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Ready to quit if told: Tota Singh
A file photo of Agriculture Minister Tota Singh. — PTI
Capt to stay as PCC chief
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Warder held for selling drugs in Bathinda jail
Jakhar: Issue white paper on grants to Bathinda refinery
PPP makes changes in party set-up
Patiala man defies odds, clears Civil Services exam
CWC-traders row
Ludhiana man takes over as Judge in Canada
Shopkeepers irked over encroachments
Two HC judges transferred
Man gets death penalty for killing pregnant wife
Death of passenger
Couple abandons infant in hospital
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Ready to quit if told: Tota Singh
Mohali/Moga, May 5 Speaking to The Tribune, he said, “I will do whatever the SAD high command orders me to do…. I will appeal against the decision in the higher court.” A Mohali court today convicted Punjab Agriculture Minister Tota Singh for misusing his official position and causing a loss of Rs 11,35,995 to the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) while he was the Education Minister in the Akali government between 1997 and 2002. However, he was absolved of the charges of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. In his order, Special Judge Rajinder Aggarwal mentioned that Tota Singh had caused loss to the PSEB by misusing the board’s official cars. But, the charges for causing a loss of Rs 2,35,355 on account of misuse of PSEB telephone could not be proved against him. Tota Singh has been sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment. A fine of Rs 30,000 under Section 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 was also slapped on him. He would have to undergo additional imprisonment for six months in case he failed to pay the fine. The court, however, granted him bail after he submitted his application after the pronouncement of the quantum of sentence. In his judgment, the Special Judge held: “The accused, who was Education Minister, has misused the cars of PSEB and caused a huge loss to the board. The funds of the Board are meant to be spent for the welfare of the students. A minister has to lead others by example…” In the same judgment, the court absolved Tota Singh of the charges of disproportionate of assets and misuse of PSEB telephone. An FIR under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of the IPC and 13(1) (c) (d) (e) read with section 13 (2) of the PC Act 1988 had been registered against Tota Singh by the Vigilance Bureau on June 14, 2002. Apart from misusing his post and other illegalities and irregularities in recruitment of 100 science teachers and other officials in the board, the main allegation against Tota Singh was amassment of huge assets by abusing his official post, misusage of the board’s car and a telephone. Tota Singh, the Moga MLA then, was arrested on June 14, 2002, from outside the Moga sub-jail a couple of months after the formation of the Congress government. The District and Sessions Judge of Ropar Maghar Khan granted bail to him on August 13, 2002. The Vigilance Bureau submitted two challans against him in the courts of Roopnagar Special Judge GS Saran and Mohali Special Judge SK Garg. But after the bifurcation of Ropar district and setting up of a sessions court at Mohali, the case was transferred to the new court on March 18, 2008. The trial in this case began in the court of the additional sessions’ judge, Mohali, designated as the special court handling all the cases of the Vigilance Bureau. Tota Singh’s son Barjinder Singh Brar, who is Moga Municipal Council president, said they would next week file a petition in the High Court against the conviction after getting the certified copy of the court orders. Court for perjury against witnesses The court has also issued separate notice to a few witnesses, including Shavinder Singh, Gurdeep Singh and Veena Doda, under Section 344 CrPC for committing perjury. The court has observed that the then chairman of the Board should have been prosecuted and directed the Vigilance Bureau for examining the feasibility of initiating appropriate proceedings against him.
