Jalandhar, February 6
Balbir Kaur of Pandori Khas village in Nakodar has levelled serious allegations against the Hoshiarpur police regarding the kidnapping of her husband Harmesh Singh.

Balbir alleged here today that while she and her husband were on their way to a relative’s house on February 2, two youths Kulwinder Singh and Harwinder Singh, who had been known to them, along with some unidentified persons, took her husband away forcibly in an Indica car.

“Later in the day (February 2), I received a call from Paramjit Singh Saini, SHO, Bullowal police station, Hoshiarpur, who demanded Rs 15 lakh from me and called me to the police station.”

Some residents of Balbir’s village went to the police station next day and were allegedly threatened by Kulwinder, Harwinder and Saini that they would kill Harmesh if Balbir did not give them the money.

Balbir, who currently resides at Basti Guzan, said, “We then filed a writ in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, following which raids were conducted on the Bullowal and Sham Chaurasi police stations in Hoshiarpur. My husband was not found, but some of his belongings were recovered from the Sham Chaurasi police station.”

Bakshish Singh, former panchayat member of Pandori Khas village, who had gone to the Bullowal police station to request Harmesh’s release, said, “The actual reason for the kidnapping might have been something that happened at Kuwait between Harwinder and Kulwinder and the two sons of Balbir (who stay there).”

“We also talked to Jalandhar (West) ACP Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu, who talked to the SHO about the matter. He said he had marked a report, but nothing has been done so far,” said Balbir.

SHO Paramjit Singh Saini, when contacted, first feigned ignorance on the matter. On being probed further he said, “It’s all just a drama. The couple run a travel agency and took lakhs of money from several people, but did not send them abroad. We have applications against them submitted at the Bullowal police station on February 5 by four complainants. They are just crooks and are staging a drama because they are scared of an enquiry. We sent a hawaldar to their village today to summon them, but they didn’t come.”

Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu, while speaking on the matter, said, “I talked to the SHO and he says he has complaints against them. He agreed that Harmesh Singh had been brought to the police station, but claimed he was handed over to the persons from Balbir’s village. The matter is now with the ACP (Central) Bahadur Singh and an inquiry has been marked.”

Amritsar, February 6
Wearing black pieces of cloth on their head and carrying black flags, contract multipurpose health workers (female) organised a state-level protest rally in the constituency of Punjab Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla here today.

They were protesting for regularisation of their jobs, besides hike in their wages as per the recommendation of the wage board, implementation of notifications of the meetings with the state Health Secretary, etc.

The protest ended in the evening when the district administration fixed their meeting with the Health Minister, which would be held on February 9. Various speakers, including Kiranjeet Kaur, Ranjit Kaur, Sukhbir Kaur and Karuna Sharma, all leaders of the union, while addressing the gathering threatened to intensify their agitation if their demands were not met in near future.

Earlier, the health workers, who were agitating in the Gole Bagh area, raised slogans against the state government for adopting indifferent attitude towards their demands.

The district administration along with heavy posse of policemen resisted their attempts to move towards the residence of Chawla. Although they protesting workers managed to cross the gates of the Gole Bagh, they were again stopped near the Hathi Gate area.

Jalandhar, February 6
Responding to the years-long demand of the elementary teachers working in the schools run by the zila parishads (ZPs), the state government has sought an option from over 13,000 teachers whether they are willing to continue in the same schools or want to be shifted to the schools run by the state Education Department.

The state government and ETT Teachers’ Union arrived at an agreement that teachers would be gradually shifted to the schools run by the Education Department.

The letter in this regard has been forwarded to all Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADC) of the state by the Directorate, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, on February 3.

“The written submission given by an individual teacher in this regard should be considered final and irrevocable,” reads the letter.

Meanwhile, the ETT Sangharsh Committee, criticised the move of the state government. “The SAD-BJP coalition promised in its election manifesto that not only the teachers, but also all the schools run by zila parishads would be shifted to the Education Department. In this move, the government would shift only a few teachers, around 5,400, to the Education Department. However, the fate of other thousands of teachers would hang in a balance,” said Gurmukh Singh Baba, president of the union.

