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Three break out of Gurdaspur jail, nabbed in Ludhiana |
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Rahul Gandhi cancels Patiala tour
Paddy procurement: Officials told to monitor progress
Magisterial probe ordered into Qadian fire
Amidst splurge, rickety govt schools await funds
Abduction Case
2 men behind immigration racket identified
Resolve mining issue, CM to Chief Secy
Cong leader Bhinder seeks security
Officials told to get data on illegal colonies
Women power to guard Punjab’s forests
Excise Dept may miss VAT collection target
DGSE’s power to take action against erring teachers restored
Extend scope of Garg panel probing ‘84 riots: NGO
SC rejects review plea against Sumedh Saini
After BDPO, sarpanch held for bungling
Heroin worth Rs 20 cr seized
2 killed as bus rams into bike
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Three break out of Gurdaspur jail, nabbed in Ludhiana
Gurdaspur/Ludhiana,
October 4 The three have been identified as Bikram Singh, alias Bikki, Manga Masih and Baljit Singh, alias Ghulla. Jail Superintendent Shammi Kumar said five inmates had escaped initially, but two of them — Parminder Singh and Joban Singh — were apprehended by the jail authorities. He said the three, who were involved in dacoity cases, were taken to Phagwara for a court appearance yesterday and came in contact with an accomplice, who later helped them in their escape. A nylon rope was found near the outer wall adjacent to the two security towers. The three and their accomplice, Ashwani, were arrested from the Ladhowal area in Ludhiana. Sources said Ashwani had provided logistics, including a saw and a rope to the inmates. The three were in possession of a mobile phone as well. After breaking out of the jail, they hid in a mound of straw in a field near Gurdaspur. In the morning, they took a bus to Jalandhar. In the afternoon, they boarded a bus for Ludhiana. The police received a tip-off and sounded an alert. Checkpoints were set up at Ladhowal and Mattewara to nab the inmates. When the bus reached Ladhowal, a police team indicated the bus driver to pull over. The accused jumped out of the vehicle but were overpowered after a chase. Swapan Sharma, ACP, Ludhaina (North), said: “After receiving a tip-off, an alert was sounded in the city. All vehicles entering the city were searched. The three, who were travelling in a private bus, tired to escape but were nabbed.” The three are hardcore criminals, facing serious criminal charges, including bank robbery and attempted murder cases. They were involved in a broad daylight robbery at a jewellery shop in Batala from where they had fled with 5kg gold ornaments. Second case in one week On September 20, three inmates had broken out of the Ludhiana Central Jail by creating a 1.5-foot-hole in the wall of their cell with the help of a spoon and further scaling a 16-foot-high jail wall by creating a human ladder. They were later nabbed by the police from the Dhandari area
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Rahul Gandhi cancels Patiala tour
Chandigarh, October 4 He has embarrassed the PCC camp of Capt Amarinder Singh by cancelling the itinerary prepared by the latter. He will now visit only Amritsar and Chandigarh as part of his two-day tour on October 10 and 11. Earlier, he was to visit Patiala too. The cancellation of the Patiala tour, PCC chief's hometown, does not augur well for
Amarinder, claim his detractors.The Rahul team will inform the PCC as to whom all the Gandhi scion would like to meet while at Chandigarh on October 11. Before that on October 10, he will meet block and district presidents as well as Youth Congress representatives at
Amritsar. The PCC president, who held a meeting to review preparations for Rahul’s visit today, said the latter would meet Congress leaders individually in the same manner as done by his father Rajiv Gandhi in 1982. He said Rahul would meet senior leaders and MLAs in the morning and NSUI (National Student Union of India) representatives in the afternoon. Asked whether this meant that the leadership issue was wide open, the PCC president replied in the affirmative. “I had offered to quit but was asked to continue till the municipal corporation elections”, he added. He said when nothing happened for four months, he had written to the Congress president, saying that he anticipated a general unrest after the imposition of fresh taxes in Punjab and that the party must mobilise itself. “We did that and the people's response has been tremendous,” he claimed. Sources said it was the charismatic leadership provided by Amarinder in the last one month which had put the Akalis on the defensive. This fact would be cited by his supporters as the main reason for his continuance as PCC chief. Party sources said Amarinder still commanded the loyalty of a large number of Congress legislators and that there was no consensus on his rivals for the PCC post. On an earlier occasion, Rahul had refused to be persuaded into visiting new Moti Bagh Palace, Amarinder's residence, while visiting
Patiala. However, Amarinder’s equation with party president Sonia Gandhi has helped him in the past. Significantly, the party chose Rahul to announce that Amarinder would be the party’s chief ministerial candidate in the runup to the assembly elections. Leadership issue wide open?
