Sarna seeks mercy for Bhullar, writes to Sonia Gandhi
Chandigarh, May 28
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Paramjit Singh Sarna has sought the intervention of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for getting a reprieve for Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar.

Amritsar, May 28
In her very first set of official decisions after taking the charge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee has granted Punjabi (Gurmukhi) the status of second language in the state.

West Bengal Tourism Minister Rachpal Singh, who hails from Punjab, revealed this after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple here today. According to him, with this decision those appearing in competitive exams in West Bengal can also opt for Punjabi as a medium of examination.

The minister said they are preparing a list of historic gurdwaras in West Bengal, most of which are associated with Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Teg Bahadur, and will soon start working on their renovation. “We will also ensure that they are brought into the tourism circuit of West Bengal,” he averred.

On the recent development vis-à-vis visit of Sikh jathas to Bangladesh gurdwaras, he said they will facilitate the devotees in every way possible, including lodging and boarding in West Bengal, while being en route to Bangladesh.

A former IPS officer, Rachpal Singh said his priority was to showcase West Bengal’s tourism, which offers a wide variety ranging from wildlife to religious tourism. He said Bengal has key tourist destinations in the form of Darjeeling, Sunderbans, Plassey, Murshidabad, Terracota temples of Bishnupur and Shanti Niketan. He said the TMC government will make all the efforts to get world heritage site status for Darjeeling, which had faced utter neglect during the previous Left regime. He said the biggest challenge before him would be to make tourism viable for lower middle income groups.

Earlier, Rachpal Singh visited Sri Harmandar Sahib and offered “rumala sahib” on behalf of the new West Bengal CM, besides himself paying his reverence at the shrine.

Mamata had on Thursday announced that Bengal will now have six “second official” languages. English and Bengali are the two official languages of the state. Urdu, Gurmukhi, Nepali, Ol-Chiki, Oriya and Hindi have been added to this list. Out of its total population of nine crore, Bengal has 4 lakh Punjabis.

Ludhiana, May 28
Soon after taking over as the Health Minister, Satpal Gosain's phone has not stopped ringing, who is getting calls from all over the state urging him to check drug menace.

With the details of dens of drug peddlers and also the chemists, who sell the drugs as over-the-counter medicines, the callers have been asking him to take action so that the menace is checked once and for all.

‘‘I have got thousands of calls from five districts, including Amritsar, Patiala, Ludhiana, Sangrur and Barnala, and from the number of calls it is clear these districts were under the grip of drug mafia,’’ Gosain said here today. He said it was a known fact that the state youth was hooked to drugs. “But the way people called me up after I took over, it was really saddening. I am shocked that the chemists were responsible for selling the intoxicants to the youth but nobody was able to do anything about it.’’

The Health Minister said he would soon crack a whip on all these people who were involved in the drug mafia. ‘‘I have a long list of the drug trade that is going on. Though I have got sick of my phone that seems to be ringing forever, it has been an eye opener. I know who all are involved,’’ he said.

“I am not going to spare anybody. They cannot get away with it any more. This is a warning to all those involved. I won’t let anybody ruin the future of my state. Soon they all will be behind bars,’’ he warned.

Chandigarh, May 28
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Paramjit Singh Sarna has sought the intervention of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for getting a reprieve for Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar.

In a letter to Sonia Gandhi, Sarna said commuting Bhullar's death sentence in the September 1993 bombing of the Indian Youth Congress office case would be a "gesture of goodwill to the entire Sikh community. This can be one more act of forgiveness by which all the sides can forget and forgive the unfortunate chapter of militancy in Punjab".

Notably, it was Sarna who on the eve of last General Election in the country had led a delegation of Delhi Sikhs to the UPA chairperson with four demands, including mercy to Bhullar.

"The delay of more than eight years in disposal of mercy petition of Bhullar by both the NDA and the UPA government has in all probabilities rendered the death sentence unconstitutional. "Mercy to him even now will mean much more to millions of Sikhs than it is granted by the Supreme Court," said Sarna.

Notably, the DSGMC wants that review should take place before the review petition of Bhullar comes up for legal adjudication by the Supreme Court. 

Chandigarh, May 28
The Punjab Youth Congress was formally dissolved today with immediate effect ahead of its election process which will get completed by November.

