Bathinda, December 1
The Balianwali police in Bathinda district booked an assistant superintendent of Central Jail, Ludhiana, besides three others, on the charges of making an attempt to kill two police constables to make way for a hardcore criminal to flee from their custody on Tuesday.

The criminal, namely Kuldeep Singh, had been lodged in the Central Jail Ludhiana for a long time. He was booked in criminal cases including murder, snatching and robbery. In some of them, he had been convicted also.

Two head constables (HCs) of Ludhiana, namely Harjeet Singh and Hardial Singh had brought him to the Talwandi Sabo court for appearance before the judge in an assault case lodged in May, 2008.

According to the SHO Balianwali, Sukhchain Singh, the assistant superintendent of Ludhiana Jail, Gurdeep Singh had also come to the court for some official work but separately. After finishing the assignments, when they all came out of the court, Gurdeep Singh asked the HCs to join him in boarding a Qualis vehicle, parked there, to return to Ludhiana.

“Finding the vehicle was already boarded by four-five persons, the head constables claimed to have refused to get in. Making space for them, Gurdeep Singh asked others except three including driver to alight from the vehicle. Facing compulsion by an officer, the cops along with the accused boarded the vehicle,” the SHO said.

As per the statement of the HCs with the Balianwali police, Gurdeep Singh sat on the front seat and they along with Kuldeep sat in the middle row, while two others were on the rear seats.

“They had just reached near Dhadde village (in Bathinda) and the vehicle stopped. The persons sitting in the rear administered chilly powder in their eyes and assaulted them with sharp-edged weapons. Despite this, they did not let Kudeep flee and started shouting for help. Fearing strong consequences, all of them except the vehicle driver, fled from the spot. The driver took the injured to Civil Hospital Rampura Phul,” the SHO added.

To investigate the case, police arrested the driver and found the vehicle had been hired from Barnala to Talwandi Sabo, especially for the crime. The driver named one of the persons sitting in the rear as Mana Singh of Barnala, while another one could not be identified.

Acting upon the complaint, the Balianwali police booked the assistant superintendent of Central Jail, Ludhiana, Gurdeep Singh, along with the three in question including the driver under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 225 (rescuing one from lawful custody), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) along with various other sections of the IPC and the Arms Act.

When contacted, the superintendent of the Centrail Jail, Ludhiana, Satinder Pal Khanna said he had doubts over the sequence of the incident.

“The assistant superintendent, Gurdeep Singh had returned back to the jail last evening and informed me about the incident but with different facts. As we have received no documents from the Bathinda police till now, he can not be prevented from reporting for duty. We will launch departmental investigation. Only after that can further action be taken against him,” he said.

Chandigarh, December 1
Members of the RTI Activists Federation of Punjab have requested the Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil to initiate an enquiry against the two Punjab state information commissioners for their conduct showing prima-facie case of misappropriation of funds.

In a letter addressed to Patil, state president of the federation HC Arora has stated that the information obtained by Balbir Aggarwal joint secretary of the RTI Activists Federation showed that in the ledger account, for repair and maintenance of official vehicles, there was an entry showing payment of Rs 12,875 for purchasing new tyres for a car bearing the registration no. CH01G-11717.The payment was made through a cheque to Kamal Auto Centre on October 7, last year.

However, there was yet another entry of Rs 14,200 for purchasing new tyres for same car, the payment of which was made through cheque, in favour of Premier Motor Garage, on March 31,this year. The secretary of the commission had sanctioned both these payments.

Another entry made on May 18, last year revealed that a payment of Rs 23,700 was released by cheque in favour of Malhotra Motors for purchase of nine tyres for car nos. 690 and 0909, even though only one of these cars PBG 0690 was being used as the official car of the information commissioner.

“I am enclosing herewith, photocopies of the entire ledger account with this complaint; the perusal of above entries prima-facie shows a case of embezzlement/ misappropriation/ misuse of funds by the said two information commissioners, which amounts to “misbehaviour” under Section 17 of the Right to Information Act, 205, warranting immediate vigilance enquiry into the conduct of these two information commissioners,” states Arora’s plea.

