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Dec 5 Violence
Migrants to be given compensation
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Cong men rally round Amarinder
Capt has no agenda: Sukhbir
Dhami flays Jagrup Brar
Livestock registration to be mandatory
scourge of Drugs-I
Inflation spurs sale of tractors by farmers
Land records go online
SSA to run 3 Adarsh schools in border areas
13 years on, relief for physically challenged boy
City Centre Scam
Janjua files case against complainant
Accused fears threat to life from kin
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Dec 5 Violence
Ludhiana, December 19 The government, however, could not prevent Sikh activists from giving their written statements as 76 of them, including 12 injured in the firing, informed the panel in writing of the happenings on the day. Justice Doabia was asked by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Paramjit Singh Sarna to look into the incidents that forced the police to open fire leading to killing of a Sikh activist. The retired Judge reached the Gujjarkhan campus in the city today and heard only one activist, when he was told by the Senior Superintendent of Police that he could not conduct an inquiry in Ludhiana. Justice Doabia immediately stopped listening to activists as he said he was a strict law- abiding citizen as he had dealt with the law throughout his life. He said he would follow the orders of the SSP. However, secretary, DSGMC, Kartar Singh Kocchhar, took the statements of Sikh activists. Despite barricading the area heavily, the police could not stop the radical Sikhs from reaching the venue. The SSP, SS Gill, was himself seen controlling the situation. The former Judge said he would submit his report on the incident soon. Dal Khalsa leaders Kanwarpal Singh and Bhai Mohkam Singh termed the ban as yet another atrocity by the Punjab government. They said the rest of the inquiry would be conducted in Delhi and the DSGMC would send a special bus to Ludhiana to fetch activists. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was in the city today to inaugurate the Jagannath Rath Yatra, said they had to ban the inquiry as it was actually threatening the law and order situation. Criticising Sarna, the Chief Minister said he wanted Punjab to burn. He was indulging in such activities to create trouble in the state. ‘‘What is his locus standi to order an inquiry into the episode?’’ asked Badal.
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Migrants to be given compensation
Ludhiana, December 19 He said he would ask the district administration to determine the losses and send the case to the government.”We will definitely help them,”said the Chief Minister. Assuring the migrants of safety and security he said Punjab treated them with respect as people of all communities and regions had been living here harmoniously. “That was a freak incident and they will be looked after in this state. The land of this state is for everybody,” said Badal. He annouced the setting up of a committee to resolve the issue of PPS promotees. He said the committee would look into the details of promotions and, if need be, the government would create new posts to absorb everybody who deserved to be promoted. He catergorically stated that no police official would be demoted. The subsidy panel comprising Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia would submit its report by the end of this month. The government would then decide about the subsidies, he said. Reacting on Opposition leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal's allegation that they were not given time to speak in the Assembly, Badal said the Opposition wanted to create a ruckus in the House.”They came there with a design to create a scene. They succeded in doing so. Why blame anybody else now?” he asked.
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Cong men rally round Amarinder
Ferozepur, December 19 The leaders including Rana Gurjit Singh, Ravinder Singh Babbal, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Hans Raj Joshan, Sunil Jakhar, Naresh Kataria, Inderjit Singh Zira and Mohinder Singh Rinwa declared that the Congressmen who were opposing Capt Amarinder Singh’s efforts to strengthen the enrolment move were weakening the party. A section of the leaders said Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Shamsher Singh Dullo had been playing into the hands of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and hence issuing statements against Capt Amarinder Singh. The rally was also attended by Gurchet Singh Bhullar, Avtar Singh Brar (former ministers), Heera Sodhi and Javed Ahktar, senior party leader. Capt Amarinder Singh while addressing the rally alleged that Parkash Singh Badal was trying to bring terrorism back in Punjab for vested interests. The situation in Punjab now deserved President’s rule. The incidents connected with attacks on activists of various sects and the attack on migrant labourers by the so-called ‘biker’s gang’ were engineered by Badal to cash in on Sikh votes. “Badal was instrumental in the Sikh-Nirankari clash in 1978 at Amritsar, which gave birth to decade-long terrorism in Punjab and now Badal has again been practising communal politics in the state without bothering about its consequences,” alleged the former Chief Minister. Meanwhile, a section of office-bearers of the district Congress and Youth Congress units were conspicuous by their absence and the division among the rank and file came to the fore. Though photos of Ravneet Singh Bittu and Manish Tiwari, both MPs, appeared on the posters pasted in the city in connection with the rally, they did not attend the same. Earlier, while addressing a press conference, Capt Amarinder Singh said he would participate in the meeting of the state Congress coordination committee to be held on December 22 in Delhi, which would be presided over by Mosina Kidwai, in charge, Punjab Congress affairs.
