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‘ASI had left crime scene once, came back only to be shot dead’
SAD leader slaps Home Guard jawan in DSP’s presence
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Cong wants probe by High Court judge
Evolve a workable agri-diversification plan: PM tells state
Coal supply to thermal plants resumes
PIMS powerless for a week
DSGMC poll: SAD to file defamation suit against Delhi Govt Chawla writes to CM, wants job for Shruti
Way to justice cut short for border area residents
Rs 5 crore unearthed in IT raids
Hoshiarpur girl’s murder turns out to be honour killing; parents held
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‘ASI had left crime scene once, came back only to be shot dead’
Amritsar, December 8 Anil Kumar, an eyewitness having his shop nearby, stated that the police official had left the crime scene after he was allegedly shot in the leg for the first time by the prime accused, Ranjit Singh Rana. “He had left in his car, which was being driven by the son of his cousin who has a fertiliser shop right next to State Bank of India. He had hardly gone 100 metres from the spot when he reversed his vehicle and returned back,” he said. Anil said the Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) stood on his legs and was telling his daughter not to panic as the police party will reach there soon while she was all the time pleading with him to head towards the hospital. The police official even had a word with Anil Kumar. “He told me that the accused (Rana and his aides) had been teasing his daughter for the last three-four days and when he confronted them on the issue, they fired at him,” the trader said. He said the ASI made some phone calls to seek police help and stood there awaiting the same. He said after waiting for 15-20 minutes, the ASI again got into his vehicle. But, he had barely travelled a few metres when Rana returned, allegedly driving his vehicle on wrong side of the road. “He may have reloaded his gun from his residence, situated in a lane on the same side of the road.” According to him, Rana didn’t see the ASI but the latter had seen Rana, after which the police official stopped his vehicle and came out. “Rana first shot at the fertiliser shop, thinking that the ASI was there. But later he spotted him and shot at him pointblank,” said another eyewitness. Eyewitnesses claimed that the ASI had also fired six gunshots, all in the air. Rana too fired an equal number of shots. When Rana returned for the second time, he fired two-three shots, one of which killed the ASI. Shock and anger Badal visits family, disowns Rana Eyewitnesses apprehensive Eyewitnesses of the tragedy are under fear as they “don’t want to get embroiled in police investigations and the subsequent legal battle”. “You are the 20th person to have approached me to seek information about the incident since morning. Earlier, officials of CID and other agencies had come to me. But, I haven’t seen anything,” said an eyewitness who later shared information on the condition that his identity would not be revealed. The same was the case with others who seemed to have an alibi ready with them. The man who stood out While most of the people present at the crime scene remained mute spectators to the tragedy, Shiv Kumar, a shopkeeper, dared to throw stones at the accused at the time of the incident after which they fled the scene. It was a brave step on his part as other eyewitnesses said they could not muster the courage to stand up against the accused who were armed. Verbal complaint As far as the police complaint regarding eve-teasing lodged by ASI’s daughter Robinjeet Kaur at Chheharta police station on December 1 was concerned, sources in the Police Department said it was a verbal complaint, which she made before the then Station House Officer Ashwini Kumar. She reportedly told Ashwini Kumar that her father too was in the police and he will talk to him later. Protest in Muktsar Activists of several Muktsar-based organisations on Saturday participated in a protest march organised against the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state. They also burnt an effigy of the accused who gunned down ASI Ravinderpal Singh, who was saving his daughter from eve-teasers in Amritsar on Wednesday. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who visited Chohla Sahib in Tarn Taran to watch World Cup Kabaddi matches, landed at Khasa, a few kilometres from Rampura, due to a technical error in judging the destination. But he didn't visit the bereaved family. SAD leader Ranjit Singh Brahmpura confirmed Sukhbir's helicopter had mistakenly landed in Khasa. PPP president Manpreet Badal, who also visited the bereaved family on Saturday, said the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister should resign on moral grounds. "Sacking of an SHO was only a cover-up. The state Home Minister should own the responsibility and resign on moral grounds," he said.
