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Martyrdom Day
Rajoana Case |
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31 officers shifted, Mustafa sidelined
SGPC Crisis
Notice to DSGMC on revision of poll rolls
Ecosikh ropes in gurdwaras for green drive
Police to go after drug suppliers
Toe wall along Hansi-Butana canal
Amritsar tehsildar suspended
High Court raps Punjab for late replies
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Martyrdom Day
Hussaniwala/Khatkar Kalan (Nawanshahr), March 23 The memorial, Badal said, would even outshine the Virasat-e-Khalsa complex that had come up at a cost of Rs 350 crore in Anandpur Sahib. Addressing a gathering on the occasion of Bhagat Singh's martyrdom day at his ancestral Khatkar Kalan village, Badal said the deputy commissioners of four Doaba districts had been told to identify 20 to 25 acres of land for the memorial. Badal said while Punjabis comprised 2.5 per cent of the country's population, as many as 80 per cent of the martyrs and participants in the freedom struggle were from the state. "Despite such a major contribution by the Punjabis, the state has always been meted out a step-motherly treatment by the Centre," he claimed. The SAD patron also used the opportunity to attack the Opposition Congress: "Those who indulged in petty politics and had been carrying a 'khoonda' (a stick with a knife at its tip) were discarded by the people." In an adjoining 'pandal', Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar countered the comment: "Khoonda has been kept on a standby as of now. We will take it out at an appropriate occasion." In Hussainiwala, where the Chief Minister addressed a state-level function, the thin crowds at the memorial to pay homage to Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on their 81 Martyrdom Day were indicative of the diminishing patriotic fervour among the masses. The solemnity of the occasion was marred by vendors selling wares on the sidewalk of roads leading to the memorial calling out for buyers. What was even more jarring was the sound of drums coming from a sports event being held nearby. The sombre occasion, it seems, has assumed the look of a fair in the past 10 years or so. Recalled Bachan Singh: "In the 70s the crowds were large and everybody would remove their shoes to pay respects to the martyrs." Another visitor said the politicians only paid lip service and did little to follow the path shown by the martyrs. The place was teeming with youngsters sporting turbans like that worn by Bhagat Singh. They raised slogans of "Inquilab zindabad" and "Bhagat Singh amar rahe" every now and then. Scores of women activists, mostly in green salwaar kameez, preached against drug addiction and female foeticide. Diminishing zeal
Sukhdev’s kin honoured at khatkar kalan Martyr Bhagat Singh's kin were usually honoured at his native Khatkar Kalan village on his martyrdom day. But, the SAD had to call martyr Sukhdev's nephew Vinod Thapar from Ludhiana for the function at Khatkar Kalan as Bhagat Singh's nephew Abhey Singh Sandhu joined Manpreet Badal's outfit People's Party of Punjab last year.
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Rajoana Case
Chandigarh/Patiala, March 23 Sources said the court orders could be sent back in the next two days by state lawyers. Highly placed sources said following a closed-door meeting of the Home Department and the Jails Department, it had been decided that the death warrants re-sent by the Chandigarh court to hang Rajoana be returned without execution for the second time. “The co-accused in the Beant Singh assassination case, Jagtar Singh Hawara, who was also sentenced to death, was later awarded the life sentence by the court in the same case after he filed an appeal. There is no logic in hanging the other accused just because he did not file an appeal. “There cannot be two sentences for the same crime. We will take up the matter in court through proper channels ”, said a senior official after consulting the Advocate- General’s office. Patiala Jail Superintendent LS Jakhar reportedly visited Chandigarh today and discussed the case with senior officials of various departments. “We are absolutely not ready for the hanging,” said a senior jail official. “The matter has been discussed at the highest level and the government is not keen to execute the death penalty”, he added. Insiders say that the Jails Department has not made any preparations for the hanging. Balwant Singh has tied the noose around his neck because he has “no faith in judiciary of this country” and its Constitution. An in-depth analysis of the judicial record carried out by the Tribune reveals that Balwant Singh has on more than one occasion expressed scepticism on the country’s justice delivery system. He has, in fact, cited it as the reason behind his decision against contesting the trial and the death sentence. In a letter to Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Balwant Singh on August 10, 2009, wrote from Burail Jail’s barrack number 5: “I have already submitted an application to the High Court stating therein that I have not filed any appeal against the death sentence pronounced by the sessions judge, because I have no faith in the judiciary of this country.” He has gone on to add: “The other co-accused, who have been sentenced in this case, have filed an appeal in the High Court because they have faith in the judiciary. Therefore, the case relating to my death penalty may be considered separately. On December 24, 1997, Balwant Singh filed an application “narrating in detail the commission of the offence and also stating that he did not have any faith in the Constitution”. Judicial records reveal that Balwant Singh consciously took the decision to go unrepresented before the trial court. Initially, advocate SK Chopra was appointed amicus curiae in the case. The order sheet of March 12, 1998, reveals Balwant Singh moved an application that he did not want to contest the case. On March 16, 1998, Chopra “was discharged by the court and told to not to represent Balwant Singh as the accused himself did not want to be represented by any counsel and did not want to contest the case”. The Punjab and Haryana High Court Division Bench of Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Arvind Kumar has also in its judgment referred in detail his refusal to be represented, despite a categorical offer.
