The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

No end in sight to miseries at Amritsar’s ‘locality of widows’
Amritsar, February 20
Children at a street in Maqboolpura, the locality where a woman, Mohinder Kaur, lost all her seven sons to drug addiction. Still, the government is making no efforts to cut the supply line of drugs, set up a de-addiction centre and provide job avenues. It is known as the "locality of widows" for the last over a decade as almost every household there has lost one or more of its male members to drug addiction. But, it seems that the successive state governments have neither seen the plight of these widows nor heard the cries of their children.

Children at a street in Maqboolpura, the locality where a woman, Mohinder Kaur, lost all her seven sons to drug addiction. Still, the government is making no efforts to cut the supply line of drugs, set up a de-addiction centre and provide job avenues. Photo: Vishal Kumar

COMMUNITY

Industry in for respite as power scenario improves
Patiala, February 20
In what has come as a relief to the industrial sector, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited has decided to do away with the weekly offs imposed on the state industry. The domestic sector too would not experience cuts, else for those due to maintenance work, a PSPCL said.

Jalandhar man has rare coins in his possession
Jalandhar, February 20
The East India Company tried to appease Indians by minting copper coins with Hindu gods and goddesses to firmly establish itself in India. Some of these coins, minted at Ratlam between 1717 and 1818, are the prized possession of historian Ram Parkash.

Ram Parkash shows rare coins, Egyptian President Jamal Abdel Nasser’s gas lighter and a rare pocket watch. Photo by writer

UK institutes shut shop, hundreds left in lurch
Hoshiarpur, February 20
More than 20,000 Punjabi students, who had joined the sham institutes and universities, have been running from pillar to post to find a foothold in London and other UK cities and are being forced to do menial jobs in homes to somehow sustain themselves.

Sehajdharis say SGPC misreading SC order
Chandigarh, February 20
The Sehajdhari Sikh Party has accused the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee of misinterpreting the order of the Supreme Court.

DSGMC receives old ‘bir’
Amritsar, February 20
The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has received a very old 'bir' of Guru Granth Sahib, which some persons were trying to sell at a whopping Rs 20 crore. The DSGMC has kept the 'bir' as per Sikh tenets at Gurdwara Sri Rakabganj Sahib in New Delhi.

Malwa women prone to breast cancer: Study
Moga, February 20
Women in the Malwa belt of Punjab are facing the threat of breast cancer, if one goes by the reports compiled by Roko Cancer, a UK-based organisation. It has been conducting free mammography tests in collaboration with several NRIs and the state Health Department in the state.

Garshankar elderly couple murder case
Probe indicates involvement of ‘close aquaintances’
Hoshiarpur, February 20
The five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to track the sensational and blind murder case of an elderly couple at Garshankar is working hard to crack the case. Circumstancial evidence and the preliminary investigation into the case have pointed towards the involvement of some “well known person” of the family.

Govt doctor faces heat for pvt practice
Patiala, February 20
A government doctor working at Rajpura was allegedly caught red-handed while performing a surgery at a private hospital here during his duty hours by Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr Virinder Singh Mohi yesterday.

Ex-DGP awaits release of books on police
Chandigarh, February 20
While his younger brother Paramdeep Singh Gill is waiting for March 6 results of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections, Rajdeep Singh Gill, however, awaits release of his three books on the gallant men and officers of the Punjab Police, which the two brothers had commanded.

city scan

CRIME

3 held with fake currency worth Rs 2 lakh
Patiala, February 20
Police officers show fake currency notes seized in Patiala. The police has arrested three persons with fake currency worth Rs 2 lakh here yesterday. Initial probe suggests that the currency was brought to India through Pakistan and was almost identical to original Indian currency with minor differences not visible to naked eye.

Police officers show fake currency notes seized in Patiala. A Tribune photo

Man held with stolen jeep
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 20
The police has arrested a person involved in lifting and selling vehicles after preparing fake documents. The police recovered a Balero jeep, a laptop, two printers from his possession.

Wheat rotting in the open
Archit Watts/TNS

Muktsar, February 20
Even as the country is grappling with the problem of food grain shortage, tonnes of wheat stored in the open is rotting in the Chief Minister’s home district, Muktsar. Due to poor upkeep and lack of storage facilities, wheat procured by Markfed in 2010 is getting infested. While the extent of the damage is not known yet, an exercise is on by the wheat procuring agency to assess the loss.

