Rape Bid
Accused’s links delaying justice, says victim
Jalandhar, March 22
A victim of sexual assault has alleged that she is being denied justice as the accused is a worker of the ruling Akali Dal. Kulwinder Kaur (name changed), on whom an attempt to rape was made, has alleged that she has been running from pillar to post for over two and a half months to seek justice but the accused continues to roam free due to his “political connections”.

Ludhiana, March 22
Even as Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has opposed the move of withdrawal of vendetta cases against MLAs, Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Satpal Gosain today said the entire House wanted it.

Gosain said a number of MLAs had approached him in his office to initiate such a move. It was only after their insistence that he had written a letter to the Speaker of the House to pass a resolution.

Talking to The Tribune here today, Gosain, four-time BJP MLA from here, without saying anything against Sukhbir, said, “All MLAs cutting across party lines had welcomed the move. One can watch the video footage of the session to take stock of their pleasure at the proposal. That was the reason the Speaker sent it for legal opinion. Had it been otherwise, nobody would have done so.”

He said he was away to Nangal on the day when the proposal was read out in the House. “I got a call on the way by elated members and I could gather their happiness over the phone.”

Gosain added he was not out to save the corrupt. In fact, he wanted that the corrupt should be dealt with the law.

Deputy Speaker said if opposition leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal could be spared despite misbehaving with the Speaker by ignoring the recommendations of privilege committee, why couldn’t this be extended to other MLAs and bring about goodwill in the House.

“I want all energies to be diverted towards the development of the state. Let us shed all vendetta and work towards development,’’ he added.

Chandigarh, March 22
The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) has finally sent an SOS to the government, asking it to pay the board Rs 1,400 crore due to it for supplying free power to farmers and below poverty line consumers. The government has defaulted on paying this amount. The total subsidy due to the board this year is Rs 3,144 crore.

The letter, written recently, comes in the wake of the government move to undertake a paper transaction by asking the board to adjust this amount in lieu of loans due from it as well as electricity duty. It claims the board is in a “dire financial condition” and that cash is needed to make payments for power and coal purchase besides rail freight.

According to sources the board is apparently of the view that the government cannot adjust money due on account of subsidy against loans as per the new Electricity Act, 2003. However, it allowed such a transaction last year when the government adjusted Rs 1,362 crore against loans.

While the state is still to react to the letter, officials here today said it was perfectly in order to reclaim old loans as well as money on account of electricity duty. They said Rs 1,160 crore was due from the PSEB on account of old loans and Rs 540 crore as electricity duty. This means the PSEB still owes the government Rs 270 crore.

The government is likely to advise the board to raise more loans for which it will stand guarantee. This means the PSEB, whose working capital loan has increased from Rs 895 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 6,000 crore this year, will borrow more short-term loans at high rates of interest.

The cash-starved PSEB may also have to go in for large-scale power purchases in the summer due to low levels at both the Bhakra and Pong dams. Bhakra Beas Management Board member, Irrigation, MK Gupta said the water levels at both the Bhakra and Pong dams were 40 to 50 ft below last year levels.

The PSEB is likely to get an additional 300 MW from central sector plants and around 500 MW from other power producers. However, this additional 800 MW added this year would only compensate for the reduction in hydel generation as well as an expected 8 per cent increase in consumption.

Chandigarh, March 22
The Punjab Government has not succeeded in getting directions issued to the trial court to “proceed” with the Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam.

As former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s petition for quashing the FIR registered in the matter came up for hearing before Justice MMS Bedi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court this afternoon, counsel for the state of Punjab asked the court to issue directions to the trial court to go ahead with the trial. At the same time, the counsel clarified that stay had not been granted in the matter, currently pending before the apex court.

The petitioner’s counsel, on the other hand, contended that Capt Amarinder Singh’s petition before the Supreme Court was “likely to be fixed for hearing in the near future”.

After taking on record the assertions, Justice Bedi fixed April 28 as the next date of hearing “to await the Supreme Court orders”, and ruled no further clarification was required in view of the previous order dated February 2.

Justice Bedi, on February 2, had directed the return of trial court record, earlier summoned by the high court. The record was summoned on a petition seeking directions for ensuring the state Vigilance Bureau functioned in accordance with the guidelines on prior approval from a high-powered committee before initiating proceedings, like registration of case under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Seeking the quashing of the FIR dated September 11, 2008, under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC, and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the former Chief Minister is claiming there is not even a single word in the challan against him with regard to pecuniary benefits.

Capt Amarinder Singh added that the controversy was under the Supreme Court scanner. But the Vigilance department, on the directions of the party in power, hurriedly submitted the challan sheet without seeking the Supreme Court permission. 

Ludhiana, March 22
A one-sided love story proved painful for a two-and-a-half-year-old boy and his family when a 22-year-old youth allegedly kidnapped him to coerce his parents into marrying their daughter with him.

Manzil remained in “illegal detention” of Mushtaq, a migrant, who wanted to marry boy’s minor sister, for two days. However, he was nabbed by the Dhandari police from New Delhi today and the boy was released from his clutches.

