Bathinda, April 30
The wheat lifting process in Bathinda today suffered a big jolt when the labourers, called palledars, working in the main yard of the grain market here, went on an indefinite strike.

Suspending work like unloading, cleaning, packing and lifting, the stir choked the yard to its capacity. As per the details, nearly 81,500 quintals of wheat was lying, waiting to be lifted, this evening.

It is learnt that one Tara Singh, who resides just opposite the grain market, along with three unidentified persons, allegedly assaulted one Atma Ram, an employee (labourer) of a commission agent firm, M/s Telu Ram Melu Ram, with a sharp-edged weapon late on Friday evening.

Irked, hundreds of labourers went on strike and suspended work. Demanding the arrest of the accused, the agitators blocked the road leading to the Multania railway overbridge and raised slogans, this morning. After the police and leaders of the Arhtiya association assured them of action, they shifted the dharna to the entrance of the mandi.

The protesters said Tara Singh suspected that Atma Ram hit his kin with a bicycle and injured him. On the basis of mere suspicion, he with the help of his friends, assaulted Atma Ram with deadly weapons, injuring him.

“We are determined that until the accused is jailed, we shall not lift the dharna. We are not concerned about the losses to farmers and Arhtiyas,” they claimed. During the negotiations, it was proposed that the accused would bear the medical expenses incurred on Atma Ram’s treatment and that he would tender an apology in public but a consensus on this was yet to be formed.

Farmers waiting for their crop to be sold and lifted, were annoyed. “We are the worst affected,” rued Naib Singh of Jeewan Singh Wala village. “I had unloaded grains here last evening but the arhtiya could not even get them weighed till now,” he added.

Another farmer, Raj Singh of village Buladhe Wala, who had brought four trolleys of wheat, said, “Fearing theft of the unloaded wheat, we slept in the open and had to bear with mosquitoe bites at night.”

One Lakhvir Singh of Teona village said, “As the yard is choked, I am not getting any space to unload my trolley of wheat.” Chairman, market committee, Bathinda, Gurteg Singh Gikku said, “We are sorting it out at the earliest.”

Mansa, April 30
In a significant development, the involvement of the Punjab Police (PP) personnel in the fake arms racket, that surfaced in the district a few weeks ago, has started coming to light during the investigation.

Though the police authorities are tightlipped and trying to keep a distance from the media persons after the development, information gathered by the TNS revealed that the Mansa police had rounded up four Punjab Police personnel from different places in the state during the past 48 hours.

A senior functionary of the Punjab Police, who did not want to be quoted, said, “Hopefully, we would recover weapons from the police personnel, who are being questioned at the moment.”

The state police authorities had been directly supervising and monitoring the investigation in the case. Nirmal Singh Dhillon, IG, Bathinda Zone, PS Grewal, DIG, Bathinda range and HS Mann, SSP, Mansa, were working round-the-clock to go to the roots of the racket.

The Mansa police busted a fake arms racket a few weeks ago while investigating a criminal case registered against a person, who had the licence to carry his weapon in Punjab territory only and subsequently forged documents to create a false permission to carry his licensed weapon throughout the country.

Information gathered by the TNS revealed that so far, the Mansa police had arrested four accused in the racket, which had spread across the country. Around 150 fake arms, which had been sold to people by the unscrupulous arms dealers in the garb of genuine ones, had been recovered by the police.

Police sources said that the modus operandi of the members of the gang, running the racket, was that they would print the stamps of arms manufacturers of the national and international companies on the fake arms.

After executing the job, the members would arrange invoices from genuine arms dealer to sell the fake arms to people across the country. Some of the policemen were also found to be involved in the racket. A number of arms dealers of Punjab and Haryana, who were allegedly involved in the racket, had gone underground. A factory manufacturing fake arms in Uttar Pradesh was also unearthed by the Mansa police recently.

Bathinda, April 30
Simranjit Singh Mann, President, SAD (Amritsar), today demanded that a CBI probe must be launched into the fake arms racket, busted by Mansa police a few weeks ago, to bring the truth behind it to the surface.

Talking to TNS today over the phone, he claimed that a large number of weapons, which had been recovered by the Mansa police recently from different persons including policemen, were those which were imported from Afghanistan and the Soviet Union decades back to arm the Black Cats of the Punjab Police to fight against the Sikh militants.

“Now, these weapons are being planted on many Sikh youths to implicate them in false criminal cases pertaining to terrorist activities by the Punjab Police,” said Mann, adding that these weapons were never registered with police stations by the officials concerned, who enjoyed unbridled powers.

“These weapons have been found in the possession of serving policemen. The state police authorities have panicked over the fact that the development will bring a bad name to the organisations. Hence, now efforts are being made by them to hush up the case,” alleged Mann.

The former Member of Parliament claimed that during the SAD-BJP government in Punjab from 1997 to 2002, a senior functionary of the Punjab Police ordered the registration of these weapons with the police station concerned but he was transferred within no time after he issued such orders.

Taking advantage of its unlimited power, a section of the policemen started selling these arms and minted money like anything. The policemen also sold these weapons to Kashmir-based militants, he alleged.