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Capt to stay as PCC chief
New Delhi, May 5 All-India Congress Committee
(AICC) media incharge Janardan Dwivedi told The Tribune that “Amarinder will remain the PCC head till the local body elections in the state”. The news should come as relief to the former Punjab Chief Minister who has been facing vehement opposition from a section of leaders in the state unit since the party’s debacle in the Assembly elections. Led by former CLP leader Rajinder Kaur
Bhattal, the group has been knocking all relevant doors in the Capital, including that of party president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, with a one-point agenda of replacing Amarinder Singh. Accusing him of having led the party to a second consecutive defeat in the Assembly elections, senior leaders like Mohinder Singh
Kaypee, Jagmeet Brar and Partap Bajwa want him replaced. His supporters, however, want him to stay till the next Lok Sabha elections due in 2014. However, the relief accorded to Amarinder by his bosses in Delhi could be temporary. The party high command is planning major changes in the AICC and other state units. Sources say after the three-member committee, headed by AK
Antonty, formally submits its report on what went wrong in the four states that recently went to the polls, a major overhaul is expected in party organisation at the Centre and in states. However, in case the Congress manages to score well in the local body elections, all efforts by the
anti-Amarinder group could go waste. But infighting in state units of the party is being viewed with concern by the top leadership. Though the Antony panel is yet to submit its report, the feedback which it has received so far points to the weakening of the party organisation in the states, largely due to infighting among rival groups. Party leaders are well aware that even though the BJP has been in power for two terms in crucial states like Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh, the Congress has not managed to give effective opposition due to internal squabble. This has led to an all-round realisation that the party urgently needs the infusion of fresh ideas as well as leaders as it repositions itself in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The party has to get its order in the coming months before Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections by this year-end, which will be followed by Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and New Delhi in 2013-end, setting the stage for 2014. Lot at stake
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Majithia wants Vigilance probe against former DC
Chandigarh/Ludhiana, May 5 Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia ordered an investigation by the Vigilance Department into, what he termed, “blatantly illegal” sale of government land. The Minister said he was “shocked” to see the report that came to him after a probe by Financial Commissioner (Revenue) Navreet Singh Kang. The report had details showing the pros and cons of a vigilance probe versus a departmental inquiry. But keeping in mind the “gross violations and misuse of authority”, Majithia recommended a vigilance probe. Majithia, who also holds the portfolios of Public Relations, Non-Conventional Energy and NRI Affairs, said land measuring 6,000 square yards, valued around Rs 250 crore, was allegedly sold by the officials. In 2010, the then Patiala Deputy Commissioner, Deepinder Singh, refused to register a sale deed whereas Garg allegedly overruled all objections and went ahead with the sale in September 2011. During a visit to Ludhiana to attend a state-level function to celebrate the 289th birth anniversary of Maharaja Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, Majithia confirmed he had recommended a vigilance probe after going through the inquiry report. “It is now for Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to take the final call on the probe,” he said. Majithia said those who caused loss to the public exchequer could not be let off without punishment. He said instructions had been issued to all revenue officials that those involved in shady deals would not be spared. “If a complaint is received against any official, an inquiry will be marked and report submitted within 48 hours. An immediate action will follow against those guilty,” he said. Various pending mutations, he said, would be completed within 15 days. He said the government was planning to start a toll-free helpline where grievances related to revenue works could be registered. He said the people would also be educated about government rates regarding registration of land and mutation. The Minister also hit out at the Centre over the spiralling prices of essential commodities.
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Warder held for selling drugs in Bathinda jail
Bathinda, May 5 Nearly 1,000 Lomotil tablets and Rs 1,000 have been recovered from his possession. Around 400 similar tablets were recovered from a jail inmate, Jarnail Singh. On a tip-off, the jail authorities laid a trap and caught both of them red-handed this morning. A case has been registered at the Civil Lines police station. The authorities said the prisoners used to pay to the warder by throwing up the money after bundling up the notes with a small stone. After getting the money, the accused dropped the tablets from the watchtower. Prem Kumar Garg, Jail Superintendent, said and the matter had been brought to the notice of the DGP (Prisons) and a departmental enquiry would be initiated against the official. Kaur Singh, Deputy Superintendent, said they had got information about the supply of drugs to prisoners some time ago. "We have deployed informers in the jail who keep updating us on drug addicts and the source of supply of drugs," he said, adding that it took many days to zero in on the people involved in the illegal activity.
