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Defying threat, Sikhs take out nagar kirtan in Pak
Sikh pilgrims participate in a nagar kirtan at Nankana Sahib in Pakistan on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph
Excise Dept tightens noose around millers
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File traced: Namdhari issued arms licence on basis of Kurali ration card
Passport Verification: Role of policemen under scanner
Cong: SAD has double standards on FDI
Renovation of historical building
The partially renovated District Courts Complex in Faridkot. A Tribune photograph
10-storey building to come up in 48 hrs!
Dowry death: Sangrur residents take to streets
Scripting success story in his seventies
Rehab centre maimed by funds crunch
Rights panel representative inspects jail
New Zealand offers technology to prolong shelf life of farm products
Cong’s Bhullar sees Valtoha's hand behind Taran Taran ‘fake’ case
Badal writes to Jharkhand CM
Depts flouting instructions on re-employment
Highest incidence of stroke in Ludhiana
Choked drains make life
miserable in Longowal
Taxis eat up parking space in Bathinda
Inmates taught law at Bathinda Central Jail
Mid-day meal data to go online
PRTC takes corrective measures, goes into black
Ace shooter Avneet Sidhu wins gold
HC: Varsity can't charge registration fee twice
3 get life term for killing sarpanch
Two injured in clash over land dispute
VB arrests two for pilfering ration
Charanjit Singh Grover, Assistant Food Supply Officer and Food Supply Inspector Mohit Aggarwal being taken to police station in Patiala on Wednesday. Tribune photo
Liquor vend shot dead in Patiala
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Defying threat, Sikhs take out nagar kirtan in Pak
Amritsar, November 28 The development came despite the fact that the Taliban had threatened to target Indians in the aftermath of 26/11 perpetrator Ajmal Kasab's hanging. Talking to The Tribune over the phone from Pakistan, Bishen Singh, former president, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), said around 15,000 Sikh pilgrims from Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Dubai and the US participated in the nagar kirtan which started from Gurdwara Janam Asthan at 1 pm and culminated at Gurdwara Tambu Sahib around 4 pm. He said it was after a gap of five years that the Sikhs could take out the nagar kirtan to mark the pious occasion. He praised the Pakistan government and the local administration for facilitating the smooth conduct of the programme. He said the administration took various measures to extend safety to the pilgrims. "The shops in the area were shut while policemen could be seen keeping surveillance on the rooftops. Even the Muslim population came forward to greet the nagar kirtan which took place in a congenial atmosphere," he said. Bishen Singh said langars had been organised by various religious groups and the pilgrims did not face any problem. He said there would be "shabad kirtan" at midnight followed by "ardaas" at the Nankana Sahib to mark the occasion. He said they had been unable to celebrate the day on such scale in the last five years due to security concerns. "The atmosphere is such that due to terrorist activities even the timings and the routes for Moharram processions have been curtailed," he added. American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (AGPC) coordinator Dr Pritpal Singh said the religious procession was voluntarily stopped following threats from the Taliban a few years ago, but the Sikhs this time decided to take out the procession as the Pakistani Punjab government had made elaborate security arrangements. Earlier, the "bhog" ceremony of the "akhand path" was organised at the Nankana Sahib Gurdwara. Later, various Sikh leaders, including Dr Pritpal, Avtar Singh Sangha of the Kar Sewa Society, UK, SGPC Jatha leader Jang Bahadur Singh and PSGPC president Sham Singh, addressed the gathering and spoke on various issues being faced by the community. Dr Pritpal and other Sikh leaders are likely to meet Pakistani Punjab Chief Minister Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif and Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and President Asif Ali Zardari over the next couple of days to deliberate on various Sikh issues with them.