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Paddy procurement: Officials told to monitor progress
Owing to the boycott by the procurement staff since October 1, paddy procurement has been hit across the state. Only rice millers procured paddy in some grain markets of the state. Presiding over a meeting of divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners here today, Badal constituted a three-member committee comprising the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and the Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies, to take stock of situation in consultation with deputy commissioners to ensure smooth procurement as well as prompt lifting of the paddy stocks from the mandis. He has asked the Chief Secretary to remain in touch with Food and Civil Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon to update him about the progress. Matter ‘resolved’
The Chief Minister was informed by DS Grewal, Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies, that the issues of the procurement staff had been amicably resolved with the intervention of Kairon at a meeting today. However, staff representatives said they would start the procurement of paddy only after the government gave in writing about the acceptance of their demands. Gunny bags ordered
Referring to the shortage of jute bags, Grewal informed the Chief Minister that it would be sorted out soon. Grewal said they had gunny bags for filling 100 lakh tonnes of paddy. An order had been placed for more bags, he added. Kairon to meet millers
Grewal told the Chief Minister that Kairon would soon hold a meeting with rice millers to discuss the new paddy milling policy 2012-13 with all the major stakeholders. Rice millers are opposed to the clause of bank guarantee in the new policy. Badal concerned
Showing concern over what he described as apathetic attitude of the FCI for not adhering to the allotted quota of paddy procurement for the past several years, Badal said he would soon take up the matter with the Centre.
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Magisterial probe ordered into Qadian fire
Qadian (Gurdaspur),
October 4 The deceased has been identified as Jatinder Singh (28), a worker. Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha has asked Batala SDM Jagwinderjit Singh Grewal to conduct an inquiry and submit a report within 15 days. The Qadian police has arrested Surinder Singh, the owner of a three-room factory. A series of explosions had rocked the premises following the blaze. Senior officials of the district administration claimed that the unit was not adhering to the fire safety norms, which led to the fire. The Deputy Commissioner and the SSP coordinated the rescue operations. Residents said a series of explosions rocked the town in the afternoon, following which the police reached the scene. Last year, a similar fire had engulfed a firecracker unit, located just 500 yards from where the fire broke out yesterday. Town sans fire tender
The town is the international headquarters of the Ahmadiya community but lacks fire tenders to deal with any eventuality. The district administration had pressed a fire tender from Batala into service but it quickly ran out of water. The authorities later rushed another fire tender to the scene. “The town has around five firecracker units, which have been blatantly violating the fire safety norms,” said an official. Factory owner held n The Qadian police has arrested Surinder Singh, the owner of a three-room firecracker factory. A series of explosions had rocked the premises, destroying the unit
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Amidst splurge, rickety govt schools await funds
Chandigarh, October 4 A Secretary-level officer confirmed that “several hundred” rooms in different government schools of the state had been declared unsafe by the Public Works Department (PWD). The officer said in many parts of the state, schools were operating from buildings built way back in the 1960s. “We appreciate the Deputy Chief Minister’s gesture towards his alma mater, but he should have done so from his own pocket. This money could have brought smiles to scores of underprivileged children and their families in Punjab,” he said. Lakhbir Singh, vice-president of a teachers’ front in Jalandhar district, said: “The government had released money for new buildings but it got stuck at different levels because of procedural wrangling, like varying costs of the raw material.” Balkar Singh Valtoha, president, Government Schools Teachers Union, said: “Government High School, Van Tara Singh village, in Tarn Taran district has just one teacher for 250 students. The story is no different in Mathura Maddar Bhagike and Rajoke villages in the district. Schools in Valtoha and Khemkaran do not have science teachers.”