“We demand that instead of seeking any such option, all the teachers, along with the schools in which they are working, should be shifted to the Education Department in one go,” said Gurmukh. This would also end the two systems of education being run in the state today, he added.

Hoshiarpur, February 6
Four mentally challenged students - Gulshan, Munish, Vicky and Sukhwinder - of Jagjit Singh Sachedva Asha Kiran, a special school for mentally challenged children, who had recently participated in the National Games held at Shimla, were honoured at the prize distribution function of the school at Jahan Khelan, 8 km from here, on Friday evening. They participated in the floor hockey and bagged the gold medal.

Managing Director of the Sonalika Group of Industries (SGI) Deepak Mittal, who was the chief guest, appreciated the efforts of the school staff and management for their attempt to make mentally challenged children self-dependent.

Twelve children of the handball team of the school, who bagged gold medals by securing first position in the Punjab State Special Olympics, were also honoured.

Deepak Mittal congratulated the students for bringing laurels to the school. He announced to give Rs 1 lakh to the school.

President of the Ashadeep Welfare Society Paramjit Singh Sachdeva briefed about the ongoing activities of the school. Principal Shelly Sharma said a sheltered workshop would soon be started in the school.

Nawanshahr, February 6
Sonu Gautam, panchayat secretary serving at the Block Development and Panchayat Office, Balachaur, who had gone missing in a mysterious way on January 31, was found from Ambala in a dramatic way.

Sonu reportedly gave a phone call at his residence yesterday and his family informed the police about the phone call and his whereabouts. The police, accompanied by the family members, brought Sonu back.

Sonu was given a rousing welcome on his return to his native village Mahil Gehilan today. Sonu said he was kept in a room there with hands bounded. His hands were opened only to give him some eatables. However, Sonu was evasive on elaborating why he was kidnapped and kept in a custody for about a week and how he managed to escape.

The SSP, Narinder Bhargav, when contacted, said the police had been working on different theories to find out the truth behind the mysterious missing and dramatic return of the panchayat secretary.

Gurdaspur, February 6
With every third household in this border district affected by the scourge of drugs, the district administration and different NGOs are fighting a loosing battle.

But the Red Cross De-addiction Centre at Babbehali, near here, apart from treating addicts, has, after an intensive research, identified a new drug which is ruining the lives of youth in the belt.

Project Coordinator Romesh Mahajan has written to the Deputy Commissioner that a new drug being sold under the brand name of ‘Shivam Munakka’ has entered the market in a big way and is available at every nook and corner of the city at extremely low rates.

Majahan observed that thousands of youth had discarded traditional drugs like opium, poppy husk and psychotropic substances and have now turned to ‘Shivam Munakka’ which, he said, was more lethal than the traditional drugs.

In his letter, Mahajan has written that, “The large scale consumption of the newly introduced drug is playing havoc with the young generation in this district where every third household, according to reports, is affected with drugs. The drug is cheap and to compound matters it is easily available over the counter. Keeping in view the disastrous effects of the drug, I request you to take stringent steps to check its availability.”

The Project Coordinator has urged the DC to impose Section 144 of the CrPC so that the drug is banned.

Mahajan said that the contents mentioned on the packing did not reveal much but the drug actually was a derivative of marijuana and cannabis. Doctors at the de-addiction centre disclosed that the aftereffects of the drug include memory loss, rapid mood changes and attacking near and dear ones without any provocation.

A doctor, preferring anonymity, revealed that ‘Shivam Munakka’ was not the only drug playing havoc with young and impressionable minds. The other drug, which is being commonly used by youth in this district, is white fluid normally used to erase printed words. “A large number of teenagers are approaching the centre for treatment of white fluid. Recently a young boy from Dinanagar died due to over-sniffing. White fluid is s stationery product and under normal circumstances it should be made available only at stationery shops. However, it is selling like hot cakes at grocery shops across the city and that too at a premium.”

Gurdaspur SSP Varinder Pal Singh said, “We are aware of the enormity of the situation. We will be forming special teams in collaboration with the health authorities to check the spread of the highly toxic ‘Shivam Munakka’.