The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Will resist all moves to acquire our land: Farmers Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 10 It seems the assurances of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal cut no ice with the Improvement Trust which is bent upon acquiring 386 acres of land despite directions to the contrary. As many as 300 families of four villages, whose land will be acquired by the Improvement Trust for a residential colony, met the CM on Sunday against the move. The CM had assured them that the land would only be acquired with their consent. Irate villagers, led by Amrik Singh, Balraj Singh, Ajit Singh and Ranjit Singh, today told mediapersons that Badal had assured farmers of Lidhran, Fazalpur, Salempur Musalmana and Gadaipur villages that they need not worry on this account. But to their shock, the JIT issued a public notice under the Punjab Town Improvement Act, 1922, for acquiring land in accordance with resolution No 200 passed by it on July 8. They said their sentiments were attached to their ancestral land. Moreover, the land in their villages had been acquired on four occasions for the construction of an ammo dump, a CRPF complex, an engineering college and even a railway station. The track record of the trust, in completing previous projects, is also very poor. The trust had failed to complete previous projects at Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, Ravi Dass Bhavan, colonies in JP Nagar and Adarsh Nagar, besides Surya Enclave and Guru Teg Bahadur Avenue, etc., they pointed out. The crux of the issue is that a powerful politician-babu-land mafia lobby was behind such projects which were snatching their land for ill-baked projects. The mafia buys land in advance when such projects are mooted and then includes their land in such projects, they alleged. A majority of the farmers were those who would not be left with an inch of land if the project went ahead, they revealed. “In case the authorities go ahead with their plans, we will be left with no option but to resist all moves to acquire our source of livelihood,” they warned. Meanwhile, the District Youth Congress (Rural) president Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, who has been spearheading the move to resist the acquisition process, said they would support farmers to unmask the real face of the pro-farmer ruling party. He asked the CM to clearly whether the land would be acquired or not.
	Pouring trouble Region Hit: Woman, daughter injured in roof collapse Tribune Reporters Kapurthala/Jalandhar, September 10 A woman and her minor daughter sustained serious injuries as the roof of their house collapsed at Kanjli, near here, following downpour for over five hours in the region this morning. The incident occurred at about 5 am when Sumitra was asleep with her daughter Tania in her parental house. The woman has been residing with her brother Balbir Singh. Balbir Singh said he had gone out to answer the call of nature when the roof of the mud house came crumbling down with a thud. He rushed towards the house and found Sumitra and Tania buried under the debris. He raised an alarm, following which the neighbours assembled and swung into action. The injured were extricated from the debris and taken to the local Civil Hospital. As their condition deteriorated, the injured were referred to the Jalandhar Civil Hospital. Rains brought misery to residents in Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr districts. Knee-deep water accumulated on roads, streets and low-lying area, thus putting life out of gear in this part of the region. Students and office goers were the worst affected. In Jalandhar, rainwater accumulated at the main gate of the office of the Deputy Commissioner. Ranjit Nagar, Preet Nagar, Kishanpura, Guru Nanak Pura Road, Police Lines, Central Town, Garha Road and certain other areas were inundated. Household goods were submerged in ankle deep water in low-lying areas. Phagwara: It was the heaviest rain of the season, which lashed the entire region today. Phagwara, Phillaur, Goraya, Banga, Apra and Nakodar towns were in knee-deep water, which entered the houses and shops in several localities of the town. Life came to standstill in many parts of the town due to heavy rain, which led to water logging in several areas, including Hargobind Nagar, Gaushala road, Palahai road, tehsil complex, old post office road, Onkar Nagar, kherra road, Tibbi, Palahai Gate, New Model Town and Rattanpura, resulting in traffic chaos. Low-lying areas of Chiherru, Sahni, Rampur Khalian and Khatti villages were seen inundated due to heavy rain.
	Industry inspector booked for rape Tribune News Service Kapurthala, September 10 An inspector with the Department of Industries was booked for allegedly raping a woman on the pretext of helping her in getting a loan from the department yesterday. A high drama was witnessed in Parkash Avenue Colony when the wife and a son of the accused reached their home unexpectedly and allegedly found Kuljit Singh Thind with a woman from the Shergarh locality in an objectionable position. Eyewitnesses revealed that Thind and the woman were given a sound beating by his son and wife. While Thind managed to flee, the woman was taken to the office of the Department of Industries at Hamira village. The case later reached the City police station where the victim woman in her complaint alleged that Thind had allured on the pretext of helping her get a loan from the department. He took her to his residence and raped her. She also complained that his son and wife thrashed her and kept her in illegal confinement for a long time. The police has registered a case of rape under section 376 of the IPC against Kuljit Singh Thind. A case under sections 344 and 323 of the IPC has also been registered against his wife and son on the complaint of the victim. The woman was later shifted to the local Civil Hospital for a medical examination.
