|
|
|
|
|
Security cover to several former DGPs withdrawn
Suspend ‘guilty’ policemen, demand angry Mansa villagers
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Transfer scam gets bigger
Amritsar gets air connectivity to Europe
150 absentee doctors, nurses face the axe
Education Dept gets Rs 326 crore in cess
Health centre nurse slaps doctor, transferred
Ropar thermal plant unit develops snag
Govt schools in rural areas face staff crunch
More arrests likely in imported weapons case
Two cancer deaths in Abohar
Child care centre opened in Patiala Jail
Freeze arhtiyas’ commission, says Mandi Board
Missing Children
‘Vendetta’ case: High Court notice to Punjab
Govt directed to pay sugarcane arrears by Aug
Adhere to anti-copying steps, school board told
Graft: civil surgeon, VB Inspector held
|
Security cover to several former DGPs withdrawn
Chandigarh, July 25 In all, 30 senior police officers have been left without security. Police sources said though it was decided to rationalise the security cover of former DGPs in May, the same was not implemented till now. With 2,000 police personnel attached with VIPs withdrawn in the last two months, it was felt that the security cover of former officers should also be rationalised. Messages asking police personnel with former DGPs to report back to duty were sent yesterday. Among those whose security cover has been withdrawn are former DGPs MPS Aulakh, Lalit Bhatia, SS Nahar, PS Hura, SK Verma and P Lal. Official sources refused to confirm the names. The sources said the security cover of a number of DGPs, including MS Bhullar, NPS Aulakh, KK Atri, PC Dogra, RS Gill, SM Sharma and Jyoti Trehan, had been heavily pruned. They had been left with two to four guards now. Unhappy at the move, some former DGPs reportedly held a meeting yesterday and approached Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. They were assured that those who had fought militancy would continue to be protected by the state. The officers have prepared a memorandum and are likely to approach the Deputy Chief Minister too. The sources said the security cover to former DGP KPS Gill as also former DGP PS Gill (who has served in Jammu and Kashmir) remains. The latter, who was an Akali candidate in the recent assembly elections, is protected by 30 to 35 security guards.
|
|
Suspend ‘guilty’ policemen, demand angry Mansa villagers
Akalia ( Mansa), July 25 Neetu’s father Gurtej Singh and mother Shinder, who do odd jobs to make a living, were inconsolable.” My son wanted to become an officer,” said Gurtej, his face stained with tears. Eyewitnesses said the trouble began when a gang of three criminals waylaid a couple riding a motorcycle on the outskirts of the village but were pounced upon by village youths swimming in a drain nearby. Two of them were caught. One of them was identified as Karamveer, son of a head constable. The situation turned ugly when the angry villagers refused to hand over Karamveer to the police, the eyewitnesses said. Earlier, tempers ran high at the Mansa Civil Hospital with the residents refusing to claim the two bodies till the state government announced compensation for the kin of the deceased and suspended the “guilty” policemen. Legislator Prem Mittal, Deputy Commissioner Amit Dhaka and Harpreet Singh, SSP, pacified the villagers by promising a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. Dhaka said a special investigation team had been constituted to probe the incident. Harpreet Singh said the police had arrested Zulfikar, one of the gang members a couple of months ago.
There was no laxity and the police was following due procedure, he added.
|
||
|
Transfer scam gets bigger
Chandigarh, July 25 The report is a part of the ‘challan’ submitted by the police to the Mohali district court where the case will come up for hearing on August 20. The findings were made after a complaint by the Director, Rural Development and Panchayats, on September 28, 2011. Among the accused are Deputy Director Mohinder Singh, Superintendent Des Raj Gupta and Senior Assistant Amarjit Singh. A case has been registered under Sections 420, 462, 468 and 471. All three officials are on bail. Superintendent Gupta has retired. Statements of officers and certain “beneficiaries” form part of the ‘challan’ submitted to the court. All 33 “beneficiaries” who were suspended after the scam in September 2011 have been reinstated. Their transfers have been cancelled. The scam pertained to transfer of secretaries associated with maintaining records of village panchayats. These transfers, made without the knowledge of the Director and the branch concerned, were clearly illegal. Even the despatch numbers on the letters were found to be wrong. In view of the new finding that at least 247 transfers were made illegally, the department may have to order a re-probe to understand the modus operandi and the magnitude of the scam. This is a must to rectify the official mechanism and prevent any such scam in the future. The Director, Panchayats, Balwinder Multani, said: “According to our records, the number of fake transfers is 33. I will not be able to comment on the police findings without going through the details of the report”. Sutjit Singh Rakhra, Cabinet Minister, Rural Development and Panchayat, said: “ I learnt about the findings of the inquiry committee only recently. We are looking into the details of the case.” A suspended panchayat secretary said: ``It will be only fair for the department to take a fresh look at the case in its totality instead of looking for individual cases”.
