of the Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Akali legislator Virsa Singh Valtoha. While the Speaker was targeted by the Congress after his indictment in January this year by the CBI in a job scam, Bhattal had a breach of privilege motion passed against her for allegedly lowering the prestige of the institution of Speaker, Virsa Singh Valtoha came on the hit list of the Congress legislators for his role in the ruckus in the well of the House on the second day of its sitting in which the turbans of three of the members, including Virsa Singh himself, were tossed up. The Congress in its memorandum to the Governor as well as in a letter to the Speaker wanted a criminal case to be registered against four Akali legislators with Virsa Singh Valtoha being the most prominent. The House listened to a two-page statement by Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Home Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal amidst slogan raising by members of the Congress Legislature Party. Incidentally, it was his maiden speech in the House as an elected member. For even Jasjit Singh Bunny, son of the late Finance and Cooperation Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, the tumultuous session was his first experience of legislature as a member. Except for approving the bill for setting up Guru Ravidas Ayurved University, no other significant legislative business was carried out during this truncated session. The cash-strapped Finance Ministry may have something to cheer about as the bills for revising the wages and allowances besides pension and healthcare reimbursements of both present and retired MLAs were withdrawn. Otherwise this session would go down in the annals of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha as the most tumultuous one.
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Telangana move sign of danger: CPM
Ludhiana, December 12 The creation of states in this manner was no solution to the regional imbalance which was a sequel to the formation of linguistic states. Talking to mediapersons here, Nilotpal Basu, member of the central secretariat of the party, stated that even though in newly carved out states, huge development had taken place, the step had also led to a regional imbalance. He was in the city to address a joint state-level rally by the CPI and the CPM against price rise and the deteriorating law and order situation. He asserted that the Telangana issue had virtually opened the Pandora's box in the sense that the move had led to a demand elsewhere in the country for new smaller states. While clarifying his party's stand on the demand for Gorkhaland, the CPM leader said the formation of this state was neither viable nor possible because the size of the land being demanded for this state was lesser even that of a normal district area. Later addressing the rally, Basu alleged that the policy of allowing future trading in essential food items by the UPA government had led to the unprecedented price rise. He also charged the Union Government with being insensitive to the rising prices. Dr Joginder Dayal, member of the central executive of the CPI, while addresing the rally, attributed the rise in the prices of food items to the “wrong policies” of the government. He said there was no scarcity of foodgrains in the central pool but the government was not releasing adequate quantities for consumption in the domestic market.
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Terrorism period certificate still must for arms dealers
Ludhiana, December 12 However, possessing the certificate is not compulsory in any other part of the country. Repeated representations made by the Punjab Arms Dealers Association (PADA) to scrap the cumbersome restrictions on dispatch of consignments of arms and ammunition from Ordnance Factories in view of the fact that Punjab was no longer a disturbed state, have been turned down by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOH) for reasons best known to them. According to Pritpal Singh Mahant, president of the association, the restrictions on the movement of arms and ammunition from factories to the dealers in this state were imposed way back in 1990 during the peak period of militancy. Fearing snatching of arms by the militant groups during carriage and transportation, the MOH had directed all government ordnance factories to obtain a certificate of safe carrying and security arrangements from the arms dealers in Punjab, issued by the police which further has to be countersigned from the district magistrate. “Even though the militancy in Punjab has been eliminated and the notification declaring Punjab as disturbed area has not been extended beyond 1997, but still the arms dealers in the state are being asked to procure the certificate from the police and district authorities,” rued Mahant. It was all the more unfortunate that while arms dealers in Punjab were being put to unnecessary harassment and procedural hassles, consignments of arms and ammunition destined for the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, parts of Haryana and Rajasthan, passing through this state perforce, were not required to produce any such certificate to the Ordnance Factories, he added. Information obtained by the PADA under Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed that on the recommendations of Ordnance Factory Board, the Union Ministry of Defence (MOD) had made a reference to the MOH in November 2004 for withdrawal of the restrictions but the plea was declined without citing any reasons. A similar reference had again been made by the MOD in March 2008 which again failed to move the ministry into any positive action. Making a strong plea for putting an end to the injustice being inflicted on arms dealers in Punjab, the PADA has sought immediate intervention of the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for doing away with the restriction which was not only discriminatory but also not in favour of natural justice.
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SGPC gets latest machine to print Guru Granth Sahib
Amritsar, December 12 The SGPC was already equipped with three two-colour offset printing machines. The new machine has been acquired and installed by the SGPC at its new golden offset printing press based at local Gurdwara Ramsar Sahib, in its bid to keep pace with the latest printing technology in the world. The newly installed machine was inaugurated by SGPC chief Avtar Singh at the SGPC press here today. The first print which came out of the machine was that of a golden picture of the Sanctum-Sanctorum. The work for installation of the new machine, it was learnt, was undertaken by Baba Labh Singh Ji of Quila Anandgarh wale who was also assigned with the ‘kar sewa’ of the new building of the SGPC printing press. “We have installed the machine with an objective to bring about new printing technology in respect of printing of Guru Granth Sahib. The new machine has the capacity to print 3,000 to 15,000 pages per hour,” said the SGPC chief, adding the machine has already started functioning. He also honoured Baba Labh Singh, Baba Harbhajan Singh, Daljit Singh SDO and Bibi Kulwinder Kaur for their contribution towards the project.