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Abduction Case
Faridkot, October 4 Though barely 19, Nishan Singh is facing 16 cases, including that of murder, attempt to murder, kidnap and rape. Shruti's kidnapping in broad daylight has left city residents terrified. Leaders, cutting across party lines, are trying to pacify the residents who are on a warpath against the police. Two days back, several Congress leaders led by Jagmeet Singh Brar, Congress Working Committee member, sat in a protest dharna here. Today, Akali MLA from Faridkot Deep Malhotra and several other leaders sat on a dharna, demanding that the culprits be arrested. Malhotra said the state police was making all efforts to nab the offenders and no leniency would be shown to those involved in the crime. Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police, GS Dhillon, said the police had booked a former Akali councillor in this case.
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Police identifies two agents behind immigration fraud
Amritsar, October 4 The police claimed to have got vital clues about the modus operandi adopted by a travel agent who was also arrested. The police sources said the two had gone underground following the arrest of travel agent Vimal Kumar and seven youths who were defrauded by them at the Amritsar airport. They were arrested while boarding a Qatar Airways flight to Canada. The travel agents had reportedly charged between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 15 lakh from each of the clients to arrange visas. The police authorities said the mastermind - Kunal Juneja and Rajan Jindal - behind the nexus used to run their network from Jalandhar and Patiala, respectively. They were running a company, Manpower Supply Services Private Limited. Police teams had been sent to Jalandhar and Patiala to arrest the two, said Jagdish Raj, SHO, Airport police station. “Their establishments were found closed and the calls to the phone numbers given on their website went unanswered,” he said. The victims came in contact with the accused through a website operated by the two. The police authorities today produced Vimal Kumar and the seven youths in a local court, which remanded Vimal in police custody and the others in judicial custody. Raids were being conducted on the hideouts of the accused. The arrests A travel agent and seven persons travelling on fake visas were arrested by the Immigration and Customs authorities at the Amritsar international airport on Wednesday
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Resolve mining issue, CM to Chief Secy Chandigarh, October 4 He also asked them to ensure strict compliance of the electronic transfer system for the disbursements of various grants under social welfare schemes to the beneficiaries in a transparent manner. The deputy commissioners were also asked to make optimum utilisation of grants under MNREGA to ensure gainful employment to local villagers. Badal further directed the Chief Secretary to resolve the issue of mining and ensure smooth and regular supply of minor minerals, including gravel and sand, at affordable prices to people. The Chief Minister impressed upon the deputy commissioners to play a proactive role in eradicating the menace of cancer and drug addiction from the state. The health department in tandem with the department of jails would soon launch a drug de-addiction campaign to wean the inmates from drugs. To improve the functioning of the revenue department, Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia asked the deputy commissioners to be vigilant in plugging the loopholes in the process of revenue generation. Majithia also asked the deputy commissioners to ensure that the persons on key posts, including patwaris, registry clerks, officials of the weapon branch, readers, be shuffled regularly to bring transparency in the system. Majithia also asked the deputy commissioners to sanction all uncontested mutations within 15 days of the sale deed and the copy must be supplied to the party concerned by registered post.
Key directives n Ensure timely submission of utilisation certificates of development grants n Optimum utilisation of grants under MNREGA n Check revenue losses n Shuffle those on key posts regularly
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Cong leader Bhinder seeks security
Gurdaspur, October 4 Bhinder was given Z plus security a few years ago but the same was taken back by the Union Government. After that, the Punjab Government provided him with six security guards at his home in the busy Secretary Mohalla here. The number of guards was subsequently reduced to four. A fortnight ago, the government completely withdrew security to Bhinder. Bhinder, husband of the late Sukhbans Kaur Bhinder, a former Union Minister, said: “I was the Punjab IGP at the time hostilities commenced in Amritsar. I have also remained the Delhi Police Commissioner. Hence, I deserve adequate security. Instead of upgrading my security, the state government, ironically, has decided to withdraw security to me.” An angry Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, president of the Gurdaspur District Congress Committee and MLA from Dera Baba Nanak, pointed out that while defeated SAD leaders, including former ministers SS Langah and Sewa Singh Sehkwan as well as former Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, had been provided security against norms, the same had been denied to Bhinder. “If these former legislators can enjoy the privilege of having security guards each, why not Bhinder? Both the Centre and the state government have turned a blind eye to the needs of one of the most decorated and valiant police officers of Punjab,” he added. Randhawa warned that the Chief Minister and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, who held the Home portfolio, would be responsible if any untoward incident involving
Bhinder.