|
||
|
Batala small-scale industry gasping for life
Batala, July 25 Data acquired from the Industries Department reveals that in the last 30 years, more than 60 per cent industries have closed shop. The town once did roaring business in cast iron products, agricultural implements and sports goods. But Partition changed it all. Businessmen are fast surrendering sales tax numbers, power and telephone connections. Industrial plots have no buyers either. The town had more than 2,000 foundries in 1980. The number now is just 530. Out of the 550 firms manufacturing agricultural implements, just 128 are still in business. Hand tool manufacturers have vanished while producers of galvanised pipe, conduit pipe, brass cutting and aluminium doors and windows are gasping for breath. Likewise, there were 2,500 industries dealing in lathe drill machines in the late 1980 of which only 705 remain. Industries dealing in wooden and steel furniture have also been decimated. Industrialists say it was the abolition of the FEP in 1992 (initially adopted in 1948 by the Union Government) which sounded the death knell of the town industry. This policy was introduced to facilitate equal growth of industry all over the country. Under the policy, transportation of minerals was subsidised by the government through the Railways no matter where an industrial unit was located.This gave a major boost to industry in Batala, post- Independence. Following the withdrawal of the policy, industrialists started shifting base to other towns. Jaswinder Singh Nagi, president of the Foundries Industries Association, said : “The industry in Batala is as good as dead. First the militancy in the 1980s and then the withdrawal of the FEP in the 1990s came as the last nail in the coffin. For the past 10 years, the town has been registering a negative growth rate. “The cost of raw material procured by Batala’s foundries now exceed the price of finished goods produced by units located in the vicinity of steel plants. Upgradation of infrastructure has become an unthinkable proposition.” Iqbal S Saimi, another industrialist said: “Batala was once the largest manufacturer of cast iron and machine tools. The three things which have killed the town’s industry are Partition, militancy and the abolition of FEP. Bad roads and poor rail connectivity have been the contributing factors. “Many units like Khalsa Foundry, Macro Foundry, Batala Engineering Company (BECO), Janaki Steel Rolling Mills, Sarabjot Machine Tools, Kumar Engineering and Neelam Iron Foundry have downed shutters. Their owners have now invested in faraway cities.”
|
||
BJP leaders skip Vinod Khanna’s functions
Pathankot/Gurdaspur, July 25 State BJP president Ashwani Sharma, Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Dinesh Babbu and BJP national executive member Swaran Salaria chose to skip functions addressed by Vinod Khanna in the past three days. All these leaders as well as two-time Cabinet Minister Master Mohan Lal and educationist SK Punj are in the reckoning for the party ticket from Gurdaspur seat for the next parliamentary elections. In an attempt to mend fences, Vinod Khanna tried to contact Sharma, Dinesh and Salaria but to no avail. Even Bhoa BJP MLA Seema Devi, a protégé of Sharma, remained incommunicado throughout the day. The only senior leader who met him were Master Mohan Lal, who is at daggers drawn with Sharma and former Improvement Trust chairman Anil Vasudeva. Sources said the BJP leadership was peeved at the fact that the film star-turned politician had disappeared during the runup to the assembly elections. “Had he campaigned, the alliance would have won at least two more seats in the Gurdaspur constituency which were lost by narrow margins. We could have fared better in Dera Baba Nanak where we lost by 2,950 votes and Fatehgarh Churian where we lost by just 850 votes,” claimed a senior party functionary. The BJP had contested four seats in this constituency and won three. Senior leader Salaria has reasons to be piqued at the actor’s visit. “Salaria managed the election campaign of the BJP candidates in Pathankot, Bhoa and Sujanpur. He worked tirelessly to ensure these seats were bagged by the party. Obviously, being a frontrunner for the party ticket, he is not happy at the way things are turning out for him,” claimed a New Delhi-based leader. Despite repeated attempts, Vinod Khanna could not be contacted.
