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2 terrorists arrested in Nawanshahr
Bhagat Singh Birth Centenary Celebrations Scam
Two more arrested in PMET scandal
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Potato plight: First the glut, now shortfall
MC poll notified
Ludhiana man is mayor of Hounslow
2 Bathinda students top PMET
Police to reassess threat perception
Paper mill sealed for violating norms
SC suspends sentence of two policemen
Former SC judge may head probe panel
Schools told to get registered with state govts
Court quashes FIR against PO
Another petition against MC status for Phagwara
Rap for Punjab over child rights’ panel
Heroin worth Rs 10 cr seized in Ferozepur
Five more Kala Dhanaula gang members held
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2 terrorists arrested in Nawanshahr
Nawanshahr, May 21 Identified as Sandip of Saifabad village in Jalandhar and Sukhwinder of Rohanano village near Khanna (Ludhiana), the terrorists were nabbed during a naka. The police action came following a tip-off regarding their movement. After their questioning, the police recovered 2.7 kg of RDX, three bombs, as many detonators and two timers buried in fields at Poonia village in Banga and Saifabad village in Phillaur. Inspector General (Patiala range) Paramjit Singh Gill and SSP Dhanpreet Kaur said the police had, besides laying the naka, beefed up patrolling after getting information about the terrorists. The mastermind of the gang, Gurnek Singh alias Neka of Bara Pind village in Goraya (Jalandhar), had been residing in the US. It has come to light that the explosives and arms had been brought to Punjab by the gang two years ago. Asked why intelligence agencies took so long in recovering the explosives, Gill did not give a direct reply. However, he said the Punjab Police enjoyed the faith of the state people, which was a must to thwart any attempt to disturb Punjab’s hard-earned peace. “The activists of the Khalistan Zindabad Force could not dare to use the explosives under pressure from the police and the public. But, they used their pistols for committing petty crimes like snatching and thefts. Seven cases of snatching had been registered against the two at different police stations,” he said. The police has registered a case under sections 121, 121-A, 120-B of the IPC, sections 17, 18, 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and section 25 of the Arms Act at Sadar Banga police station.
...but state police has no clue about the Wanted 9
However, investigations by The Tribune revealed that several Station House Officers (SHOs) had failed to initiate concrete steps for the arrest of these terrorists despite getting orders from their higher-ups. A communiqué in the police department reads: “All these terrorists should be arrested or any information about them should be shared with the SSP office.” A senior official said that only the intelligence wing was monitoring these cases while no information was being gathered at the grassroots level by the SHOs concerned where these terrorists were active or the areas they belonged to. A majority of them are wanted in Sangrur, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar and Amritsar districts. A few of them are wanted for the last two decades. In Tripuri police station in Patiala, the list was sent last week to make efforts to trace Wadhawa Singh alias Chacha Babbar (reportedly hiding in Pakistan), Ramanjit Singh alias Goldi of Fatehgarh Sahib and Paramjit Singh Pamma of Mohali. Tripuri police station SHO Karan Sher Singh said, “We have no information pertaining to these terrorists…apparently they are abroad.” Officials in the intelligence wing say that among the other terrorists, Puran Singh is believed to have died.
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Bhagat Singh Birth Centenary Celebrations Scam
Nawanshahr, May 21 Additional District Sessions Judge Avtar Singh sent him to judicial custody till May 31. The VB had arrested two other accused in the case - Sanjay Gera and Vikas Mehra of GM Entertainment - from Faridabad in February this year. Satbir Bajwa, also an accused, is still at large. The case came to light when the Human Empowerment League of Punjab (HELP) sought details of expenditure incurred on the centenary celebrations at Khatkar Kalan under the Right to Information Act. HELP activist Parvinder Singh Kittna, after getting information that Rs 3.05 crore were spent on the occasion, had filed a complaint with the VB in October 2009. After a 14-month-long probe, the VB indicted Dr Swarn Singh as the prime accused in the case. It was found that bogus bills were raised in the name of event managers, suppliers and top Bollywood artistes. The PAC had engaged GM Entertainment to invite celebrities to the event. The company had allegedly claimed to have paid the performers (also to those who did not even turn up at the event) at a much higher price than actually paid. The VB obtained statements of all artistes and promoters. Even quotations by the companies were found fake. The addresses given by the companies submitting quotations were also incorrect. The VB also found that Dr Swarn Singh had sent a letter to a number of Bollywood actors stating that GM Entertainment would contact them for participating in the event. While the letter was written on September 13, 2008, the quotations were submitted by the company on September 15.