“Only a CBI probe can reveal the truth as to how fake arms in such large numbers have surfaced in different parts of country and how the policemen are being found involved in this racket,” claimed Mann.

The lives of people in Punjab was in danger as these weapons could be used for their liquidation, he said, adding that the registration of such arms must be carried out with the police station concerned by the state government immediately.

Bathinda, April 30
In a bid to convey the message for preservation of the degrading environment, the Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM) has released a CD consisting of nine songs in Punjabi.

Umendra Dutt, executive director of the KVM, today said that the idea to prepare the CD was conceived as it was easy to convey any message particularly to the rural folk through music.

The songs by the Malwa Hek Group of Lehra Gaga pertain to the importance of protection of environment, check water pollution and plant more threes. The KVM has been making efforts in this direction and was also resisting the introduction of the genetically modified crops.

Dutt said that 1000 CDs have initially been prepared and each was available for Rs 50.

Moga, April 30
Former finance minister and president of the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) Manpreet Singh Badal along with his confidant Kushaldip Singh Dhillon is learnt to have held a clandestine meeting with a local SAD leader, Nidharak Singh Brar, to ask him to join his new party, at Moga on Friday.

It may be mentioned that last week, Nidharak held a press conference raising his voice against the senior vice-president of the SAD and former minister Jathedar Tota Singh accusing him of running the party affairs in an 'autocratic' manner in the district.

Nidharak was recently elected as director of the cooperative bank and was now eying the managing director’s post claiming he was the most capable candidate for the post. He alleged that Tota Singh wanted to make his son Barjinder Singh Brar alias Makhan Brar the managing director of the bank, which was not fair.

Makhan refuted all the allegations saying that he and his father were surprised to know that Nidharak had held a press conference against them. “I have high regards for Nidharak and there is no confusion at all because it is the senior leadership of the party that would decide the name of the managing director of the bank,” said Makhan, who is presently the president of the Moga Municipal Council.

Since, the speculations were rife in the political circles of the area that Brar may be shown the door from the ruling SAD party for indiscipline, Manpreet visited his residence in Moga to woo him.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s office revealed that the political secretary of the CM Dr Daljit Singh Cheema called Nidharak on phone at the last moment when Manpreet was sitting with him and assured him that all differences in the party at the local-level would be sorted out and that he should not join Manpreet’s party.

Intelligence sources revealed that initially, Nidhark Brar had almost made up his mind to join the PPP but at the last minute, after having a dialogue with Dr Cheema, he changed his stance, seeking a week's time from Manpreet Badal to make up his mind for joining the new party.

Political observers were of the view that if he is not given the post of the managing director in the bank, he would definitely join the PPP because in a situation where he came out openly against Tota Singh, who is also a member of the core committee of the SAD, it may not be easy for him to survive in the ruling party.

On the other hand, local leaders of the SAD claimed that Nidharak has negligible influence in the area and it would not affect the ruling party even if he were to join Manpreet’s party.

Abohar, April 30
Amandeep Kaur, a student of Bhag Singh Hayer College for Girls, located at village Kala Tibba near here, has been selected to participate in the Global Youth Exchange Programme of the NCC.

Lt Col KL Bishnoi, commanding officer of the second Punjab Independent Company of the National Cadets Corps (NCC), informed that the selection was made from amongst hundreds of cadets, who participated in the Republic Day parade at Rajpath, this year. The cadets competed in a written test, firing and drill besides the interview.

The selection entitles Amandeep Kaur to visit one of the countries — Russia, England, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka— for 15 days. The NCC would bear the expenses. Principal Dr Parminder Sharma and NCC in-charge Iqbal said congratulated Amandeep.

Moga, April 30
The Punjab and Sindh Bank, which is the lead bank, has fixed the annual credit plan of the Moga district for the year 2011-12 at Rs 3401 crore proposing a growth of 19 per cent.

Revealing this to The Tribune, Harpal Singh, Zonal Manager and Naranjan Singh Ahluwalia, District Manager, Ranjit Singh Walia, Director of the lead bank, said out of the total outlay of the credit plan, Rs 3162 crore has been fixed under the priority sector and Rs 239 crore under the non-priority sector.

A sum of Rs 2520 crore has been fixed for agriculture (and allied) services, Rs 272 crore for giving loans to the small-scale industries and the rest Rs 370 crore for other priority sectors. “The current year’s growth has been estimated at Rs 510 crore as against the previous financial year,” the lead bank officials said.

They said 40 per cent of the total lending would be maintained for priority sector, 18 per cent for direct finance to agriculture sector and 10 per cent for advances to weaker sections-small/marginal farmers, labourers, artisans, village/cottage industries. The lead bank has also proposed that 40 per cent of the total advances would be reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in all sectors.

Meanwhile, spokesman of the district administration, Nath Singh Buttar said during the current financial year the administration would stress on uplifting those who are living living below the poverty line in the rural areas.

Moga, April 30
Six persons have been booked for allegedly torturing, keeping in wrongful confinement and inflicting injuries on a newly married woman, officials said today.

A case was registered following a statement by the victim, Harjit Kaur, who is in a serious condition at the civil hospital here. Kaur alleged that her husband and his family were harrassing her for dowry. However, no arrest has been made so far. — TNS