Around 1,65,000 bags of wheat were stored by Markfed at a private plinth on the Muktsar-Maur road. A large number of wheat bags lying on wooden crates there are rotting. While many bags are being eaten up by insects, others have been infested with fungus. A number of empty bags are also lying there. One can also find rats feasting on the wheat stock.

A worker said some time back rainwater seeped into wheat bags because these were not covered with plastic sheets which might have caused the damage.

Kamal Nain, District Manager, Markfed, said there was nothing new in the wheat lying in the open getting damaged. “We had taken all the precautionary measures while storing the wheat stock. The bags were stored at some height from the ground level, still it has rotten. Nevertheless, an action will be taken against those who failed to perform their duties diligently,” said Kamal Nain.

Sources said the authorities had even tried to sell the rotten wheat, but it could not do so due to failed negotiations over the price. However, Nain said not even a single rotten grain would be sold as it was illegal and would affect the health of consumers.

Main accused in school shootout case held
PK Jaiswar
Tribune News Service

SPS Parmar, SSP, shows the weapon seized from the accused. Photo: Vishal Kumar

Amritsar, February 20
In a major breakthrough, the Amritsar rural police has nabbed Navdeep Singh, a plus one student and prime accused in the shootout incident at Government Senior Secondary School, Bhangali Kalan village, on February 16.

The illegal firearm used in the shooting was manufactured by a local gas welder, Harjit Singh, who is a member of a gang involved in the trade of illegal arms. Navdeep is also a member of the gang and used to supply arms to customers. Harjit has also been arrested by the police in the case.

Earlier, the police was suspecting that Navdeep might have procured a country-made pistol smuggled from Uttar Pradesh or Rajasthan.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang used to manufacture pistols and sell these to robbers and other anti-social elements active in the district and its adjoining areas.

Following the arrest of Navdeep, the police zeroed in on Harjit Singh, a resident of Jijyeani village, who used to work as a gas welder at Thariyewal village, located near Bhangali Kalan village. A gang of robbers used to provide raw material to Harjit for manufacturing pistols.

"It is yet to find out that from where Harjit had learned to make pistols. Harjit had made four such pistols, one of which has been seized from Navdeep while the remaining were sold by him to the gang," said DSP Gursewak Singh.

Navdeep and his associates involved in the crime were the gang's "new recruits". "A search has been launched to nab the robbers and others involved in the illegal manufacturing of firearms," said SPS Parmar, district police chief.

Four students of the school were injured in the shooting incident. The police has booked four students, including Navdeep, on the statement of the victim. Raids were being conducted to arrest the remaining students, said the SSP.

No end in sight to miseries at Amritsar’s ‘locality of widows’
Perneet Singh
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 20
It is known as the "locality of widows" for the last over a decade as almost every household there has lost one or more of its male members to drug addiction. But, it seems that the successive state governments have neither seen the plight of these widows nor heard the cries of their children.

The narrow and dusty bylanes of Maqboolpura locality continue to narrate the sorry tale of its men falling prey to drug addiction, their widows working as domestic helps to eke out their living and their children grappling to have two square meals a day.

The Tribune had first highlighted the travails of Maqboolpura residents in its columns way back in 1999. It brought to the scene good Samaritans like social activists Brij Bedi and Master Ajit Singh, who set up Citizens Forum Vidya Mandir to educate their children and other philanthropists to do their bit in any way and every way possible to usher in a change in the lives of Maqboolpura residents.

However, the successive regimes felt their job was done by providing ration cards and old age pensions to its residents. The real help — efforts to curb supply of drugs, opening a de-addiction centre and facilitating job avenues to unemployed — has not come their way even after 13 years of the outside world getting acquainted with their plight.

The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that Mohinder Kaur, a widow, lost all her seven sons to drugs, while another widow, Mai Namho, has seen six of her seven sons die of the menace. Her seventh son is also treading the path taken by his brothers.

