Phagwara, April 8
Surinder Kaur and Satnam Singh, mother and uncle, respectively, of Harjinder Singh (28), who has been lodged in Sharjah jail in the UAE. While seeking help from the Union and Punjab governments, they urged human rights organisations to come forward to save the lives of the Indians lodged in UAE jail on false charge of killing a Pakistani youth.

It may be mentioned here that after the reports of Goraya youth Sachin Sharma of Mahalan village lodged in UAE Jail, now conviction of a youth of Phagwara town, Harjinder Singh, in the UAE has come to lights.

On hearing the news Harjinder’s conviction, prominent citizens, including SDM Amarjit Paul and DSP Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh, rushed to his Shivpuri Mohalla residence to express their sympathies to the victim family.

They assured to take up the issue with the higher authorities, including Technical Education Minister Swarana Ram.

Meanwhile, former IAS officer and senior BJP leader Som Parkash came to Phagwara on Wednesday but left the town without meeting the family of Harjinder.

Harjinder had gone to the UAE in 2003 and was working as a carpenter there. Surinder Kaur told The Tribune on Tuesday evening that she had three children - two sons and one daughter.

Harjinder had been sending them money since 2007, but his whereabouts could not be known after that and the entire family was worried about his mysterious disappearance. Surinder said a known family friend called from the UAE a few days ago that he had seen Harjinder at a police station at Sharjah.

She said they were trying to contact their relatives when they received a brief phone call from Harjinder, who could only disclose that he was in great trouble and was lodged in Sharjah jail on the charge of killing a Pakistani citizen.

Satnam Singh said the family had appealed to the Union and Punjab governments, besides Lok Bhalai Party president Balwant Singh Ramowalia, to save the life of Harjinder.

Hoshiarpur, April 8
In response to a call of Leftist parties, including the CPM, the CPI Revolutionary Social Party and Forward Bloc, the district unit of the CPM organised a rally at Shaheed Udham Singh Park here today in protest against the anti-people and liberalised policies of the UPA government which had led to a steep increase in the prices of essential commodities. They also criticised the murderous attempts on leaders and workers of the CPM by Moists in West Bengal.

District secretary of the CPM and CPI Gurmesh Singh and Beant Lal Budda Bar, respectively, condemned the UPA and SAD-BJP governments for their failure in controlling the prices and taking any action against black marketeers and hoarders. Both the governments were responsible for rising inflation and were now blaming each other to save their skin, they said. Later, CPM workers, including women, wearing red strips on their heads, staged a protest march in the main bazaar of the town and went to the mini secretariat where they offered arrest.

Tarn Taran: A large number of Communist workers organised a protest march in the town and also staged a dharna on a road at the local Bohri crossing against the alleged anti-people policies of the Union and the State governments. Harbhajan Singh, National Council Member of the CPI, while addressing workers, alleged that the problems being faced by people, like price rise, dearness, corruption, unemployment etc. were due to the wrong policies of the Union and the State governments.

He blamed that the naxals, Congress and Trinamool Congress could make West Bengal’s leftist government weak for their political motives. Other leaders, while addressing the workers, cautioned the state Government against privatising the PSEB and other government institutions. Normal traffic remained disrupted for hours due to the dharna by communist workers on the road at the Bohri crossing.

Jalandhar, April 8
Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal unveiled statues of Baba Munsha Singh, martyr of the Babbar Akali Lehar, and Major Bakhsheesh Singh, martyr of 1971 Indo-Pak war at Johlaan village, near here, today.

Baba Munsha Singh, who was in the Army, quit his job after the brutal crackdown of British forces on Punjabis in morchas of Guru Ka Bagh and Nankana Sahib in 1922. After quitting job, he came in contact with Master Mota Singh and Kishan Singh Garhgajj, who were an eminent Babbar Akalis of that time.

Throwing more light on the life of the rebel, Chiranji Lal Kanganwal, who wrote dozens of books on the Gadar and Babbar Akali movement and was one of the main speakers, said because of his links in the Army and to give jolt to the British army, he was given the task to arrange huge volumes of ammunition for the group. “His brother was still serving in the Army in Montgomery cantonment. He, along with his brother, hatched a conspiracy and smuggled out ammunition from the cantonment. Legend is that this was the very first ammunition consignment received by the Babbars in 1923,” he added.

“Later on, he was imprisoned by the British army on the charges of sedition and was released after serving life term in 1936. He played a lead role in the movement, which forced the British Government to develop the canal system in Doaba region, which today exists as network of the Bist Doab canal. He was again imprisoned by the English government in Deoli Camp Jail, Gujarat, now in Pakistan, and died when he was on hunger strike in 1946,” said Kangniwal.

Major Bakhshish Singh had joined the Army in his teens. He was killed by Pakistan rangers in the Indo-Pak war in 1971 in Rajauri sector. Later, resident of the village submitted a charter of demands pertaining to village-level problems to the Finance Minister, which includes opening of new dispensary and construction of boundary wall around the statues. The Finance Minister in his address promised financial help for these demands.