Ludhiana, July 30
Additional Sessions Judge Manjinder Singh has convicted controversial financier and former vice-president of the Punjab Youth Congress, Nirdosh Dhand, his brother Vijay and two others in the Lalla murder case. They have been ordered to undergo rigorous life imprisonment.

The others who have been convicted are Mohan Lal of Abdullapur Basti and Kuljinder Singh of Pavittar Nagar, Haibowal Kalan.

One of the main accused in the case, Raman Rana, has already been declared proclaimed offender. He had given the police the slip during a court hearing. The court cancelled his bail order and issued arrest warrants against him. Another accused, Akashdeep, died while still on bail.

Delivering the verdict, the court held that the prosecution had proved the guilt of the accused and declined the plea of leniency raised by the accused. A fine of ` 1,000 each was also imposed on them.

Kuljinder Singh and Mohan Lal were also convicted under Section 25 of the Arms Act with imprisonment of three years each. All the sentences shall run concurrently.

Lalla’s brother had told the police that Rana had got an attempt to murder case registered against his brother, but they reached a compromise and Lalla got bail.

On Feburary 9, 2004, they were to go to court for recording a statement regarding the compromise, but Rana shot Lalla. Akashdeep and Mohan Lal also fired some shots at Lalla. They fled in a car being driven by Kuljinder Singh.

At one time, Lalla was patronised by a senior BJP leader, but had switched loyalties to a local senior Congress leader a few months before his murder.

Ludhiana, July 30
The income tax department has geared up to handle the rush on the last date (July 31) for filing income tax returns. The counters at the IT office will remain open from 9.30 am to 8 pm. The offices will remain open on Saturday, which otherwise is a weekend holiday in the department.

A senior official from the department said filing of the bank account number is compulsory for those who are claiming refunds. In addition to this those who do not pay tax, but have a taxable income will be charged 1 per cent interest every month. “If they fail to submit the return even by March 31, next year, then they will have to pay the penalty of Rs 5,000,” he said.

For further convenience the department has opened a separate counter for the tax professionals. Welcoming the step, Jatinder Khurana, president of Taxation Young Lawyers Association, said the separate counter for the tax professionals would definitely prove to be an advantage during the rush hours. If one wants a faster process then one can calculate, prepare and file IT return online in a secure and hassle free manner and get tax refunds faster by visiting www.taxeworld.com.

Ludhiana, July 30
The standoff between students and officials of the Panjab Agricultural University administration ended with varsity vice chancellor MS Kang agreeing to accommodate 120 residents of the girls hostel in Parker House and the working women's hostel on the campus.

Dr Kang had invited student representatives for a dialogue today morning. The students, who boycotted classes for the second consecutive day, were staging a protest outside his office.

The vice chancellor assured them the girls would be shifted to alternative accommodations following proper security arrangements at the latter in a week's time.

At the same time the girls residing in hostel no 6, while registering their protest against PAU officials, camped outside the hostel yesterday night. Accusing the officials of "autocratic behaviour" they raised slogans and refused to go inside their hostel rooms during the night.

Owing to inadequate space in the girls hostel, old as well as the new students have been facing problems for the past -week after they were asked to share their rooms with more than two residents.

With the beginning of the new academic session, new students had taken admission in PAU but the varsity, in the absence of inadequate space in the girls hostel, had accommodated the girls in the rooms available.

Despite repeated attempts the girls were unable to convince varsity officials to find a solution to the problem. They said they found it difficult to perform even basic chores in their rooms as each room meant for two students had four to five girls. “As a result there isn’t even enough space to keep our luggage”, they added.

A crosssection of teaching and nonteaching staff members in PAU, while noting the inadequate hostel accommodation as well as a shortage of classrooms, averred the varsity should take up expansion of facilities in earnest. "If new courses are being introduced there is a need to construct new buildings, classrooms and hostels”, said a senior faculty member.