When The Tribune team visited the locality today, it saw despair writ large on the faces of women in Maqboolpura, though there is also a glimmer of hope deep inside them as they see their children getting education in the school set up by Bedi and Master Ajit.

Septuagenarian Surinder Kaur says, "While my daughter-in-law died, my drug addict son Raju left the home never to return, leaving his three kids behind. Similarly, my son-in-law Ranjit fell prey to drug menace and deserted my daughter who too has three kids. Now, I along with my daughter work as domestic help to earn livelihood for our six children."

Another resident, Reeta, says her husband Manjit Singh is a drug addict. "He earns nothing and doesn't even allow me to work. I along with my three kids am at the mercy of my in-laws." Her six-year-old daughter is bedridden right since the childhood due to an unknown disease, but she doesn't have money to get her treated.

Raj Kaur, another widow, suffers from heart ailment and cervical problem, but has no option but to do menial jobs to earn bread and butter for her two children.

Sukhwinder Kaur, a mother of two daughters, says her husband is a rickshaw-puller, but gets home little money as he spends most of what he earns on his daily dose of liquor. She too can't earn much as her health doesn't allow her to work.

As far as the government efforts go, it has provided them ration cards, which facilitate 20 to 25 kg wheat at Rs 4 a kg and five litres of kerosene at Rs 15 a litre to each family every month. It has recently made a provision of midday meal at the Citizens Forum Vidya Mandir where most of the kids from the locality study.

On the darker side, the lone primary health centre in the locality is lying shut for the past few years while the only government school in the area is far off from the locality.

Also, no effort has been made to set up a de-addiction centre and a vocational training centre to rehabilitate the drug addicts.

Though the Maqboolpura police station is not far from the locality, the supply of drugs to the addicts continues unabated. It raises a big question as to why the police did not succeed in cutting the supply line in 13 years.

The only silver lining in the lives of Maqboolpura residents is their children who are getting free education at Citizens Forum Vidya Mandir. Despite leading the lives of deprivation, these children dare to dream, as Suraj, an eight-year-old orphan who lives with his grandparents, says, "I will join the Army on growing up." Aman, a Class II girl, says she aspires to become a teacher in future.

