Chandigarh, January 22
Determined to hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on January 26, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president and BJP MP Anurag Thakur has said that the youth accompanying him will not end the Rashtriya Ekta Yatra without reaching Srinagar. Flagged off by BJP President Nitin Gadkari in Kolkata on January 12, the Thakur-led yatra is expected to cover a distance of over 3,000 km and pass through 12 states.

Making a statement in Chandigarh today, Thakur said the aim of the yatra was to promote unity and integrity of the country and to tell the world that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India.

He cautioned the J&K Government as well as the Centre against taking any step to prevent the yatra from crossing Punjab’s border with J&K at Lakhanpur on January 24. “Any such move will demoralise nationalists while strengthen separatists in Kashmir and in Pakistan. Instead of planning to stop the yatra, I would invite the J&K CM to join me in hoisting the Tricolour on Republic Day.”

In a scathing attack on the Centre, the BJP MP said the interlocutors sent to Srinagar by it “had got aligned with separatist leaders and repeatedly talked about autonomy for Kashmir as a solution to the J&K tangle”. “The PM too talks about autonomy for Kashmir. The nation wants to know if the Centre has already committed itself to granting autonomy to Kashmir. If so, the government must come out with details,” he said.

Thakur further said the BJP leadership felt that scrapping Article 370 was the only solution in Kashmir.

He further said: “We live in a free nation and we have the right to hoist our National Flag anywhere in the country. So what is the problem in hoisting it at Lal Chowk in Kashmir Valley?” he asked.

Thakur said: “There are only a handful of ‘weak people’ who are against this initiative. We are committed to pursuing our campaign peacefully and do not pose any threat to the law and order situation.”

Megha Mann adds from Anandpur Sahib: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah should make their stand clear on maintaining peace and tranquillity in the Valley. They should also make it clear whether they support separatists or the BJP in its effort to hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day.

This was stated by BJYM president Anurag Thakur during the Rashtriya Vikas Yatra that reached here today.

Flanked by MP Navjot Singh Sidhu and other BJP leaders, Thakur paid obeisance at Takht Kesgarh Sahib. He said the Central Government should not only join hands with the BJP in hoisting the Tricolour in the Valley, but also ensure that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir areas were taken back.

Talking to mediapersons, MP Navjot Sidhu said Omar Abdullah should condemn those who hoist Pakistan’s flag in the J&K territory.

Bathinda, January 22
The Additional Civil Judge (senior division) of the Gidderbaha court has held three senior cops of the Punjab Police, including one Inspector-General, guilty of defaming and harassing a former MLA of the Congress, Raghbir Singh of Gidderbaha, due to personal vendetta.

The court has entitled the plaintiff, Raghbir Singh, to recover damages in the sum of Rs 1 lakh from each of the three guilty cops along with 6 per cent interest from the date of decree till actual realisation.

Raghbir Singh had filed a civil suit against the then SSP, Muktsar, Kuldip Singh Dhillon, now IG economic wing of the Vigilance Bureau, the then DSP, Gidderbaha, Baljit Singh Buttar, now SP, and the then SHO, Gidderbaha, Jaspal Singh, now DSP, in the civil court of Gidderbaha in 2002.

He had accused the state police of lodging seven false cases against him during 1980-97 and mentioned that the three cops in question entered his name in the surveillance register number 10 erroneously and also displayed his name along with a photograph on the board of criminals in the police station in 1997, just because he had been a political opponent of the Akali Dal leaders.

Before 1980, Raghbir was with the Akali Dal but in 1992 contesting as a Congress candidate, he had won the Gidderbaha Assembly seat. However, due to some writ petition, his selection was set aside by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, following which a byelection was announced at the seat in 1995, which was contested by his son against Manpreet Singh Badal, who was then a part of the Akali Dal. Though Raghbir’s son, Deepak, lost at the poll, Raghbir contested the poll against Manpreet in 2002 and 2007 also.

