J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

Another embarRassment
PTU institute to start classes ‘sans’ faculty
Jalandhar, September 1
Even as Punjab Technical University (PTU) has plans to start the first session of specialised M.Tech classes on its own campus on the Kapurthala Road this Monday, it has not yet been able to appoint the faculty for the same.

Death of burns victim sparks protest
Jalandhar, September 1
The death of Sunita, a resident of Khotran village, sparked protests by residents of her parental Lehra village of Garhshankar in Hoshiarpur district today. Almost 150 villagers reached the local Civil Hospital after receiving the news of Sunita’s death due to burn injuries and held a protest calling for action against her in-laws family.

One held for robbery
Jalandhar, September 1
The police today claimed to have solved the Sahdev Market robbery case with the arrest of a person. The police, however, is hunting for five of his aides involved in the robbery. SHO, New Baradari, Onkar Singh, said Naresh Gupta, a resident of Makhdumpura, was nabbed on a tip off.

The pilgrim’s progress: A child displays gatka skills during a nagar kirtan taken out to mark the 407th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib in Amritsar on Thursday. Photo: Vishal Kumar

Profits dip for vendors, thanks to pre-cooked food
Jalandhar, September 1
The sale of various food items, including tea, pooris and pakoras, has declined at Jalandhar City and Cantonment railway stations as cooking has been banned from today on the platforms reportedly to avoid any incident of fire.

Passport sewa kendras for Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur
Phagwara, September 1
Passport Sewa Kenderas, one each in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, would be opened in the first week of October. Passport Officer, Jalandhar, Parneet Singh, told mediapersons at a function at the Blood Bank here on Tuesday.

‘Cancel case against Congress leader’
Hoshiarpur, September 1
In a press conference, local leaders of various political parties, including Joginder Singh, Balwant Singh Khera, Om Singh and Dharam Pal, condemned SAD-BJP leaders for implicating former member of the Zila Parishad and veteran Congress leader Ajaib Singh in a false case registered at the Hariana police station on August 4 on the complaint of Sharanjit Kaur of Sataur village.

Property dispute leads to firing
Hoshiarpur, September 1
A property dispute among various persons led to firing at Mohalla Sukhiabad here in the wee hours today. According to SP (Operation) Sukhwinder Singh, soon after the incident, the police swung into action and arrested Jatinder Walia, Surinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Balwinder Singh, Gurjit Singh.

2 booked for snatching Rs 1 lakh
Hoshiarpur, September 1
The Tanda police has booked Balbir Singh, son of Makhan Singh of Jora, and Navdeep Singh, son of Binder Singh of Nangal Farid Garhi, under Sections 341, 382, 323, 506 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act last night on the complaint of Ravinder Singh, son of Lal Singh of the same village.

Another embarRassment
PTU institute to start classes ‘sans’ faculty
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 1
Even as Punjab Technical University (PTU) has plans to start the first session of specialised M.Tech classes on its own campus on the Kapurthala Road this Monday, it has not yet been able to appoint the faculty for the same.

While the university has already selected two assistant professors and two associate professors for each of the specialised courses in computer science, mechanical and electronics engineering in the varsity’s Punjab Institute of Technology (PIT), it has not been able to issue appointment letters to them owing to the implementation of the code of conduct due to the SGPC polls.

For the same reason, the university has decided to depute faculty from the adjoining affiliated colleges so that it is able to manage the show for the first two weeks. The Dean, Academics, PTU, Dr Buta Singh, who is discharging his duty as the officiating Director, confirmed the development.

He said the institute had managed to get a full intake of 25 seats for M.Tech courses in computer science engineering with specialisation in networking system. Ten seats have been filled for M.Tech in electronics and communication engineering with specialisation in wireless communication. Not even a single seat has been filled for M.Tech in mechanical engineering with specialisation in thermal engineering, which has been scrapped for this session, the Dean added.

Of the total students, nearly 21 are GATE-qualified, while the rest are first division B.Tech passouts taken in a counselling round last week. Since semester system will be followed for the course, conducting another admission round in January is also being contemplated, Dr Buta Singh added.