He adds that since one of the commissioners is scheduled to retire on December 22 this year, “she may be placed under suspension and not be allowed to retire unconditionally till the enquiry is complete.” 

Fazilka, December 1
Deadlock persisted between Deputy Commissioner (Ferozepur) KK Yadav and representatives of the Sanjha Morcha (Fazilka) over the issue of raising the status of Fazilka to district headquarters and setting up of ADC and SP office here, in a meeting held today in the office of the SDM Fazilka.

The DC offered representatives of the Sanjha Morcha that as assured by the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to the members of the Sanjha Morcha during their meeting last month, the government could set up the offices 
of ADC and SP in Fazilka, keeping in view the problem of distance.

The Sanjha Morcha representatives in response to the offer demanded that Abohar and Jalalabad areas should also be attached to Fazilka ADC and SP offices for revenue and administrative purposes. They also demanded that a notification in this regard should be issued. However, the members also reiterated their resolve to get district headquarter status for Fazilka.

In reply to the demand of the members of Sanjha Morcha, the DC said the attachment of the neighbouring areas could be decided only after seeking the opinion of the residents of Abohar and Jalalabad.

The DC further said he would arrange another meeting after 10 days with the members of the Sanjha Morcha.

However, he expressed his inability to accept the demand of district headquarter status on the plea that this does not come under his jurisdiction.

On the other hand, convener, Sanjha Morcha, Sushil Gumber and Action Committee member Raj Kishore Kalra said they will not suspend their agitation till their demand for district headquarter status is fulfilled irrespective of whether Punjab government sets up a mini-district here or not.

The relay fast initiated by the Sanjha Morcha entered 1its 08th day today as its members Surjit Singh Taneja, Iqbal Singh, Lucky Sharma, Radha Krishan, Surjit Singh, Baba Jit Singh and Kashmir Singh sat on dharna.

Ferozepur, December 1
Chief whip of the Congress in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi today claimed that the present Congress leadership of the state was capable of taking on the ruling Badals in ‘principled political fight’ and to throw them out of power in the next assembly elections.

Sodhi, while reacting to the statement made by Partap Singh Bajwa, MP, Gurdaspur that Manpreet Badal, if allowed to enter the Congress party, could have taken on the ruling Badal family, said the Congress workers had earlier thrown Badals out of power in 2002 under the leadership of Capt Amarinder Singh and they would repeat the same in 2012 elections.

Sodhi, MLA from Guru Harsahai, while urging the party rank and file to respect the decision of making Capt Amarinder Singh as president of the Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee (PPCC) taken by AICC president, Sonia Gandhi, said Capt Singh had been available to all the party workers belonging to all regions and all sections of the society to strength the organisation.

Disclosing that both Bajwa and Jagmeet Singh Brar did not attend the function connected with the installation ceremony of Capt Singh as party president at Chandigarh a few days ago despite the fact that they were sent invitations for the same, he alleged that Manpreet was an important part of that set-up, which committed atrocities on the Congress workers after SAD-BJP came to power.

“Capt Singh is available to all and handing over the party command to him has infused new lease of life in the workers,” said Sodhi, adding every leader must respect the sentiments of party workers and people of Punjab. Making a comment on ‘Jago Punjab Yatra’ being taken out by former finance minister Manpreet Badal, Sodhi said people of Punjab were aware of every issue connected with the state.

“Manpreet must bring out the facts as to why he failed to implement his own economic agenda when he was finance minister for about four years in the present ruling setup of the state before going to people with his Yatra,” suggested Sodhi.

“It is clear to people of Punjab that Manpreet has been settling family feud with the ruling Badals and has been exploiting people of Punjab for it,” alleged Sodhi. He added that Manpreet was the one, who had played a key-role in the destruction of the economy of Punjab.

Bathinda, December 1
Seeking rail connection between Malwa and Kerala, the Bathinda Malayalee Association has demanded a direct train for Kerala from Ferozepur via Bathinda and New Delhi.