|
|
Amritsar gets air connectivity to Europe
Amritsar, July 25 The airline has started two flights a week (Wednesday and Thursday). Jarnail Singh, a passenger, said it was a convenient journey with quality in-house treatment. He said he liked the contemporary European style architecture of the newly built international airport at Yerevan. He appreciated transit facilities at the airport, besides presence of restaurants serving quality food and offering state-of-the-art services which, he said, had replaced the monotonous waiting time into enjoying moments. Another passenger on the inaugural flight, Jaskirat Singh Ghuman, said he felt at home on the flight and enjoyed the continental food served to him. The return flight took off with 26 passengers on board at around 3.10 am. Jaswinder Singh Mannan from Jalandhar, who along with his wife and child headed to London, said he chose the airline due to its competitive pricing and brand. Another passenger in the first return flight, Nikita Sharma, also from Jalandhar, remarked she was going to London on a student visa and preferred to travel from Amritsar as otherwise she would have to first travel to Delhi and then board a connecting flight. She said the time between her connecting flight from Yerevan to Birmingham was exactly an hour. Armavia Country Head HS Dugal hoped the number of passengers would increase gradually. He said the airline was known for its quality service, safety and security of passengers. "We are offering Indian food on the departure flight and continental on the arriving flight. The flight covers the distance between Yerevan and the holy city in about four-and-a-half hours," he said. The airline was operating these flights with Airbus-320 with a seating capacity of 148 seats, he said, adding from Yerevan, passengers would be able to board connecting flights to Birmingham, Rome and Milan within a short transit time. Dugal said the distance between Yerevan and Birmingham could be covered in five hours. "Amritsar, Yerevan and Birmingham are located on the same route which means that the precious time of the passengers will not be wasted. A large number of NRIs of Punjab origin are settled in Europe and the flight will benefit them," he added.
|
||
|
150 absentee doctors, nurses face the axe
Chandigarh, July 25 "We have discussed this issue at a cabinet meeting and decided to dispense with the services of such employees," said Health and Family Welfare Minister Madan Mohan Mittal. "I have directed the Director, Health services, to issue a public notice in this regard," he said. "There were also government doctors who have been absent from duty, but engaged in private practice. Such doctors have been directed to report back immediately. In case, they failed to do so, their services will also be terminated," said
Mittal. "My aim is to ensure the presence of doctors in civil hospitals and dispensaries," he said, adding: "Doctors who will serve in remote areas for three years will be given a posting at a station of their choice". At present, there were 400 vacant posts of doctors and 600 of nurses. "We recently recruited 425 doctors and have planned to fill all vacant posts at the earliest," the minister said, adding the Health Department had developed its own network of gathering information regarding the sale of illegal drugs by chemists at various places. "We are getting useful information through our network and have conducted raids to seize drugs," he said. To maintain a stock of medicines in civil hospitals and dispensaries, Rs 200 crore had been allocated to the department. Mittal said the department would set up drug de-addiction centres at Faridkot, Bathinda, Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ludhiana by spending Rs 30 crore. "Senior doctors of the PGI have prepared a plan for setting up such centres, which will function under the supervision of medical colleges,” he added.
