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HC wants govt to crack down on drug menace
HC seeks details of old FIRs against Nishan
Lokpal in two weeks: Govt
Teachers reporting drunk, but principals look the other way
PPP has failed to make impact, says Dr Johl
Power Corp mgmt concedes to demands, staff call off strike
Batala MC’s wait for chief gets longer
Farmers meet Pawar over wheat MSP
Farmers need to eat better: Scientist
Police assistance on 108 service
delayed
Group clash
Students hold a ‘Green Divali’ rally in Patiala on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar
Red chilly banned after jailbreak bid
Navjot's sting op misses target
Patiala admn cracks the whip on illegal miners
No trace of abducted minor sisters
Cable network case: Petitioner gets bail in 6 cases
Pak-based gang duped 11 persons; 10 from Punjab
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Sukhbir bats for joint venture in textile
sector
Chandigarh, November 7 Speaking at a function organised by All Pakistan Textile Manufacturers Associate (APTMA) in Lahore, Badal, in an official statement, said the textile industry of Indian and Pakistan Punjab should join hands and supplement each other’s strength. “The textile industry is quite developed in Pakistan as it constitutes more than 70 per cent of the country’s exports. And we in Punjab are actively pursuing the initiative of a textile park in the Malwa region,” he said. Inviting APTMA delegation to Punjab, Badal said textile manufacturers of both Punjabs should explore the possibility of a joint venture to excel in competitive goods. He said an APTMA delegation should visit Punjab and discuss the opportunities available in the textile sector. Lauding the improvement in India-Pakistan trade ties, he said people on both sides of the border wanted to live in harmony and the governments of both the nations would have to bend before the people’s wishes. Earlier, APTMA office-bearers spoke about the progress in textile sector in Punjab (Pakistan)and also honoured the Deputy Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues. Punjab has been trying hard to retain its industry after Gujarat announced a new textile policy earlier this year, offering a slew of incentives. Punjab, therefore, was forced to constitute a committee to look into the issue in September. Currently, the state has 38 spinning mills. But, incentives in Punjab are a pittance as compared to those being offered by Gujarat. In another development, India and Pakistan today rewrote another chapter in terms of strengthening India-Pakistan sports relations as Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Chief Minister of Pakistan's Punjab Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the eight-day Punjab Youth Festival-2012 and Dosti Cup for hearing and speech impaired teams. Sukhbir described it as a historic day while Sharif termed it as golden day in India-Pakistan relations in the field of sports. Sukhbir said he had been endervouring since past several years to promote traditional games, especially between India and Pakistan, as sports was the most effective confidence building measure. He said the two World Cup Kabaddi Tournaments organised by the Punjab Government had reiterated the resolve of people of both the countries to promote traditional games.
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HC wants govt to crack down on drug menace
Chandigarh, November 7 “As strange as it may appear, but strictly speaking, the tendency and frequency of selling the narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances by the accused persons, in order to earn easy money, has been tremendously increasing day by day, which is spoiling and adversely affecting the basic economic, social and moral fabric of our society in this part of the country, which needs to be curbed with a heavy hand,” Justice Mehinder Singh Sullar asserted. The significant and telling observation on narcotics leaving the youth high and dry came on a regular bail application filed by accused Parmanand. He was booked under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, on the allegations that “huge commercial quantity” of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances were recovered from his medical agency without any valid permit or licence. The observations come at a time when the extent of drug menace in the region, Punjab predominantly, is not only a matter of concern, but also debate. Only recently, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had raised the dust of controversy by saying “out of every 10 youths in Punjab, seven are into drugs.” Rahul Gandhi's drug remark led to overdose of reactions, with the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership blaming him for projecting Punjab's youth in a negative light. Taking up the bail plea, Justice Sullar also ruled that “the mere fact that the firm of the petitioner-accused was having a licence under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act would not automatically authorise him to possess such narcotic drugs & psychotropic substances, ipso-facto (by the fact itself) is not a ground, much less cogent, to exonerate him from such violation and will not operate a bar to prosecute him in the instant case”. Dismissing the plea, Justice Sullar reiterated: “The manufacturers of manufactured drugs or prescription drugs, chemists, wholesale licence holders under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act are required to comply with the provisions of NDPS Act, Rules and Order, 1993, for the possession of narcotic drugs, psychotropic and controlled substances”.