Ludhiana, July 30
It's comeback time for the timeless piece of jewelled beauty - the brooch. The ultra-feminine ornament that has been much loved down the ages for its sheer elegance and versatility is creating waves on the fashion scene once again and is definitely here to stay!

From vintage to art deco, from feminine to masculine, and from metallic to studded, jewelled, plain, fabric made and more, costume jewellery segments are flooded with brooches in myriad shapes, forms and hues.

"The brooch heaven is brimming with colourful sparkling delights to enhance your look. There are angels, butterflies, dragonflies, fairies, frogs, flowers, insects, and animals. There are rhinestones, gemstones, pearls, gold tone, silver tone, every colour under the sun, Italian mosaic, vintage, and contemporary designs to choose from. They come with a tongue, pin or loop for attaching it to the garment," says Sanjay Aggarwal of Shelly Store, adding he gets custom made brooches from Mumbai to cater to the growing demand from his clientele.

Fashion conscious people of all ages can make an instant fashion statement with a stylish brooch even as their choice of the ornament can send across a strong message about their personalities.

These fashion pins are perfect accessories for those looking to add some extra sparkle and the oomph factor to their look and costumes. And the best part about the ornament is that it goes with almost anything - be it traditional Indian attire, western outfits or casual wear, and is perfect for any occasion - formal or informal party, office, business meeting, wedding, college or date.

One can sport a brooch as a saree pin, plain coat pin, hair pin on a shirt or a t-shirt, on a beaded necklace or a handpiece, or on bags, belts and heels in more ways than one. One can also use multiple brooches together as a bunch to spice up the look.

Interestingly, the latest avatar of the classic piece of jewellery is also available in the masculine form to cater to the fashion conscious male who does not mind catching the eyeballs with a smart brooch placed strategically on his lapel or pocket or on a plain tee.

So all you fashionistas out there, what are you waiting for. Go out, grab a brooch or two or hoard lots of them to make an impression with the ornament that can never go out of fashion.

Ludhiana, July 30
Twenty-one-year-old Harmanjit Singh might not be able to use his right hand ever again and his friend Jasdeep Singh gets jitters while stepping out of his house. The duo is in a state of shock since over a fortnight when they were assaulted by a group of youths while they were enjoying an evening out at Sarabha Nagar market with two of their friends.

Recalling the horror, Harmajit says, “Jasdeep and I were at the Sarabha Nagar market, along with our two friends, in our Swift car when some youths started chasing us and hit our vehicle, damaging it badly. In an attempt to avoid further trouble, I overtook the vehicle that was running almost parallel to my car, which perhaps infuriated the driver.”

“He started abusing us and tried to stop us, but we immediately rushed towards Model Gram where our friend Damanpreet, who was accompanying us, lives,” alleged Harmanjit, adding that the incident occurred around 8.30 pm.

Later that evening, around 11 pm, the assailants returned, accompanied by 25-30 goons, armed with hockey sticks, iron and wooden rods, swords, empty glass bottles and baseball bats and injured the victims, alleged Harmanjit’s uncle Ajit Singh.

Immediately, the injured were rushed to the CMCH, where Harmanjit underwent a surgery. A complaint was also filed at the Division No 5 police station against the assailants, who were identified by the victims as Rajveer Singh, alias Mani, and Maninder Singh, alias Mithu.

Harmanjit and Jasdeep said they did not have any enmity with the assailants, but identified them as being their schoolmates. “Two-three days before the incident, Rajvir and Maninder had abused us at the Sarabha Nagar market for overtaking their car,” Jasdeep alleged.

According to Harmanjit’s father GS Chawla, the family is facing tremendous pressure and threats from the assailants to withdraw the complaint. Accusing the police of inaction, Chawla said, “The accused are still at large and threatening us repeatedly through their friends.”

Meanwhile, talking to The Tribune, family members of prime suspects, Rajvir and Maninder, claimed the latter had been deliberately implicated in a false case.