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Capt has no agenda: Sukhbir
Bathinda, December 19 Sukhbir denied that the SAD-BJP coalition government was victimising Congress workers or arming the SAD members to indulge in violence during the next Assembly elections. He described Amarinder Singh as an “agendaless” person who was making concocted allegations against the Badal family. Amarinder Singh should first set his own house in order where the other group in the Congress was pulling his leg, he said. Sukhbir Singh asked Amarinder Singh to come forward to claim any development project that was launched during his tenure as Chief Minister. In fact, he shut the refinery at Bathinda and various other major projects. The SAD-BJP government has restarted the refinery project that would change the socio-economic picture of the Malwa belt in particular. He said “our” agenda has been development of the state and making Punjab surplus in power and agriculture produce. As many as 28 bio-mass based mini-power projects to generate about 500 MWs would be commissioned by the end of December 2010 in various areas of the state. Another 200 MWs worth of mini projects would be commissioned in 2011. A potential to generate about 3000 MWs through bio-mass exists and it would be tapped within the next five to seven years. One such project at Lambi in Muktsar has started running on trial basis and would be formally inaugurated shortly. Each project will generate direct and indirect employment to about 500 persons and the farmers will be in a position to earn by selling their bio-waste. Sukhbir Singh said work on the thermal power station on turnkey basis had been assigned to a Chinese company by the private firm that had been awarded the work. He said the Bhisiana IAF base near Bathinda would be made operational for civil flights by June next. Four laning of the Bathinda-Chandigarh highway would also begin by June next.
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Dhami flays Jagrup Brar
Hoshiarpur, December 19 Had the villagers not come to the rescue of the Sach Khand Express, many passengers would have been burnt alive at Sahnewal. Punjabis never resort to such acts even when there have been cases of discrimination against them abroad, he said. Moreover, there was no parallel between the migration of Punjabis to other countries and the uncontrolled influx of migrants into Punjab. Punjabis have never been a threat to peace and they did not create lawlessness. The uncontrolled influx of migrants is a big threat to Punjabi culture and its development. The influx needs to be regularised as many states of India have done already, said Dhami.
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Livestock registration to be mandatory
Bathinda, December 19
Giving this information, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said once the registration work was completed, it would help the government to come out with various livestock farmer-oriented schemes. Sukhbir was here to inaugurate a three-day zonal livestock show and competition, the Khetri Pashudhan Championship-2009, being held for Bathinda, Muktsar, Mansa, Barnala, Moga and Sangrur districts. Sukhbir said the state government would constitute a livestock registration authority.The authority, after registering the animal, would issue a certificate to its owner stating the age, breed,estimated value and vaccination details of the animal concerned.The certificate would be acceptable by the authorities disbursing loans while carrying out the valuation of animals. “We are the first in India to take such an initiative. I have also been planning to open an institution where top quality semen of every breed will be available,” said Sukhbir Badal. Addressing the gathering, he announced that a North Zone Livestock Show would be organised at Muktsar during the Maghi Mela from January 8 to 12 next year. He added that the collective prize money for the fair had been fixed at Rs 2.5 crore, which would be given by the state government.
