Patiala, April 19
Following the nod by the Vigilance Bureau, the Punjab Government is contemplating another extension in service to SSP-Vigilance, Patiala, SK Sharma, who was granted a year’s extension last year.

Highly placed police sources said the Chief Minister’s office had called for the officer’s file on April 18, the day he was to be relieved.

Sharma was removed from the post following the alleged involvement of his son, Mohit Sharma, in a diamond robbery case in 2008, but was reinstated because of his political clout. Sharma was investigating important cases, including those of ‘corruption’ against former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and was part of the team that carried out investigations against former Punjab DGP SS Virk.

In 2010, a senior excise officer had made a serious allegation against him, that he had shielded a smuggler. However, Sharma dismissed the allegation as baseless.

In 2008, the Punjab Government removed Sharma as SSP-Vigilance, Patiala and posted Sandeep Goel in his place while he (Sharma) proceeded on long leave.

The looted diamonds worth crores were later recovered from Mohit Sharma’s residence in Ludhiana. The Jalandhar police had also raided Sharma’s official residence in this connection.

Amandeep Singh, Sharma’s gunman, was named an accused in the robbery.

A senior Punjab police officer in the administration wing confirmed that Sharma’s file had been moved for another one-year extension, but approval from the Chief Minister was awaited.

“The Vigilance functions in complete secrecy and we will be able to comment on the matter only when we get to see the file”, he added.

When contacted on the phone, Punjab Chief Secretary SC Aggarwal said: ”You can’t expect me to remember such trivial issues.” Sharma had told TNS yesterday that he was expecting a notification on a year’s extension soon.

Jalandhar, April 19
At least 15 candidates of Punjabi origin, nine of them sitting Members of Parliament, are in the fray for the Canadian federal elections to be held on May 2. Among them are some popular names such as Ujjal Dosanjh, Sukh Dhaliwal, Neena Grewal, Jinny Sims, Gurbax Malh, Ruby Dhalla, Navdeep Bains, Devinder Shourie, Deepak Obhrai and Tim Uppal. Dosanjh, a former Premier of British Columbia, is contesting from the Vancouver South constituency as a Liberal Party candidate. Last time, he had won with a hair thin margin of about 20 votes. Dosanjh is being opposed by radical Sikhs.

Sukh Dhaliwal is the Liberal Party candidate for Surrey. She faces Neena Grewal of the Conservative Party and Jinny Sims of the NDP candidate.

Another Punjabi-origin candidate is Mani Kaur-Fallon of the Conservative Party. Shinder Purewal is the Liberal Party candidate from Surrey-North. He has remained a university teacher and has authored a book on violence. He is contesting against Dona Cadman, sitting Conservative MP. Purewal has been opposing the move to make citizenship test tougher. Another candidate in the fray is Jasbir Sandhu.

Mandeep Bhullar is contesting from Port Moody on the Liberal Party ticket. He is engaged in a campaign against the use of drugs. In Alberta, three Punjabi faces are contesting as Conservative Party candidates-Devinder Shourie, Tim Uppal and Deepak Obhrai.

Alberta is known as a stronghold of the Tories. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper belongs to this state. In Ontario, Gubax Malhi, Navdeep Bains and Ruby Dhalla are contesting as nominees of the Liberal Party. Ruby is being opposed by Param Gill of the Conservative Party in Brampton-Springdale while Malhi is pitted against Baljit Gosal of the Conservative Party.

Amritsar, April 19
Two armed youths tried to loot a cashier of the Axis Bank near the Power Colony on Majitha Road here today.The two trailed a van carrying Rs 31 lakh cash that was to be fed into an ATM of the bank. They opened fire at security guard David Masih standing near the van.

Masih was rushed to the nearby Guru Nanak Dev Hospital where Dr Ramesh Pal Singh, Deputy Medical Superintendent, declared him “brought dead”. He said a bullet had pierced his hand and entered the stomach that had resulted in his death almost instantly.

Senior police officials rushed to the site for investigation. They talked to several nearby shopkeepers, including Lakhwinder Singh, for possible clues.

Deputy Commissioner of Police AS Chahal said preliminary investigations revealed negligence and lack of coordination among the cashier, the van driver and the security guard.

He said it was mandatory on the part of the guard to ensure that the area was secure before signalling the cashier to come out with the cash.

He said the cashier was feeding the cash into the ATM when the assailants shot the guard standing near the van. Finding no cash in the van, the assailants fled, taking away the guard’s gun.

