Ludhiana, May 12
High drama was witnessed at the Bhai Bala Chowk here this afternoon when Amit Gosain, Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Sat Pal Gosain’s grandson, allegedly manhandled a traffic cop, when the latter waved at him to stop for violating traffic rules.

The incident occurred at around 2 pm, when Amit Gosain fluted the one-way rule and cut into the Ferzepur Road from the National Road in his white private car. The cops asked him to return on the National Road as the rules don’t permit anybody to use the National Road from Ghumar Mandi to reach the Ferozepur road.

Narrating the incident, traffic constable Manjit Singh said: “The trouble started when I spotted the white car and told the driver to reverse as it was a one- way lane. But instead of returning, the man alighted from the car and told me to remove the barricades. When I refused and again requested him to reverse the vehicle, the man pushed me and told that he is Amit Gosain and would get me transferred for not following his orders.”

Meanwhile, head constable Ranvir Singh also joined his subordinate, Manjit Singh, asked Amit Gosain to follow the rules but Amit entered into an argument with Ranvir and dared the latter that he would take the matter with the higher ups.

“We were reprimanded for following the guidelines laid down by our seniors. If he had told us that he is grandson of a senior politician, we would have allowed him to take the vehicle. But the language used by the politician’s ward was simply uncalled for,” said Ranvir.

Amit was allowed to take his vehicle after an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) rank traffic cop reached the spot and settled the matter.

On the other hand Amit refuted the allegations of the cops to be baseless. He said he was receiving complaints from the people that the cops were posing unnecessary trouble to commuters and were harassing them.

“Today I was watching them pouncing in front of the vehicles, to which I objected. I told them rather then stopping the commuters they were frightening them which could result in fatal accidents,” said Amit.

He said instead of rectifying their mistake, the cops told him to take the vehicle or otherwise they would challan his vehicle.

Following the incident DSP traffic Harmohan Singh immediately ordered SHO traffic Navreet Singh to probe the matter.

Ludhiana, May 12
A diary owner and his three sons along with henchmen mercilessly killed a panch in the Gill village’s market, located about 20-km from here, late last night.

The deceased has been identified as Nirmal Singh (60), who owed his allegiance to the Congress, while the killers are reportedly SAD supporters.

Police officials, however, refused to give it a political colour. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Narinderpal Singh said: “The panch was killed due to a business rivalry between the two.”

However, sources confirmed that politicians were trying to put pressure on the police investigating the case. The incident occurred at around 9pm when Nirmal Singh, who does not have any child, was sitting in front of his house.

According to the police, Nirbhay Singh, a dairy owner, his sons Pamma, Kamaljit and Dharamjit, reached the spot in a silver Innova MUV and attacked Nirmal Singh with an iron road on his head and the chest. Soon, Nirbhay’s accomplices, also joined him and started thrashing the victim.

The murderous assault lasted for about 10 minutes but no one came to the victim’s rescue. After taking the victim to be dead, the accused fled from the scene.

Later, his brother Gurmeet Singh rushed the victim to a private hospital where Nirmal was declared brought dead. Later in the evening police booked Nirbhay Singh, his three sons and accomplices for murdering Nirmal.

Nirbhay Singh’s son, Kamaljit Singh, was earlier booked in an attempt to murder case for attacking a youth near Guru Nanak Engineering College. The accused are on the run. The ACP said the manhunt had been launched to nab the accused.

Ludhiana, May 12
After a long time span of over a decade, the city will once again figure on the country’s air map tomorrow (May 13). The ATR 42 aircraft pushed into service by Air India, the national carrier, for the inaugural New Delhi-Ludhiana flight is expected to have a smooth takeoff and make a perfect landing.

However, it appears the one hour 15 minute flight could turn out to be turbulent - politically that is. The plane will have Ludhiana MP Manish Tewari and Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal as co-passengers with several other stalwarts from both the Congress and SAD-B parties aboard.

Tewari and the junior Badal have for long been involved in a battle of one-upmanship over the introduction of the Ludhiana-Delhi flight.