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31 officers shifted, Mustafa sidelined
Chandigarh, March 23 The least wanted slot has gone to Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mohammad Mustafa. The ADGP’s wife Razia Sultana was the Congress candidate from Malerkotla. Mustafa has been made ADGP, Policies and Rules, a post held by another Amarinder loyalist ADGP Rajinder Singh in the last government. Rajinder Singh has been posted ADGP, Welfare. Another officer ADGP SK Sharma, perceived close to the Congress, has been posted as ADGP, Human Resources Development, Director of the Police Academy at Phillaur and given the additional charge of ADGP, Law and Order. Inspector General (IG) Parampal Singh Sidhu has been posted IG, Special Narcotics Cell, Pathankot. The officer was involved in a spat with the Badal family in the run-up to the elections and had referred to SAD president Sukhbir Badal and Akali youth wing leader Bikramjit Majithia as “political goondas”. Sham Lal Gakhar is IG, Legal Affairs, after being posted as IG, Patiala Range, in the run-up to the elections. Gakhar as IG, Lopkpal, had been asked to investigate charges that the Badal family had monopolised transport business in the state. New DGP Sumedh Singh Saini has brought in IG Kuldeep Singh who had served with him in the Vigilance wing, as IG, Headquarters. ADGP Hardeep Singh Dhillon, has been appointed ADGP, Intelligence and Security. Ishwar Singh is IG-cum-Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana. Other postings: Narinder Sharma, ADGP, Internal Vigilance Cell and Human Rights; Sidharth Chatopadhyaya, member, NRI Commission; C Sita Rami Reddy, ADGP, Modernisation and Provisioning; MK Tiwari, ADGP, Administration; Rajpal Meena, ADGP, Railways at Patiala; VK Bhawra, ADGP, Crime; Rohit Chaudhry, IG, Counter-Intelligence at Chandigarh; Sanjiv Kalra, IG, Security, with additional charge of Director, SSG; Paramjit Singh Gill, IGP, Zonal 1 Patiala; BK Garg, IG, Policy And Welfare; Ishwar Chander, IG-cum-Director, PPA, Phillaur; SS Chauhan, IG, Crime; Gurpreet Kaur Deo, IG, Zonal II -Jalandhar; Paramjit Singh Grewal, IG, PAP-Jalandhar; Pramod Ban, DIG, Bhatinda Range; Paramraj Singh, DIG, Ferozepur Range; Lok Nath, DIG, Jalandhar Range; Gautam Cheema, DIG, Administration, IRB Battalion at Patiala and Surinder Singh, DIG,
Counte-Intelligence. Police rejig
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SGPC Crisis
New Delhi, March 23 The SGPC had moved an application in the SC seeking a direction to the Centre to immediately notify the first meeting of the newly elected SGPC to facilitate the election of the new office-bearers. A Bench comprising Justices RM Lodha and HL Gokhale, however, observed that earlier it was made to believe that the newly elected SGPC was already functioning following which it passed an order on February 17, 2012, stating that the committee “shall continue to function as it had been hitherto functioning from the date of its constitution”. “There was no occasion for us to pass the order if you were not functional” that day, the Bench clarified. The Bench had passed the order on an appeal filed by the SGPC challenging the December 20, 2011, verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court acknowledging the rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs to vote in the SGPC election. However, the election had already been held without the Sehajdharis’ participation. But, the HC verdict was silent on the status of the concluded election. The HC had struck down the October 8, 2003, order of the Centre disenfranchising Sehajdharis. Today, the Bench heard the SGPC application filed as part of the appeal. Arguing for SGPC, senior counsel PS Patwalia and counsel Satinder Singh Ghulati said the SGPC office-bearers’ election could not be held in the absence of a government notification summoning the first meeting of the SGPC Board. The SGPC Budget for 2012-13 could be passed only after the officer-bearers’ election. With just a week left for the new financial year to start, thousands of SGPC employees would go without salaries, Patwalia said. There were as many as 111 colleges, schools and hospitals under the SGPC, besides 78 gurdwaras, he said. The Bench, however, asked the SGPC to show that it was functional when the SC passed the order on February 17. “We never wanted to create a new situation. We just wanted that the position obtaining on the date of the order must continue.” Acknowledging that the Centre had issued a notification on December 17, 2011, constituting the newly elected committee, the Bench said it did not mean that the SGPC had become functional. “If you were not functional, we did not want to make you functional,” the Bench clarified. After the Bench made the observations, the SGPC counsel offered to file additional documents to clarify the status. At this, the Bench granted one week time for the purpose and posted the matter for hearing on March 30. Meanwhile, the Centre has also filed an application expressing its willingness to summon the first meeting of the newly elected
SGPC.