Pleading the case, Raghbir alleged that acting upon the directions of the Badal family, the police had added his name in the surveillance register number 10 and also opened a history sheet, on the false grounds stating that he had been convicted in two cases, while he had been convicted only in one case.

Taking exception to the cops’ move to lower his dignity and reputation, Raghbir moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court and going through the facts and proceedings, the high court observed that the DSP had made misstatement of facts and the SSP had accepted his recommendations to mention his name in the surveillance register number 10. The high court ordered to close the history sheet and the name to be removed from the register in 2001.

As the high court did not order the guilty cops to pay compensation or damages, Raghbir moved a civil suit in the Gidderbaha court to recover Rs 25 lakh from them jointly in 2002. After going through the facts, the Additional Civil Judge (senior division) of the Gidderbaha court, Jagdeep Kaur Virk, recently held the three cops guilty of defaming and harassing Raghbir Singh and entitled him to recover damages in the sum of Rs 1 lakh from each of the three guilty cops.

Speaking to The Tribune, Raghbir Singh said, “The damages announced are still not satisfactory for which I will move an appeal. And it is for sure that whatever I get will be spent in marrying off poor girls.”

Bathinda, January 22
Terming the proposed Clinical Establishment Bill anti-patient and anti-doctor, the local unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), led by its state president, Dr Shiv Dutt Gupta, held a rally against the Bill here today.

Dr Gupta said they had come to know that the Punjab Government was going to table a Bill in the Assembly on the pattern of the Clinical Establishment Bill already passed by the Centre.

He said if the government passed such a Bill, poor patients would suffer a lot as any treatment at private nursing homes and hospitals would become too costly.

Leaders of the IMA also warned the state government that if it did not accept their demand, then they would intensify their agitation.

Dr Amrit Sethi, former state president of the IMA and secretary of the local IMA unit, Dr BD Bajaj, also addressed the rally.

Jalandhar, January 22
The chairman of the All-India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF), Maninderjit Singh Bitta, said today that the Adarsh building in Mumbai should not be demolished and instead the flats should be allotted to martyrs’ families.

He said applications should be invited from wives of martyrs of military and paramilitary forces for the allotment of Adarsh flats, which should be done after conducting a public draw.

The AIATF chairman said the decision of demolishing the building should be withdrawn. “Once the building is demolished, persons, including Army officers, politicians and bureaucrats, responsible for the scam may get off scot-free,” he said.

He added that a thorough probe should be conducted to fix responsibility and punish the guilty, he added

In reply to a query, he said: “If some floors of the buildings create a security threat, they may be demolished.”

He further said instead the building should be renamed ‘Adarsh Scam Building’ as it would create a fear in minds of other politicians, Army officers and bureaucrats to prevent a recurrence of such scams.

To a query regarding the reaction of the Omar Abdullah-led NC-Congress Government to the BJYM Rashtriya Ekta Yatra, he said: “Every Indian has the right to hoist the Tricolour in any part of the country and no one should stop him from doing so.”

Alleging that the CBI has been politicised, Bitta said the CWG and 2G scams should be impartially probed and the guilty should not be allowed to go off scot-free.

Chandigarh, January 22
Acting on a petition filed by a retired Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge for the initiation of “immediate necessary steps for the early release and return of more than one lakh men and women mostly from Punjab”, Acting Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has asserted “some more positive action on the ground will be required to be taken”.

Justice Gogoi also asked the consulate offices and embassies to keep track of persons likely to be released from detention; and to contact them while in detention and arrange for travel documents.

Justice Amar Dutt, through counsel Anil Malhotra, had earlier contended that most of them belonged to Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Amritsar districts.

Taking up the matter, Justice Gogoi asserted: Having perused the affidavit of the Union of India, the court is of the view that some more positive action on the ground will be required to be taken to make the steps indicated in the written statement/affidavit of the Union to be more effective.

“The persons who are likely to be released from detention cannot be so released in the absence of temporary visa(s) and travel document(s) to be issued by the Indian consulate offices/embassies abroad.

