B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Silence in Muktsar being seen as lull before storm
Muktsar, December 30
Muktsar, once the hotbed of Punjab politics, is unusually silent this time. The political observers see it as a lull before the storm. Just a month is left for the Assembly elections but this constituency, which has even given a chief minister to the state, Harcharan Singh Brar of Sarainaga family, is yet to catch the poll fever.

CBI arrests MES engineer ‘taking’ bribe
Abohar, December 30
Responding to the complaints lodged by a contractor, a CBI team led by DSP YK Sharma, arrested a commander of the Military Engneering Services (MES) while he was allegedly accepting bribe late last evening .

Martyrs remembered on Balidan Diwas
Sriganganagar, Dec 30
Hundreds of people braved dense fog and chill to pay tributes to Captain Navpal Singh Sidhu on his ninth Balidan Diwas at his memorial, located outside his native village 40 RB, nine kilometers from Padampur on the Raisinghnagar road in Sriganganagar region, today.

New DM of Moga warns officials
Moga, December 30
The newly-posted district magistrate-cum-district election officer of Moga, B Purusharth, has asked the official machinery to ensure strict implementation of the model code of conduct in the district. He has warned of stern action against the erring officials.

Two medicine shops sealed, one held
Abohar, December 30
In an offence pertaining to the suspected sale of prohibited medicines on the eve of the Vidhan Sabha elections, the city police today stormed medicine shops, located on the Civil Hospital road and circular roads here. Both the shops were sealed.

Silence in Muktsar being seen as lull before storm
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, December 30
Muktsar, once the hotbed of Punjab politics, is unusually silent this time. The political observers see it as a lull before the storm. Just a month is left for the Assembly elections but this constituency, which has even given a chief minister to the state, Harcharan Singh Brar of Sarainaga family, is yet to catch the poll fever.

Behind the lack of passion among the parties, is the reason, observers say, that they are all in a piquant situation over the names of their candidates.

Divulging details, they informed that at first, the Sarainaga family is not in as strong a position in the Congress as it used to be in the past. They cited the poor health of the sitting MLA Kanwarjit Brar “Sunny”, who is the son of former CM Harcharan Singh Brar, as the major factor behind the issue. Besides, they termed some family dispute also as a reson for weakening their image.

Secondly, the name of the CWC member Jagmeet Brar's brother Ripjeet Singh, who is the sitting MLA from Kotkapura, is also doing the rounds for contesting the elections from here.

It is learnt that the Sarainaga family and Jagmeet Brar, both have their strong base in this particular area and have always played an important role in state politics.

Meanwhile, speculations are rife that the Sarainaga family may chage turf if denied the Congress ticket. Though none of the family members has ever given a hint towards this, if it happens, it would definitely change the equations in the surrounding constituencies too.

Observing the scenario, the Akali Dal is waiting for the formal announcement of the Congress candidate before announcing its candidate.

The main aspirants for the Akali Dal’s ticket are former MLA Bhai Harnirpal Singh “Kukku”; district president, Youth Akali Dal, Rosy Barkandi, while the SGPC member Sukhdarshan Singh Mrar, who had lost the 2007 polls on a SAD ticket, is again in the queue along with them.

All the likely candidates have been now camping at their respective party’s headquarters as the Congressmen are in Delhi and the Akalis are at Chandigarh.

Meanwhile, the PPP’s front row member, Honey Fattanwala, a relative of Manpreet Singh Badal, is also awaiting the formal announcement of his candidature by the Sanjha Morcha.

CBI arrests MES engineer ‘taking’ bribe
Raj Sadosh

Abohar, December 30
Responding to the complaints lodged by a contractor, a CBI team led by DSP YK Sharma, arrested a commander of the Military Engneering Services (MES) while he was allegedly accepting bribe late last evening .

Another team led by inspector Ranveer Shekhawat conducted a raid to arrest garrison engineer Anudhya Rai at Lalgarh Jatan cantonment. However, the CBI and Army officials there made conflicting claims over his arrest.

As per the information available, contractor Mukhpal Singh of village Patli, located on the Abohar-Sadulshehar road, had alleged in the complaints to the CBI headquarters that the officials concerned were demanding a hefty amount to clear his six-month-old bills worth Rs 75 lakh.

After preliminary investigation, the CBI teams from Jodhpur were directed to reach Sriganganagar. MES Commander RK Bansal, enjoying a status equal to a Major, reportedly informed Mukhpal Singh over the phone asking him to meet him near the Information Collection Centre of the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department at village Kallarkhera on the Sriganganagar-Abohar road as he was leaving by car along with his wife to attend a social gathering at Bathinda.

Bansal reportedly accepted the chemically treated currency worth Rs 50,000 from Mukhpal Singh and handed it over to his wife sitting next to him in the car. The CBI team led by DSP YK Sharma immediately swung into action and recovered the bribe amount.