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HC seeks details of old FIRs against Nishan
Chandigarh, November 7 Shruti was allegedly abducted by Nishan Singh. After being rescued, Shruti initially said she wanted to go home, but changed her statement and is currently lodged at Nari Niketan. Taking up the petition filed by Shruti Sachdeva’s parents Ashwani Kumar Sachdeva and Seema Sachdeva this morning, Justice Jitendra Chauhan directed their counsel Surinder Garg to place before the Bench the details of the FIRs registered against Nishan Singh. The development is significant as one of the grounds taken by Shruti’s parents for an independent probe was that Nishan Singh’s links with the top brass of the Punjab Police were preventing the policemen from initiating action against him, evident from progress in the previous cases. Training their guns at the Punjab Police, the parents in the petition had, in fact, asserted that Nishan Singh had links with the higher police officials as well as with politicians. Claiming that “he was working under their guidance”, they said the police were “hand in glove with the accused…. The non-initiation of action against Nishan Singh, though a number of cases have been registered against him, itself shows that he has links with high-ups and even the police.”
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‘Hand over Shruti to her parents’
Sangrur, November 7 They were demanding an inquiry by the CBI into the Shruti abduction case, handing over of the minor girl to her parents and exemplary punishment to the accused in the case. The protesters also submitted a memorandum to district revenue officer to be forwarded to the state government.
— TNS
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Lokpal in two weeks: Govt
Chandigarh, November 7 He told the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain that this process would be concluded within two weeks. The Division Bench thereafter disposed of the petition by taking on record the statement of the Additional Advocate-General. It also transpired during the hearing that the communication sent by the Punjab Government to the Chief Justice for consultation on the appointment of some retired Judge as Punjab Lokpal has reached the Chief Justice's secretariat. Arora was earlier seeking the issuance of direction to the state government for initiating the process of appointing Lokpal in the state. Arora claimed the post fell vacant on April 1, 2012, after demission of office by Justice DS Dhaliwal. But, even after the lapse of so many months, the government did not initiate steps for appointing a Lokpal. The development is significant as, according to Arora, approximately 100 complaints against public men, including ministers and MLAs, are pending before the Lokpal. Arora alleged the government, instead of appointing the
Lokpal, relieved the registrar and joint registrar, along with a reader and personal assistant.
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Teachers reporting drunk, but principals look the other way
Chandigarh, November 7 Four staff members, including a District Education Officer, were suspended over the past fortnight alone for coming to their workplace in an inebriated condition. And in all these cases, no complaints were received from either the colleagues or principals of the employees concerned. Their mischief was caught by Education Department teams that conducted raids following complaints from the public. A note released by the Director-General of School Education (DGSE) to various schools reads: “It is regrettable that schools are not providing any information about teachers and other staff members who are coming to school drunk. We have to depend on reports from inspection teams or the public.” Principals have been categorically warned that in case the Education Department received any complaints about drunken staff from outsiders, the school heads too would be liable to face disciplinary action. Punjab Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka had recently suspended Ropar District Education Officer Harjit Singh after he came drunk to office. He even “misbehaved” with his subordinate staff. A police complaint was also lodged in the case. Jagdeep Singh, physics lecturer in Ludhiana district; Gurpal Singh, a senior lab attendant from Government High School, Aluna Palla (Ludhiana) and Manjit Singh, a PTI from Government Model School, Phagwara (Kapurthala) were the others shown the door for the same reason. The DGSE letter reads: “The office sought information regarding employees who came drunk to school and the public response was encouraging, leading to the suspension of certain guilty employees.” A principal said about the communiqué: “The school staff earlier did not want to complain against their own colleagues. But, the trend cannot continue anymore as otherwise the principals themselves will be at the receiving end.”