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NRHM hotline helps nab accused
Chitleen K Sethi Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 12 The 30-year-old died within minutes of giving birth to a baby girl. The Muktsar police has booked dai Gurmel Kaur and quack Gurmeet Singh, alias Kaka Singh, for causing death due to negligence. The two have been operating in the area for several years. The matter came to light when an anonymous caller informed the National Rural Health Mission hotline about the incident following which the district administration swung into action. “We got a call on the hotline at about 11 am yesterday that a dai and a quack were trying to assist a delivery of a young woman in the village during which following a complication the pregnant woman has died,” said Anurag Aggarwal, Director, NRHM, Punjab. He informed the Deputy Commissioners, who sent a team led by the SDM to the village. “The SDM found that the information given at the hotline was indeed correct and the dead body of the woman had been sent to Kotkapura for a hurried cremation. Our team followed the family to Kotkapura and got the body back. The postmortem revealed that the woman had died of negligence during child birth and a case was registered,” said Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam, adding had someone not informed the hotline the whole matter would have gone unnoticed. “The complication that had arisen in the case was not uncommon and could have been handled. But the whole procedure was mishandled by the two,” said civil surgeon Mukstar Dr Teerath Ram Goyal. Dr Goyal added the dai was a trained one and registered with the Health Department and was entitled to carry out the delivery. “But when the case got complicated instead of taking the patient to the nearest hospital she depended on the quack who was with her,” he said. He added that the state government had its own mini-primary health centres within 6 km of this village where the unfortunate death took place. “The mini PHC is totally equipped to handle pregnancies and deliveries,” he said. “We would try and help the family through the Red Cross and provide for the child’s brining up,” added the DC. The NRHM hotline (4005252) was started in Punjab in October. Earlier the information provided to the hotline had led to the discovery of a female foeticide clinic in Haryana.
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Nand Singh’s martyrdom anniversary observed
Bathinda, December 12 Under the leadership of national president of ex-servicemen wing of the SAD Col Partap Inder Singh Phulka (retd), the ex-servicemen paid floral tributes at the statute of the martyr here. Nand Singh had sacrificed his life while fighting against the enemy in Kashmir on December 12, 1947. He had won Victoria Cross in 1944 and the Mahavir Chakra in 1947 for bravery. He was recruited in the first Battalion of the Sikh Regiment of the Army in 1931. Besides Colonel Phulka, Bathinda district president of the ex-servicemen wing of the SAD Major Karnail Singh Giddar Windi (retd), Sangrur district president Col Surjit Singh Cheema (retd), Barnala president Gurjinder Singh Sidhu, Mansa district president Major Nazar Singh Mann (retd) also paid tributes to the martyr. Col Phulka said a resolution, seeking 10 tickets for the ex-servicemen in the Assembly elections to be held in 2012, had been prepared which would now be sent to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal for necessary action.
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Govt against private tech colleges, alleges assn
Jalandhar, December 12 Referring to show-cause notices given to certain private engineering colleges on economic weaker section (EWS) quota, Dr JS Dhaliwal, president of the association, in a statement, here today said by mentioning the names of few private colleges the government had tried to defame them. Dr Dhaliwal said in Punjab 95 per cent colleges were private but the state government was trying to defame the colleges instead of helping them. The association held a meeting today to chalk out its strategy on the issue of show-cause notices. Dr Dhaliwal said before signing an MoU with the state government for reserving 10 per cent of the seats for the EWS , the PUTIA gave a list of 25 demands to it. But till date none of the demands has been accepted. Angry PUTIA members, who held a meeting today, alleged that every college had advertised for the EWS quota but if the enough number of candidates were not available then it wasn’t the fault of the private institutes. Members also condemned the show-cause notices issued by the government. PUTIA members said they would seek a legal opinion and file a defamation suit against the state government. The state government’s drive had forced the colleges to think on whether to continue on the EWS quota or not. He also said the SC quota payment (of EWS) was to be made by the government which had not been paid for many years. Chairmen from various state colleges, including Dr Zora Singh (Desh Bhagat Group), Manjit Singh (Doaba Group), Gurvinder Singh (Rayat Group), were present at the meeting.
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Board disaffiliates 187 schools
Ludhiana, December 12 As per the rules of affiliation, the schools are to pay the teaching staff’s basic pay through account payee’s cheques. However, 187 schools from the state, including those situated in Ludhiana, Moga, Amritsar, Bathinda, Kapurthala, Barnala, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur, Mohali, Ropar, Patiala, Muktsar, Mansa and SBS Nagar failed to provide the affidavits, following which the affiliation was withdrawn. The withdrawal of affiliation has been announced by the education board through public notices in various newspapers. However, keeping in mind the future of the students studying in these schools, the PSEB has allowed them to appear for their examinations to be held in March/ April 2010 as regular candidates. Thereafter, as per the notice, these schools would not have any affiliation with the PSEB. Meanwhile, a committee has been formed to look into the records of those schools which have given affidavits regarding the payment of salaries to their staff members through the account payees’ cheques. Every district will have a committee, comprising the district education officer, district manager, regional office, or an official appointed by the chairman of the board, to look into the records. The committee can check the records of the school whenever they want to and if found to be flouting the rules, the affiliation will be withdrawn.