“For that purpose, it is necessary for the consulate offices and embassies to keep track of the persons who are likely to be released from detention, contact them while in detention and arrange for travel documents etc.

“As the aspects of the case have not been dealt with in the written statement filed by the Union, we direct the Union of India to file a specific affidavit with regard to the steps indicated above. Such affidavit will be filed within six weeks”.

Ludhiana, January 22
Reiterating that the growth rate of Punjab was less than 5 per cent, the PCC president, Capt Amarinder Singh, today said that the Akali-BJP government was merely resorting to “statistical jugglery”.

The PCC president was talking to reporters after appearing in the Sessions Court in connection with the Ludhiana City Centre case registered against him and several others after the Akali-BJP government took over. The case was adjourned till February 5.

The PCC president said he was looking into the figures that were being quoted by the government. “Such a high growth rate that the government is claiming to have achieved should be visible on the ground,” he observed, adding that “the fact of the matter is that the government is still on the borrowing spree”. He claimed that the government was setting up bogus companies to claim loans so as to keep these outside the purview of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.

He said there were certain standards and parameters to measure the growth rate that need to be taken into consideration before arriving at a conclusion. “We are looking into the claims and will soon be coming out with comprehensive details which will reveal the truth (about the growth rate),” he said.

The former Chief Minister claimed that the money the Akali-BJP government was spending on development projects had been sanctioned by the World Bank during his tenure because of his efforts. “We could not initiate the projects as the code of conduct came into force and now they are falsely claiming the credit after having picked up our projects,” he said.

About the reorganisation of the PCC, Capt Amarinder Singh said he was ready for it as only the required formality needed to be done which could be possible only after the reshuffle in the AICC. He pointed out that the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, was busy first with the Cabinet reshuffle and now with the AICC and immediately after that the PCC will be constituted.

Jalandhar, January 22
Though the Centre has earmarked Rs 60 crore under various scholarship schemes meant for students belonging to minorities in Punjab for the current fiscal year, due to lack of interest shown by the Punjab Education Department and others concerned in the schemes, only Rs 24 crore has been utilised so far.

The Centre had launched the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme, the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme and the Merit-cum-Means Scholarship Scheme for students belonging to minorities in the country. For such students in the state, the Centre has earmarked Rs 60 crore for the current fiscal year.

Sources said the Centre had asked officials of the state government to submit duly filled application forms of the students concerned by September 15 last. However, due to inadequate response, the Centre had to extend the date to October 31 and then to November 30. Later, it was again extended to December 31.

The Central Government has now again given some more days to the officials concerned to submit fresh application forms of students who were unable to apply earlier and to enable the state to utilise all the money, Rs 60 crore, earmarked under the scholarship schemes.

These application forms duly filled by the students concerned have to be submitted through the District Education Officers and other designated officials to the Welfare Department. However, some of the DEOs did not take interest in the schemes and number of forms submitted by them has been negligible.

For Instance, Ferozepur district submitted only forms of 18 students from the primary wing and 436 from the secondary wing for the Pre-Matric Scholar Scheme.

Hoshiarpur district submitted forms of 35 students from the primary wing and 224 students from the secondary wing. Likewise, Gurdaspur district submitted forms of only two students from the primary wing and six students from the secondary wing. Barnala district submitted only four forms from the secondary wing.

The number of students for the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme from the secondary wing was 36,099 during the last fiscal year. However, this year, the number has gone down to 33,498. Likewise, the number of applicants for the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme has also gone down to 13,301 against the last fiscal year’s figure of 16,464.

The Central Government gives handsome amount as scholarship to students belonging to minorities under these schemes. Under the Merit-cum-Means scholarship scheme, even the course fee up to Rs 20,000 is paid by it besides the maintenance allowance of Rs 10,000 per annum.