The Congress MP claims to have actively taken up the matter with the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel as well as the Air India top brass. On the other hand Sukhbir maintains it was the Punjab government that had facilitated acquisition of land for extension of the airstrip besides providing the necessary infrastructure and manpower to make the Sahnewal airport functional.

That the tussle over taking credit for making air travel available to city residents will be a high pitched one is evident from the fact that both Tewari and Sukhbir Badal are scheduled to address separate news conferences after the flight arrives at Sahnewal. The junior Badal will address the media at 12:30 pm at the airport while the Tewari will talk to reporters at 1 pm at a eating joint outside the airport.

Till a few days ago district administration officials were viewing the Ludhiana-Delhi flight as a routine matter. However, once it was known that the deputy CM would also be among those on board the inaugural trip, the officials have taken it upon themselves to make it an official affair.

Deputy commissioner Rahul Tewari, along with other administration officials, visited the Sahnewal airport last evening to review the arrangements and inspect the facilities being provided at the airport.

Meanwhile, the entire Congress party leadership in the city today condemned and ridiculed what I t called the attempts by the ruling SAD-B to appropriate credit for the launch of the flight tomorrow. It said the flight had been possible only because of Tewari’s “single handed efforts”.

In a joint statement, the Congress leaders condemned the “rank opportunism” of the ruling party and its leaders for “claiming credit for someone else’s achievement”.

“This is not just mean but against standard protocol”, the Congress leaders said. “Any such occasion demands that the name of the local MP is mentioned. But fearing that people will recognise Manish Tewari more for his efforts than anyone else they didn’t mention his name in the advertisements”, they added.

Ludhiana, May 12
About 10 acres of prime land on the Hambran road, belonging to the Punjab Mandi Board, the estimated cost of which would be more than Rs 50 crore, has turned out to be a garbage dump, a den for ant-social elements and a heaven for encroachers. Thanks to the “callous” attitude of the board officials, who have miserably failed to utilise the land for some constructive purposes.

A survey by The Tribune reveals that the garbage collected by the municipal corporation’s vehicles are thrown here, dairy owners make dung cake, whereas numerous vendors have erected makeshift dhabas and tea stalls in the absence of any check. The land comes under the purview of the Krishna Nagar Gram Panchayat.

Usha Soi and Arun Nayyar, the two panches of village, told The Tribune that the land was handed over to the board for constructing chara mandi. “But look at its pathetic condition. They have made it a den for encroachers and anti-social elements. The vehicles of the municipal corporation throw the garbage here in the wee hours. On seeing them, numerous others have also started throwing the waste (both domestic as well as the construction material) here. Those living nearby have been regularly complaining about the land not being put to proper use but to no avail. We cannot even open the doors due to the presence of mosquitoes and flies,” Soi complained. Arun Nayyar said if they urge the encroachers not to turn it into a garbage dump, the latter use abusive language.” They even fight with us,” said Nayyar.

Another resident Chaman Lal Chaitley said the market value of the land was Rs 50 crores. “I had met the mandi board officials a few months ago. They were planning to auction this land but even after two years nothing has been done. Things have deteriorated further,” complained Chaitley.

A Mandi Board official admitted that the board was not utilising the prime land. “Last week, the department had removed hundreds of shanties from here. It needs to be planned again. If not for chara mandi, the land could be put to other uses. It will take some time to decide on it”, the official said.

Ludhiana, May 12
Having failed to receive their salaries for the month of April, teachers, technicians, Class IV employees and other workers of Punjab Agricultural University are in a tight spot as they are unable to fulfill their daily needs.

Being the sole earning members in their families, a large number of employees have to bear the expenses of the education of their children, kitchen overheads and also the expenditure incurred on medication of their old age parents.

But the delay in the disbursal of salaries has not only added to their stress but have put them in a awkward situation where they have no option but to borrow money from their relatives and friends.

Tarsem Lal, a lab attendant at the PAU, is facing a tough time as he is facing considerable difficulty in making arrangements for the monthly fee of his schoolchildren. “My wife is paralytic and a large part of my income is spent on her treatment which can’t be discontinued. I am just hoping against hope that our salaries are released at the earliest,” said Tarsem Lal.

