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Jail records to be computerised in state
Punjab Agro sows seeds of discord among farmers
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Delay in CUP campus work worries farmers at Ghudda village
3 held with stolen goods
Forced to overload vehicles, claim school bus operators
Amarpura Basti resident faces murder charge
2 held under NDPS Act
Indraprasth Colony family booked for demanding dowry
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Jail records to be computerised in state
Bathinda, August 10 This was claimed by Punjab Minister for Jails, Tourism and Culture Swaran Singh Phillaur who visited Bathinda today to launch the website of the Bathinda Hotel and Resort Association. He also visited various tourist places in the city besides the Bathinda Central Jail. The minister said the computerisation of records would entail inclusion of information like the fingerprints of all prisoners, their remission, good conduct, date of release, record of parole and moral character. The entire information would be interlinked with the jails and the important functionaries of the security agencies so that they are able to access any information pertaining to the jail, crime record of the prisoners and other information with a click of the mouse. The facilities would be provided initially in the Central Jail at Amritsar, Jalandhar and Kapurthala as a pilot project and would be later introduced in the other jails of the state, he said. For monetary transactions, the minister said smart cards would be issued to the prisoners by replacing the coupon system for monetary transactions. Senior officials have been instructed to monitor and control drug peddling in jails, he said, adding that the officials would head the state and district-level committees for this purpose. The Principal Secretary, Home, would be the chairman of the state level committee and the district magistrate would head the district level committee and every possible monetary help would be extended to the jail authorities. The minister claimed that sniffer dogs would soon be provided in jails for detection of drugs and jammers would be installed to debar the use of mobile phones in jails. The minister later visited the Bir Talab Mini Zoo and the boating club at thermal lakes He said the historical and religious places in Bathinda would be promoted as tourist spots. Replying to a query on the alleged special treatment provided to former Punjab minister Bibi Jagir Kaur, undergoing imprisonment in a criminal case, the minister said the facilities had been provided as per the law. Fact file
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Punjab Agro sows seeds of discord among farmers
Bathinda, August 10 The members of the Bharti Kisan Union (Lakhowal) have demanded a vigilance probe into the incident alleging that the dealers sold off the seed at an exorbitant price by including the fake names and signatures of farmers in the list of beneficiaries. Punjab Agro Food Corporation was told to distribute wheat seeds to the farmers by the state government and the corporation involved its agents for this purpose. The dealers were supposed to send a list of farmers to the corporation to get their bills reimbursed. Most of the wheat seeds were sold at the rate of Rs 1,250 per quintal to the farmers on a subsidy of Rs 500. Though the corporation has released payment to the dealers, the subsidy amount is yet to be given by the state government. The state government would release the payment to the corporation after verifying the names of the farmers by sending agriculture department officials to personally verify it. BKU (Lakhowal) leader Ramkaran Singh Rama alleged that a large quantity of the 57,000 quintals of wheat seeds meant to reach farmers in Bathinda during the year 2010-11, was not delivered properly. The dealers included the fake names and signatures of farmers to prepare the list of beneficiaries and pocketed money to the tune of lakhs. The BKU leader said that in Kanakwal village, near Rama Mandi, a dealer got the fake list of farmers attested with the fake signature of the village lambardar. "The lambardar has now lodged a complaint with the police against the use of his fake signature. Interestingly, the stamp used to attest the list is that of the village panchayat whereas in reality, there is no village panchayat in Kanakwal for the last many years due to a court case," the BKU leader said. He said that five farmers of Kanakwal village received 37 bags of wheat seeds, but only on paper as practically there is no farmer present in the village whose names have been mentioned in the list. Another dealer prepared a list of 19 farmers showing that 161 bags of wheat seeds have been delivered at a subsidised price them. Seventeen of the names are fake, he said. Chef Agriculture Officer Dr Rajinder Brar, while admitting that an inquiry was pending into the case, said though the department is not looking into the issue of fake signatures, it is trying to establish whether the wheat reached the beneficiaries or not. "Whenever a subsidised item is released by the government, the officials of our department are told to verify whether the material actually reached the beneficiary," Dr Brar said. He added that a list of farmers has been obtained from the officials of the Punjab Agro Food Corporation and the Agriculture Department officials are visiting the farmers after randomly taking the names. Farmers who admit to receiving the subsidy are marked as correct while the others are marked incorrect, he said. The agriculture department officials said the shortage of staff has hampered the process of inquiry and the Agriculture Development Officers (ADOs) have been told to bring their enquiry reports by coming to the office of the Chief Agriculture Officer on Friday. One of the ADOs in Bathinda said there are many farmers who denied getting the subsidised wheat seeds and they are striking out their names from the list. Assistant Manager, Punjab Agro Food Corporation, Gurdeep Singh, when contacted, claimed the entire wheat seeds meant for farmers have been delivered properly. He said the matter of fake signatures has also been resolved as those signatures were of the lambardar's father who is too old and his son looks after his work.
