The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Sangat Darshan
On-the-spot transfer orders for ‘erring’ SHO
Moga, September 6
To address the grievances of the people on the spot, the Punjab Police organised a ‘sangat darshan’ for the people of Faridkot, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Moga districts here, today.

IG, Bathinda zone, Nirmal Singh Dhillon addresses the grievances of people at Moga on Thursday. Photo by writer

Road outside Dy CM’s house presents a ‘dirty picture’
Badal (Muktsar), September 6
The idea of witnessing ultra-modern facilities in this VIP village of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal gets shattered when the motorists maneuver through the dug up roads that are full of slush and rainwater.

Rainwater accumulated on the road outside the residence of Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal at Badal village in Muktsar district. A Tribune photograph

Lifting their hopes

Photo and text: Anirudh Gupta

Thousands of youth from the rural hinterlands have flocked to the Jyoti Stadium in Ferozepur where an Army recruitment rally is underway. The Army says around 34,000 youths have already reported at the rally and the number is likely to swell during the next two days. Colonel Arindam Majumdar, Director, Army Recruitment Office at Ferozepur, said around 1800 candidates have been issued admit cards for the common entrance test which will be held at Jalandhar on October 28.

Traders decry hike in VAT on footwear
Fazilka, September 6
Footwear sellers and traders observed a strike here today to protest against the increase in VAT on shoes, particularly those priced up to Rs 500. The shopkeepers closed their shops for half of the day. President of the Beopar Mandal and Shoe Association, Fazilka, Ashok Gulbadhar said the Punjab Government earlier charged 13 per cent VAT and surcharge on branded leather shoes and five per cent VAT plus surcharge on other low priced varieties footwear.

Punjab has the distinction of implementing RTS: Dr Verka
Fazilka, September 6
“Punjab is proud to be the only state in the country to have successfully implemented the Right to Service Act under which 69 services are offered within a time-frame to the common people,” claimed Dr Dalbir Singh Verka, Commissioner, Right to Service Act, Punjab. He said soon, 41 more public services would be incorporated in the RTS.