Similarly, Kulwant Singh, a lab technician, and his wife are in a tight spot as they are supporting a joint family out of their salaries. But, non-disbursement of salary has made them helpless, as they have to pay for the medical expenses of Kulwant’s father who is unwell for years.

Ludhiana, May 12
The transparency missing in proper disposal of spurious ‘khoya’ and sweetmeats seized by the health & family welfare department has raised added concerns among city residents who are constantly exposed to the risk of bacterial diseases caused after consuming adulterated food.

Earlier, the seized ‘khoya’ and sweets were dumped in the Budha Nallah but the practice was later discontinued following the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s directions. Now all the spurious and adulterated products are thrown in the municipal corporation’s dumps located on Rahon Road and Haibowal.

However, the dumping of adulterated sweets and ‘khoya’ confiscated during the festive season last year had created controversy after allegations of large amounts of the seized products being returned to the sweetmeat shopowners.

Similarly, the ‘pick and choose’ policy adopted by the health & family welfare department has posed a question mark on the various drives undertaken against adulteration from time to time.

In an application submitted to the department, MS Gill, who heads a city-based NGO, had asked about the ‘raids’ conducted on the sweetmeat shopowners and ‘halwais’ in the district. He said he was shocked to learn that the well-known shops had been left out in the raids.

"It’s rather shocking that all the lesser known shops in heart of the city have been raided whereas the major outlets of sweets, which are the actual buyers of the synthetic ‘khoya’, have not been checked. Small sweetshops cannot buy the tons of ‘khoya’ coming from Uttar Pradesh. The actual takers are the big outlets but the authorities appear have no answer to the queries which have been made in this regard by various organizations and individuals," Gill stated.

However, district health officer Dr DS Kochar said the health & family welfare department followed a “proper” procedure to dump spurious and adulterated sweets, ‘khoya’ and other food products that were seized. He also denied the department had adopted a ‘pick and choose’ policy. "I’ve recently taken charge and will personally look into the details of all the raids and checks conducted in the recent past”, he added.

COMMUNITY

Clearance to samples of expired food items raises eyebrows
Anshu Seth
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 12
The clearance given to the samples of expired food products, including refined oil, cheese and pickles by the Public Analyst Laboratory at Sector 11 in Chandigarh has put a question mark on the functioning of the Punjab Health System Corporation.

The laboratory is functioning under the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab.

A team of health officials seized 11 litres of expired refined oil and 1.2 kg of cheese during a raid conducted at a departmental store in JMD Govardhan City Centre, Ludhiana, on October 20, 2009. The cheese packets, bearing nine-month-old expiry date, were put on “50 per cent” sale at the outlet.

The raid was carried out under the then civil surgeon of Ludhiana, Dr Maninderjit Singh, and District Health Officer (DHO), Dr US Sooch. The samples were sent to the laboratory on the same day. However, the procured samples of the expired items have “passed” the laboratory tests.

Rohit Sabharwal, president of the Anti-Corruption and Crime Investigation Cell, procured the information on samples of food items under the RTI Act in April 2010, wherein it was clearly mentioned that the samples of cheese and refined oil taken from the JMD Govardhan City Centre had “passed” the laboratory tests.

Taking a strong notice of the incident, Sabharwal has given a written complaint to the Union Health Minister, Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and Punjab Governor against the Punjab Health System Corporation.

“The prevailing corruption in the corporation is evident from the fact that the samples of expired food items did not fail test in the department’s laboratory, thereby, endangering the lives of people ,” he said.

Sabharwal has also demanded a vigilance probe against the corporation from the Centre, adding, “The expired food is unfit for human consumption and can lead to food poisoning.”

Punjab Health Secretary Satish Chandra, when apprised of the matter, said: “I will look into the matter and take appropriate action against the erring officials.”

Jagraon, May 12
A youth has accused the Jagraon police of thrashing him for no fault of his. His limbs were fractured in the incident.

The victim, Bhagat Singh, currently under treatment at the Jagraon civil hospital, also said he was a kabaddi player.