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Delay in CUP campus work worries farmers at Ghudda village
Bathinda, August 10 Spread over 500 acres, the campus, with heavy growth of weeds and shrubs, has proven to be the perfect breeding ground for the Ak (calotropis) grasshoppers that attack and damage the crops of the farmers. The problem was first brought to the notice of the agriculture department when the farmers complained about the Ak grasshopper migrating from the varsity's campus to their fields at the onset of summer. "Farmers thought it was locust and raised an alarm. We visited the fields with a team of the CUP officials and the farm advisory committee and found it was not locust but the Ak grasshopper," said Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Rajinder Singh Brar. Since that area of the campus is impenetrable due to the thick growth of weeds and shrubs, it was decided to spray pesticides to destroy the grasshoppers. Dr Brar said since the construction of boundary wall is not yet complete, the agriculture department could not take the risk of spraying pesticides on the premises. "If any animal strays inside and devours the plants sprayed with pesticides, it could lead to its death. So, we wrote to the CUP requesting that they take up spraying at their own level and clear the land or at least start its landscaping," Dr Brar said, adding that the department is yet to receive a reply from the varsity. In the meantime, the farmers in the nearby areas have been asked to spray pesticides to keep their crops safe. The CUP officials said the problem of pest attack was there but it has been contained. "This grasshopper does not have the potency to jump over the boundary walls of the varsity campus. It entered the nearby fields only from the portions where the boundary wall has not yet been constructed," said a senior university functionary. He added that the pesticide was sprayed on the vegetation and with the onset of rains the eggs of grasshoppers have been washed away giving relief to the farmers. The official added that very soon, work on planting trees like neem, dek and jamun along the boundary wall will commence. "We will also be planting bougainvillea that will cover the compound wall of the entire campus," he added. Meanwhile, CUP officials added that construction has been delayed as there were issues with the land acquisition and the land has not yet been transferred in the name of the varsity. "Our vice-chancellor has repeatedly taken up the matter of transferring the land in the name of the university at different meetings convened by the Punjab government, but it has not yielded any result. The first phase of the construction would start only after the state government transfers the land in the name of the university," said a varsity official on the condition of anonymity. Fact file
Official speak Our vice-chancellor has repeatedly taken up the matter of transferring the land in the name of the university at different meetings convened by the government but it has not yielded any result. —a senior staff, Central University of punjab
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3 held with stolen goods
Bathinda, August 10 The accused have been identified as Gurpreet Singh Kala of Bhalaiana who is presently residing in Bir Talab Basti No. 4, Baljinder Baba of Kasam Bhatti, Jaitu, and Deep Ram of Phulo Mithi village. The arrested youth are in their early twenties. Two years ago, they resorted to crime to make quick money. Two of them, who were allegedly hooked to drugs, had left their temporary jobs in the Powercom to take up an easy but wrong way to make money. SSP Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill said huge quantities of stolen and snatched goods worth Rs 4 lakh had been recovered from the accused. The police said a Maruti car, a bike, gold and silver jewellery, a sewing machine, a microwave, an LCD, a pair of shoes, a briefcase, an electric iron, a cable box with remote control, shirts and trousers and eight mobile phones were recovered from the possession of the arrested youths. Civil Lines SHO Gurdev Singh Bhalla said the accused were arrested during a naka laid near the Ghore Wala Chowk in the city. During preliminary interrogation, the accused did not give satisfactory replies to the queries put up by the police, following which they were brought to the police station where they were thoroughly interrogated. The accused have confessed to having committed eight snatchings and several thefts. The SHO said while Baljinder and Gurpreet were matriculates, Deep Ram studied till class VIII. He said the accused used to attack soft targets. They targeted ladies and elderly women and snatched their belongings like purse and jewellery. They also kept a tab over the houses whose owners remained out of their houses for longer duration. The SHO said the accused used to scale the boundary walls or break windowpanes to enter the houses and decamped with materials. The police official said efforts would be made to locate the owners of the stolen goods recovered from the possession of the accused so that the goods could be returned to their respective owners.