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Two more arrested in PMET scandal
Ferozepur, May 21 Meanwhile, gang members Dilshad Hussain, Rinku Sidhu and Dhiraj Bagra, and parents Dr Rajpal Bhullar and Manraj, who were arrested yesterday, have been sent to police remand. Hardial Singh Mann, SSP, said the police was examining all aspects and could also seek the help of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, that conducted the PMET in the state. He said the police was trying to ascertain the identity of persons whose names were mentioned in a notebook recovered from the gang members. The police was also verifying the source from where the All-India CBSE PMT question paper was procured by the agents. The unscrupulous agents, after procuring the database of students hailing from Punjab who were to appear in the PMET, had sent SMSes to 600 students. The police has not been able to track down Aditya Mishra of Bareilly in UP who had provided the databank to the agents. It is learnt that a special police team is being sent to Delhi to further investigate the matter. On the possible involvement of a university official, the SSP said till now there was no such indication. It has come to light that these agents had been sending MBBS aspirants to private medical colleges in Muzzafarnagar, Jaipur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Noida, Dehradun, Ujjain, Bhopal and Kolhapur The management of these colleges may also be quizzed.
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Potato plight: First the glut, now shortfall
Chandigarh, May 21 The local crop is being sold at Rs 15 per kg and potato from the hilly areas at Rs 20 per kg. The prices are up by almost 20 per cent since last month. Potato growers and traders in the region say that the prices are likely to remain steady because of lower production. Potato production in the country this year is estimated at 33.5 million tonnes or a little more (more than 16 per cent less than the potato production in 2011-12). It is down by almost 20 per cent in Bihar, West Bengal and parts of Uttar Pradesh. In Punjab, the production has been hit owing to the unexpected rainfall in January this year. It is expected to be down by 35 per cent this year. Jaswinder Singh Sangha, secretary of the Jalandhar Potato Growers Association, said the poor remuneration for the crop last year and the high cost of fertilisers this year has led to a shortage in potato production. “The area under potato production in Punjab is down by 5,000 hectares (last year, potato was grown over 75,000 hectares). The cost of fertilisers like the DAP has gone up manifold, forcing the farmers to use less fertilizers on their crop. This has led to a 40 per cent less yield,” he said, adding that the price of DAP had increased from Rs 267 per bag to Rs 1,100 per bag and that of potash from Rs 250 per bag to Rs 750 per bag. Surinder Pal Singh from Ludhiana said the farmers were getting a very low price for the crop, though the retail price was much higher. “Depending on the size of the potatoes, farmers are getting Rs 5 to Rs 8.50 per kg,” he said. Potato farmers from Punjab were earlier selling their produce in Jammu and Kashmir because it got them higher prices there. But with the potato now being imported from Pakistan via Kashmir (as part of barter trade), traders in Jammu and Kashmir are now opting for the cheaper Pakistani potato. Sources said while the white-skin potato from Pakistan was available to traders at Rs 8-9 per kg, the Indian potato was available at Rs 12-13 per kg. Similarly, the red-skin potato from Pakistan was available at Rs 10-11 per kg whereas the Indian variety was available in the wholesale market at Rs 16- 17 per kg.
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MC poll notified
Chandigarh, May 21
The poll commission has announced the poll schedule for 26 nagar panchayats, three MCs and 24 wards. With this, the model code of conduct comes into effect. The filing of nominations begins forthwith. The last date for filing nominations is May 24. Scrutiny will take place on May 26. The last date for withdrawals is May 28. Wherever required, the poll will take place on June 7 but for declaration of results, the candidates will have to wait till June 10 when the counting will start at 6pm. The counting of votes for the June 7 and June 10 poll will be done simultaneously. The SAD president, Sukhbir Singh Badal, today remained closeted with his party leaders first in the party office and then at his home to finalise seat distribution. The final list is expected by tomorrow. Sukhbir said they would contest the municipal elections on the party symbol. The main agenda would be development. He said the SAD-BJP alliance was committed to developing all cities and towns within three years. In a resolution, the leadership appealed to the people to vote for the SAD-BJP alliance to ensure speedy development. The resolution demanded a special economic package from the Centre. Sukhbir said the alliance partners would contest on the same number of seats as they during the last elections.