|
||
|
Education Dept gets Rs 326 crore in cess
Chandigarh, July 25 Finance Department officials said the entire amount due towards the education department as cess imposed on the sale of liquor had been transferred on the orders of the Chief Minister. The decision had been taken following a contempt notice issued to the Excise and Taxation Commissioner and Special Secretary, Education, by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 8. Acting on a public interest litigation filed by Ropar-based lawyer Dinesh Chaddha and Government Teachers Union against the Excise and Taxation Commissioner and the Special Secretary, Education, the court had asked the Excise and Taxation Department to release the funds to the Education Department. The cess amount of Rs 326 crore was not transferred even seven months after the High Court order despite the two officers having given an undertaking that the funds would be transferred. The petitioners again filed a contempt petition against the officers earlier this month. The Excise Department had claimed that they had deposited the education cess with the Finance Department, which had failed to release it to the Education Department. The government had introduced education cess on the sale of country liquor, IMFL and beer, at the rate of Rs 10 per proof litre. The cess was levied in August 1998. Barring a few months in 2008, when reportedly Rs 32.90 crore was transferred, most of the cess collected remained in the possession of the Excise Department.
|
||
|
Ration depots supplied rotten wheat
Muktsar, July 25 "Punsup officials had charged market rates for substandard wheat it supplied to nearly 70 depots in the block. The grain is unfit for human consumption," said Surjit Singh, chairman, Doda Block Ration Depot Holders Association. Some shopkeepers adjacent to a Punsup godown in Doda said two trucks of wheat were unloaded here yesterday and most of the bags were in poor condition and grain infested with fungus. Gurpritam Singh, Inspector, Punsup, said: "The produce procured in the last three years has been stored in open plinths. Due to rains, it got partially damaged, but we are not supplying it to depots. If some depots have got rotten wheat, they can get the stock replaced from our godown." Sandeep Singh, District Manager, Punsup, said: "I will visit depots that have lodged a complaint. If the quality of wheat is found to be poor, we will replace the stock immediately”.
|
||
|
50% quota for state students
Chandigarh, July 24 In a meeting with members of the Board of Governors of Thapar Educational Trust today, the Chief Minister said there was hardly any need for negotiating the already settled issue as the university was bound to provide 50 per cent quota to students of the state. He said the abolition of the norm would amount to betrayal with Punjab which was not acceptable. On apprehensions of the university representatives that quota would mean admission to less deserving candidates, the Chief Minister asked them to start 10+2 and special coaching classes for students of the state to act as a nursery to attract the best talent in their institution.
|
||
|
Health centre nurse slaps doctor, transferred
Patiala, July 25 She alleged that Sudesh also hurled abuses at her and threatened her of dire consequences. This is not the first time that a complaint has been filed against
Sudesh. She had allegedly thrashed sweeper Mohinder Pal almost three months ago at the centre. But instead of taking an action against the nurse, the department transferred Mohinder Pal. Therefore, he filed a complaint with the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) and the commission asked Superintendent of Police, Rajpura, Bhupinder Singh Khatra to conduct in inquiry in the matter. “She is an habitual offender and often manhandles Class IV employees. She even dared to slap lady health visitor Manjeet Kaur at the centre yesterday and threatened her of dire consequences, after which members of the ANM and LHV Union met the Civil Surgeon and gave him a representation. They have demanded immediate action against the nurse,” said a health worker. He further said Sudesh not only misbehaved with fellow workers but also used to write prescriptions for ultrasound in the name of doctors with their stamps. “All necessary proof in this regard have also been submitted with the Civil Surgeon,” he added. A delegation comprising about 70 persons met Punjab Health and Family Welfare Director Dr JP Singh on his visit to Patiala on July 22 and lodged a complaint against
Sudesh. He had assured the delegation that he would look into the matter. After today’s incident, Dr JP Singh said they were transferring Sudesh to some other station and he would ensure that she does not repeat her mistakes. Rubbishing all complaints against her, Sudesh said she had not done anything wrong. “It is just a conspiracy,” she added.
