B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Abohar-Fazilka rail link
Indefinite stir enters 8th day
Abohar, May 20
The indefinite dharna organised by the NGO, India Against Corruption (IAC), at the railway complex here entered its eighth day on Sunday.

Members of inter-state gang of car lifters held, 8 vehicles recovered
Moga, May 20
The Moga police today managed to arrest the remaining three members of the inter-state gang of vehicle lifters, which was busted by the local police early this week.

4 held for betting on IPL matches
Moga, May 20
The Moga police caught red-handed four members of a gang, who were allegedly placing bets on IPL matches, during a raid on a marriage palace at Gill road here, today.

Bar Council of India stays election of Abohar Bar Assn
Abohar, May 20
The Bar Council of India has stayed the election of the Abohar Bar Association slated for tomorrow, i.e. May 21.

Abohar-Fazilka rail link
Indefinite stir enters 8th day
Our Correspondent

Abohar, May 20
The indefinite dharna organised by the NGO, India Against Corruption (IAC), at the railway complex here entered its eighth day on Sunday.

The spokesman of the IAC, Radhey Shyam Sharma, said indefinite fast would be the next course of action. The NGO is demanding that besides making the long awaited Abohar-Fazilka rail link operational, potable drinking water should be made available at the railway station as high content of fluorides have been found in the water supplied by taps at present.

A team of the railway officials from Bathinda reached here and got two water connections sanctioned by the Municipal Council. It will, however, take some time as estimates are to be approved by the divisional office of the railways at Ambala.

The IAC said the construction of the rail track had been completed with a budgeted cost of Rs 214 crore last year with the project hanging fire for about eight years. Mamata Bannerji, the then railway minister, had in her budget speech announced the 54559/60 Bathinda-Abohar-Fazilka fast passenger train. The same was listed in the time-table also.

This year, Dinesh Trivedi had in his rail budget speech, announced the Ferozepur-Fazilka-Abohar-Sriganganagar express train. The IAC alleged that the railway officials had succumbed to pressure from the powerful road transport lobby as the passengers will have to pay less than Rs 10 as rail fare whereas bus travel costs Rs 23.

Former MP Virendra Kataria informed that he explained the situation during a meeting with the railway minister Mukul Roy at his camp office. Roy was told that 125 staff members were to be deployed at four railway stations to make the track operational but the officials were delaying it. This prevents final checking of the track by the Chief Security Officer based at Lucknow.

Madan Lal Bhalotia, a member of the Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC) said he raised the issue during the meeting held yesterday. The Divisional Railway Manager (Ambala) Pardeep Kumar Sanghi assured to take up the issue with the senior railway authorities. Bhalotia warned that the railways might face a "Jat Andolan" like stir if immediate steps are not taken to make the Abohar-Fazilka rail link operational. It is strategically important too since two cantonments based at Udhampur (J&K) and Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) would be linked by it, bringing relief to the Army.

Pramil Kalani, chief of the Rail Sangharsh Samiti, said a meeting of the NGOs has been called for next Sunday (May 27) to consider a proposal for the rail roko stir. Activists from Fazilka and Sriganganagar have also been invited to participate. "We are determined to launch a do-or-die stir if railways ignore the demand," he indicated.

The ongoing stir got a boost on Sunday when the CLP leader Sunil Jakhar along with city Congress president BL Nagpal, veteran Gandhian, senior councillor Vimal Thatai, PCC delegate Naresh Khurana and scores of other workers, marched to the railway complex to extend support to the demand.

Members of inter-state gang of car lifters held, 8 vehicles recovered
Kulwinder Sandhu/TNS

Moga, May 20
The Moga police today managed to arrest the remaining three members of the inter-state gang of vehicle lifters, which was busted by the local police early this week.

As many as eight stolen cars, which were likely to be sold in the market, after preparing forged documents, had also been recovered from them.

Earlier, on May 15, one member of the gang identified as Jagrup Singh, was nabbed with a stolen vehicle when a police ‘naka’ was laid at the Moga bypass on the outskirts of the town. However, the other gang members, including Jagsir Singh, Jagdeep Singh and Tejinder Singh, managed to escape. But today, SSP Surjit Singh Grewal claimed that they all had been arrested by the police.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang was operating in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi for the last many years.

The leader of the gang, Jagsir Singh Seera, a resident of Bhekha village of the district, is believed to have revealed to the police during the investigations that after stealing the vehicles, the gang reportedly used to prepare their fake documents through the local agents in connivance with the staff of the DTO office at Moga and Ferozepur. These vehicles were then sold in different states. “We are looking into the modus operandi of the vehicle lifters and anybody found guilty of helping them or involved in the racket will definitely be arrested," said the SSP.

The investigating officers were of the view that there was a nexus operating to prepare forged documents of the stolen vehicles for enabling their sale.

Last week, a clerk posted in the DTO office at Ferozepur, was also arrested by the Mullanpur Dakha police (Ludhiana rural police district) from whom stolen vehicles and forged documents were recovered.

4 held for betting on IPL matches
Tribune News Service

Moga, May 20
The Moga police caught red-handed four members of a gang, who were allegedly placing bets on IPL matches, during a raid on a marriage palace at Gill road here, today.

Police also recovered Rs 60,000 and seven mobile phones from the accused.

Moga SSP Surjit Singh Grewal said a special team of the local police conducted the raid this afternoon. But on seeing the police party, the members of the gang tried to give a slip.

The police, however, overpowered four of them while another member of the gang managed to escape from the spot.

The SSP claimed that the gang members were engaged in placing bets on the IPL T20 matches and were operating in Moga district. The money recovered from them was being used for betting, he said.

A criminal case has been registered against them and further investigations were in progress, Grewal added.

Bar Council of India stays election of Abohar Bar Assn
Our Correspondent

Abohar, May 20
The Bar Council of India has stayed the election of the Abohar Bar Association slated for tomorrow, i.e. May 21.

The secretary of the Council JR Sharma has stated in the orders dated May 19 that the president, Bar Association, Abohar, had filed a petition through advocate Jagdeep Singh. It will be proper to remand the matter back to the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana for considering the matter by a full House in its next meeting.

The copy of orders signed by the chairman and received under the signatures of JR Sharma today said, "Since normally, the Bar Council of India does not interfere in the matters of elections of the Bar Associations, it would not be proper to admit the matter or to issue notice but we cannot lose sight of the fact that the matter relates to the model rules duly approved by the Bar Council of India. Therefore, the application is disposed of with a request to the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana to reconsider by its full House in accordance with model rules. Till the matter is finally disposed of/decided by the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, the election of concerned Bar Association shall remain stayed."

As per the available information, the dispute was over the addition of 20 members to the electoral roll for the election scheduled for May 21.