B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Street protests seek recovery of girl
Faridkot, September 25
Nearly 36 hours after the kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl by a group of six youths in broad daylight, the police continued to grope in the dark about her whereabouts. Her seriously injured parents were admitted to the medical college hospital for treatment.

Woman dies after being hit by train
Abohar, September 25
The 54758 Sriganganagar-Ambala passenger train hit two women as they were crossing the passage near the railway platform here this afternoon. One of them was killed on the spot while the other had to be referred to Faridkot because of her critical condition.

Gang of vehicle lifters busted, three held
Fazilka, September 25
Sadar police today claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of motorcycle lifters and recovered four bikes from their possession. Significantly, the motorcycles were stolen from the neighbouring state of Haryana.

Officials cautioned against calls with ISD code +92
Ferozepur, September 25
Alarmed over the spurt in fake international calls being received from various Pakistani mobile networks, the administration today cautioned the officials belonging to various government departments not to divulge any information to these callers without ensuring proper identification.

Tax officials seize mobiles being smuggled in train
Abohar, September 25
Officials of the sales tax department have seized a large number of Chinese mobile phones while intercepting some passengers who arrived here by Udyan Abha Toofan express from Delhi.

Police inaction in elopement case irks Ghubaya
Ferozepur, September 25
Apparently upset over the role of the police officials in a case in which a girl belonging to village Alike had allegedly eloped, Sher Singh Ghubaya, MP, himself reached the police station yesterday and expressed anguish over the way in which the matter has been dealt with by the police.

Barnala DC orders removal of encroachments
Barnala, September 25
Barnala Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kavita Singh today ordered the immediate removal of huts and encroachments in the Toba Scheme, near the 22 Acre Scheme, here.

Sarpanch faces rape charge
Abohar, September 25
The police booked the sarpanch of village Burjmuhar under Sections 376, 323, 506 and 452 of the IPC when the woman along with her husband approached the senior police officials.

One held for betting
Abohar, September 25
The city police has nabbed one Raj Kumar Middha under Section 420 of the IPC and the Gambling Prevention Act, during the raid conducted in Jammu Basti and seized LCD, laptop, three mobile phones used for betting in cricket.

Street protests seek recovery of girl
Balwant Garg/TNS

Faridkot, September 25
Nearly 36 hours after the kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl by a group of six youths in broad daylight, the police continued to grope in the dark about her whereabouts. Her seriously injured parents were admitted to the medical college hospital for treatment.

But the anger of the residents in Faridkot kept soaring today against the police for its failure to recover the girl and arrest the accused.

To register their annoyance, after sitting on a dharna in front of the city police station for over six hours today, a large number of residents took out a march. They were calling for a complete bandh tomorrow and an indefinite dharna until the girl was recovered and the accused arrested.

The protesters alleged that despite the involvement of the gang's kingpin in many criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and criminal assault, the police were reluctant in laying hands on him because of his political connections.

Sensing that public anger was high, political leaders also joined hands with the protesters today.

Kushaldeep Dhillon, a former MLA and general secretary, Punjab Congress and some PPP leaders, also sat on dharna against the police, demanding the recovery of the girl.

GS Dhillon, SSP, Faridkot, said he was personally supervising the case. Separate teams carried out raids at different hideouts of the suspects in Punjab, he claimed. "We are hopeful of recovering the girl soon," he said.

"We are also checking the history of the gang's kingpin," said the SSP.

Faridkot kidnapping A 16-year-old girl was kidnapped by a group of six youths in broad daylight at Dogar Basti of Faridkot. The kidnappers hit the girl’s mother in the head with an iron rod. Her father sustained injuries on writst and arms. The kidnappers fled from the scene after firing two shots in the air. Residents lodged a protest in front of police station demanding kidnappers be nabbed at the earliest and the girl be rescued. SHO (City) suspended After the public outcry, Balwinder Singh Bassi, SHO, Faridkot city police station, was today placed under suspension. SSP GS Dhillon said the suspension of the SHO was not in connection with the kidnapping case. Rather, the SHO was negligent of not producing the chargesheet before the court against seven notorious criminals within the stipulated two-month time-frameand this 'laxity' helped the accused in getting bail from the court, said the SSP.

Woman dies after being hit by train
Raj Sadosh

Abohar, September 25
The 54758 Sriganganagar-Ambala passenger train hit two women as they were crossing the passage near the railway platform here this afternoon. One of them was killed on the spot while the other had to be referred to Faridkot because of her critical condition.

As per the available information, Shakuntala Devi of Jain Nagari, along with her tenant Renu Soni, was going to a temple in the Nai Abadi locality.

Shakuntala reportedly ignored the passenger train approaching the platform. Renu tried to pull her aside but both were trapped. Shakuntala died on the spot while Renu was seriously injured.

GRP men led by sub-inspector Pawan Kumar rushed along with volunteers of NGOs who shifted the two women to the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital.

The doctors on emergency duty referred Renu to Faridkot as her condition was critical.

Notably, the passage is used by scores of families residing in the railway quarters besides the residents of Nai Abadi but it had been blocked by the railway authorities to prevent the movement of bikes a day before the scheduled visit of the Chief Commissioner, Safety, in July.

Since then, only a few pedestrians have been crossing the passage that has by and large remained incident-free. The women from Jain Nagari were today going to pay obeisance at a temple, family sources said.

Gang of vehicle lifters busted, three held
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, September 25
Sadar police today claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of motorcycle lifters and recovered four bikes from their possession. Significantly, the motorcycles were stolen from the neighbouring state of Haryana.