|
||
|
Teachers demand RO systems
Patiala, July 25 They said, “Every year, hundreds of persons are taken ill due to contaminated water and installing RO systems will definitely help in controlling the epidemic. Though a few schools in Patiala district have RO systems, which have either been donated by political leaders or NGOs” Out of the 38 water samples collected from government and private schools by the District Health Department this year between January and May, as many as 15 samples were found unfit to drinking. The Health Department had already written a letter to the concerned authorities, including Director of the Health and Family Welfare Department, Patiala Deputy Commissioner, senior medical officer of that block, school authorities and executive engineers of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, for taking suitable action in this regard. A teacher said in the absence of RO systems in schools, children have to drink directly supplied or stored water. “Though the Municipal Corporation claims that the water is being chlorinated. But if we go by what has happened in the past few days, we cannot rely on their claims. All teachers bring their own water bottles from their homes to ensure that we don’t have to consume the water in school. But most of the children in government schools are from economically weaker sections. So, we should provide them with this facility at school,” she added. A headmaster posted at a nearby village has said they have their own motor installed in the school and the same water is used for drinking purpose. “We don’t even chlorinate the water as we don’t get any supply of chlorine tablets. Therefore, children consume whatever is available,” he added. District Education Officer Balbir Kaur Gill said there was no such provision for installing RO systems in schools.
|
||
|
Ropar thermal plant unit develops snag
Patiala, July 25 This unit was recently shut down on account of boiler leakage but got operational after the snag was rectified. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) Director (Generation) GS Chhabra said it was observed that the problem in the unit was still
there and subsequently, the unit was shut down for repair. However, the unit number 1 of the 210-MW thermal plant is also non-operational due to a technical snag. Authorities have stated that the unit number 1 is likely to be operational by tomorrow.
|
||
|
Govt schools in rural areas face staff crunch
Patiala, July 25 Sources in the Education Department said out of the total 570 education providers working in the district, 73 were working in Zila Parishad schools and 20 in the local bodies schools, while the remaining were appointed in various elementary, middle, high and senior secondary schools depending upon the requirement but still many schools in rural areas were reeling under staff shortage, as a result of which the Education Department has called back its education providers to serve in schools under the department. A large number of teachers from rural areas were transferred on demand to various city schools or nearby areas ahead of the assembly elections as a result of which schools in far off rural areas had to bear the brunt. Though the Education Department was planning to shift back the teachers who got themselves transferred on demand to balance things in rural schools and even sought a list from these teachers regarding their choice of stations, the department later sanctioned the posts of science, maths, Punjabi, Hindi and drawing in city schools after a lot of hue and cry by teachers. Though the prescribed teacher-student ratio is 1:30 for primary, 1:35 for middle and 1:40 for higher classes, there are a couple of schools in Patiala in which the number of students are less than 100 but the posts of teachers are almost full -- there are over seven teachers to teach these students. Government Middle School, Dheeru Ki Majri, Government Middle School, Daun Khurd, and Government Middle School, Kheri Mania, are a few such schools. Even after recent transfers, there is still no clarity about the actual number of vacant positions in the district. Now, the District Education Officer (DEO) is preparing a list of vacant positions in all the schools that would be used for rationalisation in future. Meanwhile, the Education Department, which has spared its education promoters for Zila Parishad schools and local bodies schools, has asked the concerned departments to send back their teachers so that they could be appointed as per requirement in schools under the Education Department. While the Zila Parishad is trying to make alternate arrangements in this regard, the local bodies have expressed their inability to run these schools without the education providers. DEO (Secondary) Balbir Kaur Gill said she had been directed by the senior authorities to take back education service providers from the Zila Parishad and local bodies schools so tha they could be appointed in schools under the Education Department. “I am following the instructions and have already taken back a few education providers and others will join us soon,” she added.
|
||
|
More arrests likely in imported weapons case
Patiala, July 25 Sources in the police said it was a major nexus in which some Ghaziabad-based dealers pushed imported weapons through their network into various states of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. "We have rounded up a few people, including the kingpin who has given us vital clues," they added. The police had recently arrested Vaneet Dabra, a resident of Ferozepur, with 18 imported pistols from near Rajpura. A case under various sections of the IPC and the Arms Act was registered against him. The police said Dabra sold nearly 20 imported pistols to high profile clients in Punjab after changing their registration numbers and getting them registered against fake
licences.