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Notice to DSGMC on revision of poll rolls
New Delhi, March 23 A Bench comprising Justice RM Lodha and Justice HL Gokhale passed the order, observing that the election could not be held on the basis of rolls containing 1.88 lakh voters, against the petitioners’ claim of 7-8 lakh. “One thing is clear. A complete and comprehensive list of all eligible and genuine electors must be prepared. Otherwise, the election will be a farce,” the Bench observed. The Division Bench of the Delhi High Court, which had given the green signal for holding the election on the basis of the existing rolls, had gone into the question of law only, pointing out that since the notification for the election had already been issued, which set in motion the poll process, the HC could not interfere in the same. The apex court clarified that “there is no question of restoration of the proceedings before the single Judge of the HC” who was monitoring the elections.
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Forest officials axe tree on ‘orders’
Patiala, March 23 Deputed by the department to protect green cover, a Conservator of Forests here allegedly asked his staff to cut a huge green tree that was located on the outer boundary of his government residence, which falls in the limits of the protected forest area. As The Tribune team visited the spot, officials of the forest department were busy axing the lush green tree that was located on the perimeter of Conservator Forests SS Bhatti's official residence. "We were ordered by our officer to axe the tree," claimed the persons axing the tree, feigning ignorance about a prior requirement of a permit. "We are junior employees, who can ask for written orders from our bosses," they added. Rules stipulate that any green tree cannot be axed without valid permission, which has to be sanctioned by top brass of the Forests Department. "However, the sanction can be given in case it poses an immediate threat to life. But rules are more strict if the land on which the tree stands is a Forest Protected Area", said a senior forest officer. Bhatti was not at home when the tree was being cut. Interestingly, the spot from where the tree was being axed is located just a stone's throw away from Bhatti's immediate junior and Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) SS Sagar's office. Incidentally, Sagar's official residence also shares the same boundary line. The DFO initially told The Tribune that as the tree was a hindrance for the passing boundary wall, it was axed. When reminded that the entire area was under the protected forest area, Sagar said that he would cross check in the official files on Monday. "I can comment only after knowing its details and a report would be shot to the head office if the tree has been axed wrongly," he said. However, Punjab Forests Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani said that he would initiate strict departmental action against guilty officers. "They are posted there to protect the forest cover and if these officers act with such recklessness, I would not spare them", he said. Bhatti could not be contacted. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Punjab, BC Bala said he would look into the matter.
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Ecosikh ropes in gurdwaras for green drive
Chandigarh, March 23 Ravneet Singh, who is Ecosikh project director (India), said thousands of saplings were planted over the last one week in various gurdwaras across the country following an initiative by the organisation. Singh said the Ecosikh, which had its branches in various countries, was committed to enhance the green cover in states like Punjab, which were highly deficient in this regard. He said responding to their appeal, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee had agreed to turn all gurdwaras in Delhi into “green places of worship”. The Ecosikh said Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Paramjit Singh Sarna had promised to use solar energy in all gurdwaras in Delhi and also to stop the use of plastic disposables at such places. Besides planting trees, the managements will also hold prayers on a daily basis for the betterment of the ecosystem.