Members of the association said though Bathinda is the biggest railway junction and Army Cantonment in Asia, a direct train for Kerala connecting it with Malwa region was yet to be introduced. They added that cities like Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Jammu have direct rail link with the southern part of the country.

The association has decided to give a memorandum in this regard to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and others.

Bathinda, December 1
Taking notice of the report published in The Tribune on Wednesday under the headline “Mosquitoes swarm dengue ward”, the authorities of the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, today swung into action.

After pulling up the staff responsible for the problem in the morning, senior officials set up two separate wards for male and female dengue patients. They were separated from patients suffering from other diseases and shifted to the new wards.

Senior medical officer (SMO) Dr Vinod Kumar even issued written instructions to all doctors at the hospital to keep the newly set up wards only for dengue patients and refrain from sending other patients there.

Further, all beds in the two wards were equipped with nets to protect patients from mosquitoes. Mosquito repellant was also sprayed.

The SMO not only directed the staff to put facilities in place but also visited the ward and asked the patients there about their problems.

It may be mentioned that observing the rising number of dengue patients with every passing day, the state health department had set up the Sentinel Surveillance Hospital (SSH) to treat patients from four districts, namely Mansa, Muktsar, Bathinda and Faridkot. Besides, the Civil Hospital authorities were asked to set up a separate ward for dengue patients.

However, during a visit on Tuesday, TNS found that the ward located on the top floor of the hospital was poorly kept and its condition was worse than a general ward.

Chandigarh, December 1
Diagnosing cancer, neurological and heart disorders will be accurate with the positron emission tomography (PET) scan technique, said Dr Rakesh Verma during the launch of this advanced machine in Sector 9.

After the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Sector 9 has become the second unit in North of Delhi to install this imaging test, which allows doctors to see the way certain tissues and organs function.

Dr Verma said the difference between PET scan and other imaging tests, such as the MRI or CT scan, was that PET could detect changes in the body at a cellular level rather than the stage where the disease begins to affect the surrounding tissues or organs.

PET will be useful in detecting certain types of cancer, heart problems, brain disorders and other conditions of the central nervous system, while its major use will be in conducting cancer studies. “It displays chemical and physiological activity in various parts of the body and provides information regarding their functioning. Other scanning methods look at structure and anatomy of organs,” he said.

“It easily diagnoses and assesses the spread of cancer and is used in establishing the extent of cancer spread, measuring response to treatment for cancer and locating the primary (original cancer) and secondary (cancer that has spread from original cancer) cancer sites. It can be used to distinguish between benign and malignant diseases,” he added.

Bathinda, December 1
On the World AIDS Day today, the district health officials in association with educational institutions and various NGOs took out a rally through the city markets to create awareness among the masses against AIDS, a fatal disease.

ADC (D) C. Sibin accompanied by Bathinda civil surgeon ID Goyal flagged off the rally at the fire brigade office. After passing through the city markets, the rally culminated at the Hanuman Chowk.

Students from various schools and colleges, volunteers of the NCC, the NSS, the Red Ribbon and a large number of social activists in the district took part in the rally. Later, a seminar on AIDS was also held at the Teachers' Home.

Those who expressed their views and sensitised the gathering about the symptoms and preventive measures of AIDS included district health officer Dr RS Randhawa, community AIDS educator and UN AIDS awardee Narender Kumar Bassi, Dr BS Gill and Dr Kastoori Lal, in-charge, ICTC Centre.

Magician Shankar also showed his feats to impart information on HIV/AIDS. Besides, a poster making competition, poem recitation and other activities were also held on the occasion.

World AIDS Day events were also undertaken at the railway station where sensitization of railway operating and station staff was done. Sensitization of jawans and officials of the 7th Battalion of NDRF was also undertaken.

In the evening, a candle light event, supervised by Narinder Bassi took place at the railway station in which an estimated 100 persons lit candles.

The civil surgeon along with medical officers, senior medical officer, N.R. Bathinda, sectional heads of Bathinda railway station, chief civil defence warden service, Government Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF) and senior citizens participated.