This was done during the launch of its membership drive by Jitendra Singh MP, Secretary, AICC, and in charge, Indian Youth Congress, and Rajiv Satav, President, Indian Youth Congress, in Chandigarh today in the presence of Ravnit Singh Bittu, MP and President, Punjab Youth Congress.

Addressing the gathering of Youth Congress workers, Jitendra Singh said that the Youth Congress would participate in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Punjab.

He said that the party expected that the youth of Punjab would participate in the membership drive in a big way.

The Foundation of Advanced Management of Elections, a premier organisation which will be overseeing the election process in Punjab, has already deputed more than 200 workers from across the country for the exercise.

Speaking at the function, Indian Youth Congress President Rajiv Satav said that the membership drive would till June 24. A major change has been introduced this time, he said. “We have introduced committees at the booth level so that workers at the booth level get proper representation. Earlier, it was only at the zila and block level,” Satav said. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, requested Rahul Gandhi to tour Punjab to oversee the condition of farmers and the number of suicides they commit due to the negligence of the state government.

Congress leader Lal Singh also spoke on the occasion. 

Kiratpur Sahib, May 28
People visiting Gurdwara Sri Patalpuri Sahib to immerse the ashes of their relatives have been facing inconvenience due to less water in the Sutlej here.

Notably, Patalpuri Sahib is as significant for the Sikhs as Haridwar is for the Hindus. Not only people from the Sikh community, but also those from the Hindu families in Nalagarh, Bilaspur and adjoining parts of Himachal Pradesh perform the ritual of immersing ashes here. According to information, only 100 cusecs of water has been earmarked for Patalpuri for the last several years. The amount of water was enough when the population was sparse. But as a large number of people visit the gurdwara nowadays, the scarcity of water has become as issue of concern.

When immersed in shallow water, ashes get heaped up and are not carried further. In order to deal with the situation, the gurdwara management has deployed three class-IV employees who dismantle heaps using agriculture implements or hand tools and throw them in deep waters.

Gurdwara manager Jawahar Singh said: "We have been demanding release of at least 600 cusecs of water and even written to the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). Due to shallow water, people are forced to take a boat to reach deep waters for immersing ashes."

Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon as well as BBMB Director (Water Regulation) MK Gupta confirmed receiving this written communiqué from the gurdwara.

Sekhon said the problem of less water was due to uneven seabed. "Before entering along the boundary wall of the gurdwara, water has to overcome a mound of earth, which does not allow enough water to cross. We have now decided to acquire land that belongs to a farmer and all formalities would be completed soon," he said. Meanwhile, on Friday, it has been learnt that, a total 700 cusecs of water was released into the river following a "verbal request" from Punjab Irrigation Department officials for the immersion of Surinder Kaur Badal's ashes.

About the increased water discharge into the Sutlej on Friday, Sekhon said the BBMB had been releasing more water this year to accommodate the high level in Bhakra dam. "If needed, we will talk to the BBMB for giving us more water for Patalpuri Sahib from our share," he added.

Gupta said he was "unaware of any such request and that the authorities at Nangal were the in charge to release water. Nangal authorities, on anonymity, confirmed that extra water was released following a "verbal request" from the Irrigation Department, Punjab.

Amritsar, May 28
The Khalsa College Management Committee today issued show-cause notices to 41 protesting teachers asking that why ‘appropriate punishment not be inflicted upon them for the act of misconduct’.

On May 20, the management had sought an explanation from these teachers who were participating in the ongoing hunger chain strike being observed to protest the proposed conversion of the institute into a private university.

The management claimed the staff participated in the dharna after availing casual leaves citing some “urgent/personal” work. The management had termed their conduct as “violation of the relevant conduct rules, besides being an anti-establishment activity,” the notices, signed by the principals of three Khalsa Society-run institutions, read. 

Jalandhar, May 28
A 22-member team, including senior professors and some students, from the University of Utah (US) would land in Bassi Pathana next week to start work on the Collaborative Community Development Project (CCDP) in the adjoining nine villages on June 2.

The focus of the project would be all round development of the villages and to deal with issues related to health, sanitation, drugs and socio-economic development.

The university has signed a MoU with Mehar Baba Charitable Trust, Bassi Pathana, which has been working in the area to address issues related to health. Besides, the School of Public Health at the PGI, Chandigarh, would be an active participant in the project.