gurpurab celebrations * Massive gathering: Around 15,000 pilgrims from countries like India, US, Dubai, Malaysia etc participated * The concern: The Taliban had threatened to target Indians in the aftermath of 26/11 perpetrator Ajmal Kasab's hanging * Tight security: The Pakistan Punjab government makes elaborate security arrangements for facilitating the smooth conduct of the programme
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Excise Dept tightens noose around millers
Moga, November 28 A senior excise official said it was noticed that several rice millers and traders had not been depositing tax on the purchase of paddy on the pretext of exporting custom milled rice. Paddy used to mill rice for export is exempt from purchase tax. The department has now issued instructions to all its district-level offices to ensure that rice millers who do not have purchase orders for exporting rice deposit the purchase tax. The tax would be adjusted at a later stage and the miller could claim the refund, if any, the official said. Private traders and rice millers have so far purchased 21.5 lakh tonnes of paddy in the state. The process is still on in some districts due to the late arrival of basmati varieties. The state government is expecting to collect about Rs 950 crore as tax from paddy, an increase of Rs 150 crore from the last year's collection. To plug the loopholes, department officials at the district level were collecting information on private paddy procurement from the Food and Civil Supplies Department and the marketing board instead of relying on the disclosures made by the millers. The reports of private purchase of paddy procured from various sources would be tallied so as to check evasion of purchase tax, the official added. plugging loopholes * The state levies purchase tax at the rate of 5 per cent on procurement of paddy by private traders and rice millers * Paddy used to mill rice for export is exempt from purchase tax * Traders have not been depositing tax on the pretext of exporting the custom milled rice * Now, millers who do not have purchase orders for exporting rice will have to deposit the purchase tax
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File traced: Namdhari issued arms licence on basis of Kurali ration card
Ropar, November 28 It is learnt that Namdhari was active in the Kurali area during the nineties and would provide security to companies during cash transactions. Also, he had set up a small industrial unit in the area, claimed locals. Sources in the DC's office said Namdhari's ration card carried the names of his family members as well. Documents pertaining to police verification of his residential address in Kurali had also been found. Interestingly, while Namdhari used a ration card issued in Kurali to obtain an arms licence, he showed himself as a Lohian resident for obtaining a passport from the Jalandhar RPO. The Intelligence wing of the Punjab Police had verified his Lohian address on the basis of which he was issued a passport. Meanwhile, the district administration has started verifying the antecedents of all arms licencees in the district. Ropar Senior Superintendent of Police Inder Mohan Singh said the licencees would have to get their residential addresses verified within a week.
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Passport Verification: Role of policemen under scanner
Jalandhar, November 28 Namdhari had reportedly got the passport by showing himself a resident of Jania village near Lohian Khas in Jalandhar.The police is now looking for old police verification records. The police is likely to question officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department on the ration card that Namdhari had used as proof of residence for getting a passport. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Yurinder Singh Hayer said that an inquiry was being conducted to establish the role of policemen who had verified the residential status of Namdhari. Regional Passport Officer Parneet Singh had said yesterday that Namdhari had applied for a passport in March 2006. He had said that last month they had received a complaint from Chitranjan Singh of Uttarakhand against Namdhari obtaining a passport by furnishing "wrong" particulars. He said the Regional Office had served Namdhari a show-cause notice at his Jania village address but the same had returned undelivered.Thereafter, his passport was impounded. Official sources said Namdhari would face criminal charges, including forgery.
Sukhbir orders probe; report in 14 days
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Cong: SAD has double standards on FDI
Chandigarh, November 28 Pradesh Congress Legal Cell co-chairman Jaiveer Shergill said Sukhbir's decision to inaugurate the Metro store was "devoid of any logic and exposed the double standards adopted by his party". Shergill said it was ironical that on one hand, Akali MPs were camping in New Delhi in protest against FDI in retail and on the other, Sukhbir "proudly" inaugurated Metro's fourth store in Punjab, highlighting its benefits to the people. He said the benefits stores like Metro would bring to the Punjab farmers would get a boost with FDI in retail. The Congress leader said the Deputy Chief Minister should clarify how wholesale stores being used as retail stores by consumers due to loopholes in the system could be helpful to Punjab when the SAD had taken an anti-FDI stance. He said the Deputy Chief Minister while inaugurating the store had said Metro had generated direct employment and promoted state's economy by encouraging procurement from local suppliers. This was in contrast with what he had been saying on the issue of FDI in retail, he added.
