Chandigarh, May 14
A review of the blacklist of Sikh separatists and militants by the Union Home Ministry last month has benefited dreaded organisation Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and Khalistan ideologues the most.

Incidentally, the chiefs of all the four infamous Sikh militant bodies -- Wadhawa Singh Babbar alias Chacha (BKI), Paramjit Singh Panjwar (Khalistan Commando Force), Ranjit Singh alias Neeta of Khalistan Zindabad Force and Lakhbir Singh Rode and Satinder Pal Singh Gill (International Youth Federation) have made it off the list. Key Khalistan ideologues, including octogenarian Ganga Singh Dhillon of Nankana Sahib Foundation, Gurmeet Singh Aulakh and Gian Singh Sandhu, too, fall in this category.

Ganga Singh Dhillon was the guest of honour at the World Sikh Education conference held in Chandigarh in the early 1980s, the time when the struggle for Khalistan had just started.

After removal of their names from the blacklist, they are now legally permitted to visit India (subject to production of valid travel documents), though it will now be the responsibility of Indian missions abroad to process their applications in this connection, a source in the police department. Many of them have cases pending at police stations in Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

Interestingly, their present residences are in some of those countries with which India has extradition treaties signed since the late 1990s. Not many requests for extraditing them were pending with the countries of their present abode. Sources in the police and intelligence agencies were non-committal on the action they would initiate in case they, after clearance of their names from the blacklist, decided to visit India.

Four of them, including Paramjit Singh Panjwar and Wadhawa Singh Babbar, are known to have made Pakistan their new home. But changing global security scenario after the killing of Osama bin Laden may have given them the feeling of insecurity and uncertain future.

Intriguingly, while names of those in Pakistan have been cleared from the blacklist, yet they figure prominently in the list of 50 sent by the Government of India to Pakistan for handover.

Justice John C Major, who headed the Commission of Inquiry in the Kanishka blast case and was recently in Chandigarh, said that in Surrey, British Columbia, Sikh fundamentalists were more active than those in India. And a fairly large number of those whose names had been cleared were settled in and around Surrey.

Some of the Khalistan ideologues have made the US their home while a few BKI activists have chosen Germany and other European nations, including England.

Sources reveal that the Union Home Ministry had been under constant pressure from various Sikh bodies, both from India and overseas, to scrap the list. They had been advocating that those on the list be given the chance for a fair trial. They quote cases of Dr Sohan Singh and Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan, both Khalistan ideologues, and also of Wassan Singh Zaffarwal, who was once one of most dreaded militants. Once they were back in the mainstream, they faced the cases slapped against them and renounced militancy.

Prominent among those cleared 

* Lakhbir Singh Rode, Satinder Pal Singh Gill (International Sikh Youth Federation)

* Paramjit Singh Panjwar (Khalistan Commando Force)

* Jaswinder Parmar, Narinder Singh Parmar, Rajinder Kaur Parmar, Surinder Kaur Parmar (from the family of Talwinder Singh Parmar of BKI)

* Mehal Singh Babbar, Wadhawa Singh Chacha, Jagtar Singh, Daya Singh, Harinder Singh Babbar, Thekedar Jaswant Singh (Babbar Khalsa International)

* Ranjit Singh Neeta (Khalistan Zindabad Force)

* Ripudaman Singh Malik, Inderjit Singh Reyat (stood trial in Kanishka blast case)

Amritsar, May 14
The city police today recovered two pistols, one .12 bore gun, live cartridges, besides 100 gm gold jewellery from Baljinder Singh, alias Deputy, a Babbar Khalsa terrorist who took to looting and was nabbed by the police a couple of days ago.

DCP Amar Singh Chahal said the police would recommend for out-of- turn promotions for Bikramjit Singh and another head constable instrumental in the arrest of the dreaded criminal. Chahal said Baljinder had admitted his involvement in many criminal cases. He took to criminal activities ever since he was absconding and became a drug addict.

The DCP said Baljinder was one of three accused in the killing of Dera Akal head Baba Jagtar Singh, who along with his follower Manjit Singh was shot dead on April 15, 2004. The trio was nabbed by the Tarn Taran police in August 2004.

Baljinder was released on bail in 2007 after which he escaped and had been on run for the past four years.

He said the police had also launched a manhunt for arresting his accomplices, including Raju and Fauji, whose names figured during the interrogation. They were involved in looting, snatching and other criminal cases registered in the recent past.

During this period he fallen prey to drug addiction and remained involved in drug peddling. He also worked as a truck driver and was involved in the murder of a person in Ahmadabad in Gujarat. 

Fazilka, May 14
With the inclusion of local BJP MLA Surjit Jiyani in the Punjab Cabinet almost certain, the question that is being hotly discussed among a large section of residents of this town for the past two days is: Will Jiyani be able to get district status for this town after becoming a minister.