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PPP has failed to make impact, says Dr Johl
Bathinda, November 7 Speaking to mediapersons after inaugurating a two-day book exhibition on the university campus, Dr Johl said as a patron of the party, he wanted to provide a third alternative to the state residents. "I am a non-political person. I always thought that a third alternative in the state would be good for democracy," he said in response to a query on why he has distanced himself from the party after his appointment as Chancellor. He said much before the PPP, he had formed a group called People's Action of Punjab. "We used to spread awareness on social issues. Later, we formed the PPP, but it failed to do much," he said. — TNS
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Power Corp mgmt concedes to demands, staff call off strike
Patiala, November 7 PSPCL spokesperson confirmed that the meeting between the Forum leaders and the management took place and that the strike was withdrawn. PSEB Joint Forum spokesman Manjit Singh Chahal said that on behalf of the management, PSPCL Director (Distribution) Arun Verma was present at the meeting. “The management has issued orders for the immediate release of 30 per cent arrears under the revised pay of non-gazetted employees. It has agreed to give a promotion to class IV employees and give a mobile allowance to all the employees. PSPCL management has also agreed to give Leave Travel Concession for a ten-day leave as given by the state government,” he said. The Forum leaders said the PSPCL management has also agreed to give pay band and grade pay on a pattern similar to Punjab Government. “The contractual employees would also be given leave and other benefits. Linemen will be promoted to the post of Junior Engineers and the test will be conducted next month,” said
Chahal.
Striking a deal
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Batala MC’s wait for chief gets longer
Batala, November 7 Political observers feel that if the court again postpones the hearing to a later date, the tenure of the MC may expire without a president at the helm of affairs. "The MC's term is slated to end in June next year while the code of conduct will come into force in May which means that the MC will have to function without a president and vice-president if the court again defers the hearing on Kalyan's petition," said a senior officer. In a meeting of the council in August,
Kalyan, leading a splinter group of the BJP, was made the president after former MLA Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal divided the 19-member BJP and managed to garner the support of eight
councillors. The MC has 32 councillors out of which 19 are with the
BJP, six with the SAD and seven belong to the Congress. Batala MLA Ashwani
Sekhri, who also has a vote in the House, was also present during the meeting. However, this development failed to stand scrutiny on technical grounds. Deputy Commissioner Abhinav Trikha declared the meeting null and void. Following this,
Kalyan, backed by Lodhinangal, filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the Deputy Commissioner's order which came up for hearing yesterday. Meanwhile, residents say as the president's post has been mired in a legal wrangle, the state government should at least appoint an administrator so that developmental works in the town can be started. "The MC's functioning has remained affected. This is evident from the poor sanitary condition of the town. Residents blame the outbreak of gastroenteritis last month, which claimed 42 lives, to non-collection of garbage in the town," said the official.
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Farmers meet Pawar over wheat MSP
Chandigarh, November 7 The delegation members also expressed their disagreement over the suggestions made by the Commission of Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) regarding freezing the wheat MSP. Led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal and Bhartiya Kisan Union (Haryana) chief Sewa Singh Arya, the delegation told the Agriculture Minister that the CACP had not taken into account the increase in input costs like diesel price hike, increase in labour charges and the increase in prices of fertilizers. Rajewal, in a statement, said Pawar assured the delegation of looking into their demands. The Minister reportedly told the delegation that the Empowered Group of Ministers on Economic Affairs had told the CACP to work out the new MSP while taking into account the increase in input costs.
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Farmers need to eat better: Scientist
Ludhiana, November 7 He was in Ludhiana for the 5th Indian Horticulture Congress being organised at Punjab Agricultural University. Dr Kalia said farmers were neither aware nor informed about producing vegetables for themselves. They mostly take wheat or rice and take pulses in which minerals and vitamins are available in a crude form. On the other hand, in fruits and vegetables, these get absorbed directly into the body, he said. Vegetable and fruit farming needs to be promoted, he said. Planning Commission should encourage community farming. Villages need to form communities for farmers so they could do collaborative farming. The educated youth from these villages can identify possible markets and they should produce fruits and vegetables according to the requirement, he said. They should look at exporting the produce as well, he said. A lot of plants can be cultivated that can be of use to the industry, he said.