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Officials told to get data on illegal colonies
Chandigarh, October 4 The authorities were reportedly told by the officials concerned that it would not be in the interest of the state in the long run to regularise these colonies that had come up in violation of rules and regulations framed by the state government. Source said only five or six colonies had following the rules framed by the government a few years ago. “There are no proper roads, no parks or community centre in most of these colonies developed by the land mafia to to make a fast buck, ” said a senior official who attended the meeting. “Legalising the colonies would be a setback to developing new towns/areas on modern lines”, he said. Also, there was the possibility of big builders, who had invested hundreds of crores on raising planned colonies after obtaining permission from the Housing Department, taking dragging the matter to court, if these colonies were legalised, he said. The Housing Department has been reportedly told to gather information on the exact number of illegal colonies in the next 10 days. After that, another meeting will be held on this issue. Some months ago, the state government had directed the revenue
officials not to register deeds of plots and buildings in the illegal colonies. This has resulted in a sharp decline in revenue from stamp duty. Source said there had been a 30 per cent fall in revenue from stamp duty compared to the corresponding period last year.
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Now, sugar from sugar beet
Amritsar, October
4 Managing Director of the concern, Rana Inder Partap Singh, says that he has reached an understanding with farmers at
Beas, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala and Mehta village to raise the crop. He says the concern had imported seed worth over Rs 4.25 crore from San Vander Ham, a Brussels-based seed developing company, whose experts would monitor the cultivation of the crop here. He says farmers will be paid Rs 140 per quintal for sugar beet, which was grown in five months. "Our endeavour is to increase the operation period of the sugar mill from four months to six months in a year," says
Rana. He feels the crop will be the best alternative to the wheat crop. Both grow in the winter months. He says while sugarcane requires over a year to grow, this crop blooms in less than a year. The Director (Research), Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, Dr SS
Gosal, says the university had conducted research on sugar beet from 1970 to 1988 and 2002 and 2004. He says sugarcane is produced in hot and humid conditions while sugar beet is suitable for cold conditions. He says 40 per cent of the sugar produced in the world is sourced from sugar beet. " Punjab's weather is suitable for the crop and is a good replacement for wheat. The suitable period for sowing the seeds is from mid-October to November. The crop is harvested in the month of April and May. An acre of land may yield a minimum 250 quintals - 400 quintals of sugar beet," he says. He says since the commercial production of the crop is set to start, the PAU will now initiate research in plant health management, weed management, identification of new varities and disease control. He accepts that seed development will be a challenge with private concerns selling a "one-time use" seeds.
Rana Veer Pratap, mill director, says apart from free seeds, his concern will provide 50 per cent subsidy on pesticides, insecticides to the farmers. Plantation and harvesting will be done by machines specially designed for the purpose by the mill. The machinery to produce sugar and other byproducts has been imported and developed at a cost of Rs 40 crore, he says, adding that neighbouring Pakistan has been producing sugar from sugar beet for the past nearly seven years. Leaves of sugar beet make ideal fodder, he maintains. Sweet facts
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Women power to guard Punjab’s forests
Ludhiana, October 4 Each of the 43 women, a majority of whom belong to small towns, has a story to tell. All of them had to battle the conventional mindset for choosing this profession. Appointed in the pay scale of Rs 10,300 plus Rs 3,200-grade pay, these newly recruited forest guards have undergone a special one-month rigorous induction course at the Police Training Academy, Jahan Khelan. Later, they completed a three-month regular training course at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana. A huge smile on the face of Monika, a resident of Pathankot, explained everything. Grabbing heavy luggage in both hands, she was eager to board the first bus to Pathankot. "In my town, girls opt for a conventional career. Those who are not serious about their career get married at an early age. Initially, I had to face a strong resistance from my family on my choice of career. Only my father supported me. Today, I am capable enough to support my family. It is a great feeling to be independent," she said. Gazal of Malout, who had topped the selection test, is the only child for her parents. "My parents are in teaching profession so my career was already decided. I was preparing for a teaching course when I came to know about this test. The salary was lucrative. I applied for it and today I am a government employee. My parents are proud of me," she said. There was a tough competition as nearly 30,000 aspirants had applied for 188 posts of forest guard, said Puja Jindal of Patiala, who has done MSc and BEd. "Every girl who applied for the job had to face resistance at some level. It was a fight against the social norms. The concern was genuine as the job involves visiting forest areas. I too had to face resistance, but I managed to convince my parents. We are three sisters. My parents are now relieved that my career is on the right track," said Puja. Chand Kaur and Jeevanjot Kaur of Hoshiarpur and Namneet Kaur of Gurdaspur were excited about the fact that they would work for the cause of environment. They said they would no longer have to ask for money from their parents. Instead they would support them. "We have proved that we are as capable as men," they said. At present, the state has four women Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers and one woman range officer. HS Gujral, Principal Chief Conservator Forest, Punjab, said the women guards would be utilised in extension activities besides regular activities. On green mission
