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Rich tributes paid to martyrs
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, March 23
Several NGOs and organisations today organised functions in the city to mark the martyrdom day of the three national heroes, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and
Sukhdev. The management of the Public Library here organised a special function in which several freedom fighters, including Jagat Singh Dhaliwal, Shri Ram Singla, Girish Kumar and successors of the freedom fighters were
honoured.
Among others, who paid tributes to the martyrs, included former minister Chiranji Lal Garg, senior deputy mayor of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) Tarsem Goyal, president and senior vice- president Bhagat Singh Dhaliwal and PD Goyal, respectively, of the Public Library. A local NGO, Aasra Welfare Society, and the State Bank of India, Kikar Bazar branch, jointly observed the martyrdom day at a function and also organised a blood donation camp. A team from Blood Bank at the local Civil Hospital, headed by Dr Inderdeep Singh Sra, collected 66 units of blood at the camp. Bathinda SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill honoured several persons, including the blood donors. BMC Commissioner Uma Shanker also participated in the function. Another local NGO, Sahara Jan Sewa, under the leadership of its president Vijay Goyal, observed the martyrdom day at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial at the Arya Samaj Chowk here. Bathinda SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill and the BMC Commissioner Uma Shanker paid floral tributes at the bust of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. They also took out a torchlight procession from the Arya Samaj Chowk in the evening. The chowk was decorated with lights and flags. The urban unit of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) organised a run here to mark the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. The run started from the local Arya Samaj Chowk and also ended at the same place after taking a round of bazaars in the city. The run was led by the district in charge of the BJP Neeraj Tayal. A local NGO, Aas Welfare Society, also observed the martyrdom day. The society took out a rally in memory of the martyrs in the city. An eye check-up camp was also organsied by the society, in which about 150 persons were examined.
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Anti-secular forces active: Masih
Rajay Deep/TNS
Bathinda, March 23
Member of the Punjab State Commission for Minorities, Hamid Masih, today said the minority communities in Bathinda and Jalandhar districts of Punjab were the main target of the "anti-secular" forces.
Masih was here to listen to the grievances of the people belonging to the Christian community. After hearing the people's complaints, he directed the SP (City) HS Ghai to sort out the issues to prevent the problem from spiralling. Quoting instances when people belonging to the minority community were at the receiving end, he categorically asked the SP to save them from the forces working against their survival. Speaking to the media, Masih said, "Since the formation of the commission in Punjab in 2010, I have been visiting all the districts to take an account. I observed that Bathinda and Jalandhar were the districts where the administration was not at all sensitive toward the atrocities committed upon the members of the minority communities." "These two districts have remained vulnerable leaving scope for violence to take place. Though the state government is quite clear on nipping communal tension in the bud, there are a number of officials in the administration, who are becoming tools in the hands of the anti-secular forces. Such officials not only ignore the complaints of the minorities but also harass them," Masih alleged. According to Masih, the population of the Christian community in the state is nearly seven per cent of the total population but it is shown as just three per cent in the government data. The variation is because some anti-secular groups have influenced the state machinery to avoid the benefits accruing to the Christians, he alleged. He also accused the census staff of being careless in filling up the forms. "It is due to the biased attitude of the bureaucracy that the kids of Christians in Punjab do not get the proper benefits of welfare schemes launched by the state and union governments," he alleged. When asked what he, as a member of the commission, was doing for the minorities, Masih claimed that he had taken up matters of discrimination against the minorities at the highest level but the results were awaited.
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Jagmeet, Manpreet visit martyrs’ memorial
Tribune News Service
Ferozepur, March 23
Both Jagmeet Brar, member, Congress Working Committee (CWC) and former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, along with their supporters paid floral tributes at the memorial of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their 80th martyrdom day at Hussainiwala, today.
While Brar accompanied by Parminder Singh, general secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), Vijay Sathi and other senior Congress leaders of Ferozepur and Muktsar district visited the National Martyrs Memorial in the morning, Manpreet, who was accompanied by Abhay Sandhu, nephew of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, noted Punjabi comedian Bhagwant Mann and MLA Jagbir Brar, visited the place in the afternoon. Brar, while talking to the media, said he along with his associates had come to pay their tributes at the memorial and hence, he was not interested in talking about politics. He added that it was his duty to pay tributes at the National Martyrs Memorial after he was inducted as a permanent member of the CWC. Badal, while talking to the media, said Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were icons for the countrymen. However, their dreams were yet to be fulfilled. Meanwhile, the members of the International Democratic Party (IDP) today started a motorcycle march from Hussainiwala to Delhi for creating awareness among the people against social evils. The march would culminate in Delhi on March 26.
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Fire incident at court record room
Case cracked after cops nab drug peddler
Tribune Reporters
Ferozpur, March 23
With the arrest of narcotics smuggler Parminder Singh, a resident of this district, the police have succeed in cracking the case of fire incident at the record room of the court of aAditional Sessions Judge on February 26.
SSP Kaustabh Sharma said preliminary interrogation of Parminder Singh had revealed that he along with Jaswinder Singh, another resident and Jagmohan Singh, a resident of neigbouring Tarn Taran district, had set the record room of the court of Jitender Kaur (Additional Sessions Judge) on fire to burn the record as Jaswinder Singh, a notorious criminal, had been facing trials in a number of criminal cases in that court. He said Parminder Singh along with Jaswinder and Jagmohan had hatched the conspiracy to set the record room ablaze four days before the crime. They purchased the petrol from a pump, located on the Zira-Makhu main road while the can was brought from Moga. Both Jaswinder and Parminder suffered burn injuries due to the blast. Thereafter, both of them got admitted to a private hospital at Bhikhiwind. All the accused including Jagmohan were on the run to escape the police net. Parminder went to Hardoi (UP) where Jaswinder owned a farm. He has been sent to police remand till March 30 when he was produced before the court of judicial magistrate today. During the preliminary investigation, Parminder revealed the involvement of two other accused. He said a criminal case in the case had already been registered under different sections of the
IPC.
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Case against Cong leader triggers row
Jalalabad, March 23
A criminal case registered against Raj Baksh Kamboj, president, local Congress committee (rural) and seven others at the Sadar police station on the complaint of Gagandeep Kaur, a resident of Chandigarh, a few days ago, has triggered a controversy.
The Congress leadership including former minister Hans Raj Joshan alleged
that the case against Raj was registered by the police under pressure from the ruling politicians. A case under various sections of the IPC was registered against Raj Baksh, Amir Chand, Balbir Chand, Des Raj, Raj Kumar, Milkha Singh and a few others. She had alleged that she was beaten up by the accused, including her husband Raj Kumar, and her six-year-old son was snatched from her. Sangram Singh, SHO, police station, Sadar, claimed that the case was registered as per the statement of Gagandeep Kaur.
— TNS
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