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Audit questions bulk purchases by poll panel
Faridkot kidnapping case: Police recovers vehicle
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Govt calls off merger of rural banks
Charges under SC/ST Act against editors withdrawn
VHP leader meets Sukhbir
Muktsar schools will soon become disabled friendly
High uranium content causing cancer, says MP
Tenders invited for Sangrur ROB
Ban on steel spoons will prove costly: Jail officials
JE arrested taking bribe
Firing leaves two injured
Forest Department to move court against encroachers
Move to extend ‘favourite’ councillors’ tenure under High Court scanner
Golden Project: Court declines former director’s plea on stay
Woman kills 5-yr-old son
Dera caretaker among 5 booked on fraud charges
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Audit questions bulk purchases by poll panel
Chandigarh, September 29 Even as the commission reasoned that the material could be used during the next elections, the Audit Department remained unimpressed and called the purchases as "uneconomic". The surplus material as listed by the office of the Auditor General, Punjab, included: 1,07,010 handbooks for polling agents; 48,800 handbooks in Punjabi; 40,000 model code of conduct papers; 41,051 out covers; and 27,910 envelopes. The audit has also objected to expenditure on canvas bags, ink and other stationery items. The amount of "uneconomic" purchases has been put at Rs 50,56,699. The audit report said: "On being pointed out (about the wasteful expenditure), the EC stated that the balance poll material would be used during the next elections. The reply was not up to the mark as by the time of the next elections, many changes will take place and the material already printed will get obsolete. Every time, fresh material has to be arranged for the elections." The audit report said: "Purchases must be made in the most economical manner in accordance with the definite requirement. At the same time, care should be taken not to purchase stores much in advance". The audit has also raised objection to improper maintenance of the stamp account. It has also pointed out that cash transactions were not entered in the cash book as soon as these occurred, resulting in unaccountable withdrawal of Rs 3,68,605 from the treasury between November 27, 2010 and January 5, 2011. The state government has accepted the omission and promised not to repeat the mistake in future.
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Faridkot kidnapping case: Police recovers vehicle
Faridkot, September 29 The kidnappers took the girl away after inflicting serious injuries on her parents. The residents later formed a joint action committee. They have been touring nearby areas to raise awareness among people about the rising crime in the region. It is alleged that the six accused are enjoying political protection. Shruti is not the first victim of this gang of youths. Other victims and their families have bowed under political pressure and are keeping their quiet, alleged the action committee members. Local MLA, Deep Malhotra said, “I have been discussing the case with senior police officers. I had also brought the matter to the Deputy Chief Minister’s notice. He assured me to lend assistance. It is shocking that the girl was abducted from such a thickly populated area.” “We have recovered a Ford Icon, that was used in the kidnapping, from Moga,” said GS Dhillon, Senior Superintendent of Police, Moga. Investigation revealed that the car was sold by a Chandigarh resident some time ago and its original registration number was CH03E 7701. At the time of its recovery, it was carrying a duplicate number plate with a registration No. PB 04 A 9272.
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Govt calls off merger of rural banks
Chandigarh, September 29 The amalgamation of these banks is part of a nationwide exercise initiated by the Union Ministry of Finance to merge geographically contiguous RRBs within a state and optimise the use of resources. As part of this exercise, 63 RRBs are now under the purview of amalgamation and 27 larger and stronger banking entities are proposed to be created to improve services to the poor segments of the population residing in rural areas. The Ministry has also reasoned that such amalgamation will also help in optimising the use of modern technology. Talking to The Tribune here today, state Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa said he had written to the Union Ministry of Finance, saying that Punjab was not interested in the merger of its RRBs. “We held meetings with employees of the three banks, who had objected to the proposed merger. We, too, feel that not much benefit will come from the merger of these banks. More the number of RRBs, more will be their expansion and ability to bring people under the ambit of banking services,” he said. As part of the merger proposal, the merged entity — Punjab Gramin Bank — would be sponsored by the Punjab National Bank. Over the past two months, as the proposed merger gained momentum, the Punjab Gramin Bank had sought financial details like audited balance sheets, revenue, profit and loss account statements from the other two banks, Malwa Gramin Bank and Satlej Gramin Bank. It may be mentioned that the Punjab Gramin Bank is the largest RRB in Punjab having 180 branches across 13 districts. It has a strong financial base with total reserves of Rs 334.48 crore and net worth of Rs 357 crore. The total business of the bank is Rs 4058.89 crore. All branches are on core banking. The annualised recovery is 93.33 per cent. It has thus been decided to merge the other two banks with this bank. Malwa Gramin Bank has 56 branches across Sangrur, Patiala, Bathinda, Fatehgarh Sahib and Mohali with a total business of Rs 1,300 crore. Satlej Gramin Bank has 31 branches in Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot, Muktsar, Moga and Ludhiana. The officers and employees of these two banks, however, are opposed to the merger. They feel that the exercise may disrupt these banks’ existing expansion and financial inclusion plans as merge entities will take time to settle down. They also feel that the consolidation exercise may slow down the financial inclusion exercise.
