Badals’ Acquittal
Court begins proceedings against 2 Vigilance officials
Mohali, February 1
Acting on a complaint filed by a public prosecutor against two Punjab Vigilance officials for perjury and misconduct that ultimately led to the acquittal of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Surinder Kaur Badal in the disproportionate assets case, a local court today initiated proceedings against the two officials.

Amritsar, February 1
The electronic data interface (EDI) system has now become fully operational for all kinds of shippings at Shri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport, Amritsar. The CAT II ILS system to facilitate smooth take off and landing of flights in foggy weather conditions will also be commissioned soon.

Talking to mediapersons today, MP Navjot Singh Sidhu said, “The EDI system allows exporters/ importers from the region to avail the facility of online duty refund and other incentives. The traders will get instant benefit as there is no paper work involved and money stays in circulation. They need not go to any other place for air cargo.”

He said the average movement of commercial cargo, which was 60 to 70 tonnes per month in 2008-09, has gone up to 600 tonnes per month in 2009-10 due to better facilities at Air Cargo Complex here.

The work on early commissioning of the already installed CAT II ILS system, which will facilitate easy take off and landing of flights in fog, is also on, he said.

“The equipment of they system is already installed while the Indian Air Force, whose bunker was coming in way of it becoming operation, is also extending its full support,” he added.

Sidhu said he would move a call attention motion in the coming session of the Parliament over the withdrawal of Amritsar-London-Toronto flight and the step-motherly treatment being meted out to Amritsar airport.

Though relieved with the announcement of a new flight from Amritsar to Toronto, he was quick to air his resentment on the flight’s stopover in New Delhi and leaving out London in its route. “Firstly, there was no reason for the Air India to withdraw Amritsar-London-Toronto flight, which was operating till October last year, as it was the highest profit making flight in the annals of its history with occupancy as high as 90 per cent. Now, though they have started a new flight they have dropped London and added New Delhi as a stopover which is unfair to our airport and people. The revenue generated by Amritsar airport will be far less when the flight would halt at New Delhi than what it would have been in case the flight was direct to Toronto. This is clearly a conspiracy to promote Terminal 3 of New Delhi airport at the cost of Amritsar airport, which we will not tolerate,” he said.

Jalandhar/Hoshiarpur, February 1
The endeavour of former state Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal to establish a strong foothold in the Doaba region has borne fruit with former Rajya Sabha MP and senior Akali leader Varinder Singh Bajwa joining hands with him. Another leader to join his group is Rajinder Singh Sandal, senior vice-president of the Youth Akali Dal and a camp follower of the late Capt Kanwaljit Singh.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Manpreet said he has been able to send his message across through his ‘Jago Punjab Yatra’. He said he was rather happy that ordinary people were flocking around him.

On whether only disgruntled persons were joining him, he disagreed and said only his detractors were saying so. Calling himself an agent of change, he said: “We are very careful about selecting those who join us. Only hard working people and leaders with a clean image are welcome,” he added.

He made it clear that corrupt and opportunist politicians would have no place in his proposed political party. Honest and new leadership would automatically emerge from the youth, he added. Meanwhile, both Manpreet and Sandal demanded that the probe report into the accidental death of Capt Kanwaljit Singh should be brought to the fore at the earliest.

To a query on his refusal to turn down security, he answered in the affirmative. “I do not have any threat perception and in fact, I feel uncomfortable with security personnel around me. I have also given it in writing to the DGP. After all, life and death is in the hands of the Almighty”, he added.

Earlier, addressing a rally at Hoshiarpur today, Bajwa said he felt that Manpreet and his team could give an effective governance to the people of the state. Former chairman of the Improvement Trust, Hoshiarpur, Tajinder Singh Sodhi, and former chairman of the Milk Producers Cooperative Society Hardev Singh also showed their solidarity with Manpreet at the rally. 

Chandigarh/Dubai, February 1
Eight Indians and two Pakistanis facing death sentence in a murder case got a major reprieve today as a Sharjah Sharia Court after authorising the payment of blood money also accepted the documents pertaining to a compromise reached between the families of the convicts and that of the victims.

A three-member jury also fixed February 6 for the pronouncement of the final order. Immediate beneficiaries of the court proceedings today were Indian boys, Kuldip Singh, Sachin Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Rashwinder Pal, Sukhpal Singh, Hardev Singh, Charanjeet and Amarjeet Singh besides two Pakistani boys, Mohammad Ansar Chaudhary of Kotli, Kashmir, and Shahid Hussain Ifthreen Rana of Multan, as their death sentence will now be replaced by a much lighter sentence.