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scourge of Drugs-I
Muktsar/Bathinda, December 19 Though the efforts of the government are on to check waterlogging, it has “failed” to eradicate the evil of drugs. The problem, if one goes by an affidavit submitted by the Social Security Department to the Punjab and Haryana High Court which claims that 65 per cent of the youth are on a cocktail of drugs, has acquired alarming proportions. The case of Ranjeet Singh, son of a farmer, is perhaps symptomatic of the entire region, Says Dr S Krishnan, in charge of the Drug De-addiction Centre of Adesh Hospital and Research Centre, Muktsar, “Ranjeet comes on the pretext of donating blood. However, the fact is that he comes here to sell his blood to pay for his drugs. I have caught him so many times. His skinny built, yellow eyes are sure give aways. He confided to me that he started off from table spoons of poppy husk and later graduated to dreaded heroin”. The Muktsar police doles out statistics of recoveries of drugs and cases slapped under the NDPS Act on smugglers. However, sources claim that all these statistics are just tips of the iceberg. Muktsar SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill said: “We admit that we have a big fight on our hands. Having said that, we are doing our best to curb inter- state smuggling of drugs like poppy husk and opium.” In Muktsar, the hub of southwest Punjab, the problem is magnified because of the 8-km border it shares with Rajasthan where the government has opened poppy husk vends. The porous border ensures that poppy husk and opium are quietly smuggled into the district. Admits AS Sukhija, chief administrative officer of Adesh Hospital, Muktsar, which has a de-addiction centre where hordes of rural youth get admitted every day, “Whatever the police is doing is fine. But the fact remains that each of the 230 villages of the district is affected by the menace. Once they are treated, 75 per cent of them become re-lapse cases---where they again resort to drugs”. A drug addict, under treatment at Adesh hospital, revealed, “I got trapped into the world of drugs through poppy husk. Later came in opium and then I tasted psychotropic substances like Phansydril, Corex (cough syrups), Proxyvon (pain killer) and Alfrix-20 (sedative). I was caught in a vicious trap”. “First of all action should be taken against chemists selling psychotropic substances without proper prescriptions. Each of the 230 villages have chemist shops selling drugs. A nexus exists between the Rajasthan-based drug mafia and the local police,” said Savita Sachdeva, a sociologist. (To be concluded)
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Inflation spurs sale of tractors by farmers
Barnala, December 19 “What can a farmer do than to sell the tractors that have a significant role in farming. We are not getting desired prices for our produce and prices of inputs for farming have gone sky wards,” rued a farmer, who had come to tractor mandi for selling his tractor. “I bought the tractor for Rs 3.5 lakh and since, I have suffered heavy losses in farming due to high inputs and less outputs, I have no other option but to sell my tractor. I am now selling it for Rs 2.75 lakh to settle the rest of the loan money that I had lended from a bank for buying the tractor,” he added. Ranjeet Singh, who works as mechanic at Namdhari tractors near Taraksheel Chowk, confirmed, “More and more farmers have been coming to sell their tractors here.” “Five years back, about 150 farmers would come to sell their tractors on a fixed day of week at the only mandi near Taraksheel Chowk. However, presently about 12,00 farmers come to two tractor mandis- one near Sabzi Mandi and other near Taraksheel Chowk- to sell their tractors,” claimed farmer leader from Barnala Roop Singh Channa. A bank official asking not to be named averred that there has been increase in the number of farmers coming to seek loans for buying fresh tractors.
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Land records go online
Bathinda, December 19 As scanty-clad farmer clicked the land record number in “Fard Kendra” on computer in presence of Sukhbir, he was surprised to get computerised copy of the land records within 30 seconds. While interacting with media, Sukhbir said farmers since ages have been suffering at hands of some corrupt revenue officials due to lack of transparency in the land records. He said he started the computerisation of the land records as a mission to free farmers from clutches of the bureaucratic hassles and empowers them by bringing land record information on the website. He said, “This was a gigantic task and had inherited opposition from some quarters, but we had been enabled to complete 75 per cent of this work and total land record will be on the web by December 2010.
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SSA to run 3 Adarsh schools in border areas
Chandigarh, December 19 Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in this regard took a decision during a meeting, giving a freehand to director of the General School Education Krishan Kumar for managing and appointing highly educated teachers for these schools. The CM asked the SSA to establish these schools as exemplary in imparting quality education to the underprivileged brilliant students of the border areas. Badal also directed to make these schools functional by March 2010. The CM also directed the Finance Department to release Rs 50.13 crore as state share of SSA immediately to avail of next funding of Rs 110 crore from the Centre as its share under this scheme. The buildings of these four schools have already been completed at a cost of about Rs 2.60 crore each.