The DCP said the assailants were yet to be identified. A case has been registered.

Moga, April 19
Killings of Punjabi youths doing business in Philippines continue unabated with reports of the murder of another Punjabi youth hailing from a Moga village on Monday.Baljit Singh (41), son of Kehar Singh hailing from Kokri Heran village near Ajitwal, was reportedly killed with automatic fire weapons by unidentified gangsters in the Fairview area of Quezon City in Philippines early in the morning.

He was going to his office in a car after dropping his wife Simranjit Kaur at her workplace at about 7.30 am (local time) when he was stopped by unidentified persons who killed him on the spot.

Although the exact cause of the death could not be ascertained, but the Philippine police believed that looting could be the motive of the murder. Investigations were still on and no one has been arrested so far.

Baljit went to Philippines 11 years ago. Initially, he worked in a finance company and then started his own business of money lending. His wife, son and daughter stayed with him in Quezon City.

Kehar Singh, father, and Baldev Singh, uncle of the deceased youth, had sought help from the Indian government to bring the body, which was in police custody for a post-mortem examination, to India for cremation.

Many cases of murders of Punjabi youths has come to light in the recent years with the motive of looting or demanding ransom. In the past five years, there were reports of more than 30 such incidents.

There are thousands of Indians, including Punjabis, who are settled in Manila, Quezon City, Cebu and Davao in Philippines.

Gidderbaha, April 19
With the acceptance of Manpreet Singh Badal’s resignation from the Punjab Legislative Assembly by Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon yesterday, this predominantly rural assembly constituency is likely to witness hectic political activity in days to come.

Manpreet Badal submitted his resignation to Kahlon in the last week of March before floating the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) at Khatkar Kalan against the advice of his supporters from this assembly segment.

He had met them at a gurdwara in Guptsar village after he was removed from the Cabinet.

While Manpreet Badal’s endeavour will be to stabilise and expand the PPP base, his uncle and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has already initiated an exercise to ensure that the SAD hold in the area remains intact.

The Chief Minister Badal has already held two rounds of Sangat Darshan in this segment (in the second week of this month) to revive his ties with the people.

Manpreet Badal was first elected MLA from this segment in the 1995 byelections. Before him it was represented by Parkash Singh Badal a number of times. The Gidderbaha by-election was necessitated after the then Congress MLA Raghubir Singh was unseated by the Supreme Court.

Speaking to TNS, Raghubir Singh said it was good for the people of the constituency that Manpreet Badal’s resignation had been accepted. He said for the past about four years, residents of this assembly segment had faced much harassment at the hands of their elected representative.

He said he was ready to take on Manpreet Badal in the next elections, if the Congress high command so desired. He also alleged that Manpreet was using the names of martyrs for political gains. Most residents were indifferent to the political development and declined to comment. 

Jalandhar, April 19
Akali MLA Jagbir Singh Brar today said he would submit his resignation to Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon before the end of this week.

Talking to The Tribune on the phone, Brar, a close associate of People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal, said his resignation had been delayed because he was waiting for Manjinder Singh Kang, another confidant of Manpreet Singh, to return from Delhi where he was undergoing treatmentfor an eye ailment. “I have no idea as to when Kang will return from Delhi, but I will certainly submit my resignation by the end of this week,” Brar said.

Brar, who had contested on the SAD ticket from the Jalandhar Cantonment constituency in 2007, was elected with a huge margin. When Manpreet Singh was thrown out of the SAD in August last, Brar stood by him.

Accepting the resignation of Manpreet Singh, the Speaker had yesterday said he would give notice to Brar and Kang as to why they should not be disqualified for joining Manpreet’s People’s Party of Punjab. It could not be confirmed whether the two have filled the membership form of the PPP or will do so after submitting their resignations.

The membership drive of the PPP was launched in the first week of April. The PPP had already distributed about 16 lakh forms, of these, 7 lakh forms have already been filled and returned to the party head office. 

Chandigarh, April 19
With elections only some months away, the Punjab Congress is yet to put its organisational structure in place. Worse still, it has not even come out with an agenda to counter the SAD and the Punjab People’s Party (PPP).

With the Congress high command seeking a feedback on the list of office-bearers submitted by PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh, the euphoria created on his appointment as PCC chief on October 26 last has died out.