Among the admitted candidates, there are just six girl students enrolled for the first session. The university is still reviewing as to whether the students be adjusted in accommodation on the campus or in a private PG in Jalandhar with the facility of a university bus for transportation purposes.

In a another embarrassment, the university has put off its decision to start the PTU School of Management Studies this year. The school has failed to get any response since it had planned to take only CAT-qualified students or those with minimum 60 per cent result in graduation.

Death of burns victim sparks protest
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 1
The death of Sunita, a resident of Khotran village, sparked protests by residents of her parental Lehra village of Garhshankar in Hoshiarpur district today. Almost 150 villagers reached the local Civil Hospital after receiving the news of Sunita’s death due to burn injuries and held a protest calling for action against her in-laws family.

Irate villagers alleged that Sunita was murdered by her in-laws’ family. They alleged that the accused allegedly burnt her body afterwards. The accused had been harassing Sunita for dowry.

Members of the in-laws family of the deceased, however, left the hospital to avoid a confrontation with the irate villagers.

Sunita, who was admitted to the local Civil Hospital with 80 per cent burns Wednesday afternoon, succumbed to her injuries in wee hours of Thursday.

Sunita had sustained burns when the stove she was cooking food on burst. Her brother-in-law Paramjit Singh also got injured while trying to save her. Her mother Beant Kaur and father Harbash Singh, who had been to the local Civil Hospital along with the villagers to taken the body, were inconsolable.

The victim’s younger brother Manjit Singh said Sunita was married to Santokh Lal of Khotran village a year-and-a-half ago. Her in-laws were allegedly harassing her for dowry, he added. The harassment increased after her husband left for Dubai six months back, he added. The protestors also questioned Sunita’s statement which was recorded by a magistrate before her death.

Surinder Pal, a relative of the deceased said, “Sunita’s tongue was missing. This clearly shows that she was murdered and then her body was set afire. How could she give any statement if her tongue was missing,” he pointed out.

One held for robbery
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 1
The police today claimed to have solved the Sahdev Market robbery case with the arrest of a person. The police, however, is hunting for five of his aides involved in the robbery. SHO, New Baradari, Onkar Singh, said Naresh Gupta, a resident of Makhdumpura, was nabbed on a tip off.

Gupta admitted to have robbed a Sehdev Marker trader Sanjiv Aggarwal of Rs 5,000 at gun-point on the night of August 26, according to the police. The police had booked him under Section 392, 336, 34 of the IPC and the Arms Act on the basis of a compliant lodged by Aggarwal.

The SHO claimed that during interrogation Naresh Gupta admitted that he and his accomplices-Harpreet Singh, a resident of Jandiala, Monu of Kapurthala, Semual of Nakodar, Sonu Pehalwan and Sandeep had committed the robbery.

Police teams have been sent to raid the suspected hideouts of the co-accused, the SHO added.

It may be recalled that four armed robbers had snatched a bag containing Rs 5,000 from Sanjiv Aggarwal on the night of August 26. The robbers also fired gun shots on the ground before fleeing. Aggarwal, in a complaint lodged with the police had named Amit Verma and Deepak Verma for having hired men to allegedly kill him.

Profits dip for vendors, thanks to pre-cooked food
Sale of fresh food and snacks banned at railway stations
Dharmendra Joshi
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 1
The sale of various food items, including tea, pooris and pakoras, has declined at Jalandhar City and Cantonment railway stations as cooking has been banned from today on the platforms reportedly to avoid any incident of fire.

A salesman at platform number one of the city railway station, Kewal Kumar, said: “I used to sell at least 100 cups of tea daily but I have sold just 10 cups of tea till the afternoon as the passengers like fresh tea instead of pre-prepared tea.”

Kewal Kumar, who is working as salesman since 1992, further said the Station Superintendent RK Behl had called him on Wednesday and asked him, other salesmen, vendors and catering contractors to switch over to pre-cooked food and snacks, which should be stored in hot cases as cooking food items at the platforms will be banned from September 1. As per the directions from the senior rail officials, no vendor will be allowed to use cooking mediums like LPG cylinders, cooking stoves or coal furnaces at railway platforms.”