He was being brought to Ludhiana by a police party led by SHO, Focal Point, Sandeep Vadera. The police said Mushtaq, who was a neighbour of Manzil’s father Mohan Raj wanted to marry their 14-year-old daughter. The family had refused stating she was a minor.

The refusal did not go down well with the youth. Since Mushtaq and Manzil’s family lived as tenants in the same house but different rooms in Durga Colony, he went away with the boy on Saturday.

Mohan’s family thought he might have taken him away for playing but soon his brother received a call by Mushtaq saying he would give their son back only when they would hand over their daughter to him.

The family raised an alarm and reported the matter to the police. Deputy Commissioner of Police Parmod Ban launched a massive rescue operation. He talked to Mushtaq over the phone posing as a relative of the girl.

Later, they laid a trap and told Mushtaq that they were bringing the girl to New Delhi where he could hand over the boy to the family.

The deal was finally struck and both parties decided to meet at New Delhi railway station platform number 9. The DCP said the youth had been arrested. 

Jalandhar, March 22
A victim of sexual assault has alleged that she is being denied justice as the accused is a worker of the ruling Akali Dal. Kulwinder Kaur (name changed), on whom an attempt to rape was made, has alleged that she has been running from pillar to post for over two and a half months to seek justice but the accused continues to roam free due to his “political connections”.

Jarnail Singh (50), a gram sevak of Akala village in Kapurthala district, allegedly molested Kulwinder Kaur (38), wife of an army personnel posted in Kashmir, on January 5. He made an attempt to rape her while she was alone in the house. Her screams, however, brought her mother-in-law to her rescue and made the accused flee.

The matter was reported at Bholath police station on January 7, but the then SHO, Parminder Singh, refused to register an FIR because the accused is a worker of the ruling Akali Dal, alleges the victim. Thereafter, the victim approached Bholath DSP Mohinder Singh who, too, turned down the request to register an FIR.

“The police asked if I had reported to Bibi Jagir Kaur. I went to her on January 8. Bibi called me a liar and said that I had myself invited Jarnail Singh. All my pleas for justice fell on deaf ears,” says the victim Kulwinder Kaur.

An FIR was registered on January 13 under the bailable Section 354 of the IPC after the intervention of Sukhpal Khaira, MLA from Bholath.

Dissatisfied with the police inaction, the victim approached the DIG, Jalandhar range, Sharad Satya Chouhan, who marked the inquiry to the SP, Jalandhar, Parmvir Singh Parmar, recommending slapping of offences under Sections 376 and 511. But, still no action has been taken by the police.

When contacted, Parmar said the inquiry was on but there had been no headway as yet.

Khaira has sent a letter to the NCW, seeking immediate cognisance of the matter and suspension of DSP Mohinder Singh and SHO Parminder Singh. The SSP, Kapurthala, Ram Singh, refuted any claims of political pressure. He said: “ As soon as we get the report, the needed action will be taken against the accused.”

Kapurthala, March 22
The problem of water scarcity is alarming in Punjab as, according to the parameter set by the UN, the state is now falling in the water-stress area category

As per the latest data, only 1,600 cubic metre potable water is available per person per year in Punjab. The availability of per capita water has alarmingly reduced to one-fourth in this state in the past about six decades as 6,000 cubic metre water was available per person per year in 1947.

If overexploitation continues in the same manner and no adequate water conservation measures are adopted, the situation will worsen as per capita water is feared to fall to 1,147 cubic metres in 2050, said Dr KP Singh, Professor at Centre of Advanced Study in Geology in Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of a function organised to mark International Water Day at Pushpa Gujral Science City (PGSC) here today, the geologist said 103 of the total 137 blocks, including Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Amritsar, are overexploiting ground water.

“The water table in Punjab has already reduced alarmingly and the same is further depleting between 70 cm and 90 cm in different parts of the state due to mining of water.” He said. “As much as 31.16 billion cubic metre (BCM) water is consumed here every year against the easy availability of 21.44 BCM annually.”

Also adviser to Stockholm University in Sweden, Dr KP Singh said water conservation and rain-water harvesting are the only ways to get rid of the acute problem of depletion of this precious resource. Paddy cultivation should be discouraged in Punjab as 2000 to 3000 litres of water is used for producing just 1 kg of rice, he added.

Thanking the Punjab government for imposing a ban on sowing paddy before June 10, he said it should further be extended to either June 15 or June 20 to conserve water.

Hussainiwala (Ferozepur), March 22
Nearly 1 lakh people from various parts of the country are expected to visit Hussainiwala Memorial erected in the memory of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev tomorrow.

The three martyrs were cremated at this place on March 23, 1931, after they kissed the gallows in Lahore to get rid of Britishers. The memorial later came to be known as the National Martyrs Memorial.

It is also the cremation place of BK Dutt, who was also involved in bombing in Parliament with Bhagat Singh and died in 1976. Bhagat Singh’s mother Vidyawati was also cremated there and later she was awarded with “Punjab mata” title.