Capt Amarinder had clearly not expected this. After taking over as PCC chief, he had claimed the party’s organisational structure would be put in place within a week. Now the party has given due importance to senior leaders Jagmeet Brar and Mohinder Singh Kaypee in the party hierarchy, indicating that it wants to maintain a balance of power in the state.

Already late, the party may not be able to create a credible second-rung leadership for it to be effective. Perforce, it is now falling back on senior leaders, many of whom look jaded. In contrast, the SAD has empowered its second-rung leadership and Manpreet Badal is already in the process of creating a political set up under a young leadership.

While the SAD is out with its agenda of development coupled with administrative reforms and the PPP has given a call for a change in the political culture, the Congress continues to harp on the vendetta agenda, highlighting the “atrocities” committed against on its workers. It has nothing fresh on its agenda.

The Congress, which had earlier conducted district-level rallies, is now concentrating on each constituency. However, with no new faces and no reorganisation of the party structure with due representation to SC and Backward Caste communities, it has become vulnerable to attacks by the dominant Jat community.

The Jats comprise 20 per cent of the state population but get a lion’s share when it comes to distribution of the party ticket. With the SCs (29 per cent ) and Backward Castes accounting for more than half of the state population, there is a demand for proportionate representation during the distribution of the party ticket.

Time is running out for the party to set its house in order. Apart from a clear-cut command structure, it needs to project credible faces to woo the electorate. Anti- incumbency alone will not be enough to win elections in Punjab. 

Jalandhar, April 19
The Centre has directed the Punjab Government to streamline procedural aspects for the proper implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Sending a copy of the findings of a national-level monitor (NLM) Jagdish Kumar, deputed to investigate Jalandhar DYC (R) Vikramjet Singh Chaudhary’s complaint to the state government, the Union Rural Development Ministry stated that the allegations of non-payment of unemployment allowance and irregularities in implementation of MGNREGA were found partly true.

Forwarding the report to the Principal Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Punjab Government, Deputy Secretary, MGNREGA, L Fanai has asked the state government to furnish action taken/compliance report on the findings of the NLM.

During the four-day investigation from January 10 to 13, the NLM had made field visits to five villages in two blocks of Jalandhar district for an on-the-spot inquiry.

Phillaur BDPO admitted during his field visit that 28 workers of Ramgarh village of Phillaur block had formally applied for work and the panchayat secretary confessed that they were not allotted work in Nangal village despite the BDPO’s orders, the NLM stated in his report. He had directed the district administration to pay unemployment allowance to these 28 workers.

Chandigarh, April 18
Hard cash may soon be a personal identification number (PIN) away for jail inmates. The Reserve Bank of India has made it clear that it is not averse to having automatic teller machines (ATMs) in jails.

In fact, the RBI, in a written statement filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, has asserted that it would always be open to any request from jail authorities if they wanted a bank to open an ATM on the jail premises, subject to the fulfilment of norms.

The development is significant as an ATM would facilitate cash withdrawal by the family member of the convicts. Currently, the inmates find it tough to pass on money to their family and in some cases, it is a matter of subsistence.

The assertion comes in response to a suo motu notice on the problems faced by convicts in withdrawing pension and other related issues.

Justice Ranjit Singh had taken suo motu cognisance of a complaint forwarded to him by an inmate during a visit to a jail. Lifer Bhagwant Singh’s request for escorts to take him to the bank were turned down. As a result, he was finding it tough to withdraw his pension.

In its statement placed before the Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Surya Kant, the RBI said opening extension counters of each and every bank was not possible as the number of beneficiaries undergoing sentences in jails was too small.

But it would be more appropriate if a convict could issue instructions to the bank for monthly transfer of a stipulated amount to the beneficiary’s account. If such instructions were issued, the amount ordered would stand remitted and deposited in the bank account of the beneficiary on the dates fixed by the convict.

The RBI also suggested that a convict may issue cheques from the jail itself. It could be handed over to the beneficiary or the authorised person by the jail superintendent.

Mansa, April 19
Mahesh Kumar, owner of a local gun house who was an active member of the interstate gang that was involved in the sale of fake arms under the guise of original ones of national and international companies to customers, was remanded in police custody till April 22 after he was produced before the judicial magistrate today.

Neelam Rani, wife of an arms dealer of Moga town who was preparing invoices to facilitate the sale of fake arms as genuine ones, and Kamal Kant, who was one of the suppliers of fake arms to Punjab-based dealers, were remanded in judicial custody.