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13 years on, relief for physically challenged boy
Chandigarh, December 19 Over 13 years after the teenager’s hands were amputated, Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia has directed the Punjab State Electricity Board to pay an interim compensation of Rs 50,000. In a first of its kind order in the recent past, Justice Ahluwalia has also directed the Punjab State Human Rights Commission to hold an inquiry into the matter. In the writ petition filed this year, Happy stated he was aged around 13, when the incident occurred in February 1996. A certificate issued by the office of Gurdaspur civil surgeon was annexed with the petition. Taking up the matter, Justice Ahluwalia asserted: “Counsel for the petitioner has urged that Kanta Devi, mother of the petitioner, expired on September 14, 1995, and he was abandoned by his father in 1997, and the petitioner was supported by a local NGO. Therefore, he could not approach any court for grant of compensation. Justice Ahluwalia added: “In the present case, when the incident took place, petitioner was a child. His mother expired and father had abandoned him. A detailed enquiry is required to be held as to how the incident took place and how much compensation petitioner is entitled to. For determination of the fault and the amount to be awarded, evidence is required to be adduced by the parties. “The writ court normally shall refrain from examining the witnesses and appreciating the evidence. Therefore, in these circumstances, the PSHRC is requested to hold an enquiry and determine whether the electricity board is liable or not, if so, what should be the quantum of compensation to be paid to the petitioner. “Till the enquiry is held, as an interim measure, the PSEB is directed to pay Rs 50,000 to the petitioner. The file of the case will be sent to the commission with a request to hold the inquiry. Parties shall appear before the Commission on January 14, 2010.” Before parting with the orders, Justice Ahluwalia asserted: “The parties will be at liberty to avail their lawful remedy in case they are not satisfied with the findings returned by the commission.
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City Centre Scam
Ludhiana, December 19 Taking a serious note, Sessions Judge SP Bangarh said, "Don't take the courts so lightly". “In future such type of applications would not be allowed,'' further remarked the Judge, as a warning. However, the court exempted his personal presence for today, on persistent requests made by his lawyer. Capt Amarinder Singh had sought exemption from personal presence in the court on the plea that he was to attend a Congress rally. On the last date, he had sought exemption on the ground of attending a meeting of the Congress in New Delhi. The Special Public Prosecutor Mitter Sain Goyal had stressed for rejecting the exemption application. The Captain was playing "hide and seek" and staying away from the court intentionally just to dealy the proceedings, he added. Defence lawyers requested for adjourning the case on the plea that one petition was pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court for hearing arguments, a day after tommorrow and most likely the case file would be summoned there soon. But the court declined their request with the observation that neither was there any stay on hearing the arguments nor any order of sending the case file to the high court has reached this court. Thereafter, the court heard the arguments of the Special Public Prosecutor on framing charges against the accused for about one and a half hours. In its arguments, the public proesecutor re-iterated the allegations levelled in the charge sheet. The case would come up for hearing now on January 9, for hearing the remaining arguments on framing charges against accused persons. SSP Vigilance Bureau S S Mand, DSP RavCharan Singh Brar were especially present during the hearing.
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Janjua files case against complainant
Chandigarh, December 19 The complaint has been filed under Section 200 of the CrPC and part 2 of Section 193, 211 and 500 of IPC (for fabricating and giving false evidence, making false charge of offence with intent to injure and defamation). Tulsi Ram had submitted an affidavit to the Punjab Chief Minister in which he had made allegations against Janjua. In a statement, Janjua has said, “When enquiry was held in to his wild allegations, I requested the enquiry officer to give me an opportunity to cross examine him, when he is called for deposing in support of his allegations. Several opportunities were given by the enquiry officer to him to give his testimony to substantiate his allegations, but fearing exposure of his falsehood during cross examination, he never came forward to record his statement.” Janjua said, “Mishra had been given an opportunity even by the chief secretary to prove his charges, but he did not appear even before him.” The enquiry was finally filed at the level of the CM with the observations that this vexatious complaint was made with a motive to harass the officer. The false statement he said was made by Mishra with intention that this may appear in evidence in a proceeding taken by law before a public servant i.e. the CM that tantamounts to fabrication of false evidence according to the provisions of Section 192 of the IPC. When Mishra submitted his affidavit to the CM, he ordered that an enquiry be held to test the veracity of allegations made in the affidavit. The news regarding the conduct of enquiry appeared in The Tribune earlier this year. Janjua said when Mishra came to know that he (Janjua) was contemplating filing of complaint against him in a criminal court for the above offences, he entered in to a conspiracy with State Vigilance and got him implicated in an illegal and false trap case.
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Accused fears threat to life from kin
Patiala, December 19 She claimed that some religious organisations and her family are exerting pressure on her to withdraw her statements given in the Karnal court. She said in case she turns hostile, the threat to her life will increase. “Though I am a Muslim, still I am proud of having adopted the Sikh religion”, she said.
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Ludhiana, December 19
now selling their tractors to sustain themselves.
If the number of farmers (sellers) coming to the tractor mandi here on every Monday to sell their tractors is taken as indicator of the impact of inflation on farmers, the ever-growing number suggests that more and more of them are being badly affected by rising prices forcing them to sell their tractors.