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LIC told to pay Rs 8 lakh
Sangrur, December 12 DCDRF member Harvinder Lal Sharma said the forum also directed the LIC to pay interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from the date of the repudiation of a claim till its realisation. The LIC had also been asked to pay Rs 5,000 as litigation expenses with directions to comply the order within 60 days. According to a complaint filed by the widow and her son, Bhagwan Dass had obtained two policies worth Rs 5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh from the LIC in 2005 and paid the requisite premium. He died on February 7, 2007. However, when his wife and son approached the LIC, their claim was repudiated on March 19, 2008, on pretext of concealing information of suffering from hypertension and some other disease. “The complainants demanded Rs 8 lakh as a claim under two policies at the rate of 12 per cent interest per annum from the date of death, Rs 50,000 on account of harassment and Rs 22,000 as litigation expenses,” said Sharma. “The forum observed deficiency in service and the failure of the LIC to prove about pre-existing disease of the deceased, terming its conduct highly unethical for repudiating the claim,” he added.
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Economists push for ‘right to work’
Patiala, December 12 In his presidential address, MP and former chairman of the National Commission for Enterprises in Unorganised Sector Dr Arjun Sengupta said “the movement for ‘right to work’ has to be systematically organised, as
the scope of the NREGA is still limited”. In his welcome address at the 51st annual conference of Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), being hosted by the University’s Department of Economics in collaboration with Centre for South Asia Study and Centre for Research in Economic Change, Vice-Chancellor Dr. Jaspal Singh said conferences based on employment themes would provide clear-cut direction to
policy makers. Member of Planning Commission Abhijit Sen said the caste system in Indian society tends to further accentuate the prevailing discrimination in labour market. “Hence, the ‘right to work’ must be made a fundamental right. This becomes all the more important as most of the resources have got concentrated in a few hands,” he added. A book entitled, “Globalisation and Change”, an edited volume of essays written in the honour of Prof. Sucha Singh Gill, was also released on the occasion.
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Cops take to yoga to beat stress
Patiala, December 12 Khattra said at present weekly refresher course on yoga is on at the District Training School. Notably, the Patiala police has also made provisions for cops to undergo Yoga with the Chief Drill Instructor. “In today’s competitive world, everyone is under some sort of stress. During the yoga sessions, instructors explain how yoga would enable cops discharge their duties without undergoing stress,” SP (Headquarters) NS Sekhon said.
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Stay on computer test
Chandigarh, December 12 Taking up the petition by Gurwinder Singh and 309 other computer teachers, Justice Vinod Kumar Sharma also issued notice of motion to the state of Punjab and others respondents for March 22, 2010. It was submitted by the petitioners through counsel Kapil Kakkar and Hema Kakkar that in response to the advertisement issued by the department in March 2008, and after being declared successful in the written test held on June 8, 2008, they were appointed as computer teachers in August 2008. It was contented that there was no condition in the advertisement that they would have to secure any minimum marks in the written test. According to the settled law, the terms and conditions of the advertisement are binding in nature. As in the advertisement the only condition prescribed was that the selection would be made on the basis of merit of the written test, now the department cannot ask the petitioners to take second test merely on the ground that in the first test they had secured less than 35 marks. The counsel further contended once the petitioners were appointed on the basis of their merit in the written test held in June 2008, the order of second test was patently illegal and arbitrary. Dead-man-walking case Punjab yesterday undertook to pay a compensation of Rs 1 crore to five of those implicated in the dead-man-walking case. As the case came up before the Bench, comprising Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Jitendra Chauhan, the state counsel said the amount would be deposited by December 16. But it added that directions to disburse the amount might not be issued till a decision on the special leave petition filed in the matter is taken. Taking on record the assertion, the Bench directed that the amount would not be disbursed till December 18, the next date of hearing in the case. The implicated, Nachhatar Singh, Sira, Amarjit Singh, Nikka Singh and Surjit Singh, had earlier sought directions for impleading the chief secretary and the home secretary as respondents in the matter, as they had been directed to pay the amount. The Bench has directed the initiation of perjury proceedings against two cops and at least 12 others, including Jagsir Singh, in whose murder case they were implicated.
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Bid to rob migrant, 3 held
Ludhiana, December 12 The accused, identified as Ravi Kumar, Ajay Paswan and Deepak, all resident of Dhandari and surrounding area, were handed over to the police a few hours ago. The incident came to light when the trio tried to rob a migrant Shailander Kumar, who was returning home after finishing his work. The trio waylaid Shailander and told him to hand over the cash on a knife point. He somehow manage to free himself from the clutches of the accused and raised an alarm. Witnessing the victim scream for help, residents of Dhandari gathered at the spot and nabbed the snatchers. They were thrashed before being handed over to the police.
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Bathinda, December 12