|
||
|
Two cancer deaths in Abohar
Abohar, July 25 Girdhari Lal, husband of sarpanch Maam Kauri, said both the women had been travelling by the “cancer train” to avail treatment from the hospital at Bikaner in Rajasthan. The deceased have been identified as Roshani Devi and Chanderawali, sister-in-law of the sarpanch. The residents of the village regretted that the state government had not come to the rescue of the patients even when Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, during a specially organised Sangat Darshan here on April 22, 2011, had expressed concern over the death of a dozen cancer patients during the past few years.
|
||
|
Child care centre opened in Patiala Jail
Patiala, July 25 Trust chairman SPS Oberoi, a Non-Resident Indian, said the trust would open more such centres in other jails for the social upliftment of children. “Every child has a right to education and thus we will surely make more efforts towards this,” he stated. The centre will have air-conditioned rooms and library.
|
||
|
Freeze arhtiyas’ commission, says Mandi Board
Chandigarh, July 25 Artiyas are given a commission of 2.5 per cent on paddy and wheat procured for the central pool. Also, they are entitled to 2.5 per cent commission on the sale of other foodgrain, vegetables and fruit. The arhtiyas in the state earn more than Rs 900 crore as commission every year. Lakhowal said the arhtiyas’ commission went up every year along with the minimum support price (MSP) of various crops as it was based on a fixed percentage of the total value of the produce. The Centre had been opposing this practice. He said the board had recommended that the commission be worked out on the basis of the MSP for wheat, paddy and other foodgrain and that it should be freezed at that level. For instance, if the MSP for paddy was Rs 1,250 per quintal, the commission agent would get a commission of Rs 30 per quintal of paddy. Some farmers’ unions have been pressing for direct payment to farmers for the produce sold by them in the grain markets. Lakhowal said the board had recommended that vegetables and fruit be exempted from market fee and that user charges be levied on commission agents instead. The board had also decided to set up a wood market in Hoshiarpur for which it had acquired 20 acres of land.
|
|
Missing Children
Chandigarh, July 25 A Division Bench of the High Court directed the appointment of “state nodal officers” to monitor the cases of missing persons. The Bench also directed the setting up of a unit for Punjab
and Haryana at Chandigarh for dealing with such cases. The unit would be headed by the IG (Special Cell). Another unit for Chandigarh would be headed by an SP-rank officer. Directions for providing sufficient staff were also issued. The High Court had earlier called on Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to work on a “joint mechanism” for tracing lost children. The directions in the missing children’s case came after Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain took note of the fact that the State of Haryana was registering an FIR only “when it was found that a cognisable offence has been committed”. Otherwise, only a DDR was registered in the police station concerned. Referring to a judgment on the issue placed before the court by amicus curiae Anil Malhotra, the Bench said: “This is wholly against the directions issued by the Supreme Court on October 14, 2002, in the Hori Lal case ... Once the boys and the girls are missing, there is no question of recording a DDR in the matter which would not result in setting in motion the machinery of criminal justice.”
|
|
|
Amritsar
Improvement Trust land scam
Mohali, July 25 The judge held that she had sent a reference to the Sessions Judge, Roopnagar, to transfer the case pertaining to the Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam to some other court in Mohali, citing personal reasons. The court issued directions that the case would now come up before the District and Sessions Judge, Ropar, on July 28. "We will now move the Punjab and Haryana High Court tomorrow to get permission to go abroad," said Ramdeep Partap Singh, counsel of Amarinder Singh. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had registered the case in September 2008 after a probe named several persons, including Capt Amarinder and former minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, in the Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam. Earlier, the PCC president reached the court at 10 am amidst tight security. He remained there for over an hour. Later, talking to mediapersons, Amarinder reiterated that there was no rift among Congress leader. Lashing out at the Akali government, he said it had failed on all fronts.