	Industry in for respite as power scenario improves Regulatory body decides to do away with weekly offs Umesh Dewan/TNS Patiala, February 20 In what has come as a relief to the industrial sector, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited has decided to do away with the weekly offs imposed on the state industry. The domestic sector too would not experience cuts, else for those due to maintenance work, a PSPCL said. In view of the growing supply-demand gap, the Power Corporation had recently imposed one-day weekly off on the general industry and twice a week on the induction furnaces and rolling mills. In the last few days, the average power consumption in the state was recorded at 1,025-1,050 lakh units whereas the power available was 1,110-1,115 lakh units. Claiming that there was no power crisis in the state at present, the PSPCL also issued a new schedule for agricultural pumpset users. Therefore, the farmers could now expect eight-hour power supply daily. Of late, the farming community had been complaining that the Power Corporation was not adhering to its announcement of eight-hour regular power supply. After the January 30 assembly elections, cuts were also imposed on the domestic consumers in various parts of the state. PSPCL director (distribution) Arun Verma said: “Even after taking into account the transmission and distribution losses, the power availability in the state is more than the demand. The consumption in the farming sector has been more as compared to the concurrent period in the previous years. Still, we have been able to manage the demand.” Meanwhile, the maintenance work of a unit at the 210-MW Ropar Thermal Plant had been completed and it was likely to get operational from February 21. PSPCL director (generation) GS Chhabra said one unit of the 110-MW Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant in Bathinda too had been shut down for renovation and modernisation, which would get functional from March 31. The other unit at the plant would only get going by next year, he said.
	Jalandhar man has rare coins in his possession Varinder Singh/TNS Jalandhar, February 20 The East India Company tried to appease Indians by minting copper coins with Hindu gods and goddesses to firmly establish itself in India. Some of these coins, minted at Ratlam between 1717 and 1818, are the prized possession of historian Ram Parkash. He also has a Japanese cigarette lighter that he claims to be that of former Egypt President Jamal Abdel Nasser. The brass lighter made by Penguin has Nasser’s sketch inscribed on it. “My research so far suggests that the East India Company came to India in a planned manner. To establish roots in India, it came out with coins of Hindu gods and goddesses to show that it had respect for the religious sentiments of people,” said Ram Parkash while showing a large coin with faces of Lord Hanuman. A former employee at the Kartarpur fort, Ram Parkash has more than 500 rare books and hundreds of rare medals and coins in his possession. At the age of 73, he is as fit as a fiddle. He claims to have coins of the era of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Queen Victoria; a coin with a picture of King George V, rare coins from Bhutan, Bahrain; a coin issued by the King of Brunei, coins (mohars) issued by Mughal Emperor Akbar; a coin of the Kennedy era; a coin of Tipu Sultan’s period (1615) and that of Napleon Bonaparte (1896). He has 1880 medals issued to commemorate the war of Kabul and Kandhar. “My passion for artefacts, music and books, particularly those on Sikh history, keeps me young and energetic. My love for coins dates back to 1953 when in Class VIII, I was gifted coins by my father, who was a railway employee. Then on, there was no looking back. I travelled to every part of India to collect coins and medals. I came across Nasser’s brass lighter in Kolkata,” said Ram Parkash. Ram Parkash is well-versed in classical music. “My father played the violin. I inherited my love for music from him. I got passionate about books when I was working at the Kartarpur fort. I adhere to a strict regimen to keep healthy,” Ram Parkash said.
	UK institutes shut shop, hundreds left in lurch Varinder Singh/TNS Hoshiarpur, February 20 More than 20,000 Punjabi students, who had joined the sham institutes and universities, have been running from pillar to post to find a foothold in London and other UK cities and are being forced to do menial jobs in homes to somehow sustain themselves. There are more than 50,000 Punjabi students studying in universities and institutes in London and its suburbs. More than 20,000 of them are virtually on the road, as officially they are not allowed to do jobs. "More than 20,000 Punjabi youths, who had taken admission in sham institutes and universities with an aim to earn money, have nowhere to go after the UK Government closed down all such institutes running from homes last year," said Umesh Chander, president of the Southall-based Shri Ram temple. He is also the president of the Hindu Council, UK. About the plight of off-loaded Punjabi students of sham universities, Chander said Punjabis settled in the UK were getting more and more concerned about such youths, particularly girls, who have taken to "bad habits" due to financial crisis created due to non-availability of jobs during recession days. "Earlier, they used to earn some money by working illegally. Now, that possibility has gone after the UK Government's crackdown on the people who were found employing people illegally in construction and other sectors," he said. "Just about 250 people used to come to our temple to partake food daily till last year, but within no time their number has increased to 650. We try to guide such people and ask them to go back to India, but a majority of them prefer to seek asylum," he said. "The UK Government has a special scheme wherein people who withdraw their asylum application for going back to their countries are given a sum of upto 3,000 Pounds and an air ticket each. More and more youngsters are also turning to this scheme," said Chander. He said the off-loaded students of sham universities were forced to do menial jobs. "A majority of them are extremely underpaid and they barely manage to fetch 2-3 pounds a day that too for two-three days a week,” said Chander. Ravinder Bajaj, a student from UK who belongs to Salempur village in Kapurthala, said more than 10,000 Punjabi students of 'fake' universities were 'stranded' in the Southall area of London alone. "Girls are in the worst conditions. As they have no jobs or money they are forced to share rooms with boys," revealed Bajaj.