Sangrur, January 22
Four youths of Kala Bula and Lohat Baddi villages were cheated by their own relatives on the pretext of sending them to Canada. Instead of sending them to Canada by taking a hefty amount of around Rs 65 lakh from them, their relatives dispatched them along with their agent to the remote area of Togo in Africa. The four victims remained in the captivity of the agent for about six months in subhuman conditions before they persuaded him to send them back to India. They returned on Ocotober 25 last year.

According to Sumir Fatta, counsel for Harjeet Singh, one of the victims, the four youths identified as Harjeet Singh, son of Bhola Singh, Sukhchain Singh, son of Bhikar Singh, both residents of Kala Bula village, Virender Singh, son of Darshan Singh Bhullar, and Sukhdev Singh Mand, both residents of Lohat Baddi village, were allegedly lured by their relative, Kuldeep Singh, son of Joginder Singh, and other residents of Kala Bula village to provide them jobs in Canada and take them there.

The victims fell in the trap and pledged their land and other property to arrange money (Rs 18 lakh each) to give it to Kuldeep for going to Canada in April 2009. Instead of taking them to Canada, Kuldeep took the four victims in April 2010 to a backward area of Togo in Africa where they lived for six months in subhuman conditions.

“All of us were made to eat frogs by the people there and also we would remain hungry for days together before we fell at the feet of Kuldeep Singh to take us back to India or we will die of hunger and unhygienic conditions. Kuldeep later brought us back to India in October 2010. “Meanwhile, family members of Kuldeep, including his father, Joginder Singh, mother, Baljeet Kaur, and his uncle, Gurmail Singh, had taken Rs 3 lakh each from the four of us for our safe return,” said Harjeet Singh, one of the victims. “We never expected our relatives to cheat us like this. We are submitting an application to SSP, Sangrur, for action against the fraudster, Kuldeep.”

Sumir Fatta, the counsel for Harjeet Singh, said that they had submitted an application to SSP, Sangrur, this morning and he had forwarded the same to the Economic Offence Wing of the police for investigation and action.

Amritsar, January 22
The World Sikh Council, America Region, has expressed support for the Sikhs led by the World Sikh Organisation of Canada who refused to enter the Quebec Assembly without their kirpans.

In a press statement issued here today Dr Satpal Singh, chairperson of the WSC-AR, said the organisation supported the Canadians Sikhs who had stood up for the right of Amritdhari Sikhs to bear the kirpan as an essential religious article.

He said his organisation would continue to work with the WSO, Canada, and other sister Sikh organisations at the international level for the cause of the community. — TNS

Ropar, January 22
The elected public representatives remained absent from the yearly meeting of vigilance monitoring committee held here today.

Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni, MP Anandpur Sahib Ravneet Singh Bittu, MLA Ropar Sant Ajit Singh, MLA Morinda Ujagar Singh Badali, zila parishad chairman Daljit Kaur Kang and all chairmen of five panchayat samitis of Ropar district remained absent.

While reasons for absence of MP Ambika Soni remained unknown, MP Ravneet Singh Bittu is out of country. The meeting was held to discuss monitoring of the various projects funded by the Central Government.

MLA Nangal Rana KP Singh, MLA Charanjit Singh Channi and Deputy Commissioner Arunjit Singh Miglani were present at the meeting. A representative of the MLA Ujagar Singh Badali arrived late.

In absence of Ambika Soni, senior most MLA from Nangal Rana KP Singh presided over the meeting. Sources said Ambika Soni could not reach due to fog.

MLA Ropar Sant Ajit Singh was absent from meeting last year as well, while MLA Ujagar Singh Badali’s son-in-law represented him.

The absence of these elected people from this meeting acted as dampener for public, especially the local officers who are well versed with performance of the projects.

Deputy Commissioner Miglani said four mega camps had been held in district to educate about the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

He said the district needed Rs 2 crore for further implementation of the projects, whereas it has got Rs 72 lakh only.