The arrest came after the Sadar police received information regarding the presence of the vehicle lifters in Shahtirwala area of the sub-division.

In-charge, Sadar police, Chhinder Singh said the cops had laid a naka near village Shahtirwala and intercepted three motorcycle riders. After the interrogation and verification of documents, the police party led by sub-inspector Ranjit Singh found the motorcycle had allegedly been stolen from Haryana.

The accused has been identified as Mukesh Kumar, a resident of Fatehabad (Haryana) and Surinder Singh and Darshan Singh, residents of border village Bakainwala in Fazilka.

After the preliminary interrogation, police recovered three more bikes from their possession of which two were reportedly stolen from Haryana and one from Malout.

Chhinder Singh disclosed that another member of the gang is still at large. The accused have been booked under sections 384 and 411 of the IPC. 

Officials cautioned against calls with ISD code +92
Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, September 25
Alarmed over the spurt in fake international calls being received from various Pakistani mobile networks, the administration today cautioned the officials belonging to various government departments not to divulge any information to these callers without ensuring proper identification.

At a liaison meeting, which was attended by the officials from various security and intelligence agencies, Deputy Commissioner (DC) S. Karuna Raju today said there were several complaints regarding fake calls being received from Pakistani numbers beginning with the ISD code +92. Lucrative messages were being sent saying a particular mobile number has won a huge amount in a lucky draw, and then seeking the personal details of the beneficiary.

The DC said many people have become the victim of such sham calls which include even educated persons besides the civil, police and Army officials. Raju said he has also received information from the military authorities that their officials were getting such calls and SMSs from Pakistani mobile numbers.

Expressing concern, the DC said it was a sensitive matter regarding which he will inform the senior functionaries of the state government for necessary action.

It has also been observed that certain unidentified persons have been calling officials belonging to various government departments posing as intelligence sleuths belonging to state and central agencies who seek details of different kinds.

The DC said he has directed all the heads of the departments not to part with any information without ascertaining the veracity of those callers. "All departments will route such information through the DC office only," he said.

It is pertinent to mention that even Pakistani SIM cards were being misused by the cross-border drug peddlers in the area. The Pakistani mobile networks have their presence well within the Indian territory with its depth of incursion varying from place to place, a fact which is exploited by the smugglers and anti-national elements in this border area.

Tax officials seize mobiles being smuggled in train
Our Correspondent

Abohar, September 25
Officials of the sales tax department have seized a large number of Chinese mobile phones while intercepting some passengers who arrived here by Udyan Abha Toofan express from Delhi.

The team led by ETO Ram Dass and inspector Vishal Khurana nabbed Rockey Upveja, Chhinderpal Singh of Arniwala, Ashwani Khurana of Fazilka, Dharminder Kumar and Bharat Kumar and imposed Rs 80,000 as fine on them.

Inquiries revealed that the shopkeepers earn more than 200 per cent of profit on the sale of Chinese phones that are smuggled through different routes without paying any tax.

Police inaction in elopement case irks Ghubaya

Ferozepur, September 25
Apparently upset over the role of the police officials in a case in which a girl belonging to village Alike had allegedly eloped, Sher Singh Ghubaya, MP, himself reached the police station yesterday and expressed anguish over the way in which the matter has been dealt with by the police.

As per the information, a girl belonging to village Alike had allegedly run away with a youth following which the father of the girl had lodged a complaint with the police.

Since the aggrieved father was a supporter of Ghubaya, the MP had also called up the SHO concerned to help him in the matter. However, the police officials reportedly grilled the complainant only which infuriated the MP.

Later, the MP himself descended on the police station along with his aides and lodged his complaint with SSP Varinder Pal Singh.

The SSP then deputed DSP Jagjit Singh Saroya to look into the matter. Saroya said the complainant had not given the correct version of the incident to the MP, adding that the issue has now been sorted out. "Actually the panchayat member had lodged a complaint against the girl's relative for humiliating him. The girl's father had been summoned in this connection," the DSP said.

"The matter regarding the girl had also been sorted out at the panchayat level," he added.

When asked, the MP said he had asked the SSP to look into the matter which probably stands resolved now. — OC

Barnala DC orders removal of encroachments
Tribune News Service

Barnala, September 25
Barnala Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kavita Singh today ordered the immediate removal of huts and encroachments in the Toba Scheme, near the 22 Acre Scheme, here.

She also ordered the executive officer (EO) of the local Improvement Trust to issue notices to the owners of plots who had not constructed houses even after the auction of the plots a long time back.

The DC took stock of the ongoing development work being executed by the Improvement Trust.

During her visit, Kavita Singh also asked the municipal council authorities to prepare a plan for finding a solution to the garbage problem in the city. She also spoke to the people about their problems.

Sarpanch faces rape charge
Our Correspondent

Abohar, September 25
The police booked the sarpanch of village Burjmuhar under Sections 376, 323, 506 and 452 of the IPC when the woman along with her husband approached the senior police officials.

The victim had told the police that the sarpanch had raped her when her husband was away.

One held for betting

Abohar, September 25
The city police has nabbed one Raj Kumar Middha under Section 420 of the IPC and the Gambling Prevention Act, during the raid conducted in Jammu Basti and seized LCD, laptop, three mobile phones used for betting in cricket.

His brother Ashok Middha, who is believed to be the kingpin of the racket, managed to escape.

The court remanded him in judicial custody. — OC