Both Neelam and Kamal Kant were active members of the gang that had been selling fake arms, known as katta, under the garb of genuine ones to customers in Punjab. Kamal Kant was supplying fake arms to Haryana, Delhi, UP, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. “We are preparing lists of persons to whom fake arms have been supplied by the gang,” said HS Mann, SSP, Mansa. 

Ropar, April 19
The two canteens catering to the needs of litigants and advocates in the district courts are in a shambles.For the past 15 years, the contract of the canteen is being looked after by the same person. The contract was revised last month at a cost of Rs 2.50 lakh.

Earlier, one canteen was situated in a permanent room above the suvidha centre, it was later shifted next to the temporary canteen located at the entrance of court complex.

Both the canteens are being run from a temporary structure, which has a sewerage line running next to it. Even the District Bar Association raised the issue with the district administration, but to no avail.

The inspecting judge from Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Ajay Lamba visited the courts today and was surprised to find the canteen in an unhygienic condition. It is learnt that he raised an objection over the deplorable conditions of the canteen premises and has directed the district administration to make necessary reforms.

President Ropar Bar Association Dheeraj Kaushal said Justice Lamba gave a week’s time to improve the situation.

Following Justice Lamba’s visit, the court complex was cleaned while future of canteens is yet to be decided. 

Patiala, April 19
The Consortium of the Indian Farmers Associations (CIFA) has stated that the bonus of Rs 50 per quintal on wheat, over and above the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 1,120, is inadequate.

State president CIFA Satnam Singh Behru said anti-farmer policies of the Union Government had not only adversely affected the growth in the agriculture sector in Punjab but was also responsible for making farming a non-remunerative occupation.

Behru said, “On an average, the cost of pesticides, fertilisers, machinery, diesel and labour charges are increased after every three-four months but the MSP is fixed once in a year. Due to this, the input cost in the agriculture sector has increased, whereas the MSP given to the farmers is very less.”

Behru also condemned the stand on the issue of MSP adopted by president Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Amarinder Singh.

“Instead of praising the Centre for giving bonus of Rs 50 per quintal on the MSP of wheat, Amarinder should have supported the farmers of Punjab,” he said.

He said even the SAD-BJP government had not taken up the matter of the hike in the MSP with the Centre. 

Patiala, April 19
With a view to streamline the functioning of the sanitation wing of the Patiala Municipal Corporation, 178 safai sewaks, working under the Mohalla Sanitation Committees on contractual basis, have been regularised. The decision was taken unanimously by the general house of the Patiala MC, yesterday evening.

Patiala Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli said with the regularisation of the services of the safai sewaks, the working of the sanitation wing would improve.

Notably, in 1995, there were 1,500 safai sewaks working under the Municipal Corporation. In 2010, the numbers reduced to 500. “In addition to the 500 safai sewaks of MC, the civic body has now regularised the services of 178 contractual safai sewaks. The process to recruit 200 safai sewaks on a contractual basis in the Mohalla Sanitation Committees has also been initiated. This will take the total strength of the safai sewaks in Patiala to 900,” Kohli said.

The Mayor also said special emphasis would be laid on ensuring cleanliness of all 50 municipal wards of Patiala.

Another important decision taken during the general house was to expand the limits of the city under the MC jurisdiction. A committee, comprising senior deputy mayor and some municipal councillors, has been constituted under the Mayor. The committee will initiate a survey to make a blueprint regarding the expansion of the city limits. Apart from this, another important resolution passed by the general house is regarding the clearance of pending Change of Land Use (CLU) cases.

“All pending CLU cases have been unanimously passed by the MC house. Now, the CLU cases will be sent to the Department of Local Government for the final approval,” Municipal Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang said. 

Ropar, April 19
Despite a ban, heavily loaded trucks with sand and gravel continue to ply over the bridge built across the Bhakra Main Line (BML), near Alowal village.Sarpanch Nasib Singh even wrote to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) requesting that the vehicles be stopped, but to no avail.

The Bhakra Main Line is an extension of the Nangal Hydel Channel. It takes off from Nangal Barrage downstream of Bhakra dam.

Demanding a complete ban on the entry of heavy vehicles on the bridge and into the village, villagers staged a dharna for a week around six months ago.

Owing to the strong yet narrow structure of bridge, the BBMB authorities have installed a board besides the canal notifying that passage of heavy vehicles is banned.

Bridge caters to Alowal, Kharota and Awankot villages. Villagers are dependent on this route to reach Ropar and other nearby areas. The matter has been brought to the notice of the district administration.