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Excise Dept may miss VAT collection target
Chandigarh, October 4 Last year, Punjab had earned Rs 12,200 crore through VAT. Initially, the government had set a target of Rs 15,000 crore for this year. But with the government embarking on the urban regeneration plan and earmarking an additional Rs 1,000 crore to be collected through VAT, the state has to collect Rs 3,800 crore over and above the VAT collected in 2011-12. In order to meet the target of collecting Rs 16,000 crore, growth in VAT collection will have to be over 30 per cent. Officials in the Excise and Taxation Department admit that it will not be possible to achieve such a high growth rate, especially as the tax base has already been widened and the tax rate was hiked recently. At best, say officials, they would be able to collect close to Rs 15,000 crore this financial year. Because of an increase in VAT rate by 0.5 per cent, as part of the state's additional resource mobilisation exercise, the government would rake in additional Rs 400 crore per annum. Similarly, with a rise in diesel price and bringing in the unsubsidised LPG regime, the VAT collection would increase by Rs 120 crore per annum. However, since both these measures have been implemented only in the second half of the financial year, the government would get Rs 200 crore through VAT rate hike and Rs 60 crore through higher price of LPG this year. The remaining growth will have to be brought through plugging loopholes in VAT collections, which appears to be a daunting task. So far, with the economic slowdown hitting hard, the VAT collection has shown a growth of 20 per cent over the last year. Between April and August, the total VAT collection in the state was Rs 6,000 crore as against Rs 5,000 crore last year. During the first six months of 2011-12, the VAT collection was Rs 5,800 crore. Though the department has not yet calculated the VAT collection for September, it is estimated to be Rs 1,000 crore, ensuring that the VAT collection between April and September is Rs 7,000 crore. Ambitious aim
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DGSE’s power to take action against erring teachers restored
Chandigarh, October 4 A formal order with regard to the restoration of power read that: "After restudying Service Rules 1978 (Appendix C), the powers vested with the Director School Education (Director Public Instructions Schools) will be concurrently vested with the Director General School Education". The department had taken away the DGSE's powers which enabled him to action against the errant teachers. He was only left with the power to inspect schools and out point errors without any power for taking action against the guilty.
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Extend scope of Garg panel probing ‘84 riots: NGO
Jalandhar, September 4 Giaspura said: “Patuadi in Gurgaon has also included in the panel's jurisdiction on court directions. The Haryana Government should extend its jurisdiction to the entire state.” Expressing dismay at the slow pace of the probe, the committee members said: “The commission was set up initially for six months but its tenure has been extended twice.” The committee members said that a function would be held at Hond Chillar on November 4 where tributes would be paid to the 1984 riot victims.
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SC rejects review plea against Sumedh Saini
New Delhi, October 4 “We have gone through the review petitions and the connected papers. We find no merit in the review petitions and the same are dismissed,” a Bench comprising Justices BS Chauhan and AK Patnaik said in
a brief order passed on Wednesday. At the instance of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the CBI had registered a case against Saini, who was Senior Superintendent of Police with the Chandigarh Police at the time of the alleged crime in 1991. The alleged victims were Balwant Singh Bhullar and Manjit Singh, father and maternal uncle, respectively, of death row convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, and Balwant Singh Multani, son of retired IAS officer Darshan Singh Multani. The review petitions had been filed by the retired IAS officer. In December 2011, Justices Chauhan and Patnaik had also set aside the HC orders asking the CBI to register the case against Saini and other police officials, holding that these were biased. The SC had given the ruling on the appeals filed by both the Punjab Government and Saini, challenging the HC orders. BS Multani and Bhullar were the accused in a case relating to the assassination bid on Saini on August 29, 1991, in which three security personnel were killed. While Bhullar was acquitted in this case, he was sentenced to death for masterminding the 1991 bomb attack on the then Youth Congress chief MS Bitta in which nine security personnel were killed. Bitta escaped unhurt. Saini had challenged the HC orders, contending that the court had passed these on various days in 2007 by re-opening a case on petitions from DS Multani and Bhullar (who sent his petition from the Tihar Central Jail in Delhi). The HC could not have entertained the petitions 16 years after the alleged incidents had taken place, the state and Saini had argued. The other police officials against whom the CBI had registered the case on the HC orders were Baldev Singh (who in 1991 was Superintendent of Police, Operations, Chandigarh) and two Sub-Inspectors of the Chandigarh Police, Jagir Singh and Harsahay Sharma. The petitioners had argued that the Chandigarh Administration had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the allegations by DS Multani that his son had been illegally picked up from Mohali. No police officer was indicted in the inquiry. Multani then filed a criminal writ petition in 1991 in the HC praying for the production of his son before the court. But the HC dismissed the petition.