As many as 3,007 people have been benefited under the scheme that generated 1, 52, 505 man days of work. The District has used 60 per cent of its grant and was eligible to get another Rs 212 lakh funds. It got only Rs 7 lakh. Officials said the District required Rs 2 crore immediately to sustain its work underway under the NREGA.

Under the National Rural Water Supply Program, 199 aanganwaris working from the government buildings will be connected with the existing rural water supply schemes of the villages. Approval for same has been given and tenders have been invited as well.

Under this scheme 34 government schools will be given water purification system at a cost of Rs 13.60 lakh. Work has been allotted and is likely to be competed by January 31 this year.

Similarly, 29 schemes have been approved to cover 46 villages under the programme and Rs 877.74 lakh have been approved.

Patiala, January 22
The royal city of Patiala does not depict very impressive picture these days, as the Patiala Municipal Corporation has so far not been able to install the solid waste treatment pant. On daily basis 240-MT per day waste is generated in Patiala and dumped at open dumping ground on Sanaur Road from past five decades. The city presents a shabby look, even the garbage from various city areas is not lifted on daily basis. One can see heaps of garbage in the residential areas and many vacant plots have been turned into dumping ground.

Expressing their resentment for not having proper solid waste management system, majority of city residents rued that filth could be spotted in every nook and corner of the city. “It is really sad that the civic administration has turned a blind eye towards the problem of garbage. The Solid Waste Treatment Plant is must so that the garbage can be systematically disposed of without posing a hazard to public health,” said city residents Satnam Singh, Rajbir Singh, Jatinder Saluja and Ramanjit Aahluwalia.

During a visit to various city areas, including New Rajpura Colony, Model Town, Bus Stand Road and Gian Colony, garbage could be spotted in most of the lanes. “The MC Safai Sewaks have now developed habit of burning the waste on the roadside, which not only pollutes the environment but can also lead to respiratory problems in humans,” rued Harnam Singh, a shopkeeper. A visit to the different city areas brought to light that rather than dumping the waste at earmarked dumping site, the Safai Sewaks engaged by the MC for the daily sweeping of the city are polluting the environment by burning the waste.

Notably, the Patiala MC authorities have been making claims from past couple of years that search to identify site for setting up the Solid Waste Treatment Plant is on but the project is still in pipeline. Municipal Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang stated that they require 50 acres of vacant land for setting up the plant. “The land has to be provided by the state government and the funding of the project will be done by the Union Government,” he said.

Ferozepur, January 22
Nine persons, including a woman, belonging to different villages of Ferozepur and Faridkot districts will have to spend 20 years in jail for murdering three persons, Daljit Singh, his mother Jaswant Kaur and sister Tejpal Kaur, with the help of contract killers to grab their land.

The accused have been identified as Hardip Singh, Baldev Singh, Bohar Singh, Paramjit Kaur, Devinder Singh, Prem Singh, M. Singh, Jaswant Singh and Sarwan Singh.

Deciding the triple murder case, which took place in July 2006 in Jandwala village of the Guru Harsahai area, Additional Sessions Judge HK Randhawa sentenced the nine persons to 20-year rigorous imprisonment (RI).

While the court discharged one of the accused, Gurcharan Singh, another accused, Kul Mohan Singh, could not be arrested. He has been declared a proclaimed offender.

According to details, Daljit Singh had 80 acres of agricultural land. He was married to Paramjit Kaur whereas his brother Balbir Singh was married to Veerpal Kaur. After the death of Balbir Singh, his widow Veerpal continued to stay in their house which annoyed Daljit’s wife.

Paramjit with the help of her father Hardip Singh hatched a conspiracy to eliminate her husband Daljit and others so that the land belonging to Daljit could be grabbed by her. Following this, Hardip hired contract killers to eliminate his son-in-law and others.

On the night of July 12, 2006, several persons armed with sharp-edged weapons entered the house of Daljit Singh and killed him, his mother Jaswant Kaur and sister Tejpal Kaur. Following this, the police registered a case against 11 persons on the basis of the statement given Gurmit Kaur, Daljit Singh’s sister.