However, the memorial remained in a state of utter neglect for decades together. Under the pressure of people, the successive governments of Punjab in the past one decade erected “Shane-e-Hind” gate at the joint checkpost of the BSF and Pakistan Rangers to signify India’s glory and give a befitting match to Pakistan’s “Fakhr-e-Pakistan” gate.

The memorial would be given more facelift as the state had decided to pump Rs 55 lakh for the same. DC KK Yadav said special trains would run up to Hussainiwala from Ferozepur town from 7 am to 7.30 pm tomorrow. Special buses would also ply to transport people from one place to other on March 23. 

Chandigarh, March 22.
The Secretary of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha has written to Advocate- General Hardev Singh Mattewal to give his opinion on the issue of “withdrawal of cases currently in court against politicians” filed with “political vendetta” in mind.

The letter written to him today has asked Mattewal to submit his written reply before March 26 so that the House can discuss the same before it adjourns sine die on March 26.

Confirming that he had received the letter signed by Secretary Ved Parkash, Mattewal said, “It’s an issue of great public importance, but I am bound not to reveal my opinion to anyone before the same is given to the House. It is a privilege to give an opinion to the House.I will submit my written reply to the Speaker in a day or two after looking at the legality of things”.

In the letter sent to Mattewal on behalf of the Speaker, the letter written by Sat Pal Gosain as well as the entire proceedings of the House on the issue have also been attached. Gosain’s letter had stated that a resolution should be brought on the “withdrawal of cases of political vendetta” as this will improve the political atmosphere in the state.

Patiala, March 22
The best way to understand the spirit of any civilisation is to study the status of women in it, as that constitutes the true index of its cultural and spiritual matrix.

This was the consensus reached at the 42nd conference on “Role, Place and Contribution of Women in Punjab”, organised by Punjabi University’s Department of Punjab Historical Studies that concluded today.

In his valedictory address, former VC of GNDU, Amritsar, JS Grewal urged Punjab’s historians to use the available creative literature and cultural history in their scholastic pursuits.

History, he said, helps a lot in establishing the identity of variegated patterns of different civilisations.

Punjabi University’s VC Jaspal Singh, while advocating the use of scriptural literature by the historians, said but for sporadic references, even our scriptures had not given the rightful status to women until Guru Nanak elevated their position to the highest position.

Media, he said, was doing more harm than good by commodifying women.

Earlier, noted littérateur and historian Surjit Hans said the invention of agriculture had led to downgrading women’s status in Punjab. Quoting mythological references, Hans said gender-based divisions of labour, too, owed its cause to the development of agriculture.

A total of five publications were released on the occasion. Over 100 research papers were presented on ancient, medieval and modern history and history of Punjab in the three-day conference.

Chandigarh, March 22
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has cleared that landowners cannot seek compensation again for land acquired by the state, even if they continue to be shown as owners in the revenue records. Any such attempt would not only be contemptuous, but could culminate in prosecution.

A shot by landowners in Hoshiarpur district to do so has cost them dear, with the high court dismissing their plea after imposing Rs 20,000 costs.

The ruling by Justice MM Kumar and Justice Jitendra Chauhan came on a petition by Gurbax Singh and others against the Centre and other respondents for releasing compensation for their land acquired “vide notifications dated December 24, 2004, and July 11, 2005”.

The Bench ruled: “Merely because the petitioners’ names still exist in the revenue record in the column of ownership, and the khasra numbers along with their names appear in the notifications, do not confer any legal right upon them to claim compensation again.

“Claiming to be owner of 22 kanal 11 marla at Chak Ala Baksh village in Hoshiarpur district, the petitioners had claimed on July 11, 2005, a declaration was issued acquiring the land. But, they were deprived of compensation as “a road already existed on the land”.

The respondents, whereas, asserted the petitioners had not approached the court with clean hands. The road was in existence since 1952, and compensation was paid to them long ago at the time of acquisition. Due to some mistake, the mutation entry in the revenue record was not carried out.”

The Bench observed: “It is clear in unambiguous terms that the land belonging to the petitioners stood acquired long ago.. We are of the view the petitioners have made a false claim in the instant petition. Those who invoke the writ jurisdiction of this Court by making incorrect statement, they do so at their own risk and peril.”

Dismissing the petition, the Bench ruled: “The insistence of the petitioners on their averments made in the petition, then in replication as also in the rejoinder to an affidavit would have led us to order prosecution for setting up a false claim in respect of the land that stands already acquired. However, taking into account the fact that the petitioners are not educated and belongs to rustic background, we have considered it appropriate to take a lenient view and impose a fine of Rs 20,000 on them.” 

Chandigarh, March 22
Chief Justice Mukul Mudagl and Justice Jasbir Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today summoned Moga police chief, after district deputy commissioner asserted that illegal mining was continuing in some villages, including Talwandi Nau Bahar, Daulewala and Jaspur Gobliwal.

The DC made the assertion in a status report filed before the Bench, after conducting on-the-spot inspection. The report said quarries were not auctioned in 2008, due to stay granted by the High Court. But the landowners continued with illegal mining, causing loss to the state exchequer.