	Crime File Swindlers dupe old man of 46 lakh Tarn Taran: A gang of six swindlers duped Joginder Singh (60) of the town of more than Rs 46 lakh in the name of giving him land at cheaper rates near Samrala in Ludhiana. The swindlers have been identified as Jagir Singh and Kashmir Singh of Railmajra (Nawanshahr), Baljit Singh and Pritpal Singh of Jataana(Khanna), Amrik Singh of Heando and Santosh, alias Guddu, of Garhshankar (Hoshiarpur). The police has registered a case under sections 420, 419, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B, IPC, in this connection. According to the information received here today, the complainant in his statement to the police said that the accused entered into a deal with him of 16 acre of land situated at Chakli Kasam village, near Samrala (Ludhiana), at the rate of Rs 3.40 lakh per acre. Joginder said that the accused produced one person whom they identified as Amar Nath as the owner of the land. He was later identified as Santosh, alias Guddu. The accused also presented fake documents of the land, including the jamabandi. The accused took a cheque for Rs 45 lakh, besides Rs 70,000, besides Rs 60,000 as commission from him on April 5, 2009. The transaction of the amount was made here. Joginder Singh had been repeatedly requesting them to get the land registered in his name but the accused have been avoiding him. The accused have threatened him not to disclose the mater to any one, otherwise he would have to face dire consequences. The Economic Offences Wing of the district police has investigated the matter and after seeking legal opinion a case has been registered at city police station. No arrest has been made till now. Teenaged girl abducted Hoshiarpur: A teenaged girl of the local Adamwal was allegedly abducted by Kamal Kumar, son of Muni Lal of the same locality, along with two unidentified persons. The Sadar police has registered a case under sections 363 and 366 of the IPC. According to police sources, Pankaj Kumar, son of Mansa Ram of the local Adamwal, alleged that Kamal Kumar and two unidentified persons had abducted his daughter Neelam Kumari (15) for marriage. Housewife found dead Hoshiarpur: Asha Rani (52), wife of Vijay Singh Rana, Administrator, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, was found murdered at her residence in Street 1, Anmol Nagar, here last evening. According to the police, when her son Vikash Rana, who had gone to Jalandhar yesterday, returned home at about 5 pm, he found the body of his mother lying in a pool of blood in a room of the house. It is suspected that some miscreants came to the house to commit a dacoity. It is presumed that when they demanded keys of the almirah, etc., from Asha Rani, she refused to meet their demand due to which they killed her with sharp-edged weapons and escaped. The Sadar police has registered a case under section 302 of the IPC in this connection. Wife burnt to death Hoshiarpur: A housewife was set ablaze allegedly by her husband at Ravi Dass Nagar here last night. According to police sources, Rajinder Kumar of Ravi Dass Nagar had illicit relations with a woman to which his wife Asha Rani used to object and force him to end his relations. Last night there was a quarrel between the husband and the wife on the issue and enraged Rajinder Kumar after sprinkling kerosene on Asha Rani set her ablaze due to which she got 80 per cent burn injuries. She was admitted in the Civil Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The Sadar police has registered a case under section 302 of the IPC in this connection. No arrest has been made so far. Mobile phones stolen Phagwara: Some miscreants decamped with four mobile phones of four different patients admitted in local Civil Hospital. Dowry: Man, mother booked Hoshiarpur: Inderjit Kaur, daughter of Paramjit Singh of Bohan, got a case registered under sections 406 and 498-A of the IPC against her husband Avtar Singh, son of Shamsher Singh, and mother-in-law Bakhshish Kaur, both of Ajit Nagar, Jalandhar, at Chabewal police station. She alleged that both had been torturing her for more dowry since her marriage on December 31, 2006. 2 held with poppy husk Pathankot: The Sujanpur police yesterday nabbed Jammu and Kashmir-based narcotics smugglers — Tahir Ahmed Butt and Arahdo Bashir Ahmed — who supplied poppy husk to Punjab and Delhi, and seized 14 quintals of the contraband from them. DSP (Rural) Karam Chand said, acting on a tip-off, the police had laid a naka near Madhopur on the Pathankot-Jammu road and it intercepted the truck (JK-03D-6272) laden with apple cartons coming from Jammu side. During search the police seized 43 plastic bags of poppy husk, weighting about 14 quintals, which were kept under the apple cartons. — OC