Bansal and his wife were escorted to the District Police Lines guest-house, located on the same road for further investigation. Later, the CBI teams reportedly recovered cash worth Rs 55 lakh besides silver and gold ornaments from their house. The raids at their Malviya Nagar and Vidya Nagar houses in Jaipur might unearth more documents, sources indicated.

The other team led by inspector Ranveer Shekhawat arrested garrison engineer Anudhya Rai at his Lalgarh cantonment house within minutes as he allegedly accepted Rs 20,000 as bribe money from an associate of the contractor Mukhpal Singh, sources said. Another official escaped the CBI net as cell phones started ringing after the village Kallarkhera and Lalgarh raids, sources informed.

The situation reportedly got tense as the senior Army officials did not allow the CBI team to take garrison engineer Anudhya Rai in its custody since the latter refuted the allegations and asserted that someone had forcibly put cash in the drawer of his table. There were no chemical marks on his hand, he explained.

However, the CBI team said proceedings have been initiated against Rai and they might have to seek orders from the CBI special court to arrest him now.

Notably, the MES had been in the dock for approving poor constructions in the Malwa region also and some of its officials were booked in the past.

Martyrs remembered on Balidan Diwas
Our Correspondent

Family members of martyrs being honoured on Balidan Diwas. A Tribune photograph

Sriganganagar, Dec 30
Hundreds of people braved dense fog and chill to pay tributes to Captain Navpal Singh Sidhu on his ninth Balidan Diwas at his memorial, located outside his native village 40 RB, nine kilometers from Padampur on the Raisinghnagar road in Sriganganagar region, today.

Navpal had sacrificed his life after gunning down three PoK-trained terrorists in Surankote area in the Poonch region of Jammu and Kashmir. The other martyrs remembered on the occasion, included Bhupinder Singh, Chamkaur Singh, Ram Kumar, Pritam Singh, Nayab Singh, Mohinder Singh, Sugan Singh, Pritam Singh, Jasbir Singh, Jarnail Singh, Des Raj and Om Parkash Jyani. The organising committee honoured widows and kin of the Armymen from the region, who had sacrificed their lives near the international border. Kalp Taru Power Transmission executive Hitesh Goyal distributed gifts among their kin.

Brigadier Sarabjit Singh was the first to lay the wreath. Colonels Daljit Singh Dhillon, Jagjit Singh Sandhu, SP Mehlawat and Puneet Deol followed him.

Former MP Nihal Chand, Sriganganagar SP Rupinder Singh, MLA Radheyshyam, district BJP president Mohinder Singh Sodhi also offered floral tributes. They said Navpal, by sacrificing his life at a young age in a complicated ambush, had brought glory to the sacred land of deserts.

Navpal had emerged not only as a source of pride for his family but for the whole region, they observed. Vice-president of the Shaheed Navpal Trust Ghanshyam Harwani conducted the proceedings.

Navpal's father Colonel Agyapal Singh Sidhu, who had retired after leading operations against the Pakistan Army in 1965 and 1971, welcomed the officials and others, who had traversed a long distance to join the Balidan Diwas function.

New DM of Moga warns officials
Kulwinder Sandhu/TNS

Moga, December 30
The newly-posted district magistrate-cum-district election officer of Moga, B Purusharth, has asked the official machinery to ensure strict implementation of the model code of conduct in the district. He has warned of stern action against the erring officials.

Former DM Ashok Singla was transferred by the Election Commission following the reports pertaining to his alleged involvement in political activities of the ruling party.

Talking to The Tribune after assuming his office on Friday, he also appealed to all the political parties and probable candidates to adhere to the poll code, otherwise, action would also be taken against them as per the law.

He said the officials of the administration would keep a strict vigil on all the candidates and the political parties.

Earlier, he held a meeting with the local SSP Inderbir Singh and other officials of the civil administration to review the preparations for the elections.

He also gave instructions to the official machinery and asked them to follow the handbook of guidelines while performing their respective duties related to the smooth conduct of the polls.

He also appealed to the people to get their votes or voter identity cards prepared latest by January 4, if they had been missed in the latest revision of the electoral rolls. “As many as 99 per cent of the voters had got their identity cards made, however, a few voters were left. The administration has extended the time for them,” B. Purusharth said.

Two medicine shops sealed, one held
Our Correspondent

Abohar, December 30
In an offence pertaining to the suspected sale of prohibited medicines on the eve of the Vidhan Sabha elections, the city police today stormed medicine shops, located on the Civil Hospital road and circular roads here. Both the shops were sealed.

City police SHO Amarbir Singh said drug inspector and other officials of the Health Department have been asked to visit the sub-divisional town to check the stocks.

Interestingly, a kin of a senior BJP leader runs one of these medicine shops.

In another case, the police recovered a huge stock of prohibited medicines branded as sedatives during the raid of a house, located opposite a leading medicine seller's residence in Nanak Nagari on the main road.

The owner Gurmeet Singh was arrested. A court remanded him to the judicial custody.