After today’ developments, the chances of the early release of these boys from the Sharjah prison have got a big boost.

All of them were tried, prosecuted and convicted in a bootlegging-cum-murder case. A Pakistani boy, Mumtaz Yousaf Mohammad, had been killed in the brawl that had taken place in Sharjah in 2009.

This was one of the seven cases in Sharjah in which more than 60 Indian boys, mostly Punjabis, are facing death sentence.

An appeal in the case of 17 Indian boys, 16 from Punjab and one from Haryana, facing death sentence in the murder of another Pakistani boy, Mishri Khan, is also before the Appeal Sharia Court of Sharjah.

Unlike the case of the 17 Indian boys, the present case is being defended by a team of lawyers organised by Dubai-based Punjabi businessman SP Singh Oberoi.

Oberoi, who had been following the case religiously, told The Tribune that the jury, after accepting the settlement or compromise papers, also allowed the payment of diya (blood money) to Mohammad Yousuf and Kashif Imran, father and brother of the deceased, Mumtaz Yousaf, respectively.

The blood money was paid in the court. It may perhaps be the first case involving Indian workers in the UAE that blood money has been legally paid to the family of the victim.

Mohammmed Yousuf told The Tribune over the phone that he and his family had agreed to the settlement. “We came to Dubai yesterday after Oberoi organised visas for me and my son,” he added.

“Mumtaz was my eldest son. I had pledged my ancestral land to arrange loan to send him to the UAE. At that time, he was 19. He stayed in Sharjah and was unfortunately killed when he was 23. I have four daughters and three sons now. After the death of Mumtaz, I lost my wife also. So I have to look after a big family besides repaying a huge loan,” he said.

The blood money paid to Mohammad Yousaf today was more than Rs 50 lakh (Pak currency).

The convicts would now face sentence for crimes other then the murder and the sentence already undergone by them would be counted towards the final sentence.

Mohali, February 1
Acting on a complaint filed by a public prosecutor against two Punjab Vigilance officials for perjury and misconduct that ultimately led to the acquittal of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Surinder Kaur Badal in the disproportionate assets case, a local court today initiated proceedings against the two officials.

While acquitting the Badals on October 4 last year after the Vigilance Bureau failed to furnish incriminating evidence against them, Mohali Special Judge Rajinder Aggarwal had then ordered the prosecution of the Vigilance officials - Surinder Pal, who was then the investigating officer, and BK Uppal, supervisory officer.

On the basis of the complaint filed by the public prosecutor, the court today initiated proceedings against the two officials under Sections 120 B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 182 (false information with intention to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person), 193 (punishment for false evidence), 211 (false charge of offence made with intention to injure), 218 (public servant framing in correct record or writing with intent to save a persons from punishment or property from forfeiture) and 219 (public servant in judicial proceedings corruptly making report) of the CrPC.

As part of the proceedings, bailable warrants were issued against Surinder Pal, who is OSD in the Vigilance Bureau. While he was released on bail after he appeared in the court, bailable warrants were issued against Uppal for March 18.

In a previous order passed in the case, the court had observed that it was an exceptional case wherein not only the complaint and the material evidence but also senior Vigilance officials who investigated the case have not supported the prosecution.

It was also pointed out that the officials fabricated false evidence and harassed various government officials while recording their statements. The court had also observed that different yardsticks had been adopted while deciding upon the witnesses and the accused.

Jalandhar, February 1
In a step aimed at reducing the patient load at state government-run hospitals and for the optimum use of the infrastructure available at Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)-run hospitals, the ESIC has agreed in principle to open its hospitals to provide healthcare services to the general public.

As of now, only the employees getting a monthly salary of less than Rs 15,000 and insured by the ESIC (card holders) are eligible to avail themselves of free treatment facilities at such hospitals.

Laxmi Kanta Chawla, state Health Minister, who was here to inaugurate the sub-regional office of the ESIC, today said the corporation had given clearance to the proposal. The ESIC hospitals would be opened to general patients in the coming months.

The general patients will have to pay user charges equal to those being charged at the state-run civil hospitals. As many as 69 dispensaries and six big hospitals are being run by the ESIC in the state.

In another move, the corporation has joined hands with the state Health Department to provide free speciality and super-speciality level diagnostic and treatment facilities to the ESI card holders in the state-run civil hospitals.