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SAD leader slaps Home Guard jawan in DSP’s presence
Gurdaspur, December 8 Inderpal Singh, aligned with the youth wing of the SAD, and four of his colleagues allegedly bullied the harried constable Gurnam Singh when the latter ordered the Bolero car, driven by the accused, to stop near the Municipal Committee chowk this morning. Disobeying the orders, Inderpal Singh allegedly intimidated him by saying: "How dare you signal me to stop. Have you forgotten the Amritsar incident of ASI's killing?" These remarks have been mentioned in the FIR registered later at the Gurdaspur city police station. After a verbal skirmish, Inderpal allegedly slapped Gurnam and tore his uniform in the presence of DSP Prabhu Dass and scores of passersby. The accused and his friends fled after the incident. Sources said Inderpal's political masters had been putting pressure on senior police officers to hush up the case. Senior Superintendent of Police Raj Jit Singh, however, said the police was not under any political pressure and efforts were on to nab the accused. Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa said: "The incident has spread panic among the residents. How can they feel safe when a policeman is beaten up in full public view". Dera Baba Nanak MLA SS Randhawa said: "I cannot walk like a free man on the streets of Gurdaspur where Akali leaders have let loose a reign of terror".
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Cong wants probe by High Court judge
Chandigarh, December 8 In a joint statement issued here, Congress MLAs Parminder Singh, Navtej Singh Cheema and Gurkirat Singh Kotli did not rule out the possibility of some top political dignitary allegedly delaying police action. “An FIR in the case was registered after five hours due to reasons best known to the Amritsar police. Similar was the case with follow-up action,” they said. Blaming Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal for the “deteriorating” law and order situation in the state, they claimed that though giving job to the deceased’s daughter was appreciable, the incident “exposed how insecure” an ordinary man in Punjab was under the Akali regime. “Dismissal of the Chheharta Station House Officer is not enough. Truth must be brought out and action should be taken against all the guilty, including politicians,” they said. Parminder Singh alleged that the law and order situation in the state had gone from bad to worse due to wrong policies of the Akali Dal. “Now, police officials are being appointed on the recommendations of halka (constituency) in charge,” he added.
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Moga-Delhi Shatabdi chugs off
Moga, December 8 The train arrived here at 14.05 hours and left for New Delhi at 15.00 hours. Jain along with Naresh Chand Goyal, Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur, travelled on Shatabdi from Ludhiana to Moga. On his arrival, he was greeted by his supporters here. Congress workers distributed sweets among passengers at the railway station. On the other hand, the SAD organised a public gathering at the railway station to mark the occasion. Those present included former DGP Paramdip Singh Gill, former MC president Barjinder Singh Brar, Baghapurana MLA Maheshinder Singh and SAD district president Tirath Singh Mahla. Factionalism within the SAD party came to the fore as senior leader Mahla and Brar were not allowed to address the gathering while senior SAD leader Jathedar Tota Singh did not turn up.
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Evolve a workable agri-diversification plan: PM tells state
Ludhiana, December 8 “Punjab's agricultural strategy must evolve a workable diversification plan which causes least economic hardships to farmers and provides them with alternative crops that can yield a high income,” said the Prime Minister. He said investment in marketing linkages would be greatly facilitated by supporting changes in the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act which would allow private markets to develop. Badal said the state was ready with a diversification plan, but it needed remunerative minimum support price and an assured marketing system for alternative crops. Urging the Prime Minister to set up a technology mission for diversification of agriculture, Badal said an allocation of Rs 5,000 crore be made for “Diversification Mission for Green Revolution States” in Northern India on the lines of the already-sanctioned programme of “Bringing Green Revolution in Eastern India”. Expressing gratitude to the Prime Minister for sanctioning Borlaug Institute and the Directorate of Maize Research for Punjab, the Chief Minister demanded centres of excellence for research in soyabean and fisheries be set up in the state.