	Sehajdharis say SGPC misreading SC order Naveen S Garewal Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 20 The Sehajdhari Sikh Party has accused the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee of misinterpreting the order of the Supreme Court. Party president Dr PS Ranu has claimed that the apex court had restricted the SGPC from any "adventurous" moves like electing its president or other office-bearers. Releasing the Supreme Court orders, Dr Ranu alleged that the Akali leadership was misinterpreting the interim directions of the Supreme Court to create "confusion on the legal status of the SGPC". Reading out from the order dated February 17, he said no directions had been given to the Union of India for holding any election of the office bearers as claimed by the President of SGPC. The order of the Supreme Court given out by Ranu reads, "Issue notice, returnable in six weeks. In the meanwhile, the petitioners Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, for which a notification has been issued by the Central Government on December 17, 2011, shall continue to function as it has been hitherto functioning from the date of its constitution". Dr Ranu alleged that it was unfortunate that the SGPC was facing precarious situation as the newly elected SGPC was a "dead House on ventilator". The party has been demanding re-election for the SGPC general house. The elections were held on September 18 last year. Sandeep Khunger, legal adviser to the party, said the order was clear to the effect that the SGPC could continue to function as it was, maintaining a status quo, without expanding its activities till the next hearing of the apex court. The SGPC had filed a special leave petition in the apex court seeking a stay on the judgment of the Full Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High in which voting rights to Sehajdharis were denied by a notification of the Union Government, dated October 8, 2003. The SGPC had, in a separate application in the same case before the Supreme Court, prayed that the Union Government be directed to hold the meeting of the SGPC General House for electing the office-bearers of the newly elected House.
	DSGMC receives old ‘bir’ Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 20 The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has received a very old 'bir' of Guru Granth Sahib, which some persons were trying to sell at a whopping Rs 20 crore. The DSGMC has kept the 'bir' as per Sikh tenets at Gurdwara Sri Rakabganj Sahib in New Delhi. The Haryana police has arrested three persons identified as Praveen Babbar, a resident of Delhi, Santosh Kumar, a UP resident, and Kalyaneshwar Gautam who hails from Bihar, in this connection. DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna said they had received a tip-off on February 17 that some persons had an old 'bir' of Guru Granth Sahib, which they wanted to sell at a hefty price. "We sent our supporters to talk to the accused and during the course of conversation they made their video recording. When the accused came to know that they were our supporters, they fled off." He said that then he took up the matter with Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, after which the police swung into action and arrested two of the accused.
	Malwa women prone to breast cancer: Study Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Moga, February 20 Women in the Malwa belt of Punjab are facing the threat of breast cancer, if one goes by the reports compiled by Roko Cancer, a UK-based organisation. It has been conducting free mammography tests in collaboration with several NRIs and the state Health Department in the state. In the last around five years, Roko Cancer organised 700 cancer detection camps and checked over a lakh women, of which 16,000 underwent mammography. Reports found 950 women suffering from breast cancer in the state. Besides, there were over 2,000 suspected cases. As many as 145 women have been found suffering from the disease in Ferozepur district alone. The count is 106 in Faridkot, 76 in Muktsar and 75 in Moga. Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal of Roko Cancer has stressed upon the need to take up concerted efforts to spread awareness on breast cancer in the state. “Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women in Punjab. The mortality rate can be reduced significantly if it is diagnosed in preliminary stages using latest diagnostic technology, which is available with us,” he said. If detected at an early stage, he said, the disease could be cured completely with medication and surgery. “We have two buses fully equipped with the facilities of mammography tests in Punjab for holding breast cancer detection camps for rural women. We are also contemplating opening a cancer hospital in Moga district,” he said. Dhaliwal said excessive use of pesticides and change in lifestyle were the main reasons for the high incidence of the disease in the Malwa belt.
	Garshankar elderly couple murder case Probe indicates involvement of ‘close aquaintances’ Varinder Singh/TNS Hoshiarpur, February 20 The five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to track the sensational and blind murder case of an elderly couple at Garshankar is working hard to crack the case. Circumstancial evidence and the preliminary investigation into the case have pointed towards the involvement of some “well known person” of the family. Panic has gripped residents of the Garshankar area after Mohali-based 77-year-old retired engineer Sat Parkash Singh and his 76-year-old wife Dr Gurcharhan Kaur were found asyphyxiated apparently with a piece of cloth at their native house near Government Rest House in Garshankar on Saturday night. The couple was on a routine forthnightly visit to their ancestral home. The SIT is laying focus on the motive behind the crime which, still remains engulfed in mystery. What has apparently confused the police is the act of the preprators of the crime who had taken away an old Opel Astra car from the house, leaving behind a Maruti Gypsy and a new Honda City car. An almirah in one of the rooms was also found ransacked, but the subsequent police probe indicated that the criminals almost did not take anything valuable from the house. Another aspect of the murder which has left the police baffled is that there is no sign of forced entry or barging into the house as no mark has been detected on any of the doors indicating that the criminals had a very “friendly” entry into the house. Meanwhile, the Hoshiarpur SSP BS Sidhu has formed a five-member SIT, headed by Hoshiarpur SP Rajeshwar Sidhu, to investigate the gory crime. The other members of the SIT are—DSPs Manmit Dhillon, Harjinder Singh and Inspectors Raj Kumar and Kamal Singh.
	Govt doctor faces heat for pvt practice Gagan K Teja/TNS Patiala, February 20 A government doctor working at Rajpura was allegedly caught red-handed while performing a surgery at a private hospital here during his duty hours by Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr Virinder Singh Mohi yesterday. Health officials said that in order to avoid action, the doctor rushed to Rajpura and joined his duty to prove his presence there. Dr Mohi said that a letter had been sent to Health Department Principal Secretary Satish Chandra demanding strict action against the defaulter. Dr Mohi said he got a call from Rajpura that ENT specialist Dr Jaswinder Singh has not joined his duty as supervisor of the National Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme at Civil Hospital, Rajpura, and was performing some surgery on a patient at Singla Hospital, Model Town, Patiala. "I along with Assistant Civil Surgeon Dr Purshottam Goel and District Family Welfare Officer Dr Surinder Pal Singh and a hired private photographer with video and still camera reached Singla Hospital at around 8:30 am When we entered the hospital and opened the door of the operation theatre Dr Jaswinder Singh was sitting and was about to operate on the patient. Dr Jaswinder wanted to run out of the operation theatre but was detained by us," he added. Refuting the allegations, Dr Jaswinder Singh said he was deliberately being targeted because he refused to grease Dr Mohi's palms. "I had just gone to Singla Hospital to meet the patient as he was known to me and that too before the duty hours. I was well in time at Rajpura for my duty," added Dr Jaswinder Singh.