He said he was at his house, which was under construction, at Kotli village, near Humbran, yesterday when around six policemen came there and asked about him.

He claimed that when he identified himself, the policemen attacked him with sticks and baseball bats all of a sudden.

On hearing his cries, his neighbours reached the spot. The policemen escaped in their Mahindra jeep. He fell unconscious and his legs and arms received fractures.

The neighbours took him to the Sidhwan Bet hospital, where doctors referred him to the Jagraon civil hospital due to his critical condition.

They said when they approached the Jagraon police, it offered to provide medical treatment in case they did not take up the issue, to which they refused.

Sidhwan Bet SHO Balbir Singh confirmed that a police party led by ASI Jaspal Singh of CIA-I raided the village, but refuted the allegations levelled by Bhagat.

He said four cases of liquor smuggling were pending against Bhagat and the police had specific information that he had stocked illicit liquor at his house.

He added that Bhagat, on seeing the police, jumped off the roof to evade arrest and the police could not search his house as agitated neighbours outnumbered them.

He stated that the police officials would not be spared if found guilty and no case was registered in this regard as Bhagat had not gained consciousness.

Ludhiana, May 12
Surya Roshni Ltd will organise a programme to educate millions of consumers across 250 cities in India about the the risk of using sub-standard steel pipes.

The programme will also throw light on the use of good-quality GI and ERW pipes.

Utkarsh Dwivedi, executive director, Surya Roshni Ltd, said, “Sub-standard pipes last for just two to three years, while the original ones last for over 30 years or more.”

Today sale of such pipes comprises over 30 per cent of the total market sales. These pipes have a goomati zinc coating, which reduces its life and instead of having HR coils, these have patra coils, which are extracted from sub-standard steel.

Ludhiana, May 12
Hundreds of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists today staged a protest against misuse of the CBI by the Centre and charged the UPA government with politicisation of the CBI.

Led by district unit president Rajeev Katna, the protesters burnt an effigy of the UPA government on the Ferozepur road here.

Katna and other BJP leaders alleged that the UPA government had been using the CBI as a political weapon. “It appears that the the CBI has virtually become a Congress investigation bureau, which is is reminiscent of the dark days of the Emergency,” they said.

The BJP leaders attacked the Centre for the “sense of insecurity” from intelligence agencies among all opposition leaders. “Telephones of senior opposition leaders are being tapped. The CBI is not only being used by the government to implicate and scare opposition leaders, but also to obtain clean chits for Congress leaders whenever they are caught on a wrong foot,” they said.

Through a memorandum for the President of India, the party urged her to ensure that the CBI remained above politics and the government did not make use of the agency for political purposes.

Among those who took part in the protest were office-bearers of the state and district units of the BJP, legislators, councillors, members of the party executive, activists of frontal organisations and different wings of the party.

Ludhiana, May 12
Richard Wierzbinski, an Australian national, has a fascination for bicycles. His love for bicycles is so strong that he has even started a business in Australia.

He sells Avon bicycles under “The Classic Bicycle Shop Co”. “It is the perfect way of linking my love for bicycles, India and people abroad,” said Richard.

Mandip and Rishi Pahwa, directors of Avon Cycles, presented an Avon Classic 22 black three speed bicycle to Richard for his journey. He plans to cover a distance of around 1,000km as per a brief itinerary Ludhiana-Kalka-Shimla-Narkanda-Ani (Jalori Pass)-Kullu-Rohtang Pass-Keylong and then back to Ludhiana via Mandi-Bilaspur. He plans to reach Ludhiana on May 22.

Disclosing his love for India and the culture here, he said, “I have been associated with India since 1940, as my father spent seven years in Kohlapur (Maharashtra) before moving to Australia.

He had planned his first trip to India in 1995 on a bicycle, considering it was the best way to truly experience the Indian culture and its people. “We supply bicycles to Australia, New Zealand, Europe and parts of Asia. Avon bicycles have also been used in photo and fashion shoots, TV commercials,” he adds.