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Punjab farmers fear the worst
Dharmheri (Patiala), May 5 As The Tribune team visited the site where Haryana constructed a toe-wall to strengthen the canal embankment, it was evident that if the Ghaggar river overflows, the canal would obstruct the natural flow of water, thereby leading to flooding of villages in Punjab. The Ghaggar, known as the river of sorrow, has been bringing misfortune to several areas in Patiala district in the form of floods for the past more than a decade. Officials in the Punjab Drainage Department say construction of the Hansi-Butana canal and now the toe-wall has further aggravated the problem. According to the writ petition filed by the Punjab Government in the Supreme Court, the Hansi-Butana canal was absolutely against the natural contour of the land and obstructs the flow of natural water. As TNS interacted with farmers of several villages, tension could be seen on their faces. Paar Singh of Dharmheri village said, "Earlier, due to heavy rainfall when Ghaggar used to overflows, there used to be 1.5-2 feet of water in the area spreading over 10-15 km on the Punjab-Haryana border. But the construction of the Hansi-Butana canal has created obstruction to the natural flow of water, leading to the back flow of water towards Punjab side. This was the main reason that wreaked havoc during 2010 floods," he said. Farmers of many other villages, including Bopar, Hassanpur, Haripur, Sassa Gujaran and Ramnagar, said Haryana had successfully strengthened the canal embankment and Punjab had miserably failed to do anything. "Saade layi ta maut awagi iss vaar je flood ayai (We will be dying this time in case of floods," said Jeevan Ram, a farmer of Sassi Thay village. Another farmer, Harbhajan Singh, from Kasauli village said, "Not only crops are damaged but also our cattle dies and household goods are also damaged due to floods." The Haryana Government claims that they have built a siphon at the T-Point of the Hansi-Butana canal for the passage of the Ghaggar water and its capacity is 1.66 lakh cusec. But the Punjab Irrigation Department claims that the capacity of the siphon is not more than 20,000 cusec, which is totally insufficient. Meanwhile, representatives of some of the farmers' union said, "The best possible solution is that the Punjab Government should communicate to the Haryana Government that proper cross-drainage system (siphons) should be made at the vulnerable stretches of the Hansi-Butana canal, in order to ensure safety of the people as well as to save crops." Officialspeak
Officials of the Punjab Drainage Department said in June 2011, the Punjab Government had filed an application in the Supreme Court, pleading that the Haryana Government be directed to stop the construction work of the 3.75-km toe-wall. But Punjab did not get relief from the court. Speaking to The Tribune, Punjab Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon said, "Since the matter is pending in court, we can't do much as far as what Haryana is doing. However, we have filed a review petition in the apex court." On the issue of strengthening of the bundh alongside river Ghaggar to prevent breaches, Chief Engineer, Drainage Department, Vinod Chaudhary said they would be taking all steps to ensure that proper bundhs were in place. "Besides de-silting, cleansing work of water channels and rivulets will be completed before the start of the monsoon season," he assured. The bone of contention
It was in 2005, when Bhupinder Singh Hooda led Haryana Government initiated the construction work of the Hansi-Butana Canal. Costing about Rs 390 crore, the 110-km long Hansi-Butana canal was completed in 2008. Punjab government said the canal obstructed the natural flow of water. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had termed the canal project as illegal and ill-conceived. On July 11, 2007, the Punjab Government had approached the Supreme Court against the construction of the Hansi-Butana canal and matter is still pending in the court. Channelisation of Ghaggar After the Union Government cleared the channelisation of 40-km vulnerable stretch of Ghaggar, the first phase of channelisation of 23-km stretch from Khanouri to Makrod was completed in 2009. However, the second phase of the project for channelisation of 16.5-km stretch from Makrod to Karail got stalled after disagreement of the Haryana Government over the project.
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Jakhar: Issue white paper on grants to Bathinda refinery
Chandigarh, May 5 In a statement, CLP leader Sunil Jakhar demanded that the government should issue a white paper on tax concessions granted to the refinery and their financial implications, job creation avenues, and its role in industrialisation of the state as was being advertised by the government. Jakhar said as per information available in public domain, the state government had conceded so much ground to the promoters of the refinery that the real benefits to the state might not accrue for more than 15 years and would be putting an immediate additional burden of Rs 250 crore per year through a soft loan for five years, totalling to Rs 1,250 crore as per an agreement with HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) joint venture.
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PPP makes changes in party set-up
Chandigarh, May 5 In Punjab, former -Deputy Speaker Bir Devinder Singh has been made chief spokesman while Bhagwant Maan has been appointed Youth People’s Party (YPP) chief. Yadwinder Singh Bhutter and Davinderjit Singh Dhose will function as YPP vice-presidents. Former senior additional advocate general SS Bhinder will head the party’s legal wing while Kuldeedp Singh Dhose would be the president of the farmer wing. Ranjit Kaur Bhatti will head the party’s women wing. In a statement here, PPP media secretary Arunjot Singh Sodhi said Dr Navjot Singh Dahiya had been made president of the medico wing and former MLA Nirmaljeet Singh Nimma would head the SC/ST wing. Sitar Bhatti will head the minorities’ wing and Col Surjeet Singh Firochechi will be president of the ex-servicemen wing. Amanpreet Singh Chhina will head the NRI wing and Vibhor Garg will be the chief of the parwassi mazdoor wing. Satpal Adampur will be the president of the party’s retired officers and employees wing.