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Renovation of historical building
Faridkot, November 28 The INTACH has stopped the renovation work of the historical District Court Complex in Faridkot for the non-payment of over Rs 1.60 crore bills by the PWD (B&R). To renovate this historical building, the INTACH and the Punjab Government had entered into a contract in August 2010. This project worth Rs 11.72 crore was allotted to the INTACH after its meeting with the Building Construction Committee and PWD (B&R) on August 24, 2010. As per the agreement, the state government had to make progress payment to the INTACH. The NGO started the renovation work of the District Courts Complex about 18 months ago. The cash-strapped PWD (B&R) has not paid anything to the INTACH for the past nine months. "The last payment was made in February 2012. The INTACH's outstanding dues towards the Punjab Government are over Rs 1.60 crore," said a senior functionary of the NGO. "We had requested the state government several times and even wrote to the chairman of Building Committee on October 24. But no funds were released. Now, we have stopped the work," he said. Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot, said funds would be released within a week. "We are hopeful that the INTACH will soon resume the work," he said. Sources said after the INTACH brought the matter to the notice of the High Court, the latter questioned the state government for the delay in releasing funds. Subsequently, the government assured the court that funds would be released soon. the building * The Faridkot District Court Complex building is over a century old * Elegantly designed in European style, its beauty lies in its magnificent architecture * Its floors, ceilings, walls and arched openings have been constructed with artistic precision about intach
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10-storey building to come up in 48 hrs!
Chandigarh, November 28 Talking about the salient features of the building, INSTACON promoter Harpal Singh said it would be the first building of its kind in the country. He said all its components had been manufactured in a factory, pre-fitted with floors, water supply, wirings, sanitation, air-conditioning ducts and everything else. He said these would be shifted in state-of-the-art transporting vehicles to the site for installation. Harpal Singh said this ultra-fast mechanism helped save energy in comparison to traditional construction methods. He said building owners would get immediate return on their investment even as they would bear the same cost in case they used conventional techniques. He said besides taking care of inflationary concerns, this technology had a potential to revolutionise infrastructure technology in the country by speeding up the construction of commercial towers, luxury hotels, high rise buildings, hospitals and educational institutions. Harpal urged planners, architects, engineers, builders, infrastructure developers, hoteliers to adopt the unique and modern innovative technology for constructing buildings as it would help reduce cost and time consumed in the process.
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Dowry death: Sangrur residents take to streets
Sangrur, November 28 The Sadar police had registered a case against her husband Satnam Singh, father-in-law Bhura Singh and sister-in-law Hardip Kaur under Section 304-B (dowry death) of the IPC on the statement of her brother. The protesters today demanded the arrest of those booked in the case. They lifted the blockade after Sangrur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Swaran Singh assured them that the accused would be arrested by tomorrow. Dhanna Singh Bhattiwal, a member of the action committee, said if the police failed to keep its promise, they would again hold protests. He said they would not cremate the victim's body till the arrest of the accused.
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Scripting success story in his seventies
Amritsar, November 28 Talking to The Tribune, Khosa said the copy of Guru Granth Sahib which he handed over to the Akal Takht had pages having a length of 26 inches and width of 19 inches. "The holy book weighs 50 kg while it has a total of 1,430 pages, the same as a printed copy has. It has also made it to the Malaysia Book of Records as the heaviest handwritten religious book. It is a meticulous work to write in Gurmukhi script in exactly the same way as appears in the printed copy. One has to ensure that words are linked together and each of the 19 lines on every page are perfectly aligned. Moreover, it needs a lot of attention, as a single misspelled word will mean sacrilege," he said. Khosa said he had used a special white paper and ink named Kohinoor which was procured from the US. He said the handwritten copy could last up to 300 years and even water could not affect it. He said he had already started working on his sixth handwritten copy of Guru Granth Sahib. He said his first handwritten copy had been installed at a gurdwara in Southall, London, while the second one was at Har-ki-Pauri at the Golden Temple. Similarly, his third "bir" had been installed at a gurdwara at Edmonton and the fourth one at a California shrine. On what inspired him to take up this work, Khosa said it was his visit to Amritsar post-1984 as a part of a five-member Sikh panel from Malaysia to take stock of the damage caused to the Golden Temple during the Operation Bluestar. "We visited the Sikh Reference Library and were distraught to see the damage it had suffered. Our treasure trove of rare books laid burnt and destroyed," he said. Whether he faces any health problem while performing this painstaking task, Khosa said he was perfectly fine, though he wore glasses while writing the holy book. He said he wrote the first four copies while sitting on the ground in a conventional manner. However, the fifth copy was penned on a table as he had some problem in his knees.