Going down the memory lane, he shared, “The first trip was to Kerala and I covered approximately 6,000km in four months. I have covered a distance of 25,000km till now,” he added.

Ludhiana, May 12
Though social organisations and NGOs are trying to protect the green cover, a mango tree was cut down to half today as it caused “inconvenience” to the owner of a plot who had started the construction of his house at Sarabha Nagar, opposite the PVR theatre.

Opposing the move, residents of the area said the tree had its own beauty and provided shade to passersby. “It is about 15 years old and bears fruit. To the best of our knowledge, it is on MC land, but the plot owner claims that it is within his premises and he has the right to cut it.”

They said officials with the horticulture department of the municipal corporation visited the site twice today and asked the plot owner not to cut it till they got the documents.

Mahinder Pal, Additional Commissioner of the corporation, said they had to check records to see whether the tree was on MC land or on public property. “If it is on our land, we will take action against the defaulter,” he said.

Ludhiana, May 12
A four- year- old boy, who went missing yesterday from the Churpur road in Haibowal, was traced by the police and handed over to his father today.

The boy identified as Nikhil, son of Sanjay Paswan, went missing while he was playing outside his house last evening.

The family approached the Haibowal police after they failed to locate the boy in the vicinity. A search operation was launched following which the boy was found in the wee hours from the Churpur Road.

According to police, the child was sleeping near the boundary wall of a vacant plot located a few meters away from the house.

The child was stated to be fine. Fortunately, the child did not fell prey to any abductor or stray dog. Nikhil was handed over to the police by his parents.

Ludhiana, May 12
STEPS Education, the school programmes wing of TCY, yesterday held a workshop on “Changing Patterns of IIT Examination” at Sarabha Nagar.

The seminar aimed at apprising students about the importance of what they learn in school and how these skills help them prepare for the entrance tests.

Talking about the change in format, Viji Raj, senior faculty at STEPS said, “Some of the last year’s IIT question papers could be solved by a Class X student with a firm understanding of basics. Unfortunately, students forget these basics and fail to perform well in the IIT entrance exam.”

The pattern of entrance exams has become concept based, rather than difficulty based.

Students of Guru Nanak International Public School, BCM Arya Public School, Shastri Nagar, and Gujranwala Guru Nanak School attended the seminar.

The pattern of entrance exams has become concept based, rather than difficulty based.

Ludhiana, May 12
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has appointed eight local lawyers as mediators at the Mediation and Conciliation Centre here.

The move is aimed at bringing down the pendency of cases and encouraging parties to settles their disputes through dialogue.

District and sessions judge SP Bangarh administered the oath to them. They had been given 40-hour training over five days at the Judicial Academy in Chandigarh.

Civil cases like matrimonial dispute and compoundable criminal cases like cheque bounce would be taken up at the centre.

Cases would be sent to the centre with the consent of the parties concerned. The new mediators would start work from May 15.

The lawyers appointed were BK Goel, Rajneesh Gupta, RD Chhabra, JB Khanna, Keshav Chander Sharma, Manjit Kaur, Simran Gurm and Sushma Bishnoi. A judge one of the rank of additional district and sessions judge and another of the rank of civil judge had been heading the centre earlier.

Ludhiana, May 12
Bhutta Group of Colleges organised a glittering function to mark the annual convocation of Bhutta College of Education and Bhutta College of Engineering Technology here today.

Nearly 600 students, including 500 BEd students and 100 engineering students, were awarded degrees.

Punjab Education Minister Dr Upinderjit Kaur graced the occasion as chief guest and conferred degrees on students.

Dr VK Sharma, principal, Bhutta College of Engineering Technology, and Dr Joginder Mukherjeer, principal, Bhutta College of Education, read out annual reports of their respective colleges.

Former Minister of Technical Education Jagdish Singh Garcha was the guest of honour.

The function started with lighting of the traditional lamp by the chief guest.

Dr Upinderjit Kaur delivered the convocation address and stressed the role of private self-financed institutions in spreading quality education. The convocation ceremony was followed by an alumni meet of the graduates.