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Patiala man defies odds, clears Civil Services exam
Patiala, May 5 Talking to
mediapersons, Manohar, who is currently working as an ETT teacher in a primary school in Kotla Gheru under the Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan, said ever since his father's demise, his mother Balbir Kaur took their responsibility. She wanted me to study and become an officer and to facilitate our studies she even sold milk. "When I joined as an ETT teacher after completing my post-graduation from Mohindra College,
Patiala, I was pained to see the problems being faced by students in rural areas. "That's when I decided to join the Civil Services so that I can contribute in making things better. Though I was unable to clear the exam in my earlier two attempts, my mother motivated me to try again and its only because of her, I have finally been able to clear the exam in the third attempt," he added. Meanwhile, Yogesh Kumar, who bagged 218th position, is currently serving as
AE/SDO, Tohra, in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. His father Sohan Lal is a retired principal. Dr Mandeep Kumar
Batish, who secured the 376th rank, is posted as a medical officer in Civil Hospital,
Samana. After doing his matriculation from Baba Appo Aap Guru Nanak Public School,
Chhintanwala, he did his MBBS from Government Medical College, Patiala.
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CWC-traders row
Amritsar, May 5 Talking to The Tribune, Gunbir Singh, member, CII National Council on Public Policy, said it was imperative for the authorities and the traders to resolve the teething hassles at the ICP at the earliest and focus on the core issue of asking Pakistan to announce the negative list for trade as well. “Unless Pakistan implements the negative list for trade through the land route as it has for other trade routes in the rest of India, Punjab cannot benefit,” he said. DP Singh, chairman, CII Zonal Council, admitted that the tussle between the traders and the CWC over handling charges had taken away the focus from the key issue. “The authorities should adopt a proactive approach and ensure that the traders’ woes are redressed quickly”. He said an Indian business delegation led by Adi Godrej would leave for Pakistan in the coming week and they had forwarded various issues, including negative trade list for Attari, to the delegation so that it might be taken up with the trading community as well as the government in Pakistan. Suneet Kochhar, director, Khanna Paper Mill, who recently sent the first consignment of newsprint to Pakistan via Attari, said the handling charges were high, but there was also no denying the fact that the government had created a massive infrastructure in the form of the ICP. He said the authorities should bring down the charges at least to some extent and increase the efficiency levels at the ICP to compensate the traders. He stressed on the need to pursue the matter of restricted import list with Pakistan while stating that either it should be same for the entire country or at least more Punjab specific items should be added to help boost business in the state. Pakistan had issued a notification in March declaring the negative list for trade with India which comprised 1,209 items that cannot be imported from India. This means that Pakistan can import over 5,600 items from India. However, this doesn’t apply for trade via the Attari-Wagah land route as Pakistan came out with a separate (positive) list of merely 137 items that can be imported through this route.
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Ludhiana man takes over as Judge in Canada
Jalandhar, May 5 Known as a progressive entrepreneur and a motivational speaker, Dhaliwal migrated to Canada in 1979 after doing his B.Tech in Agriculture Engineering from the Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana. He has also been active on the social, cultural and political front for the last over two decades. Dhaliwal has served as the president of Erin Mills Lions Club, a founder member of the IPCC International Punjabi Chamber of Commerce apart from having chaired the Children Wish Foundation.
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Shopkeepers irked over encroachments
Bathinda, May 5 During his visit to the grain market, the chairman, market committee, Gurteg Singh was apprised of the problem. Commission agent association's president Satish Kumar Bansal and Sabzi Mandi Association president Mahinder Kumar told the chairman that many shopkeepers store their sand, gravel and iron rods in front of their shops, thereby encroaching upon the footpaths. They reasoned that such encroachments pose a problem to the commission agents and farmers, who bring their produce to the grain market for selling. They said that the erring shopkeepers have been requested to refrain from such activity, but to no avail. The “sufferers” have now threatened the erring shopkeepers of the market as well as the chairman of staging a dharna if the erring shop owners do not mend their ways. Meanwhile, Gurteg Singh expressed satisfaction over the pace at which wheat is being procured. He added that this season, 15 per cent more wheat was expected to arrive at the market as compared to last year. Prominent among others present were member, market committee Joginder Singh, commission agent Davinder Singh Goldy, secretary, market committee Darshan Kumar, superintendent Bant Singh, auditor Gurcharan Singh and others.