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Ludhiana man is mayor of Hounslow
Ludhiana, May 21 Having migrated to the UK in 1976, Pritam’s family organises the All-India Mohinder Partap Singh Grewal Women Hockey Tournament at Ludhiana every year. The outgoing Mayor of Hounslow, Amritpal Singh Mann, also hails from Ludhiana district’s Nangal village, 5 km from Kila Raipur.
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2 Bathinda students top PMET
Faridkot, May 21 The toppers, who obtained 732 out of a total of of 800 marks, are Dinesh Walia of Pathankot (Roll No. 805022), Arshdeep Kaur of Bathinda (Roll No. 805423) and Anish Jindal of Bathinda (Roll No. 805655). Aneet Kaur (Roll No. 805042) of Hoshiarpur, who got 728 marks, was second. In the SC category, Tarwinder Singh of Patiala ( Roll No. 811727) secured the first position with 704 marks, followed by Manmeet Kaur of Faridkot (Roll No. 805588) who got 668 marks. In the BC category, Harnoor of Sangrur (Roll No. 810982) was first with 700 marks. Dr SS Gill, Vice Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, told The Tribune that in case of the three toppers with the same marks in the PMET, their score in science subjects in Class XII would also be considered at the time of admission to medical colleges. With the declaration of the PMET result, the process for admission of students to 10 medical colleges, 15 dental colleges and 12 ayurvedic and homeopathic colleges in the state will begin soon. “To rule out unfair means, three sets of question papers were used for the PMET and the toppers were among those who used different sets of question papers,” Dr Gill said.
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Police to reassess threat perception
Chandigarh, May 21 Sukhbir said it had come to light that a number of bureaucrats and police officers were using cars and escort vehicles without entitlement. These officers would be directed to return the vehicles. He said the SSPs or Commandants allocating police personnel to individuals without the knowledge of the security wing would face action. Sources said the recent security reassessment had revealed that security had been given to property dealers, lawyers and granthis without authorisation. Among those whose security has been withdrawn include six guards given to Nehru Yuvak Kendra head Amardeep Singh Cheema, four to Gurdaspur advocate Sudhir Walia, four to Hindu Suraksha Samiti president Sanjeev Bhardwaj, two to property dealer Avtar Gill, two to head granthi Jaswinder Singh, one to Balmikhi Sabha secretary Randeep Gill, two to chartered accountant Neeraj Sharma, one to petrol station owner Gurvilash and three to Congress leader Rajinder
Saini.
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Paper mill sealed for violating norms
Highly placed sources said on specific information a PPCB team conducted a raid at the DSG Paper Mills Private Limited, located on the Main Road, Patiala, some 10 days ago. “In view of the violations, the mill was sealed a couple of days back,” said the board authorities. During the raid, the mill was found discharging its effluent into the Patiala Nadi through an underground pipeline of a length of 300 metres. The pipeline laid by the industry originates from its plantation area near labour quarters. Speaking to The Tribune, PPCB environmental engineer Pawan Kumar Garg said since the mill failed to comply with the conditions of “consent to operate” granted by the Board, action was taken under Section 33-A of the Water Act, 1974. “On the basis of the raid, the Board had sent a request letter to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited for disconnecting the power connection of the mill, which has since been disconnected,” added Garg. The board authorities further said the “consent to operate” granted to the mill had been revoked. “Instructions have been issued that the mill will dismantle and remove all outlets and stop discharging any wastewater into drains or any inland surface water. Furthermore, the mill will not restart any process, unless all necessary pollution control measures are taken and it complies with the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974”, said PPCB chairman Ravinder Singh.
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SC suspends sentence of two policemen
New Delhi, May 21 Additional Solicitor-General Mohan Jain opposed relief to ASI Malkiat Singh and Head Constable Harmesh Lal, contending that they had detained the person with the intention of eliminating him.