Parminder Singh, Maninder’s paternal uncle, said they had contacted senior police officials and asked for an inquiry in the case. “An inquiry was marked on our request on July 15,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, ACP (W) Raj Kumar said he is looking into the matter. “The accused are at large, but efforts are being made to trace them. Further course of action will be decided after a thorough investigation into the matter after close scrutiny of the allegations and counter-allegations of both the parties involved.”

Ludhiana, July 30
High temperature and humidity in the atmosphere often result in accumulation of poisonous gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide in tubewell pits, which, coupled with scarcity of oxygen in the pit, may cause death of workers due to asphyxia.

Charan Jeet Singh Pannu, Mahesh Kumar Narang and Gursharan Singh Sidhu, PAU scientists from the department of farm machinery and power engineering, while pointing towards tubewell-related deaths in the state have cautioned farmers to safeguard themselves from poisonous gases accumulating in tubewell pits/wells during monsoon.

It is best to lower a burning lamp or candle into the pit to ascertain the presence of poisonous gas.

If it blows out, carbon dioxide levels in the pit are much higher than oxygen levels. Also, a wall or a safety cage around the well is necessary and a fan can be lowered into the pit and run for at least an hour to push the poisonous gas out.

The fan should be left on while the labourers work in the pit.

Likewise, using an empty jute bag, bucket or umbrella and moving it up and down in the pit to remove the gas can be helpful, add the scientists.

At least two persons should be present at the site when the motor is being repaired in the pit, the scientists advise.

At least 5-kg lime (calcium oxide) dissolved in water should be sprinkled into the pit before someone is lowered.

Also the motor should be run on idle for at least 15-20 minutes. This will agitate the gas, forcing it to come out of the pit.

Plastering of the walls can reduce the entry of harmful gases but may not prevent it fully, they observe.

The PAU has developed a blower to remove poisonous gases from such pits.

The blower can be operated by PTO of 35 HP tractor with blower running at 1,000 rpm. A flexible plastic pipe of 7.5 cm diameter and 10 m in length is attached to inlet of the blower. The length of the pipe may be adjusted according to the depth of the tubewell.

One end of the pipe should have holes of 15-cm diameter through which the gas can be expelled.

This machine should be available in every village so that poisonous gases can be removed from tubewells.

People and animals often fall into tubewells in the absence of wall/fencing around these. To minimise such accidents, a safety cage has been developed by the university with the height of 75 cm and diameter of 210 cm.

The diameter of the cage is more than that of the tubewell/pit and it has a window to access the well.

A five-inch hole is also provided in the centre of the cage for delivery pipe of the tubewell.

Ludhiana, July 30
Raju (15), suffering from muscular dystrophy from the age of eight years, is unable to move. Due to financial constraints, his family can’t meet his medical expenses.

His father Manmohan Singh, a resident of New Raju Colony at Basti Jodhewal, is a daily wage earner at a hosiery unit. “I tried getting him treated at the Civil Hospital, but doctors have advised me to go to the PGI, Chandigarh. But we don’t have ` 2.5 lakh which is required for the treatment,” he said, adding that he only earned a meagre Rs 2,500 a month.

His daughter has skin problem and has been recommended cosmetic surgery.

His wife has gall stone, but doesn’t want to undergo surgery so that the money could be used for her children.

Their neighbours have appealed to philanthropists to come forward to help the family.

Those interested could contact Manmohan Singh on his mobile number 92566-43757.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 30
Having not received salary for the past seven months, employees of private schools of the region are a harried lot.

With pending bills of grocers in their pockets, they have started absenting themselves from social functions.

Lenders, including friends and relatives, besides ration and milk suppliers have also started squeezing them.

Thousands of employees, mostly teachers of private-aided schools of the region had started feeling detached from society due to non-payment of salaries for the past seven months.

Even those, who gave private coaching, found it difficult to make both ends meet, as a few students take tuitions in the beginning of academic session. Members of menial staff, peons and clerical staff are the worst sufferers, as they don’t have any means of supplementary income.