Similarly, another salesman at platform number two of the city railway station, Sanjay Kumar, said: “I brought the tea in a big steel kettle after preparing it at home. I can sell only 50 cups of tea, while I used to sell at least 200 cups of tea daily. That too, most of the passengers left the tea after just taking a couple of sips as they find it less tasty as compared to fresh tea.”

Sanjay Kumar said “The representatives of Co-operative Vendors and Salesmen Society, Jalandhar city railway station will meet Senior Divisional Officers at the Ferozepur division to request them to ask the railway officials at Delhi to reconsider their decision of banning cooking at the platforms.”

A railway passenger, Sagar Bhardwaj, said “I used to take fresh pakoras and tea most of the time while waiting for the train. Now I will avoid taking them as they are not so tasty.”

Passport sewa kendras for Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur

Phagwara, September 1
Passport Sewa Kenderas, one each in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, would be opened in the first week of October. Passport Officer, Jalandhar, Parneet Singh, told mediapersons at a function at the Blood Bank here on Tuesday.

These Sewa Kenderas would be operated by Tata-Consultancy Service and will accept online applications also. He said, the renewal of any passport would be completed within three days instead of the present 10 to 15 days’ time. He said the number of pending cases could be brought down and workload on the main passport office at Jalandhar could be reduced with the opening of these Sewa Kenderas.

Earlier, he distributed dentures to several patients examined at a dental check up camp. Industrialist Ashok Sethi and former Nagar Council president Malkiat Singh Ragbotra also addressed the function. — OC

‘Cancel case against Congress leader’
Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, September 1
In a press conference, local leaders of various political parties, including Joginder Singh, Balwant Singh Khera, Om Singh and Dharam Pal, condemned SAD-BJP leaders for implicating former member of the Zila Parishad and veteran Congress leader Ajaib Singh in a false case registered at the Hariana police station on August 4 on the complaint of Sharanjit Kaur of Sataur village.

Sharanjit Kaur alleged that on August 4 Ajaib Singh came to her house at about 11.30 am and attempted to molest her.

They pointed out that Ajaib Singh was 84-year-old and having a good reputation in the area. They had also met the SSP and demanded the cancellation of the FIR against Ajaib Singh. If the FIR was not quashed they would meet Punjab Governor, they warned.

Property dispute leads to firing

Hoshiarpur, September 1
A property dispute among various persons led to firing at Mohalla Sukhiabad here in the wee hours today. According to SP (Operation) Sukhwinder Singh, soon after the incident, the police swung into action and arrested Jatinder Walia, Surinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Balwinder Singh, Gurjit Singh, Natish Kaushal, Sandip Kumar and Suresh Sharma, all of Phagwara, Surjit Singh, Mohinder Singh, alias Raj, of Phillaur under Sections 447, 511, 148, 149, 336 and 452 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.

Four of their accomplices, identified as Shera, Titu, Neeta and Sukha, escaped with their vehicles and firearms. He said there was a land dispute among Gurniderjit Singh, son of Narjan Singh of Ajowal, Mohinder Singh, alias Shera, son of Inder Singh, Tarsem Singh, son of Sher Singh, and Kuldip Kaur, wife of Surjit Kaur, case for which was pending in the court. — OC

2 booked for snatching Rs 1 lakh
Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, September 1
The Tanda police has booked Balbir Singh, son of Makhan Singh of Jora, and Navdeep Singh, son of Binder Singh of Nangal Farid Garhi, under Sections 341, 382, 323, 506 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act last night on the complaint of Ravinder Singh, son of Lal Singh of the same village.

According to police sources, Ravinder Singh stated that after withdrawing Rs 1 lakh from a bank at Chalang village, he was going on his motorcycle to his village Jora.

On the way, Balbir Singh and Navdeep Singh, brandishing a rifle, signalled him to stop him. As soon as he stopped the vehicle, they assaulted him on his head with the butt of the rifle, due to which he got a head injury. After snatching Rs 1 lakh from him they fled.