	Cops gun down gangster in Bathinda The gangster was wanted in several criminal cases and was residing quite close to the ASP’s residence Gurdeep Singh Mann Tribune News Service Bathinda, September 6 A day after the shootout in the busy Mehna Chowk market of the city in which a man was shot dead over a property dispute, the police today shot dead a gangster wanted in numerous cases of murder, attempt to murder, looting, vehicle lifting, kidnapping, firing and incidents of intimidation. The gangster Gursewak Singh Shera was wanted by the Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh police. A resident of Khubban village on the Abohar-Hanumangarh road in Muktsar district, he was residing in a rented accommodation on the ground floor of a posh area in Kamla Nehru Colony, quite close to the official residence of the ASP. Police said Shera was wanted in looting a gun house in Hoshiarpur, demanding ransom from some property dealers and businessmen of Ludhiana, and for murders in Karnal and Ferozepur. In the most recent incident, he had opened fire in the Sector 34 market of Chandigarh. The Chandigarh police had flashed the registration number of his vehicle and it was on that basis that it was intercepted by the Bathinda police today. Police had the tip-off about a notorious person residing in a rented accommodation and to cross-check the fact, the vehicle was stopped today as soon as it came out. The man at the wheels fired at the cops following which the police retaliated and pumped three bullets into the man. He was declared “brought dead” at the local Civil Hospital. Police said Shera remained indoors today and came out of the house at around 7.30 pm. Local residents said two or three SUVs were making rounds of the house since afternoon. Three tyres of the luxury Fortuner car bearing the registration number of Mansa district were deflated by the police. The bystanders said Shera rolled down the window screen of the car and fired at the police party in a bid to flee. The police party headed by ASP Kuldeep Chahal fired at him in retaliation. The woman accompanying the gangster was taken into custody and was being questioned by the police. DIG Parmod Ban said it was an achievement of the district police and ASP Chahal who carried out the operation successfully without injuring anybody else. He said Shera was among the eight persons booked at Ferozepur for killing the owner of a gymnasium, Amandeep aka Happy Deora, during the assembly elections this year. The DIG said Shera is involved in incidents of looting in Gujarat as well. The luxury car he was driving was also looted or stolen and Shera was using it by putting the fake registration number of a Maruti Swift car registered in Bareta in Mansa district. The DIG said Shera was also involved in kidnapping incidents in Malout and Muktsar.
	ATS to grill drug smuggler in custody of R’than cops Raj Sadosh Abohar, September 6 Teams from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Special Operation Group (SOG) and G branch of the Border Security Force will be interrogating Kuldeep Singh Keepa (24) of village Mallian in Tarn Taran district who has been remanded in custody of the Sriganganagar police till September 10, well placed sources said. He was wanted by the police in connection with the smuggling of heroin worth Rs 30 crore on February 23 and had escaped through the Hindumalkot-Abohar road along with Balwinder Singh and Bola Singh who had accompanied him from their home district of Tarn Taran. They had left behind his motorcycles besides six of the 10 packets of heroin that were thrown from across the Zero Line near pillar number 278/3. The Central agencies decided to continue the interrogation amidst reports received by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs that the ISI, based in Pakistan, was trying to re-activate Babbar Khalsa International that had a strong base in Tarn Taran during the period of turmoil. Most of the hardcore militants including Avtar Singh Brahma had reportedly confessed that they been frequenting the West Punjab province of Pakistan through the Hindumalkot border.
	Sangat Darshan On-the-spot transfer orders for ‘erring’ SHO Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Moga, September 6 To address the grievances of the people on the spot, the Punjab Police organised a ‘sangat darshan’ for the people of Faridkot, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Moga districts here, today. Interestingly, the police arranged for the transportation of the people who came from far- flung places and also provided refreshments and lunch to them at a local marriage palace. Another characteristic of the cops was that they showcased their skill in computers. The district-wise data of each complaint was well maintained for the follow-up exercise. IG, Bathinda Zone, Nirmal Singh Dhillon, who presided over the ‘sangat darshan’ said the aim was to regain the confidence of the general public and develop better relations between the police and public. On the other hand, such an exercise also provides vital information about the criminal activities of the anti-social elements at the local level, which helps root out crime, he said. At the same time, the weaknesses and irresponsible acts of the cops at the ground level also come to light, which helps the senior authorities in chalking out a better strategy for removing such irregularities, the IG maintained. Meanwhile, the confidence level of the rural folk, the aggrieved men and women, was on display in full measure as they did not even hesitate to complain against the cops in the presence in front of their senior officials. Jarnail Singh, a block samiti member from Makhu, brought to the notice of the IG that Pradeep Singh, SHO of Lakhoke Behram police station, uses indecent language and derogatory remarks while dealing with the public. The IG ordered his transfer on the spot. Beant Kaur, a middle aged woman, along with members of the committee of a gurudwara in Sekhan Kalan village, narrated the attack on her husband and the subsequent harassment she was facing at the hands of the local cops. She stated that the SHO of the Samalsar police station has not yet registered a criminal case against the culprits who attacked and abused her husband on August 31, this year. She said her husband was in the hospital under treatment. The IG ordered the local police authorities to register a criminal case on her complaint and report to his office within 24 hours. It is learnt that 95 complaints from Moga district, 48 from Fazilka district, 18 each from Ferozepur and Faridkot districts came before the visiting police officer. The DIG of Ferozepur Range, Paramraj Singh Umranangal, SSPs of the four district and other senior officials of the division along with the SHOs were present on the occasion.
	Road outside Dy CM’s house presents a ‘dirty picture’ SP Sharma Tribune News Service Badal (Muktsar), September 6 The idea of witnessing ultra-modern facilities in this VIP village of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal gets shattered when the motorists maneuver through the dug up roads that are full of slush and rainwater. This is the condition in the entire village for the past nearly one year when the roads were dug up for laying the sewerage system that has been done at a snail’s pace. The condition of the road outside the recently built mansion of the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is the worst where deep water and slush greet the visitors. Pedestrians and motorists were facing hardships as the problem has aggravated due to the recent rains that have caused slush on the road. Vehicular traffic on the main road of the village with a population of about 3000 stands diverted for the past several months and motorists have to follow the side lanes to reach their destination. Ministers, top brass of the civil and police administration and others who thronged the village to meet Sukhbir during his three-day camping here earlier this week had a taste of the problem that the common people were facing. It was difficult to control the vehicles that would skid on the slush. The house of the PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal is also near that of Sukhbir. The executive engineer, Parmod Kumar, who is supervising the laying of the sewerage system, said the work is almost complete and now the PWD has to construct a proper road. He said the work got delayed because of the contractor who was assigned the job earlier. The village also houses a training institute of the Sports Authority of India and the state nursing institute.
	Traders decry hike in VAT on footwear Fazilka, September 6 Footwear sellers and traders observed a strike here today to protest against the increase in VAT on shoes, particularly those priced up to Rs 500. The shopkeepers closed their shops for half of the day. President of the Beopar Mandal and Shoe Association, Fazilka, Ashok Gulbadhar said the Punjab Government earlier charged 13 per cent VAT and surcharge on branded leather shoes and five per cent VAT plus surcharge on other low priced varieties footwear. “But now, the state government has increased VAT on the low priced variety from five per cent to 13 per cent which is unjust,” said Gulbadhar. He informed that shoes below the price of Rs 500 are tax-free in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Rajasthan. The Shoe Association members presented a memorandum to ADC Charandev Singh Maan demanding a rollback of the hike in VAT. — OC
	Punjab has the distinction of implementing RTS: Dr Verka Praful Chander Nagpal Fazilka, September 6 “Punjab is proud to be the only state in the country to have successfully implemented the Right to Service Act under which 69 services are offered within a time-frame to the common people,” claimed Dr Dalbir Singh Verka, Commissioner, Right to Service Act, Punjab. He said soon, 41 more public services would be incorporated in the RTS. Later, Dr Dalbir Singh Verka held a meeting with officials of different departments in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Fazilka. He said for the proper implementation of the RTS Act, DCs and SDMs should hold monthly meetings to ensure that no cases remain pending. Later, he visited the Suvidha Centre, Farad Kendra, Sanjh Kendra, Municipal Council, Patwar Khana and the Civil Hospital for an on the spot survey of the functioning of government officials. “It should be ensured that the benefits of the Act reach the common man and the Act should be implemented in letter and spirit,” said Dr Verka, who was accompanied by Fazilka ADC Charandev Singh Maan, Jalalabad SDM Vipul Ujwal and SP (H) Fazilka Manmohan Sharma.