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Rehab centre maimed by funds crunch
Sangrur, November 28 Hari Singh , in his seventies, is unable to walk. His legs have been affected by arthritis. He had sent an application to the rehab centre for a tricycle in April. He has yet to get a response. The three are among 150 persons who have applied for tricycles, calipers and artificial limbs and are on the waiting list. Officials at the rehab centre say they have yet to receive funds from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, for 2012-13. Sources say the rehab centre had sought funds totalling Rs 21 lakh from the state Social Security Department for 2012-13 in the first week of July. The state has forwarded the plea to the Central Government. The centre does not expect to get funds from the Centre before February next year. This means the applicants would have to wait for assistance for at least three more months. The centre had in March bought 45 tricycles, 12 wheelchairs, 15 artificial limbs, 20 calipers, 37 hearing aids and 23 pairs of crutches with the funds (worth Rs 5.38 lakh) it received from the Centre for 2011-12. |
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Rights panel representative inspects jail
Sangrur, November 28 Sangrur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kumar Rahul, who accompanied her, said that Jalaja met women inmates to know about the problems being faced by them. She later instructed jail as well as civil officers to redress these problems at the earliest. The DC said Jalaja's visit was aimed to ensure there were no violation of human rights in the jail premises. The NHRC representative also visited an anganwari centre here. Later, she visited the rural hospital at Cheema where she spoke with doctors and patients. She enquired about the hospital hygiene. The DC said Jalaja would submit her report to the
NHRC.
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New Zealand offers technology to prolong shelf life of farm products
Chandigarh, November 28 New Zealand Minister for Primary Industries David Carter said this during an interaction with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and his Cabinet colleagues. Leading a 22-member trade delegation, Carter said Punjab and New Zealand shared common expertise in agriculture sector. He said New Zealand could offer Punjab latest technology and techniques to prolong shelf life of agricultural products. Acknowledging the contribution of Punjab as food bowl of India, he said the state had done a “remarkable job in feeding a population of 120 crore of the country, though its area was just 1.5 per cent (of the country)”. Seeking latest technology from New Zealand in milk chilling and processing sector, Sukhbir said the state was open to private dairy processing units of New Zealand setting up their ventures in Punjab.
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Cong’s Bhullar sees Valtoha's hand behind Taran Taran ‘fake’ case
Chandigarh, November 28 The former minister alleged that the accused, Mahinder Singh and Joga Singh, both residents of Kashipur in Uttarakhand, had been provided an alibi. The two had been booked by the Tarn Taran police under the Excise Act on the day they had committed the murder in Uttarakhand, Bhullar alleged. Bhullar said though a few police personnel had been dismissed after the Uttarakhand Director-General of Police (DGP) took up the matter with his Punjab counterpart, the state government was not looking into the genesis of the incident that had occurred because of political patronage. The Congress leader demanded a CBI inquiry into the case to expose those who had pressured the police into registering a "false" case against the two murder accused.
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Dwindling Coal Stock
Patiala, November 28 Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has stepped in and written to his Jharkhand counterpart Arjun Munda to intervene so that the coal supply is resumed immediately. Protesters in Pakkur district of Jharkhand, seeking rehabilitation of those dislocated by Panem Coal Mines, have blocked roads from the mines to the railway station and are not allowing coal to be loaded on to the railway containers. Badal has said in his letter that the 'captive' coal block contributed substantially to the 440-MW Bathinda Thermal Power Plant, the 1,260-MW Ropar Thermal Plant and the 920-MW Lehra Mohabbat Thermal Plant. "On an average, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) thermal power stations have been receiving five or six rakes of coal daily. But the supplies have been disrupted because of the agitation," Badal has said.