Jain said the policemen did not deserve any leniency as they had misused power to commit a heinous crime instead of protecting the citizens’ right to liberty. The victim had escaped from illegal custody after two days and appeared in the court in October 2000 with his leg still in shackles. Jain made the submissions before a Bench comprising Justices Deepak Verma and SJ Mukhopadhaya in response to a notice issued to the CBI last week, seeking the agency’s views on a petition filed by the convicts. However, the Bench was not convinced. “It was not proper to keep them behind bars pending disposal of their appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” it maintained, pointing out that they had already spent more than five months in jail. The SC ordered their release on a bond of Rs 25,000 each. The Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI, at Patiala had sentenced them to a one-year RI on May 29, 2010. The sentence was confirmed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Patiala, in November 2011. The HC had refused to suspend their sentence on February 17 this year, prompting them to approach the SC.
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Former SC judge may head probe panel
Chandigarh, May 21 With this, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today made it clear that it was in favour of constituting a commission or tribunal for carrying out the probe. The Bench also asked amicus curie in the case Arun Jain to draft the terms of reference for the commission to act. As the matter was being argued, Justice Alok Singh, sharing the Bench with Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar, suggested the name of Justice Kuldip Singh, a retired Supreme Court judge. The bench then asked Arun Jain to look into the matter of obtaining Justice Kuldip Singh’s consent. The Bench also made it clear that a retired or serving sessions judge level judicial officer would assist the chairman of the commission or tribunal. The issue of land under possession of some influential persons in Mohali has been with the High Court since long. Punjab had, only on the previous date of hearing, informed the Bench that about 60 influential persons, including Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, had acquired properties in the area. In an affidavit, the state had also given a clean chit to Badal, Saini and others, while indicting only seven persons for holding land which was earlier public. After going through the report, the Bench had raised questions on the fairness of report after the names of the Chief Minister and the DGP figured. The Bench had also appointed Arun Jain as amicus curie and asked him to suggest how a fair probe could be conducted. Jain, on Monday, suggested the constitution of a commission or tribunal. The case will now come up for hearing on Tuesday.
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Schools told to get registered with state govts
Chandigarh, May 21 The directions were in sync with the provisions of the Right to Education Act. It came soon after the court was informed that in Punjab alone, about 3,800 out of total 9,800 were unregistered. The directions came during the resumed hearing of a PIL on the implementation of the RTE in schools. The Bench comprising Justice S.K. Mittal and Justice T.P.S. Mann observed in the open court that all the schools must comply with the rules laid in Section 18 of the Act. The Act makes it mandatory for each school to get itself registered with the Education Department of the state. According to the procedure, the school has to make a self-declaration before the Education Department confirming the compliance of the specified conditions. The Act also provides that the Education Department could withdraw recognition after following prescribed procedure in case a school is not complying with the condition. The Bench also directed the Education Departments of Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana to submit a report on the compliance of the order on the next hearing on July 10. The High Court has already asked the Central Board of Secondary Education, Punjab School Education Board and the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education to inform the Bench whether the provisions of the Right to Education Act were being complied with by the schools affiliated with them. The boards and education councils have even been asked to file detailed affidavits on this and related issues.
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Court quashes FIR against PO
Chandigarh, May 21 The FIR against Sukhjit Singh, popularly known as Sukhi Chahal, was quashed by Justice Rameshwar Singh Malik after a compromise was stuck between him and former minister Malkait Singh Birmi. A number of judgments were cited to support the prayer for quashing the FIR on the basis of a compromise. This is, perhaps, the first time in recallable past that a proclaimed offender has managed to get relief of getting the FIR quashed against him. Sukhi was declared a proclaimed offender in 1992 after an FIR was registered against him on February 18 the same year at police station division No. 5, Ludhiana, under Sections 386 and 387 of the IPC. Birmi, contesting the Vidhan Sabha elections then, had claimed that he received a call from an unknown person, demanding Rs 4 lakh. The caller threatened to liquidate his family, Birmi had added. Sukhi was arrested on January 21 this year while he was canvassing for a political party during the assembly elections. In his petition placed before Justice Malik through counsel Harpreet Sandhu, Sukhi had claimed the matter has now been compromised. “With the intervention of friends and elders, the matter between the parties has been amicably compromised,” Sandhu added. Going into the background, he said Birmi got the case registered against him. He added: “The present FIR was registered in 1992. Subsequently, when the petitioner did not appear before the court, he was declared proclaimed offender. “Later on, January 21, he was arrested and now has been enlarged on regular bail by the trial court at Ludhiana”. Sandhu added that petitioner was now residing in the US and having two minor children. “The petitioner and the complainant need to settle down and start their life afresh,” Sandhu insisted.