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Charges under SC/ST Act against editors withdrawn
Chandigarh, September 29 Earlier, SC/ST Commission member Dali Singh Pandhi had written a letter to member secretary of State SC/ST Commission that the Punjab police had seriously violated the SC/ST Act by implicating the two Dalits. The act was not applicable on members of the Dalit community. The public prosecutor appearing on behalf of the police in Barnala Session Court today said they had withdrawn the charges under Section 3(10) of the SC/ST Act against book editors Jasjeet Singh Sahoke and Sukhwinder Singh Swatantar. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Barnala Harmik Singh confirmed that the charges had been withdrawn against both of them. The arrest of the editors had infuriated the literary community and they had been demanding a rollback of all charges pressed against them. Besides booking the editors under the SC/ST Act, police had also booked them under Section 153-A of the IPC Act for publishing poetry of Babu Rajab Ali, which allegedly contained some caste references. DSP Harmik Singh admitted the police while filing the case, were not aware that the editors were members of the Dalit community. All those arrested in the case are out on bail now. Ashok Garg and Sukhwinder Singh Swatantar were released on bail on September 25 while editors Jagjit Singh Sahoke and Amit Mittar were granted bail today. Publishers Ashok Garg and Amit Mittar are still booked under Section 153-A of the IPC Act. LK Yadav, Director General of Police (Patiala circle) said the police was investigating the case and would make an informed decision.
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VHP leader meets Sukhbir
New delhi, September 29 Singhal, accompanied by SAD leader Balwant Singh Ramoowalia met Sukhbir at the latter's Safadarjung Road residence here this morning. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar was also present. The VHP leader suggested that considering the rich contribution of the Sikh community to the country and its harmonious coexistence with other communities, the heritage could be on display in the form of an exhibition at Allahabad where over 12 crore people are expected to visit over the two-month period. Ramoowalia said the VHP leader also informed that a similar invitation had been extended to leaders of the Jain and Buddhist communities.
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Muktsar schools will soon become disabled friendly
Muktsar, September 29 Nearly Rs 14 lakh have already been sanctioned under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to make as many as 92 ramps in various government schools in the district. Each ramp will cost about Rs 15,000. Talking to The Tribune, Rana Bedi, district coordinator, Inclusive Education for Disabled, said: "The Education Department is ready to make the schools friendly to the disabled students. As many as 42 ramps will be built in the Lambi assembly constituency, 31 in Malout, 17 in Gidderbaha and two in Muktsar constituency". He said there were 362 disabled students in the district who are getting education in 38 resource rooms in cluster schools. For them, 17 inclusive education teachers have been appointed. "Besides, there are 145 students, who can't even come to the schools. As many as 36 volunteers have been appointed to impart education to them at their houses," added Rana Bedi. He said the district education office had even conducted surgeries of 12 students for cleft lip and palate free of cost. "Artificial limbs are also being provided to the disabled students without any cost. Officials of ALIMCO, Kanpur, have already measured the size of limbs to be provided to these students," he said. Deputy Commissioner Paramjit Singh said, "I have ordered officials of the Buildings and Roads Department to construct ramps in all government buildings so as to make them disabled friendly”.
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High uranium content causing cancer, says MP
Sangrur, September 29 Singla said out of 106 water samples from Barnala district, that were sent to BARC, Mumbai, 71 samples were found with high uranium content. The MP said 30 samples of drinking water from Barnala district and 97 samples from Sangrur district had been sent to the laboratory of PBTI, Mohali, to check the level of heavy metals. As per the report, 11 samples from Barnala district and 28 samples from Sangrur district were found to be contaminated, he added. Under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, the central government had given funds to set up reverse osmosis (RO) plants in 47 villages of the Sangrur district in the first phase, Singla said. Under the programme 80 per cent of the total cost of setting up the RO would be borne by the Centre while 20 per cent would be contributed by the state government, he added. Singla also said under the 'Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan', (sanitation programme) of the central government, over 400 villages of the Sangrur district would be provided with new toilets.