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Depts flouting instructions on re-employment
Chandigarh, November 28 An employee aged 75 is still working with the Punjab State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Another aged 80 put in his papers recently after objections were raised to he being given yet another extension. Pawan Chhabra, a resident of Ram Colony Camp, Hoshiarpur, had through an RTI application questioned reappointments in the commission which, he said, were affecting the promotion avenues of several employees, particularly those at the top of the hierarchy. He was told that the government instructions banning reappointment of retired employees did not apply to the commission. Chhabra had also sought information on cases pertaining to service matters pending with the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Personnel Department, in a letter dated May 9, 2012, to the Financial, Principal and Administrative Secretaries had stated that “no one be given extension in his service after retirement and even those re-employed should have the permission of the authorities concerned." A senior official, requesting anonymity, said: “The government instructions came after a Cabinet decision on the issue.The decision was taken following complaints from different departments regarding re-employment of retired employees. This was unfair to the unemployed youth looking for jobs”. The official, however, said that certain tasks, like preparing Budget reports and Estimates, required experienced hands.
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Highest incidence of stroke in Ludhiana
Ludhiana, November 28 Dr Pandian, who is Head of the Department of Neurology at Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) here, said: "As many as 1,529 persons suffered a stroke in the city between January 2011 to December 2011.The number increased between November to March by 53 per cent (812). As many as 458 cases were reported between April and August, the maximum being in December (205) and January (192). " He said the incidence of stroke went up during the winter months.
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Choked drains make life
miserable in Longowal
Longowal (Sangrur), November 28 Local residents blame the indifferent attitude of the authorities for the town’s deteriorating condition. Most roads in the town are dug up to lay the sewer lines. It has been one and a half years since the authorities first started laying the pipes and it might take a few more months to complete the project. The sand on the broken roads has choked the drains which results in the sewage overflowing into the streets. There is a large number of stray dogs in the town and they attack humans at night. Several incidents where people have been bitten have also been reported. The area also has too many mobile phone towers leading to radiation hazards. Dr Amandeep Aggarwal, a local resident, the mobile companies had yet to obtain the permission from the local municipal council even though they had erected several such towers. The executive officer (EO) of the council Rakesh Garg said the mobile companies had got the permission to install the towers from the Deputy Commissioner. The companies had also deposited the requisite fee for the purpose, he said. Garg said the road had not been repaired as the council did not have any funds. He said the drains were choked as the council faced an acute shortage of safai sewaks who were not able to clean the area. The Executive Engineer of Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) SS Bahia attributed the delay in the completion of sewerage work to the contractor. He said the main sewer lines had been laid in the entire area while branch lines had been laid in 80 percent of the area. The commissioning of disposal point would take some months as the PWSSB had yet to take the possession of the land, he added.
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Taxis eat up parking space in Bathinda
Bathinda, November 28 Despite repeated requests by the local municipal corporation (MCB) officials, the taxis continue to occupy the prime parking space in the heart of the city. "There is no place to park vehicles, especially during the festive season. Though the Gole Diggi area has been marked as a parking lot, there is no space. The site for parking allocated in the sports market and the opposite area is too small to accommodate the vehicles of people visiting the Dhobi Bazar and other markets," said Gurnam Singh, a Jujhar Nagar resident. With the traffic police acting strict against haphazard parking, people have no option but to park their vehicles on the roadside. Cars are often found lined up on the Mall Road near the Government Elementary School during holidays and the festive season. Afraid of the traffic police towing their vehicles away, people try to squeeze in their vehicles within the yellow line leading to chaos outside the shops where the vehicles are parked. "The police has prohibited parking beyond the yellow line, but no place has been allocated where we could safely park our vehicles," said Jatinder Pal Singh, a resident of Gopal Nagar. The issue had cropped up recently at a meeting of the MCB sub-committee constituted to engage a consultant for raising multi-level parking on the fire brigade site near Gole Diggi. Senior deputy mayor Tarsem Goyal had pointed out that in the absence of adequate parking areas, people were facing a lot of problems. He suggested that the parking lot opposite the Gole Diggi be vacated from the taxi drivers and the space be made available to the visitors to the markets around. Assistant municipal commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal had replied that the parking lot has been given on contract. "During the festive season, we requested the contractor to make space available for private vehicles. We even issued him a letter in this context, but to no avail," he said. Goyal had suggested that the contractors' contract be cancelled. But the suggestion failed to evoke any positive response from other members of the sub-committee. Meanwhile, Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman said he would take up the matter and ensure that the space was made available for other vehicles too. Two multi-level parking lots on the cards. The sites at Government Elementary School on the Mall Road as well as the existing fire brigade have been earmarked for the purpose. While the MCB would build a parking lot at the site where fire brigade is situated, the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) would develop one at the government elementary school site under the Optimum Use of Vacant Government Land (OUVGL) scheme of the Punjab Government. The MCB has given the green signal for appointing a consultant who will study the feasibility and other factors of the project. At the same time, the Punjab Government has given nod to the BDA project for which modalities are being laid.