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Non-disbursal of aid to cancer patient
Patiala, May 5 The Commission has stated that the complainant has alleged that Surinder Singh, a resident of village Fatehgarh Channa in Sangrur made every effort to save his three-year-old son Jaskaran, who was suffering from cancer in his left eye. "Despite loud and vociferous proclamations to provide monetary assistance to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh to the patient, the aggrieved family did not received even a single rupee from the government and hence be action initiated against erring officials," reads the PSHRC order. The orders further stated that since the allegations had been levelled against a public servant, the Commission takes cognisance of the matter and calls for a report from the Sangrur DC by the next date of hearing fixed for August 13, 2012. On February 13, TNS carried a story "Sangrur sees alarming rise in cancer cases", which highlighted the plight of the Jaskaran's family. Two weeks later Jaskaran lost the battle for survival.
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Two HC judges transferred
Chandigarh, May 5 Available information from Delhi suggests that acceding to Justice Alok Singh’s request, the collegium has cleared his name for transfer to the Jharkhand High Court for better administration of justice. Justice Nirmaljit Kaur’s name, on the other hand, has been cleared for transfer to the Rajasthan High Court as a permanent judge, after she gave her consent for the same. Justice Nirmaljit Kaur had blown the whistle in the cash-for-judge scam. She had called the police after a bag containing Rs 15 lakh was erroneously delivered at her house. A three-judge committee was constituted to look into the allegations. On the basis of evidence and material before it, the committee drew an inference that the money delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur was meant for another Judge with similar name, Justice Nirmal Yadav. Justice Alok Singh is, perhaps, the first judge in the country to be transferred out twice on his own request. Elevated as a Judge of the Uttarakhand High Court on October 12, 2009, Justice Alok Singh had set a precedent by opting for a transfer as his father, brother and other relatives were practising in the Haridwar district courts. Apparently when Justice Alok Singh opted for a transfer out of the Uttarakhand High Court as his kith and kin were practising there, little did he know the then Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily would subsequently quote his example as the right thing to do. Moily had told The Tribune that Justice Alok Singh was, in fact, the first judge to be shifted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court after he sought a transfer. It is believed that Justice Alok Singh sometimes in March wrote another letter to the Chief Justice of India saying that his younger son Pracheta Singh has been selected as civil judge (junior division) in the State of Haryana. Justice Alok Singh reportedly added that as the postings and transfers of the judicial officers are usually taken up in the Full Court, it would not be possible for him to attend all such meetings as the matters pertaining to appointment and transfer of his son and his colleagues would also be discussed. Both Justice Alok Singh and Justice Nirmaljit Kaur are known for their impeccable integrity, calibre and administrative experience. It is also being felt that Justice Alok Singh should have been sent to a larger High Court.
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Man gets death penalty for killing pregnant wife
Gurdaspur, May 5 He observed: "On November 13, 2009, the day of incident, the accused returned from work at noon and was served with meal by his wife. Instead of feeling obliged to her for providing him food, he did the most heinous act by pouring kerosene oil on her and setting her ablaze, which resulted not only in her death but also of the foetus she was carrying. There is no mitigating circumstance in favour of the accused. Thus, the act of the barbarity committed by the accused makes it a rarest of the rare case where only capital punishment is to be given". Criticising people and groups advocating abolition of death penalty, he said: "It may be added some groups have been advocating abolition of the capital punishment. It seems that the persons leading these groups are living in ivory towers and have never been touched by such crimes committed on the ordinary citizens. The victim is not there to tell the agony of pain he or she suffers. In the present case, there is no other alternative but to award the above proposed punishment".
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Death of passenger
Gurdaspur, May 5 Several important judgments in favour of consumers in the past fortnight by the Gurdaspur consumer forum has earned it accolades from locals who are now more aware of their rights and have started flocking to the forum in a big way.
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Couple abandons infant in hospital
Phagwara, May 5 Dr Punit Galhotra said a young man in a drunken state along with a woman came to the hospital at 8 pm yesterday. "We asked him to admit the child due to his critical condition. The couple mentioned infant's name as Krishna, age two months and father's name Kuldip of Bohra village". Dr Punit said some attendants told him that the couple kept quarreling with each other last night. Later, Kuldip was nabbed from Goraya, but he was unable to talk due to his drunken state. He was brought to Phagwara, but the mother of the infant did not turn up to take her son back. SHO City Sarwan Singh Bal said the police was investigating the matter.
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Agriculture Minister Tota Singh, who has been sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment, has said he would quit from the Cabinet if the party high command desired so.
Speaking to The Tribune, he said, “I will do whatever the SAD high command orders me to do…. I will appeal against the decision in the higher court.”
New Delhi, May 5
Since the matter is pending in court, we can't do much as far as what Haryana is doing. However, we have filed a review petition in the apex court.