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Tenders invited for Sangrur ROB
Sangrur, September 29 The PWD’s tender would be opened on October 17, while the Railways’ tender would be opened on October 30. The total cost of the project would be nearly The project would be completed within 27 months after start of the construction work, which would begin within next two months. Vijay Inder Singla, Member of Parliament from Sangrur, here today said he had tried very hard to get approval for the ROB from the Central Government. The MP said the ROB was his dream project as thousands of vehicles cross this level crossing daily, located on Patiala-Bathinda National Highway-64. Punjab PWD executive engineer (XEN) NP Singh said the ROB would be two-laned and during construction of the ROB, vehicles would be diverted through Ubhawal road which would be widened to seven
metres.
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Ban on steel spoons will prove costly: Jail officials
Ludhiana, September 29 But the new order has put the jail department in a dilemma. There are over 20,000 prisoners in Punjab jails and supplying spoons made of wood, thermocol and plastic to all of them on a daily basis would prove to be expensive, jail officials said. This step would put a huge financial burden on the jail department, officials added. ADGP (Prison) RP Meena had banned the use of steel spoons after three hardcore criminals almost escaped from the jail through a hole in the wall. They had used steel spoons to dig out a hole through the wall. Deputy Jail Superintendent KS Cheema said, "We have told the prisoners to use plastic and wooden spoons. While we have arranged for disposal spoons for some of the prisoners in Central Jail, the others got them from their visiting relatives. The seniors might be able to tell us how the expenses will be financed." Jail Minister Swarn Singh Phillaur said inmates sharpened the rear end of a spoon and used it to dig a hole through the wall. Such incidents were witnessed at different jails which is why we thought steel spoons needed to be banned, he added.
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JE arrested taking bribe
Patiala, September 28 A spokesman of the Vigilance Bureau said JE Baljeet Singh was caught accepting Rs 20,000 from Kharar businessman Gagandeep Singh for shifting his power transformer. “The complainant had already deposited Rs 2,000 and Rs 9,500 as government fee. But the accused demanded Rs 30,000 as bribe”, the spokesman said. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the
JE.
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Firing leaves two injured
Tarn Taran, September 29 The injured, Pooran Singh and Amarjit Singh, have been admitted to a hospital at Amritsar. Sources said Sonu Cheema, sarpanch of Adda Chabal, and his supporters allegedly opened fire at their opponents after a tiff. DSP Daljit Singh Dhillon said the accused had been booked.
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Forest Department to move court against encroachers Jalandhar, September 29 The encroachers have come up with concrete structures, taken illegal access to the main roads and have even set up business establishments and marriage palaces on the government land. While land along the roads belongs to the Punjab Public Works Department, the Forest Department is the custodian of the green cover (protected forest) on it. Similarly, the green cover around drains and canals also belongs to the Forest Department. Taking note of violations of the Indian Forest Act (IFA), Vishal Chauhan, Division Forest Officer (DFO), Phillaur, who also holds charge of Kapurthala and Nawanshahr districts, has issued notices to the encroachers. Chauhan said: “We will move court against the encroachers for seeking action under Sections 33 of the Indian Forest Act.” He said notices were earlier served to the encroachers at the block and division levels. They were also given reminders before initiating a demolition drive at certain places in Kapurthala and Jalandhar districts, he said. The department, under its drive against illegal structures, has already demolished certain structures, including marriage palaces and shops, in Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts. The drive will be extended to Nawanshahr shortly, sources said.
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Move to extend ‘favourite’ councillors’ tenure under High Court scanner
Chandigarh, September 29 In a petition filed through counsel KB Raheja, Buta Singh and five other residents of Ferozepur city have alleged that the municipal committee, realising that the chances of it being re-elected were bleak, managed to get the term extended by a couple of years. The committee, in fact, got its term extended on the ground that the first meeting to elect the president and other office bearers was held two years after the elections. Taking up their petition for quashing the letter dated July 20 vide which the term was extended “against law and facts”, the court has put the State of Punjab and other respondents on notice. The petition will now come up for hearing on November 22. Raheja claimed the election to constitute the municipal committee was held in June, 2008. As per Section 13 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, the term of the municipal committee is five years from the date fixed for the first meeting for the election of the office-bearers. He added the president and other office-bearers of the committee “are the men of ruling party”. By their conduct, they have lost the support of the people of the area and it is well within their knowledge that they will not be able to get themselves elected again. So, they tried to delay the elections and continue in office. Raheja said the office-bearers managed to get the extension on the ground that the first meeting of the committee was held on April 4, 2010. As such, the term of five years would begin from that day. Raheja said as per the information obtained under RTI the first meeting for the election of president was held on July 22, 2008. “The term of the committee at the most started from July 22, 2008 and is to expire on July 21, 2013. By no stretch of imagination, the term of the committee can be extended beyond the period of five years. “Even if the municipal commissioner could not elect the president in the first meeting, it does not empower the State Government to extend the period on flimsy grounds,” he asserted.