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Inmates taught law at Bathinda Central Jail
Bathinda, November 28 Surinder Sachdeva said that on November 29, 1949, the Indian Constituent Assembly adopted the Indian Constitution. After 30 years, the Supreme Court Bar Association adopted November 26 as the National Legal Day and it is observed every year ever since. The day is observed to honour 207 members of the assembly. He said under the District Legal Services Authority, free legal aid is given to the needy and the poor. The downtrodden are made aware of their rights. Inmates are also provided with free legal services when needed. Bansi Lal Sachdeva asked the inmates to take advantage of the legal aid clinic opened on the jail premises. He also informed the jail inmates about plea bargaining. earlier in August, a legal aid clinic was opened at the Bathinda Central Jail to facilitate the inmates there. The then District and Sessions Judge SK Aggarwal had inaugurated the clinic. The legal cell was to extend free services to the convicts as well as the
undertrials.
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Mid-day meal data to go online
Bathinda, November 28 The Director General of School Education (DGSE) has directed that the information be put online through the Punjab State Mid-day Meals Society. The data feeding work for the website has already begun at block level. All the government schools have been given mid-day meal data capture forms, which are to be filled and duly submitted in the offices of the block primary education officers. While some schools have filled the forms and submitted them, others are yet to act. The high and senior secondary schools, which have middle schools attached with them, have to send information of the middle schools also. The data capture forms cover details of schools, social category of students, kitchens, school bank account, cooks and helpers, school health programme, infrastructure, kitchen utensils as well as geographical location of the school. The lists of schools of Mandi Phul (east block) and Bathinda have been released. As many as 19 schools of the Mandi Phul have been directed to send across their data soon.
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PRTC takes corrective measures, goes into black
Patiala, November 28 PRTC Managing Director DPS Kharbanda said setting targets for all depots and putting some of the defunct buses back on the road had helped the organization achieve this feat. The results started showing soon after the corrective measures were implemented. The PRTC reduced its losses down to Rs 1.45 crore in May and finally generated profit in August, he said. Kharbanda explained how he went about turning the company around. "There were over 150 defunct buses parked in the PRTC workshop. We first identified those which did not need a lot of repair and brought 60 buses back on the road in just two months. The buses which were in a very poor condition were auctioned. Then, we fixed the targets for all depots and sought daily reports as to why any particular depot could not meet its target. Fixing accountability helped us in bringing financial stability in PRTC," he said.The increase in fares also helped increase their revenue. Fares had recently been hiked due to the increasing fuel prices. Kharbanda has urged the government to fix its annual budget at Rs 50 crore so it could pay the salaries and pensions of its employees.