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Police assistance on 108 service
delayed
Ludhiana, November 7 Jitendera Sharma, head of Ziqipza Health Care Ltd state unit, said, "The service is yet to be launched as we haven’t received information on state police stations. We need to know how many police stations there are in a city or town, their landline telephone numbers and the cell numbers of police officers. We have written to the Punjab Police Department to get the details. Without this data we would not be able to start the service." If one needed police assistance, one could just dial 108. Jitendra Sharma said, “Whenever we would get a call for police assistance, our police dispatch officer would immediately inform the nearby police station in the area so that help could be provided at the earliest possible." He further said, "Our organisation has already trained 4 police dispatch officers in the operating software at our Amritsar-based headquarters." The 108 ambulance service was launched in the state under the National Rural Health Mission last year and is run by Ziqipza Health Care under a public-private partnership. Over 240 ambulances are providing the service in the state. He said, "We will send a reminder to the Punjab Police Department and hope that we get the data soon and be able to start the service.''
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clash
Jalandhar, November 7 An inquiry conducted by Navjot Singh Mahal, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, revealed that instead of controlling the situation, the policemen were negligent and passive in the clash. The suspended police officials include two head constables Dharampal and Ram Singh and two constables Sham Chand and Rimple Kumar (PCR squad). Mahal said the four police officials present at the spot did not conduct themselves in a professional manner and had shown carelessness in performing their duty. He said a departmental inquiry had been ordered against them. Mahal said on the statement of Sandeep Soni, owner of a call centre, who along with his two friends Karan and Amarjit was injured in the clash, a case had been registered against Jatinder Mand and 16 others. Jatinder has already been arrested. Sandeep has alleged that Jatinder had been harassing his wife on the phone and to sort out the issue, he (Sandeep) had gone to meet him but the latter attacked him with sharp-edged weapons.
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Green Divali campaign kicks off in
Patiala
Patiala, November 7 As many as 125 students and staff members of the college carried out a rally from Omaxe Mall to Leela Bhawan Chowk to promote a greener
Divali. Students carried banners and distributed pamphlets to the public to spread the message.
Manmohan Kumar Garg, chairman of the college, started the campaign in Patiala in memory of his late mother Shani Devi who had first started the campaign long ago from the Sector 17 plaza in Chandigarh. He urged people to say no to crackers this Divali and adopt the ‘Each One Plant One’ approach. – TNS
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Disproportionate assets case slapped on Sarabhdyal
Amritsar, November 7 Senior Superintendent of Police Opinder Singh Ghuman said during investigations, the Vigilance Bureau found a palatial house in posh Rani Ka Bagh area. Besides, Sarabhdyal also had partnership in a private school, he claimed. Sarabhdyal has now been booked under a disproportionate assets case for having properties beyond his known sources of income, said Ghuman. A case under Section 13 (1)- E of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered. The Vigilance Bureau would now seek his custody under production warrant for further investigations into the case.
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Red chilly banned after jailbreak bid Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) RP Meena, in a meeting held at Circuit House here, instructed all jail officials of the state to prevent inmates from forming cliques. The ADGP reportedly said the inmates were in the habit of forming groups inside the jail and reuniting after being released. “They commit crime and break the law. The groups that inmates form inside the jail get involved in sneaking drugs into the compound. They further make a coordinated effort in trying to escape,” he said. After the seven-hour-long meeting, the ADGP refused to interact with the media. “It is an official meeting and the media would be informed once the matter was resolved, said Meena. Later, Ludhiana Central Jail Superintendent Bhupinder Singh Virk said the ADGP had ordered the authorities to check the jail premises on a routine basis. He said the ADGP had stressed on eradicating the menace of drugs and mobile phones on jail premises.