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After BDPO, sarpanch held for bungling
Amritsar, October 4 The gram panchayat received a cheque for Rs 5 lakh of which a sum of Rs 4.20 lakh was withdrawn by Ninder Singh and Hardev Singh and handed over to Sarabhdyal. Vigilance officials said that Sarabhdyal gave Rs 50,000 to Ninder Singh and Rs 75,000 to Hardev Singh. The latter invested the amount in an insurance company, said Opinderjit Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Vigilance. The VB had yesterday arrested BDPO Satwinder Singh and former sarpanches Daleep Singh and Amrik Singh of Ranike and Neshta villages, respectively. While the BDPO had issued a funds utilisation certificate, the former sarpanches had opened separate accounts in the name of the gram panchayat for embezzling funds.
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Heroin worth Rs 20 cr seized
Amritsar, October 4 The packets contain 4 kg of heroin worth Rs 20 crore. The BSF had yesterday arrested seven persons involved in the smuggling of heroin. These included Budh Singh, his son Sarwan Singh, Harpal Singh, Karaj Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Dharamveer Singh, all residents of Mehandipur village, and Saraj Singh, Budh Singh's son-in-law. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kamaljit Singh Dhilon said following their interrogation, the police in collaboration with the BSF authorities recovered 4 kg of heroin. A case under Section 22/61/85 of the NDPS Act had been registered against them at the Khemkaran police station in this connection, he added. Four held with 20 kg opium
Fatehgarh Sahib: The district police claimed to have busted a gang of opium smugglers operating in the state. Four members of the gang have been arrested. The police seized 20 kg of opium worth Rs 20 lakh from their possession. Sources said the kingpin of the gang, who was lodged in the Sangrur jail under the NDPS Act, had been operating the smuggling business. Addressing the mediapersons here today, HS Mann, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), said on a tip-off, the police put up nakas at all the entry points. A police team near Patarsi village stopped two persons and after a search, it found that they were carrying 10 kg of opium in a bag. The accused were identified as Narain and Amit Lal of Bhilwara in Rajasthan, he said. "During interrogation, they revealed that two of their other accomplices were carrying opium in a truck. The police alerted its team at Patarsi Khurd on the GT Road and intercepted the truck. The police seized another 10 kg of opium and arrested truck driver Ramesh Kumar and helper Amba Lal," he added. —
Surinder Bhardwaj
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2 killed as bus rams into bike
Muktsar, October 4 While the woman, identified as Pinki (22), died on the spot, her father-in-law Parmod Lal (54) died on way to the hospital. Her husband Jayant Kumar was rushed to a hospital, where his condition was said to be critical. The three belonged to Guru Gobind Nagari in
Abohar.
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Three inmates broke out of the Gurdaspur Central Jail by cutting the bathroom grill and scaling the outer wall of the prison in the wee hours today. They were nabbed by the police in Ludhiana later this evening.
When Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal handed out a Rs 1-crore package to an established Lawrence School,
Sanawar, out of the state exchequer, he apparently forgot the fact that hundreds of government school buildings had been declared unsafe and needed immediate financial help for reconstruction. To top it all, a large number of schools did not even have the requisite staff.
The first ever batch of 43 women forest guards was yesterday commissioned after a formal training of three months.
Each of the 43 women, a majority of whom belong to small towns, has a story to tell. All of them had to battle the conventional mindset for choosing this profession.
Jalandhar, September 4
Chandigarh, October 4