course correction * PRTC set targets for all depots and put 60 of its 150 defunct buses back on the road * The buses which were in a very poor condition were auctioned * It will add 100 buses to its fleet in 2013 * From January 2013, it will add 15 buses on its various routes every month
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Ace shooter Avneet Sidhu wins gold
Bathinda, November 28 Avneet is winner of the Arjuna Award. — TNS
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HC: Varsity can't charge registration fee twice
Chandigarh, November 28 The judgement by Justice Ranjit Singh came on two petitions filed by Dr Harsimranjit Singh Bhatia and other petitioners against the State of Punjab and other respondents. In one of the petitions, counsel Manaish Kumar Singla had claimed that the petitioners took admission in BDS after passing the entrance test conducted by the university and were registered with it. On completion of the course, they took admission in MDS under the special management quota category by appearing in an entrance exam. He said the petitioners were again asked to deposit the registration fee. "The petitioners were already registered with the university and a new registration number was going to be assigned to them. As such, the question of demanding registration fee once again would be unfair,” Singla argued. Elaborating, he said the registration number remained the same for all intents and purposes, once a candidate was registered with the university. The university, on the other hand, contended that "continuation fee" was charged once a student had completed a course from the university and was admitted to a higher course. “Therefore, a new registration return is required to be sent by the college and all the procedures of registration are done afresh,” counsel added. Taking up the matter, Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “The state government was required to file an additional affidavit to say if it was committed to charging admission fee… The state has come on a specific affidavit to say that the Punjab Government had not notified the registration fee charged by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot. “It is, thus, seen that registration fee has been charged by the respondent-university on its own by taking support from some decision taken by the Punjab Government. The Punjab Government has otherwise not authorised charging of admission fee. “Accordingly, the action of the respondent-university in charging this exorbitant admission fee is not fair and cannot be sustained. Both the writ petitions are accordingly allowed. The decision of the university to charge this registration fee is hereby quashed”.
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3 get life term for killing sarpanch
Moga, November 28 The victim was beaten up and attacked with sharp-edged weapons on February 19, 2009. He died at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot. Among those sentenced are panchayat member Judge Singh and his associates Jagtar Singh and Gurpreet Singh. — TNS
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Two injured in clash over land dispute
Sangrur, November 28 Amargarh Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sukhdev Singh Virk said an altercation took place between two groups this evening on the issue of possession of land in the village. The altercation turned ugly when a person opened fire with his rifle on the other group, he said, adding Amar Singh and his granddaughter sustained injuries in the incident. The DSP said the police had registered a case against Kuldip Singh, Tarlok Singh, Hardip Singh and a woman.
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VB arrests two for pilfering ration
Patiala, November 28 The FIR has been registered under sections pertaining to fraud and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Food and Civil Supply Department has recommended the suspension of the named officials and the cancellation of the licences of the raided depots. Apart from the two arrested, the other accused are Pawan Kumar, Binder Singh, Beant Singh, Ram Singh, Avtar Singh and Satpal Singh. “Preliminary investigations suggest that every government ration depot has to distribute the subsidised ration to the actual beneficiaries by month-end but many depots in Nabha, Bhadson and other areas were selling the ration in the open market,” reads the FIR. The complainants see this as a welcome step after many of their earlier complaints had fallen on deaf ears. “After the department officials failed to take any action against such depots, we approached the vigilance bureau,” claimed one of the complainants. Sources in the VB confirmed that the role of politicians in the racket was also being investigated. “The proximity of the accused with some political leaders is also under scrutiny. We need to ascertain if the accused helped these leaders get political mileage out of the racket by diverting ration from the depots to their constituencies,” said a senior VB officer. The Food and Supply Department has also taken a tough stand on the issue. “We have recommended action against all such depots,” said Food and Supply Controller Anjuman Bhaskar. SSP Patiala Vigilance Bureau, Pritam Singh said the bureau would investigate the matter deeply to ascertain the role of all private millers, middlemen and government officers in the scam.
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Liquor vend shot dead in Patiala
Patiala, November 28 Police said, “Three to four unknown persons approached Singh to buy liquor. They had a quarrel which turned ugly and the accused shot Singh before fleeing from the spot. No eyewitness has come forward till now. The police is trying to identify the culprits,” he said. Police said the victim was rushed to the hospital at around 10.30 pm where he succumbed to his injuries. “We have registered an FIR under Section 302 of the IPC against unknown persons and efforts are on to nab the accused,” they added.
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With tight security arrangements in place at Nankana Sahib, thousands of Sikh pilgrims from different countries today took out a nagar kirtan at the birth place of Guru Nanak Dev to mark his birth anniversary after a gap of over five years.
Ropar, November 28
Faridkot, November 28
Patiala, November 28