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Police to go after drug suppliers
Chandigarh, March 23 “We now need to turn it into a battle”, he said. Sukhbir, who also holds the Home portfolio, has directed the police to go after the suppliers and not just the couriers. Despite 43,000 cases being registered under the NDPS Act in the past 10 years, the menace is still on the increase. Sources said the couriers are point-to-point delivery men and know nothing about the command structure. They rarely talk as their families are well looked after while they are in jail. Sukhbir said there was a need to follow the US model to counter drug trafficking with emphasis on targeting the suppliers. “Once we catch a few of them, you will see the results”, he said. Sources said the focus would be on heroin smuggling in the border belt. Punjab was earlier being used as a transit point for heroin smuggling. The drug from Afghanistan was smuggled here through either the barbed wire with Pakistan or through the riverine tract from across the border to its final destination in Mumbai. Sources said Punjab had now become a consumption area for both heroin and smack. While in 2005 only 39 kg of heroin was recovered, this had increased to 52 kg in 2006, more than 100 kg in 2007 and 200 kg in 2008. Sources earlier in the State Counter-Terrorism unit said that narcotics smuggling had increased in Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran districts in the past few years. Police officers allege a nexus between political leaders of the border belt and smugglers. Sukhbir, when questioned on the issue, said: “ If I get to know about any such instance, I will take immediate action”. Sources said the new Director General of Police (DGP), Sumedh Singh Saini, was a
no-nonsense officer who would go after the suppliers and not be awed by the political clout of smugglers. Besides heroin and smack, the government is gearing up to tackle poppy husk smuggling which is most prevalent in Sangrur and Bathinda districts. Modus Operandi
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Toe wall along Hansi-Butana canal
Dharmheri (Patiala), March 23 A majority of the villagers said that in case of torrential rains during monsoon season, the threat of flash floods would be there, as the Hansi-Butana canal would obstruct the natural flow of the water. A visit to villages on the Punjab-Haryana border on the Patiala-Kaithal State Highway, some 45-km from Patiala, brought to light that now the most important topic for discussion among farmers was the threat of floods during monsoon season. Rajinder Singh, a farmer from Dharmheri village, said, "Luckily, last year there was not much of heavy rainfall. Now, Haryana has strengthened its Hansi-Butana canal embankment and in case of torrential rains during monsoon season, the Ghaggar would overflow. As the canal would not pave the way for the overflowing water from the river, there will be a back flow of water which will flood villages." In 2010, due to floods not only humans and animals lost their lives but crops, houses and civil infrastructure were damaged to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees. Subsequently, Haryana started construction work of the toe wall to strengthen the embankment of the Hansi-Butana canal to ensure that there should be no breach in the canal in the future. However, farmers' unions held protests against the construction of the toe wall and even the Punjab Government approached the Supreme Court but couldn't get relief. Meanwhile, farmers of many other villages, including Ramnagar, Sassa Thay, Haripur, Hassanpur, Dharmheri and Sassa Gujaran also expressed anxiousness on the crucial issue. "We urge that the Irrigation Minister, officials of the Drainage Department and experts must pay a visit to see the situation on the ground. The Punjab Government should communicate with the Haryana Government that proper cross-drainage system should be made at the vulnerable stretches of the Hansi-Butana canal in order to ensure the safety of the people as well as to save the crops," said Joginder Singh Rajgarh and Satnam Singh Sherpur, residents of Haripur and Ramnagar villages, respectively.
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Amritsar tehsildar suspended
Chandigarh, March 23 An official spokesman of the state government said that Sharma would report to the office of Commissioner, Faridkot Division, during the period of suspension.
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High Court raps Punjab for late replies
Chandigarh, March 23 Less than two months after the High Court directed the district chiefs of the Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh police to be ready with the replies at least three days in advance, Justice Ranjit Singh has asserted: "Here I would wish to observe that no improvement is seen in the assistance being provided to the court on behalf of the state." The assertion came on petitions filed by Lal Bahadur and others against the State of Punjab. The petitioners were seeking anticipatory bail for offences registered under Sections 326 of the IPC and under the provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: "Earlier, an order was passed by this court directing the documents required to be placed on record, be so filed in advance so that these are available in the court at the time of passing an order. "Police head of various districts were required to file confirmation to the effect that they would detail a person in advance, wherever there is requirement of placing any document on record." Referring to the case in hand, Justice Ranjit Singh added: "Still, the statement on the basis of which offence under Section 326 of the IPC is alleged against the petitioners, has been handed over in the court today." "The state counsel has expressed his usual difficulty that the investigating officer, despite being directed, has not complied with the directions. The state counsel, accordingly, is asked to approach the SSP to ensure that a proper action is taken against the person, who has failed to comply with the direction issued by this court." Issuing a stern warning, Justice Ranjit Singh added: "The persons ignoring the directions are liable for disobeying the directions issued by this court and can be so dealt with for committing contempt of the court as well." "Senior Superintendent of Police concerned, after taking action against the Investigating Officer, would inform the Advocate-General, Punjab, who may then apprise the court accordingly," Justice Ranjit Singh also refused to grant relief to the petitioners.
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Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced the setting up of a high-tech memorial in Doaba region that would exclusively highlight Punjabis who were part of the freedom struggle.
Chandigarh/Patiala, March 23
Chandigarh, March 23