|
|
|
‘Vendetta’ case: High Court notice to Punjab
Chandigarh, July 25 Describing himself as a “victim of political and police terror unleashed by Brahmpura”, Iqbal Singh of Ludhiana has alleged that the former minister, “in furtherance to his policy of victimisation” got several cases registered against him. But, he has not been convicted in any of the case registered at Brahmpura’s behest. Rather, in some cases he has been acquitted. Referring to the scooter theft case, his counsel Bikramjit Singh Pannu asserted that the police, at the time of implicating the petitioner, was not aware of his remand in judicial custody. It soon moved an application for the petitioner’s discharge. “The lower court, then, passed the order with regard to the petitioner’s discharge in the case, which was false and fabricate”. In his petition placed before Justice KC Puri of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Pannu added the petitioner has now been implicated in a case of murder and other offences, registered on May 7 at Police Station Chohla Sahib in Tarn Taran district, though he is “not even remotely connected” to it. Going into the background of the controversy, Pannu added Congress candidate from Khadoor Sahib Ramanjeet Singh Sikki defeated Brahmpura due to the petitioner’s hard work. The impact of the defeat was felt with full force as Khadoor Sahib Vidhan Sabha constituency was considered a “Shiromani Akali Dal bastion”. Pannu added the former minister has been “openly challenging the petitioner” and has told him clearly that he would not be allowed to live in Punjab if he did not join the SAD. The assertion is significant as the Congress party has been witnessing a migration of sorts of its workers to the SAD; and the State Deputy Chief Minister has been giving the ruling party credit for it. This is, perhaps, the first time a Congress party worker has before the High Court tried to project a different reason for the shift. Taking up his petition for handing over the murder case to a senior IPS officer, Crime Branch of Punjab Police or some independent agency, the High Court has issued notice of motion to the State and other respondents. The case will now come up for further hearing on August 13.
|
|
|
Govt directed to pay sugarcane arrears by Aug
Chandigarh, July 25 Issuing the directions, the Bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh also made it clear that the authorities could sell the sugar mills to make the payment to farmers, if required. The payment to farmers is to be made in the presence of the Cane Commissioner. The orders came on a writ petition filed by Consortium of Indian Farmers’ Association. It had claimed that due to ignorance of the state government and lack of policy for sugarcane growing farmers, they were not being paid for the entire year. — TNS
|
|
|
Adhere to anti-copying steps, school board told
Chandigarh, July 25 The measures include imposition of Section 144 of the CrPC at the examination centre, prohibiting the assembly of more than five persons in the area. Details of the steps were furnished before a Division Bench by the State of Punjab in an affidavit. It said effective preventive measures had been taken to check mass copying. The state said the centre superintendent, invigilators and supervisory staff were deployed from other schools to conduct the exam. They were picked from a panel sent by the District Education Officers. Special centre observers from other schools were deployed at sensitive centres “to observe the situation”. Officers in the rank of Senior Lecturer and above were deployed as flying squad members and surprise checking of exam centres was undertaken by the district administrator concerned. Special flying squad teams comprising the Chairman, Secretary, Controller of Exams, board members and Academic Council members had also been consituted. Taking on record the measures, the High Court disposed of the petition, saying: “We feel that by adopting preventive measures, the examinations are likely to be conducted in a fair manner. The Punjab School Education Board authorities are directed to stick to the measures suggested by the government at the time of conduct of the annual examinations”.
|
|
Graft: civil surgeon, VB Inspector held
Chandigarh, July 25 DGP-cum-Chief Director, Vigilance, Suresh Arora, said Civil Surgeon Jai Singh was caught red-handed at his office by a Vigilance team, led by DSP KD Sharma while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000 from a sweet shop owner. The DGP said complainant Ajmer Singh had alleged that the Civil Surgeon had been demanding a monthly payment from sweet shop owners of the district to spare them from surprise checks. The Vigilance team laid a trap and the accused was caught red-handed from his office. The officials also recovered the bribe money from his possession. In another case, a Vigilance Bureau Sub-Inspector, Madan Lal, was arrested along with his three agents for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 55,000 from a head constable, Arora said, adding the accused had threatened head constable Lubhaya Masih that he had received a complaint that the latter had got recruited in the police on the basis of forged certificates. He had demanded Rs 75,000 to settle the complaint. Masih allegedly gave Rs 55,000 to his agents Ram Kishan Gupta and his son Anil Gupta, both typists, who further handed over the money to another agent Karnail Singh. All four accused have been arrested following raids at various places, the DGP added.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, July 25
Amritsar, July 25
50%
quota for state students
Amritsar
Improvement Trust land scam