Sushil Gumber, convener, Sanjha Morcha, said that the Punjab government had promised that a decision in connection with the elevation of Fazilka town as a district would be taken by May 25. If no such decision is taken, the morcha would hold a meeting to decided the future course of action.

“Our hopes have gained strength as Jiyani is likely to be made minister tomorrow,” he said, adding that Sanjha Morcha would not settle down till Fazilka gets district status, which had been denied to it by successive state governments.

This cotton-rich town has witnessed a 150-day-long agitation launched under the banner of Sanjha Morcha, an umbrella body of all the organisations of the city, for getting district status.

Even Tikshan Sud, former Forest Minister, Punjab, had announced that the town would get district status by the end of April.

Jiyani, Charan Singh, president, SAD, Fazilka circle, and Mohinder Partap Dhingra, chairman, Improvement Trust, had also observed a fast at the Clock Tower for a few days in January.

Meanwhile, Jiyani, who was a minister from 1997 to 2002 in the previous SAD-BJP government, said that district status for Fazilka was on the cards. He said that a meeting of Sukhbir-Kalia Committee could not take place due to some reason and hence, district status for Fazilka could not be announced.

When asked whether he would launch an agitation if Fazilka was denied district status, he said that there was no need for any agitation as Fazilka was going to get district status under all circumstances.

Chandigarh, May 14
All is not well in Punjab with the two largest national political parties — the Congress and the BJP. While the BJP has already suffered a blow to its image following its leaders being linked to a graft case, now there is a rising discontent among a number of Congress MLAs who have been left out from the list of district presidents and officer-bearers released earlier this week.

A group of young Congress MLAs with a clear image and good track record in taking on the SAD-BJP Government has decided to put their grievance before the party high command irrespective of the consequences. This group has had two rounds of consultative meetings and arrived at a consensus that they should not take the "insult" caused to them lying down.

"We have decided to go to Delhi to meet party president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday and ask them to review the list. Unless this is done, it will prove suicidal for the party, which is otherwise looking hopeful of coming to power in the 2012 general elections," one of these MLAs said. The first meeting of these MLAs was held in Chandigarh on Thursday, where they considered launching an open protest against Party President Captain Amarinder Singh for not being able to protect their interests. But then, the consensus was that this step would damage the party image and not yield any desirable result. They finalised their strategy in a second meeting on Friday and have decided to go to Delhi and knock at the AICC office.

These MLAs would take up the entire issue pertaining to the appointments with the high command. "We feel that a coterie has sabotaged the prospects of rightful people, many young people have been replaced by septuagenarians, we will point all this out." These MLAs say their performance, both inside and outside the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, has been completely "ignored". Captain Amarinder Singh has already made a statement saying that he, too, would approach the high command to review the list as it has not gone well with the Congress leaders and workers.

There is an overall resentment over the list released by Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi on May 10. The list, it is learnt, has some names that were not recommended by the PCC chief or have been included for reasons other than merit.

Congress leaders specifically point out that people who fought the SAD-BJP tooth and nail have been excluded from the list. The exclusions include the names of district presidents like Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who has taken on former minister and SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, Ajitinder Singh Mofar, who has been give a political fight to SAD's senior leader Balwinder Singh, Surinder Pal Sibia (Sangrur), who has been a face of the Congress in Sangrur, Balbir Singh Sidhu (Mohali). It is felt that removing such leaders and replacing them by lesser known faces in a pre-election year will harm the Congress prospects in those districts.

* A group of young Congress MLAs with a "clean" image and good track record in taking on the SAD-BJP govt to put their grievance before the party high command

* Feel that a coterie has sabotaged the prospects of "rightful" people, many young being replaced by septuagenarians

Key among those left out Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Ajitinder Singh Mofar, Surinder Pal Sibia (Sangrur), Balbir Singh Sidhu (Mohali)

Captain Amarinder Singh has already made a statement saying that he, too, would approach the high command to review the list as it has not gone well with the Congress leaders and workers

Moga, May 14
The Animal Husbandry Department of Punjab has imported quality semen of Holstein Friesian Sparky Bulls, having elite pedigree record, from the US to improve the breed of cows in the state for increasing the milk production and raising socio-economic status of the farming community.

Revealing this to The Tribune, Deputy Director of the Animal Husbandry Department Dr PC Mittal said, “The department has fixed a target of 10,000 cows for artificial insemination (AI) in the Moga district during this year.” He said the department has already received 1,000 straws of semen in the district, which have been scientifically preserved under ideal conditions in the veterinary hospitals and clinics.

“We have also decided to organise free fertility and progeny test camps in 33 villages in all the blocks of the district for bringing awareness among the farmers to improve the breeds of their cows and for increasing the milk yield,” he said.