Former Health Services director of Punjab, Dr Puran Singh Jassi, who is coordinating with the team, said that the development model adopted in case of the nine villages was based on another project implemented by the university in Ghana, Peru, Armenia and China.

The university would also arrange donors for the project. Mehar Baba Trust, founded by Prof Hardarshan Singh Mejie, would also provide financial help and structural support to the project. In fact, it is because of Prof Mejie and his son Hasan Mejie, a big name in construction world in Middle East, that the university has taken up the project in the rural area. “In case this project remains successful, it would be extended to other parts of the state,” said Prof Mejie.

The team, some members of which have visited the targeted villages twice earlier in 2009 and 2010, would work in the selected villages for about four weeks. Besides field work, it would hold seminars, interact with community leaders and put the action plan in operation to start the project.

Prof Mejie, who also runs a hockey academy at Bassi Pathana, said issues identified for the project include open sewer and inadequate toilets, contaminated drinking water, poor quality food for children, vector control, maternal and child health and gender equality.

Patiala, May 28
Defence counsel Satnam Singh Kler today resumed the cross-examination of Kamaljit Singh, main witness in the murder case of Harpreet Kaur, daughter of former SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur, at the Court of Special Judge (CBI cases) here.

Giving details about the court proceedings, Kler said today’s questioning mainly pertained to the issue of the alleged pressure of the accused on Kamaljit.

Kler said he asked Kamaljit that if he was really under mental pressure from the accused to change his statements in the court, whether or not he wrote to CBI director and moved any application in this regard in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. “Kamaljit’s reply was no,” he said.

After today’s proceedings, now the next date of hearing in the case has been fixed for June 4. Apart from the main accused in the case, Bibi Jagir Kaur, other accused Paramjit Singh Raipur, Sanjeev Kumar, Harminder Singh and Satya were present during the court proceedings whereas co-accused Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi and Nishan Singh had got exemption from personal appearance.

Mohali, May 28
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Capt Amarinder Singh today said the decision regarding the distribution of ticket during the next Vidhan Sabha election would be taken by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Amarinder said the issue of certain state Congress leaders being upset over the constitution of the PPCC had also been brought to her knowledge. He was talking to mediapersons after appearing in the court here in connection with the Amritsar Improvement Trust case registered by the Vigilance Bureau against him. Meanwhile, the next date of hearing has been fixed for June 30. 

Abohar, May 28
The police achieved a major success in its drive against anti-national elements when one of its teams arrested one smuggler and seized 6.3 kg of heroin worth Rs 32 crore in the international market from him today.

Police sources said that the heroin, which was in six packets bearing stamps in Urdu, was found in the bag that the nabbed smuggler Sukhwinder Singh alias Pappu was carrying.

The two accomplices of Sukhwinder, identified as Sarwan Singh alias Sama and Balwinder Singh alias Bhinda, managed to escape the police net. Sukhwinder said that heroin was brought from near Hindumalkot town of Rajasthan on the Indo-Pak border.

All three suspects are residents of different villages situated close to the Indo-Pak border under Khalra police station in Tarn Taran district.

The trio has also been involved in different types of crimes, including smuggling, for the past many years and a number of cases have been registered against them in different police stations in the past six years.

Sukhwinder said that he, along with Sarwan and Balwinder, had gone to the Hindumalkot area yesterday morning.

Nirmal Singh Dhillon, IG, Bathinda zone, told mediapersons that the trio, riding a motorcycle without registration number, was intercepted at a check post near Danewala Chowk by a police party led by Darshan Singh.

On seeing the police naka, the miscreants stopped the motorcycle and fled into the nearby fields from where Sukhwinder was nabbed. A case has been registered.

Patiala, May 28
Henchmen allegedly belonging to a liquor cartel operating in Patiala assaulted a rival liquor “smuggler” and rammed their vehicle into his car after they caught him trying to smuggle alcohol yesterday.

But in a strange move, the police has registered a case against the smuggler and hasn’t booked anyone who assaulted him. According to police records, an FIR has been registered at Kotwali police station against Ashu Gautam for negligent driving after his Indica car hit a Bolero. Another case has been registered by the Excise Department against Ashu for allegedly smuggling 40 boxes of liquor.

“I was beaten by a dozen armed men on Friday night after they stopped my car by hitting their vehicle directly into my car. Later, they attacked me and neither excise officials nor the police came to my rescue,” Ashu, who was admitted to a hospital, said.