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Another petition against MC status for Phagwara
Chandigarh, May 21 Councillor Tej Pal Basra and six others today moved the High Court against the Single Judge’s order, dismissing the petition against the formation of municipal corporation in Phagwara. The Single Judge, vide his 41-page order, had dismissed three petitions against the formation of municipal corporations in Pathankot, Mohali and Phagwara. The Division Bench headed by Justice S.K. Mittal today not only issued notice of motion to the State of Punjab, but also issued notice regarding stay. Before parting with the case seeking the setting aside of the Single Bench judgment, the Bench also fixed July 10 as the next date of hearing in the case. The petitioners have all along been claiming that the change in status of the municipal council to corporation, through notification issued in July last, was arbitrary, illegal and without application of mind. The development is significant as the government, at the time of issuing notifications, was facing the allegations of carrying out the conversions of councils into corporations under political pressure and with the assembly elections in sight. The Single Judge had ruled: “In view of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Sundarjas Kanya Lal Bhatija's and that of this Court in Bhupinder Singh's case, it is held that declaration of an urban area as a municipal corporation is an exercise of legislative function.” “Once it has been held that the process of declaration of an urban area into a Municipal Corporation is essentially a legislative function, the only ground on which it can be challenged is the ground of unconstitutionality or ultra vires.”
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Rap for Punjab over child rights’ panel
Chandigarh, May 21 Admonishing the Haryana Government for giving a vague answer, a Division Bench criticised the Punjab Government for not implementing its undertaking. The High Court also gave a week's time to both the states to clarify their stands on setting up child protection commissions or centralised agencies. Appearing on behalf of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Anil Malhotra said every state and UT has to constitute a commission, along with children courts. The directions came on a petition filed by social activist Hemant Goswami. He is seeking directions to Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to set up the commission for protection of child rights. As the case came up for resumed hearing, the Haryana Government submitted that it would constitute an authority. Unimpressed by the submission, the High Court questioned why a commission was not being set up. The High Court then directed the Haryana Government to consult Chairman, Legal Services Authority, Haryana, on the issue of members and chairman to be appointed. In case of Punjab, the High Court took serious view of non-assistance by the government authorities. On April 15 last year, the Punjab Government had told the High Court that it had decided to set up a commission. But the names of its members were submitted. When asked, counsel for the Punjab Government failed to assist the court, citing as reason non-cooperation by the government authorities.
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Heroin worth Rs 10 cr seized in Ferozepur
Ferozepur, May 21 The contraband is valued around Rs 10 crore in the international market. BSF commandant PK Rathore said jawans deployed at border outpost DT Mal observed movement ahead of the fencing near border gate no 195 last night. A thorough search of the area today led to the seizure of a blue coloured box kept under a tree near a temple along the zero line, he said. The heroin was kept in two packets in the box.
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Five more Kala Dhanaula gang members held
Sangrur, May 21 Sangrur SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar said the police arrested five members of the Kala Dhanaula gang while they were planning a major strike. He said the arrested had been identified as Jaspreet Singh alias Babbi, Ramandeep Singh alias Rammi, Balwinder Singh alias Whisky, Jagjit Sharma alias Bhallu and Ramphal Singh. They were planning to snatch a car and later commit a robbery with the vehicle, he said. The police has recovered two .32 bore pistols and nine live cartridges, two .315 bore country-made pistols with five live cartridges a 9 mm gun with five live cartridges from their possession.—
TNS
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Two members of banned terror outfit Khalistan Zindabad Force were arrested near Karnana village in Nawanshahr today along with two China-made pistols and 11 cartridges.
Chandigarh, May 21
Patiala, May 21
Patiala, May 21