Mittal said, “The government has provided a subsidy of 50 per cent on AI of this semen and it will cost just Rs 100 per injection of semen instead of the earlier rate of Rs 200.” The mother breed of Holstein Friesian cow breed developed with the semen of Sparky Bulls brought up under ideal environment and fed scientifically gives 75 litres of milk per day during the lactation period.

Mittal said, “If a cow giving 25 litres of milk is injected with Sparky Bull’s semen, the calf born out of it will give 50 litres of milk (75-25 = 50), which shows good genetic potential to improve the milk production.”

It may be mentioned that the Punjab Holstein are originally the ‘desi’ cows of the state, inseminated with the semen of Holstein-Friesian bulls for more than a decade leading to high-yielding cross-bred cows. “The Sparky Bulls are among the top breeds of bulls raised by international companies in the US and other developed nations. Their progeny has been carefully recorded over several years, which has shown good results. The calves born of their semen are one of the best animals with good genetic potential,” added Mittal.

Meanwhile, an eminent dairy scientist Dr Dalip K Gosain, who is in charge of the dairy training centre at the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, is of the opinion that such an elite progeny of female calves would show the full genetic potential in the form of milk production once these are reared and cared scientifically.

Patiala, May 14
From jumping as long as 3.25 metres to completing 800 metres in stipulated four minutes, the Punjabi girls are showing keenness to join the police force. And the development holds more significance in view of the fact that most of them are from the state’s hinterland.

Exhibiting courage and determination in leaping off the conventional background, and in several cases against the wishes of their parents, 444 girls had applied for the posts of constables in Punjab Police. The recruitment drive concluded recently in Patiala.

“I have come against the wishes of my parents and brother. They even issued me a warning against my joining the police force,” said Roopinder Kaur from Sanaur village, who is awaiting her graduation result. “I cleared my physical test with ease and I am determined to wear the uniform and then visit my village.”

With minimum qualification being a height of five feet three inches, the girls are required to clear a physical test, in addition to their minimum educational qualification. With a starting salary of over Rs 12,000 along with the “guarantee” of a government job, 275 girls appeared for the two-day recruitment rally, held at Polo Grounds.

During training, the women would have to undergo rigorous sessions to enable themselves become tough and efficient. As they have to take on the criminals, the women constables have to prove their ability in athletics, karate and weapon training. “I feel I can beat the criminals and holding a gun and securing a VIP is no big issue,” says Bhadson village resident Pinki, who stands five feet six inches tall.

Amandeep Kaur, already a constable, said: “I had joined the Punjab Police almost a year back and I am happy being posted in Patiala. The job is challenging, but interesting.”

With the cases of women dharnas, sexual harassment, involvement of the fairer sex in crime and rape incidents on the rise, there has been a constant demand for more women in the police force.

Patiala SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill confirmed that majority of the candidates were from rural Punjab, which depicted the changing attitude of the people towards the Police Department. “With good pay scale and a job at hand, girls would surely outshine others,” he said. 

Ropar, May 14
To foster innovation among industry, academic and government bodies in Punjab, a Prototype Development and Innovation Fund (PDIF) has been generated wherein Punjab Technical University (PTU) officials handed over a cheque to IIT-Ropar.

IIT-Ropar Director Prof MK Surappa accepted the funds from the PTU Vice-Chancellor, Dr Rajneesh Arora.

The first instalment of Rs 55 lakh was given to IIT-Ropar by the board which has a total fund of Rs 2.2 crore.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Arora said that a meeting of the innovation group was held at IIT-Ropar in December 2010.

The innovation group is a major component of the Prototype Development and Innovation Fund that will fund major researches being done in universities and government laboratories.

The entrepreneurship cell at IIT Ropar will host the PDIF office and it will develop necessary forums and procedures needed for disbursement and administration of project funds, said Prof Surappa.

The PDIF board will fund a maximum of 20 projects in the first two years.

Patiala, May 14
As many as 148 contractual nurses were handed over appointment letters by Jai Kishan, Director, Department of Medical Education and Research, at Government Medical College here today.

Chandigarh, May 14
Contract teachers in the self-financing course in a Nabha college have got their salary for April following the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s intervention.

Contractual and part-time lecturers of some government colleges in Punjab had filed writ petitions in March this year against this illegal practice of relieving them.

Justice Permod Kohli had earlier granted “status quo” on about half a dozen such petitions.

Despite one such “status quo” order, a computer science lecturer in Government Ripudaman College at Nabha, Kannu Priya, was relieved by the principal on March 31.

Kannu Priya then filed an application before the High Court seeking appropriate action against the principal. The HC issued a notice to the principal.

The principal has now not only handed over a cheque for April’s salary, but has also assured the court that Kannu Priya shall be allowed to mark her presence in the attendance register till the next date of hearing -August 16.