Unable to borrow more money from their friends and relatives, these teachers have now started avoiding social functions.

While power, water and sewerage bills are being paid with borrowed money, grocers and milk suppliers are made to wait for payment of accrued salary.

Some of these employees are finding it tough to get their wards admitted to good schools and colleges.

“Though we have got our children admitted to school somehow, we could not get them necessary stationery and new books. We leave our homes early in the morning to avoid our children, as it is difficult for us to put them off everyday when they ask for money,” regretted teachers of a local senior secondary school.

Accusing the authorities of their respective districts of ignoring their plight, affected teachers alleged that their relatives and friends had stopped believing them.

Admitting the tendency, Pardeep Sharda, principal of MGMN Senior Secondary School, said he had taken up the matter with the management committee of the school and the authorities at the DEO’s office in Sangrur.

Sahnewal, July 30
Agitated over the “delaying tactics” of Panjab University in granting extension of affiliation for various new courses to colleges, the Non-Government Colleges’ Management Federation will be holding a general body meeting at Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana, on August 8.

About 70 colleges that had applied for new courses are yet to get PU’s approval.

Even if the process is approved at this stage, students will have to shell out Rs 1,800 as late fee.

SC Sanwalka, president, Management Federation, said,“About 90 per cent of the colleges, that wished to opt for new courses, had applied for the affiliation before the stipulated date i.e. October 1, 2009. But a majority of the inspections, that should have, otherwise, been not held after February or March, were carried out in May and June, 2010.

Some of the members of the inspection committee submitted their reports in the first week of July, while others are still sitting over the files.”

Till date no college has received permission or refusal to start a course.

Jaswant Singh Gill, secretary, Management Federation, said “Colleges have spent lacks of rupees on upgrading infrastructure. In most of the cases, staff has also been recruited in compliance with the verbal instructions of the inspection committee. The university has not conveyed any deficiency to colleges that have requested for extension of affiliation. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed universities and colleges to complete all formalities before May 31 of every year. Despite the fact that most of the colleges have competed all formalities, these are still not in a position to enrol students.

Gurbir Sing Sarna, general secretary of the federation, asked, “If GNDU and Punjabi University can grant affiliation, why can’t Panjab University?”

Panjab University authorities on the other hand claimed that they were waiting for a no objection certificate that the government was to issue.

Dr Gurdeep Sharma, principal, GGDSD College, Haryana, said, “Keeping in mind the interests of colleges and students, PU should adopt a liberal pattern.”

Not even a single college has received any intimation from the university so far.

The long wait seems far from ending for students who are making rounds of these colleges to get admission.

“Every time we go to a college, we get the same hackneyed answer.”

Parents alleged that the university might be delaying the process deliberately so as to pocket late admission fee of Rs 1,800 from more than 5,000 admission seekers.

Managements and principals said the case had been sent to the Punjab government in July, but the university had done nothing so far.

Ludhiana, July 30
Aprinder Singh, a trainee of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Training Centre, Ludhiana, gave a sterling performance to finish among medal winners in the Junior Asian Athletics Championship held in Vietnam, recently.

Aprinder, with a leap of 16.13 m, won a silver medal in the triple jump event.

He is the first Indian athlete to have won a medal in triple jump in the Junior Asian Athletics Meet.

With this, he put to shade the national record. He rewrote the earlier record of 16.05 m set by Beijing Olympian Ranjit Maheshwari of Kerala, which he created in 2005.

On the basis of his performance, Aprinder has been selected to participate in the Junior World Athletics Championship slated to be held in Canada next month.

Aprinder was accorded a warm reception on his arrival at the local railway station here last evening.

SS Pannu and Sanjiv Sharma, both athletics coaches, Harbans Singh, in charge of the SAI training centre, Ludhiana, along with Rakesh Singh, judo coach, and a large number of trainees were present.