Earlier, slabs lining the canal had sipped away from their original positions triggering panic among the villagers.

The incident took place on April 6 after which BML officials lowered the water level for maintenance and repair purposes.

When contacted, BBMB officials said they had taken up the issue with District Administration and the Mining Department. The bridge was constructed in 1954.

However, if we install a pillar barring the entry of trucks, it would also obstruct the school vans and tractors of villagers. We do not want to put villagers at unease due to one issue,” the officials said.

Chandigarh, April 19
The members of the Council of Diploma Engineers today gave a 15-day ultimatum to the SAD-BJP government to fulfill their demands.The ultimatum was given by more than 150 delegates of various boards and corporations on the occasion of Engineers Day.

They are demanding an increase in promotional quota and an enhancement of local travelling allowance.

Chairman of the council Satnam Singh Dhanoa said the state government had failed to accept their long-pending demands.

In 2009, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had promised to accomplish their demands but in vain.

They warned the state government that if their demands were not made within 15 days, it would launch an agitation. 

Chandigarh, April 19
Nearly six months after the then outgoing Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Mukul Mudgal forwarded a list of six advocates for elevation as Judges, it has hit a barricade.

Available information suggests the Supreme Court has cleared for elevation only the name of sessions judge VS Malik, indicating that the list of the advocates recommended for elevation will soon find its way back to the High Court.

It is believed the list will now be placed for review before the High Court collegium headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

Indications are that the transfer of High Court Judges too has been stalled for the time being.

The development is significant as Union Minister for Law and Justice Dr M Veerappa Moily had only recently indicated the elevation list might not be finalised, after all.

At Chandigarh Judicial Academy for attending a consultation on electoral reforms, Moily had minced no words to say the list sent by an outgoing Chief Justice more often than not neither finds favour with the Supreme Court collegium, nor with the law ministry.

Talking to The Tribune at the conference organised with Additional Solicitor-General of India Mohan Jain’s active support, Moily said: “Normally, when the outgoing Chief Justice decides and sends the recommendations, the Apex Court collegium and the law ministry sends it back to the new Chief Justice for his approval”.

The list was sent after the High Court collegium met practically after a gap of nearly three years to clear the names for elevation. It was sent to the governors of Punjab and Haryana, even as the Chief Justice - heading the collegium - was at the fag end of the tenure.

The lawyers whose names were forwarded for elevation are R N Raina, N K Sanghi, Rameshwar Malik, T S Dhindsa, P S Dhaliwal and Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia.

This was not the first time an outgoing Chief Justice recommended names for elevation. Earlier also, the then Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Vijender Kumar Jain, had at the fag end of his tenure recommended for elevation the names of six district and sessions judges. But, the move was strongly opposed by the then Punjab Governor Gen (retd) SF Rodrigues.

Chandigarh, April 19
The practise of accepting advance registration money by builders and land developers from buyers for immovable property without valid licenses and clearances has come under the Punjab and Haryana High Court scanner.

A lawyer, Nav Prakash Joshi, and his wife Sarabjit Kaur, have filed a petition before the High Court challenging JTPL Private Limited’s action of accepting “advance registration money without having valid licenses and clearances”.

Also under challenge is JTPL’s act of “raising fiscal demand towards instalments, without allotment of specific plot in their name and consequently without entering into written agreement of sale with them”.

In their petition, the couple has added “the act of the respondent amounted to pre-launch, which is prohibited as per the “established law”.

The petition, filed against the State of Punjab through it’s chief secretary, Greater Mohali Development Authority chief administrator and another respondents, was taken up for hearing this afternoon and is now slated to come up for arguments on May 20 before Justice Augustine George Masih.

Filed through counsel SR Mehta, the petition adds: “Ironically without allotting any plot, demand for money was raised on account of instalment for the issuance of priority number”.

The petitioners were “further threatened with the levy of interest at the rate of 24 per cent per annum,” which they claimed was thoroughly illegal since the imposition of interest “was neither contractually agreed term at all, nor legally permissible.

Mehta added on December 1, 2005, when applications were accepted, “the company was neither having a license, nor having layout plans approved or any other clearance, but collected the money from general public. Thus, it amounted to pre-launch and cheating with public”.

Mehta has also sought directions to the State of Punjab and GMADA to insert the clause: “The project shall not be advertised/launched and no money will be collected from the general public for allotment of land, plot, flat or any space till the layout plans are cleared by the competent Authority".