Dr Ashok Nayyar, Director, Health and Family Welfare and State Insurance, said that as a few ESIC hospitals were not equipped to provide speciality-level healthcare services, the patients requiring such services would be referred to the nearest civil hospitals. The treatment cost would be paid to the Health Department by the corporation within one month, said Nayyar. 

Chandigarh, February 1
In a perceptible attempt to provide a protective shield to police officials facing taint, the Punjab Government in its latest policy on tainted cops has apparently left a legal lacuna. It has made it clear that the government will not post a tainted cop on a key post if charges have been framed against him or if he has been convicted.

However, the government at the same time has given itself enough room to spare its officials from the rigours of its own policy by adding a rider to its decision. As per the policy, it is now the government’s prerogative to proceed or give immunity to an official, as an exception can be made in the case of cops facing prosecution for an offence committed during the period of militancy.

As such, the policy clearly indicates that an official facing criminal prosecution can be posted on a key post if the offence was committed during the dark days of militancy in the state.

The policy, curiously, says “offence committed during the period of militancy”, and not offence related to militancy.

The policy placed before acting Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Augustine George Masih of the Punjab and Haryana High Court this morning says: “It has been decided that the government will not post any officials as a key functionary in a police district if he is convicted or against whom charges have been framed by a court of law or had been suspended from service in accordance with the provisions of the relevant rules or has been served with a chargesheet in a vigilance inquiry or in a departmental inquiry concerning serious misconduct involving moral turpitude.”

“However, the government may make an exception for the posting of such police official as a key functionary in a police district if the official is facing criminal prosecution for an offence committed during the period of militancy in the State of Punjab or has been convicted by a court for such an offence but the conviction has been stayed by the appellant court.” The key police functionaries in a police district have been defined as IGP of a zone, DIG of a range, SSP, SP, ASP, DSP and SHO.

The policy also goes on to say it is “not mandatory to dismiss a government employee in every case of conviction by a judicial court. The power, “like every other power has to be exercised fairly, justly and reasonably…. It was decided that it is for the punishing authority to decide in each and every case the quantum of punishment to be inflicted to the convicted employee keeping in view the gravity of the conduct, which has led to his conviction on a criminal charge”.

Fatehgarh Sahib, February 1
Habib Rehman, 85, from Toba Tek Singh in Pakistan was awake since 3 am today to see his birthplace in Sirhind. He is among the 184 pilgrims from Pakistan, who paid obeisance at Rouza Sharif today. Habib revisited India after 52 years.

Devotees from Pakistan, associated with Sirhind and other cities of Punjab in one way or the other have different tales to share with their Indian counterparts. “I was 21 at the time of partition. Last time I visited India in 1959 and after that now I managed to get a visa again,” Rehman said. Remembering the sweet old days before partition he said his father was a farmer in Sirhind with little land to cultivate wherein they grew vegetables and wheat.

Looking at the tombs of Rouza Sharif, he said these were built by one of his friends Wali Mohammad Mistry, who lived in Humayunpur locality of Fatehgarh Sahib. Tears rolled down his cheeks when he remembered devastating moments, which took place during partition. He burst into tears and prayed that such a tragedy should never happen again.

Another Munawar Hussain said formation of Pakistan was the biggest mistake. Munawar’s ancestors moved to Pakistan from Hoshiarpur and Jalalpur areas of Punjab and settled in Toba Tek Singh in Pakistan. Many of the devotees, who had been living in nearby villages visited Fatehgarh Sahib for the first time and expressed their keen desire to visit those villages again where their ancestors lived.

Appreciating the warmth of Indian hospitality, especially the local administration, devotees said, “People are very supportive and offered to extend all possible help.” Many prominent people of the area have invited us for lunch and dinner tonight, they said. Another Mohammad Abdullah said his father has eight brothers and all were mercilessly killed during the partition. “My father however managed to escape by hiding himself in agriculture fields and layer reached Pakistan,” he said.

Devotees from Pakistan said, “there seems to be no difference between India and Pakistan except the scrutiny exercise, scanning and prohibition at different places.” Devotees are here to participate in three-day Urs, which is observed in the memory of Hazrad Sheikh Ahmad Farukhi Sirhindi Mujaddad Alifsani, who raised his voice against din-e-elhi. Farukhi was born and died in Sirhind.