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Golden Project: Court declines former director’s plea on stay
Chandigarh, September 29 Refusing to stay the proceedings, the High Court asserted: "It is apparent from the averments made in the application itself that besides allegation of an offence under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act (bounced cheque cases), prima facie case (of cheating, breach of trust and criminal conspiracy) under Sections 420, 406 and 120-B IPC has also been made out against the applicant in more than one complaints. "Even if the monetary claim of every complainant is satisfied, proceedings in relation to alleged offences under Section 420, 406, 120-B IPC would not be suo motu compounded or become redundant. The ongoing trials, thus, cannot be stayed by way of an omnibus order". Going into the background of the controversy, the High Court asserted that Golden Project Ltd was in liquidation; and one of its former Directors Pamila Syal was seeking a general direction to different criminal courts. She was seeking a stay on "proceedings in criminal complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act pending against the ex-management/directors of the company in liquidation in those courts". The court asserted: "The prayer is founded on the plea that since the assets of the company have been taken over by a committee, headed by a former Chief Justice, constituted by the Supreme Court, it is the responsibility of the committee to dispose of the assets and disburse the sale proceeds amongst different claimants to satisfy the claims pending before different Judicial Magistrates under Section 138 of the Act. Dismissing the petition, the High Court asserted: "The court has heard counsel for the applicant and gone through the contents of the application. In the absence of specific particulars or definite averments whether or not the claim of every complainant has been satisfied, the ongoing proceedings under Section 138 of the Act cannot be stayed only on the assumption or future possibility that sale proceeds of the assets shall be sufficient enough to satisfy the each pending claim".
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Woman kills 5-yr-old son
Ferozepur, September 29 In the first incident, a woman named Sumitra Devi (58), resident of Mohalla Budhwara in city, was hammered to death by her daughter-in-law Jyoti, in the wee hours at her house. Raghubir Singh, Superintendent of Police (SP) (Detective), said Jyoti, resident of Chandigarh, frequently quarreled with her in-laws. Sources said Jyoti wanted to settle down with her husband Vikram in Chandigarh whom she had married around five years ago. However, her in-laws were not keen to let their son leave the town which was the root cause of the dispute. Raghubir Singh said Jyoti had recently gone back to her parents in Chandigarh. Once she returned, her relationship with her in-laws further deteriorated, SP said. Jyoti allegedly hit Sumitra Devi with a hammer in the wee hours, killing her on the spot. Thereafter, she concocted a story that someone had killed her mother-in-law in the night, he added. When the police started investigations into the matter, Jyoti broke down and reportedly confessed to the crime. SP said the police has registered a case against Jyoti on the basis of the statement of Narinder Kumar Verma, husband of the deceased. Police sources said Jyoti had been arrested even though investigations were underway. In the second incident, Kuldeep Kaur, a resident of Makhu, allegedly strangulated her five-year-old son Lovedeep and later threw his body in the canal. SP said the police has registered a case against Kuldeep and her paramour identified as Nishan Singh on the basis of the complaint lodged by Sukhwinder Singh, resident of Hira Nagar in Ferozepur city. Police officials said Sukhwinder had married Kuldeep around nine years ago and had two children from the marriage. However, they divorced a few years ago and started living separately. Sukhwinder alleged that Kuldeep had a live-in relationship with Nishan and the duo allegedly killed his son, who was staying with his mother. SP said though the police has registered a case against the two accused at Zira police station, no arrest has been made so far.
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Dera caretaker among 5 booked on fraud charges
Muktsar, September 29 The police said Harcharan Das, who looked after the dera of Baba Satnam Das at Guru Nanak Nagari, Malout, along with Avtar Singh, a former sarpanch of Tulanjar Uttar village in Tarn Taran district, Surinder Singh, nabardar of Midda village, Mander Singh, a panchayat member of Sheikhu village, and Sukhwinder Singh attempted to take possession of the dera’s land. “The accused even got the forged will attested from a registrar. In the documents, the accused showed that Kashmir Das died at the age of 74. But in reality, he is in his late forties and alive,” said the police. Kashmir Das had lodged a complaint with Muktsar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Inder Mohan Singh, who marked an inquiry. A case under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against all the five accused, who are still at large.
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