Ludhiana: An English poem recitation contest was organised by the Junior Humanities Forum at Kundan Vidya Mandir, Civil Lines, today.

Participants were divided into two groups-Class I and Class II. Twelve participants in each group expressed their feelings and ideas by reciting poems on “True Growth”, “Parents”, “What is Pure”, “Trees” and “Purposeful Life”.

The contest was adjudged by Simarjeet Kaur and Shashi Bhatia. The function was presided over by school principal Rajiv Nagalia and Annu Sehra, in charge, primary section. While giving away prizes, he congratulated winners and appreciated their efforts.

Results:

Class I: Arnav Arora (Class I-E) 1; Divleen Kaur (Class I-B) 2, Vanshika (Class I-A) 3.

Jagraon, May 12
A minor girl has reportedly been raped by her uncle. The police recovered the girl last evening and arrested the accused here today.

The father of victim, residing at Agwar Daka, lodged a police complaint yesterday that his daughter was missing since Monday morning, when she left for school.

He expressed apprehension that his brother-in-law Daljeet Singh (24) of Zira might have abducted her. A case under Section 366-A and 376 of the IPC was registered.

The police recovered the girl from the quarters of Daljeet, patwari with the canal department, at Canal Colony in Zira.

SI Hari Mittar, inquiry officer in the case, said Daljeet picked the girl, on way to school, from Chowk Lappe Shah on his motorcycle and took her to his house at Zira.

He added that the unsuspecting girl was locked up in a room and raped a number of times. He said the accused, sensing a police raid, fled and left the girl behind.

The police received a tip-off today that Daljeet was at Jagraon in an effort to arrive at a compromise.

The police nabbed the accused from the Lande Phatak railway crossing on the Sherpur road. He had confessed to th crime, according to the police.

Ludhiana, May 12
A 32- year- old woman went missing under mysterious circumstances along with her two sons from Savroop Nagar in Salem Tabri yesterday.

According to Subash Chander, his wife identified as Neelam went to the market along with his two sons, Anmol, alias Gollu (4) and Rajat aka Mollu (10), to purchase uniform.

Subash Chander, who is working in Duke, said she went to the market at around 4 pm yesterday and did not return, following which he reported the matter to the police. Meanwhile, the Salem Tabri police has registered the case and started the investigation.

Ludhiana, May 12
A 20-year old youth was allegedly bludgeoned to death by his neighbour following a dispute in Sanyas Nagar near Noorwala road late last evening. The victim, later identified as Rahul, who sustained senior head injuries, died in a private hospital this morning.

The incident occurred at about 11 pm yesterday when Rahul, after having his dinner, went out for a walk and entered into a heated argument with his neighbours, Mohammed Hanif and Mohammed Mehdin.

According to eyewitness, the verbal duel soon turned into blows. Hanif reportedly got hold of an iron and smashed it repeatedly on Rahul’s head, whose injuries proved fatal and he collapsed on the floor.

The two suspects then fled the scene. Rahul was immediately rushed to a private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries today morning.

Meanwhile, the Jodhewal police has booked Hanif and Mehdin on charges of murder and has launched a manhunt to nab them.

Ludhiana, May 12
Judicial magistrate Vipindeep Kaur has convicted Tarsem Lal of Maya Puri here in a cheque-bounce case. He has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000.

The orders have been pronounced while disposing of a complaint filed by Sanjeev Kumar of New Preet Nagar here. He had submitted in the court that the accused had taken a loan of Rs 70,000.

The accused issued a cheque for Rs 70,000 on November 24, 2005, to repay the loan, but it was dishonoured for want of sufficient funds in his account. Despite the issuance of a legal notice, the accused had failed to pay, he added.

On the other hand, the accused said he was falsely implicated by a councillor through Sanjeev Kumar. He said he had taken a loan of Rs 10,000 from Rajinder Singh through his friend.

According to the accused, the councillor, Daljit Singh, who had strained relations with him, took a blank cheque signed by him from Rajinder Singh after paying a payment of Rs 10,000.

The councillor misused the cheque and filed a complaint through the complainant, he claimed.