Ex-DGP awaits release of books on police
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 20
While his younger brother Paramdeep Singh Gill is waiting for March 6 results of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections, Rajdeep Singh Gill, however, awaits release of his three books on the gallant men and officers of the Punjab Police, which the two brothers had commanded.

Immediately after superannuating from the Indian Police Service, PS Gill opted for politics, while his elder brother RS Gill, who headed the state police during the 2007 assembly elections, has decided to dedicate his life to Punjab sports in general and the Punjab Police in particular.

Though Gills are not the only brothers to have risen to the rank of Director Generals of Punjab Police, Aulakh brothers had a similar distinction to their credit already. While the younger of Aulakh brothers, NP Singh, not only commanded Punjab Police during the present SAD-BJP regime but also headed the country's crack National Security Guards before attaining the age of superannuation a couple of years ago.

RS Gill, who is also the president of the Punjab Basketball Association as well as the Basketball Federation of India, is ready with the manuscripts of three of his well researched books on men and officers of the Punjab Police. One of these books is about the achievements of the Punjab Police in the All-India Police Sports and Duty Meets since the partition of the country in 1947.

RS Gill, who is credited with the most credible book on sportsmen and women of Punjab Police -- Grit and Glory -- is also ready with another reference book on gallantry award winners of the Punjab Police since 1947.

"Punjab Police has a distinguished track record, not only in fighting the battle against terrorism but also in holding aloft the Tricolour in national and international sports meets," says RS Gill, who is considered a "patron" of Punjab sports.

For the past several years, the Punjab Basketball Association has been performing the laudable duty of honouring Punjab sportsmen and women. In December, the Punjab Basketball Association honoured 67 outstanding sportsmen and women, including several Olympians, representing different sports and games.

And last month, Punjab men won the National Basketball Championship after more than a decade. Though Punjab teams, both men and women, have been doing well in national championships, national titles have been eluding them because of drain of sports talent to central organisations like Railways.

RS Gill retired as DGP-cum-Director Principal of Maharaja Ranit Singh Punjab Police Academy. His younger brother, Paramdeep Singh Gill, who belonged to Jammu and Kashmir cadre, retired last year, months before the Punjab Assembly elections. He joined the Shiromani Akali Dal and decided to contest from Moga, a constituency his late father Nachhattar Singh Gill represented more than three decades ago.