Public views on AIDS/HIV was also aired by the All India Radio, Bathinda, in the evening.

Chandigarh, December 1
The Punjab State AIDS Control Society achieved the milestone by winning 6 national awards for creating awareness through the Red Ribbon Express, a project started by the National AIDS Control Organisation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at the concluding function at Safdarjung railway station in New Delhi, today. Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad presided over the function.

As per information, 39 national awards were given, out of which Punjab bagged the highest six awards among all states. There were only two awards at the Secretary Health level out of which Punjab got one. Punjab got four awards in the categories of Project Director and Additional Project Director and in Mainstreaming Officers level.

In the Civil Surgeon Category, Punjab was the sole winner. — TNS

Chandigarh, December 1
The IAF’s Chandigarh-based 12 Wing has bagged three trophies for its professional excellence in the fields of aviation, communication and education. The awards, announced during the Commander’s conference last week, were presented here today.

The best transport squadron trophy was received by 48 Squadron for its contribution towards air maintenance of forward area and especially the tasks carried out during relief operations following the cloudburst near Leh earlier this year. The 712 Signals Unit was adjudged the best among peripheral tropospheric and line-of-sight communication, while the Air Force School, Chandigarh, was declared the second best among schools in the Western Air Command.

Ferozepur, December 1
Mohan Lal Bhaskar Foundation organised ‘All India Mushaira’, a galaxy of Urdu poets from all over the country that enthralled the audience. Eminent among those leading Indian poets who read their ‘Kalaam’ in the memory of former Indian spy Bhaskar included Rahat Indori (Indore), Popular Meeruthi, MF Farooqui, Anwar Jalalpuri, (Lucknow), Sajjad Zhanjat, Tariq Qamar, Ritaz Maini, Tasna Kanpuri, Moin Shadab, Zeba Nisha, Namita Rakesh, Shams Tabrezi and Sawtanter Arif.

The stage was conducted by Afzal Manglori. HK Gupta, organiser of the event thanked the poets for accepting the invitation. Rahat Indori with his satire on the declining moral values in the present day society, ‘Shakhon se tut jaye wo patte nahi hum, aandhiyon ko kahdo apni aukaat mein rahe’ left the audience spellbound. Popular Meeruthi and Sajjad Jhanjhat made the audience burst into laughter.

On the occasion, Prabha Bhaskar, wife of Mohan Lal Bhaskar, Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, DP Singh, SSP (Khanna), Deputy Commissioner (Ferozepur) Kamal Kishore Yadav besides other officials were also present. — OC

Barnala, December 1
The Divisional Commissioner (Patiala) Gurinder Singh Garewaal has asked the Deputy Commissioner (Barnala) Arshdeep Thind to submit a report in connection with the allegations against the naib tehsildar (Barnala) Kanvarpreet Puri. He has set a deadline of seven days for the submission of the report.

As per the details, a few media persons raided the office of naib tehsildar. He was allegedly doing the registry work at around 10.30 pm which is against the laid norms. “The naib tehsildar had opened a ‘public darbar and was registering lands of people at around 10.30 pm. People informed us that he was conducting registries of land from 8 pm till 10.30 pm. He had already done 49 registries,” said a media person.

“On being asked, the naib tehsildar said he was called by the Divisional Commissioner office for some work. Though people said they waited for him since morning but every time he used to say that he is coming soon.” Gurinder Singh Garewaal revealed to the TNS that though Kanvarpreet Puri was at his office during the day for some hearing but he should not have done registry work at that time which is against the rules. “The registries can be done only till 5 pm. I have asked DC (Barnala) to submit a report to my office within seven days,” he said.

Bathinda, December 1
Two constables of the Central Jail, Bathinda, were suspended today after the jail staff recovered six mobile phones from the inmates. Superintendent of the jail Sukhdev Singh Saggu informed that during the interrogation after recovery of mobile phones, the accused, Manjeet Singh and Malkeet Singh, for supplying phones to them inside the prison.

“Taking an immediate action upon their statement, we suspended the cops in question and initiated a probe into the matter,” said the jail superintendent. — TNS