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Navjot's sting op misses target
Ropar, November 7 Navjot reached Ropar this morning. Her secretary invited the local media saying the Chief Parliamentary Secretary was to hold a press conference at Verka Milk Bar, near Satluj Bridge. Navjot told the mediapersons that she was in the town to conduct a raid. Following this, she along with the mediapersons moved towards the old town. In the meanwhile, she kept in touch with her source on the phone. However, Navjot left soon after without divulging the name of doctor under scanner. The doctor had already left his clinic before she could reach the spot, it was learnt. Earlier on August 31, Sidhu posed as a patient “Nafisa” and caught Dr Sameer Kaushal for running a private hospital in Mohali.
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Patiala admn cracks the whip on illegal miners
Patiala, November 7 Officers from the Mining Department confiscated seven tippers for loading sand in Faggan Majra
village. In Sanaur and Marhu villages, two JCB machines and five tractors were held. Police has arrested the accused and are conducting raids to arrest the
contractors. Patiala Deputy Commissioner GK Singh said similar cases were registered at Julka police station and strict action would be taken against the erring contractors. “We have issued strict guidelines to the department concerned and anyone found involved in illegal mining would be brought to book,” he added.
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Cable network case: Petitioner gets bail in 6 cases
Chandigarh, November 7 The development is significant as Bhullar had claimed that false cases were being registered against business rivals and small cable operators by misusing police and political powers to create monopoly in cable business. Seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the matter, Bhullar had also claimed that the respondents were causing loss to the tune of crores of rupees annually to the government by showing fewer cable connections. In the process, they were avoiding service, entertainment and other taxes. The High Court had earlier ordered Punjab Director-General of Police, Home Secretary, and Amritsar Commissioner of Police not to register any case against the petitioner in the meantime. The court will hear the case on December 10. The issue had cropped up in the High Court earlier also. In a petition, Amritsar resident Rakesh Arora had earlier asserted that co-accused in the case Gurdev Singh Bhullar of Godfather Communication, his employees and subscribers were being victimised by the local police at the instance of cable operator Sarabjit Singh alias Raju. Arora has added the complainant in the case against them is Sarabjit Singh's employee Sandeep Kumar. Sarabjit Singh is also a partner in Fastway Transmission Private Limited and DIGI Cable. "It is an open secret that Sukhbir Badal, Deputy Chief Minister, is the real owner of DIGI Cable", Arora had said.
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Pak-based gang duped 11 persons; 10 from Punjab
Jalandhar, November 7 Ten victims from Punjab and one from Himachal Pradesh complained of having been duped of several lakh rupees by the gang, which had links with Pakistan-based swindlers. Additional Deputy Commissioner of the police (ADCP), Diljinder Singh Dhillon revealed that eight victims from Jalandhar district, two from Kapurthala and one from Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, had come forward after the news of the busted racket spread. Eight victims reported their cases to the police on a special helpline number (+91-97811-22937) and two from Kapurthala reported the fraud to the police in person, the ADCP said. The Bilaspur Superintendent of Police called Dhillon and discussed a similar case in which Pawandeep Singh Bajwa was involved. The ADCP claimed that the different Indian intelligence and security agencies had been informed about the racket so that the noose around the racket operators could be tightened. Meanwhile, Bajwa was produced before a local court today and his police custody extended by four more days. The special branch of the city police had unearthed the gang, who had been alluring telephone customers with cash prizes through fake telephone calls and SMSes, with the arrest of Bajwa, a city resident, on Monday evening. Pakistan-based swindlers operated the gang through Dubai and enjoyed the patronage of Hawala peddlers from Dubai, police claimed. The accused, Pawandeep Singh Bajwa, a resident of Dakoha, had reportedly roped in employees of telecommunication companies in India and had set up a fake call centre in Pakistan, Dhillon added.
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Principals and teachers in several government schools of Punjab appear to be shielding their colleagues who report drunk on duty, something that is sure to leave a bad impression on students.
Four staff members, including a District Education Officer, were suspended over the past fortnight alone for coming to their workplace in an inebriated condition. And in all these cases, no complaints were received from either the colleagues or principals of the employees concerned. Their mischief was caught by Education Department teams that conducted raids following complaints from the public.
Patiala, November 7
Ludhiana, November 7