Malerkotla, February 1
An Islamic religious centre in the Muslim majority town of Malerkotla is teaching members of the Muslim community the message of peaceful coexistence with members of other faiths. The centre is being run from inside a mosque known as Madani Masjid.

Members of the community from all over the country come here to learn about their faith. The centre preaches six principles of Islam to the students.

Manager of the centre Muhammad Jameel says, “We lay special emphasis on maintaining peaceful relations among various communities and the same is included in our lessons. Islam has always stood for peace. A 40-day course is conducted at the centre,” he said.

One of the students, Muhammad Rayees from Madhya Pradesh said, “Islam is a peaceful and great religion and we should maintain that image. I have learnt more about how to live a peaceful life and stand for righteousness and we surely preach the same in my area.”

The centre teaches about the basic principles of the Islam and is being run from contributions from the public.

Morinda/ Chamkaur Sahib, February 1
The Ropar police claims to soon solve a case of looting of fuel station at gunpoint in Dhanauri village on Sunday.

SSP Jatinder Singh Aulakh said the police had got vital clues in the case and would soon solve it. Yet another petrol pump was looted in a similar way on January 23 at Saheri village. Aulakh added that both the crime have been committed by the same gang. “The police has taken the CCTV footage of Ma Durga Filling Station,” he said.

In both the incidents, the accused are said to be 25-30 years of age and in both cases the pumps were looted at gunpoint. On Sunday, the incidence took place at around 7.30 pm, when four youngsters riding in a white Maruti Swift car reached Ma Durga Filling Station in Dhanauri village. One of them told filling station employee to fill diesel worth Rs 900 in the car.

After filling the fuel, when filling station employees asked for money, three of the car occupants got out of vehicle and forcibly took employee Sardari Lal inside the filling station’s office at gunpoint. They took away Rs 26,000 cash and injured an employee Goldy, who resisted the loot. Goldy was first hit with butt of revolver and then with hand. They also fired six rounds of bullet in air.

After looting the station, when the accused reached at nearby Roorkee Heeran village, their car broke down. They left the car in village and went towards Roorkee Heeran - Makrona village road. Here they intercepted two brothers Gurdeep Singh and Ravinder Singh, who were going on a motorcycle.

Police officials said the accused stopped these brothers and asked them to hand over the motorcycle. When Ravinder denied, accused fired shot near their feet in a bid to scare them away. Showing presence of mind, Gurdeep and Ravinder locked motorcycle and threw its keys in the field. 

Ferozepur, February 1
Additional Sessions Judge JS Bhinder today sentenced Hardeep Singh and Gurdev Singh to 12-year rigorous imprisonment after holding them guilty of supplying narcotics and weapons to terrorists for an international gang of smugglers.

The court also fined the two accused Rs 1.5 lakh each. Failure to pay the fine would invite an additional sentence of three years, the court ordered.

Hardeep hails from Goindwal Sahib town in Tarn Taran and Gurdev belongs to Chamb village in Ferozepur district. The court sent them to the Ferozepur Central Jail.

A team comprising DSP Raghubir Singh and Inspector Sarbjit Singh arrested the duo in July 2009 from near Khai village of the district.

The two worked as the second chain of couriers for the gang. The police had also seized 12 kg of heroin stashed in packets and two foreign-made pistols of .32 and .30-bore along with cartridges from their possession. The duo was traveling in a car with the consignment at the time of their arrest.

According to the police, the accused had brought the consignment from Jodha village near the Indo-Pak border in Jalalabad sector. The value of the heroin seized from the accused is estimated at Rs 60 crore in the international market. — TNS

Moga, February 1
Two Punjabi youths were allegedly murdered in Manila yesterday. One of the victims belonged to Raonta village of Moga. Harvir Singh alias Jimmy and his cousin brother Gurdeep Singh Romana were killed inthe same house on Monday. Cash and jewellery were also looted fromthe house. Harvir was first looted and then killed with sharp-edged weapons at his residence in Manila on Monday.

Harvir’s family members said some assailants entered the first floor of his house at 8:30 am and first killed his maternal cousin Gurdeep Singh Romana with sharp-edged weapons and hid his body in the bathroom. They then went upstairs, tied Harvir’s hands and legs before killing him. They fled with the cash and jewellery from the house. They also injured a native woman who was going into Harvir’s room.

Harvir worked in the finance sector and had been living in Manila for more than eight years. He was to come home on February 10. Harvir is survived by wife and two children, who also live in Manila. The body was cremated there on Tuesday.