Other than Gill and Aulakh brothers, Punjab Police also had Bhullar brothers - Gur Iqbal Singh Bhullar and Gurvinder Singh Bullar. Though Gur Iqbal Singh Bhullar died a couple of months ago, his son Gurpreet Singh Bhullar is the police chief of SAS Nagar (Mohali).

city scan

amritsar

Seven booked for attempt to murder

The police has booked seven persons in an attempt to murder case in which several gun shots were fired at the complainant.

Upraj Singh, a resident of Bal Kalan village in his complaint to the police alleged that the accused identified as Tejkaran Singh of Tungpai, Mandeep Singh of Verka, Mehtab Singh of Rajasansi and four other unidentified persons, allegedly followed and intercepted the vehicle in which he and his companions were traveling and fired gunshots with the intention to murder him.

BSF Constable robbed

A Border Security Force constable was allegedly robbed by several miscreants while he was going to Hall Bazaar on a rickshaw on February 11 evening. However, he lodged a complaint yesterday evening. The police has registered a case under Section 394 IPC at the Civil Line police station.

The victim has been identified as Sanjiv Dube, a Constable with 80 Battalion of the Border Security Force posted at Khem Karan sector.

In his complaint he said on February 11 he was going to the Hall Bazaar on a rickshaw. He alleged the rickshaw puller, however, took him towards Company Bagh on some pretext where someone hit him on his head with some blunt weapon and he fell unconscious. He said when he regained consciousness, he found himself in Guru Nanak Dev Hospital.

jalandhar

Parking woes in PUDA market

Visitors to the PUDA market on Ladowali Road are a disgruntled lot as they lament that the parking lot has not been re-laid since the past seven years now.

While the craters in the lot had been filled with stones and mud and levelling had been done since the past two months, the concrete work has been left undone.

The employees of media houses, finance and insurance companies that have their offices in the complex too claim that their vehicles were bearing the brunt because of the rugged stretch.

NGO cloths the underprivileged

A worn out piece of cloth lying in the storeroom might be of no use to you, but it can definitely provide clothing to an underprivileged somewhere in India. All it requires is an effort to donate old clothes or any kind of usable material to a national-level NGO Goonj, which has its processing centre in the city.

NGO Goonj, which collects old and new clothes, utensils, footwear, dry ration, newspapers and much more for the poor people, is all set to hold a two-day long 'Vastra Samman' camp. The collection of the material would be held from 7 am to 10 pm on February 23 and 24 at Gold's Gym in Model Town.

The material collected from the cities would be used to motivate villagers to work for their villages under the 'cloth for work' initiative.

ludhiana

PSEB plan to curb copying in exams

In a new move to curb the practice of copying, the Punjab School Education Board has decided to make the District Education Office responsible if any examination superintendent is caught aiding the students.

Board officials admitted that several incidents of copying were reported in Ludhiana district during the last semester examinations. Moreover, a local body of teachers has been demanding strict rules to curb the practice of copying since a long time.

Sweetmeat shop owners flouting rules

Some of the sweetmeat shops in the city continue to weigh sweets along with a box as a result customers get 40 to 50 gram less than the actual quantity they order for.

Celebrating any special occasion is incomplete without sweets, but one does not realise that the sweet box they are carrying is less in quantity than what they have paid for. As per information gathered from the legal metrology department through the RTI, it is against law to weigh sweets along with a box.

As per rules, sweet sellers have to first measure the weight of a box before putting the exact quantity of sweets ordered by customers through weighing machine. After deducting the weight of the box, they have to adjust the weight of the sweets.

bathinda

Robbers' gang busted

The police on Monday claimed to have busted a gang of robbers involved in looting people. The gang comprised women and young boys who attacked vulnerable people during the wee hours or in the evening at secluded places. The women members used to take lift from youngsters and then loot the vehicle owners. The police said it was seventh such gang that had been busted since December last year.

Jat stir hits train services

The pro-reservation agitation launched by Jats at Hisar in Haryana had its effect in Bathinda too, with the movement of trains passing through the city getting affected. Sources in the Railways said the department had decided to temporarily suspend a few trains while others had been diverted. The Bathinda-Delhi Kisan Express had to be diverted on the Rohtak-Jind-Jakhal route instead of its normal Roktak-Bhiwani-Hisar route.