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Forced to overload vehicles, claim school bus operators
Bathinda, August 10 The president of the Association, Gurpreet Singh Happy, said over 200 school van operators of the city, who were members of the Association, were ready to offer best services provided they were adequately compensated. "The parents are not ready to pay more than Rs 400 or Rs 500 per child due to which they are forced to use old vehicles. Further, the agreements with school authorities to ferry the children to and from school are also not being renewed even as some operators took bank loans to purchase new vehicles," he said. Since bus operators were poorly paid by the parents of the schoolchildren and schools alike, they were not in a position to buy new vehicles and had to continue with the old ones. "We are ready to purchase new air-conditioned buses and stop overloading. For this, parents and school authorities have to compensate us too," Happy said. He said one of the members of their association purchased new vans and buses by spending lakhs of rupees. He signed an annual contract with a private school of the city that mentioned the annual charges and the number of students to be ferried in a bus. "Even as the contract prohibited teachers from travelling in the vehicles, the school authorities forced the van owner to adjust them as well, which reduced the space available for the schoolchildren. The worst came when after completing one year, the school authorities refused to make payment for the entire year. The school authorities told the operator that they would pay for a few months only," said the president of the operators' association. Now, the school authorities were not ready to pay Rs 3 lakh to the operator and have also refused to continue with the contract citing 'high price' quoted by the operator, he added. "If the contract is not renewed by the school, the newly-bought vehicles would be rendered useless. The van operator would feel cheated and would have to approach another school and persuade its authorities to hire his services," Happy said. Gurjant, a transporter from nearby Maur Mandi, said one of the operators was forced to ferry 13 teachers and 23 children by a private school even as the contract was for 17 students only. The members of the Association also complained about the heavy taxes they had to pay. They regretted even as their vans plied within 30 to 35 km, they had to pay tax to the tune of Rs 20,000 per year, which is levied on trucks and other heavy vehicles that ply across the country. The operators demanded that the Punjab Government should charge them on the pattern of Gujarat where the annual tax that bus operators were required to pay was Rs 5,000. They accused the transport authorities of maintaining double standards. They alleged that while the transport authorities stop them from using school vans for purposes other than ferrying children, they are pressurised to carry people during the election rallies, which should be stopped. The operators have threatened to hold ‘chakka jam’ in case the problems they were facing were not resolved soon. The operators said they had already met Bathinda MLA Sarup Chand Singla and apprised him of their problems. Now, they plan to meet Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal to seek a solution.
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Amarpura Basti resident faces murder charge
Bathinda, August 10 In his complaint to the police, one Gurpreet Singh of Amarpura Basti stated that his brother Manpreet was into the business of sale and purchase of dry fodder and used to bring it from far off places in a tractor-trolley with the help of his partner, Rachhpal Singh of Amarpura Basti. On February 29, Rachhpal and Manpreet loaded their trolley with dry fodder from Bhagtuana village to Dhaula. They passed through Jeeda Tinkoni in Nathana and stopped near the canal bridge adjoining Puhla village at 9 pm. Manpreet, who was sitting atop the dry fodder, was summoned but he did not respond. Rachhpal reportedly went atop and found Manpreet sick. He was taken to the Bathinda Civil Hospital where he died. The complainant has accused Rachhpal of having murdered his brother as he owed the victim some money. The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC at the Nathana police station.
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2 held under NDPS Act
Bathinda, August 10 The Talwandi Sabo police arrested one person with eight kg of poppy husk. The accused, identified as Jeet Singh of Rampura, was caught while carrying the contraband near Singo village. The police said the accused was arrested at a special naka. A case under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at Talwandi Sabo police station. Meanwhile, in another incident, the police has arrested one person in possession of five kg of poppy husk from near vegetable market, Bathinda. A police patrol party had nabbed the accused, Bagga Singh of Sanghera village of Barnala. A case under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at the Kotwali police station.
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Indraprasth Colony family booked for demanding dowry
Bathinda, August 10 In her complaint to the Women Cell, Nidhi, a resident of Model Town Phase I, stated that her in-laws torture her for dowry. The police has registered a case against Subir Sethi, Gautam Sethi, Rekha Sethi, Gaurav Sethi and his wife Alka Sethi. No arrests have been made so far. Motorcycle stolen
A motorcycle was reportedly stolen from Model Town Phase II. In his complaint to the Cantonment police, Manish Kumar stated he had parked his Hero Honda bike (PB 24 B 2257) in front of his house where the incident took place. A case against unknown persons has been registered. |
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The jail records in Punjab would soon be computerised on the pattern of Tihar and other model jails in the country and abroad.
Bathinda, August 10