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Coal supply to thermal plants resumes
Patiala, December 8 Punjab State Power Corporation Limited director (generation) GS Chhabra said the 440-MW Bathinda thermal plant had received a rake (3,800-tonnes) of coal from Panem. The supply had been disrupted by a group of protesters who were demanding rehabilitation of those affected by the coal-gathering operations of Panem. The firm is learnt to have reached an agreement with the protesters, following which they called off their agitation. The Power Corporation has its captive Pachwara mines in Jharkhand. Panem is a joint venture between the corporation and EMTA Coal. Punjab gets five to six rakes from Panem on a daily basis. The supply, however, stood suspended since November 21 as the protesters had blocked the approach roads to Panem mines and also disrupted loading of coal at a railway station. “At present, Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar thermal plants have coal stock left for 11 days. The Bathinda plant, on the other hand, has 13-day stock left,” said
Chhabra.
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PIMS powerless for a week
Jalandhar, December 8 The PIMS management had failed to pay its electricity bills worth Rs 55 lakh for the last two months following which the Power Corp disconnected the power supply to the institution. Thereafter, the PIMS management submitted a cheque of Rs 20 lakh to the corporation for the connection to be released but the cheque was dishonoured. Today, the Power Corp authorities handed over the bill of Rs 20 lakh for December, raising the total amount due to Rs 75 lakh. Talking to the Tribune, Deputy Chief Engineer, (Operation) Jalandhar circle, Gopal Sharma claimed that the power supply was disconnected to the PIMS on temporary basis as it had not paid its electricity bills worth Rs 75 lakh. If the PIMS management fails to make the payment in time, the Power Corp will blacklist the institute, he claimed. This is not the first time that power was disconnected to the PIMS. In May, when it had not paid its bills worth Rs 46 lakh, its electricity supply was stopped. Only the ICU, blood bank, refrigerators used to store drugs, were put on power backup. The PIMS has been in trouble since the state government leased it out to a Medical and Education Charitable Society, headed by Punjab Rural Development Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra. Both the safai sewaks and the MBBS students have been on strike lately. The sewaks have not been paid their salaries and the students complain about the poor quality of food served in the hostels. Unpaid for the last three months, the safai sewaks, have been protesting for over a month and on Friday littered garbage on the hospital premises. Taking note of the protest by the MBBS students, the district health officials raided the hospital’s kitchen and found that the food was being prepared in unhygienic conditions.
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DSGMC poll: SAD to file defamation suit against Delhi Govt
Chandigarh, December 8 The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s core committee here today, which was presided over by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal were also present. The committee also condemned the killing of ASI Ravinderpal Singh in Amritsar and decided to look into the profile of its rank and file, particularly those who joined the party recently. SAD spokesman and adviser to Chief Minister on National Affairs Harcharan Bains said the party had authorised SAD secretary and legislator Daljit Singh Cheema to initiate proceedings for filing the defamation suit against the Delhi Government.
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Chawla writes to CM, wants job for Shruti
Amritsar, December 8 Chawla claimed that the swiftness shown by the Police Department in the ASI murder case proved the fact that it was all done to save the state government’s face as a leader of the ruling party was involved in it. She said the state government and the Police Department should have cracked the Shruti case in a similar fashion. In a letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, she has urged that Shruti should also be given a government job. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal has ordered induction of Ravinderpal’s daughter Robinjeet Kaur as Sub-Inspector in the Punjab Police.
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Leopard rescued, taken to zoo
Sangrur, December 8 The animal was trapped in an 18-foot deep well on the bank of a canal near Ratta Kherra village. It was captured at around 8-30 am. The leopard was given first aid before being shifted to the Chhatbir Zoo. Panic spread amongst the villagers in the Lehragaga area when the leopard was spotted by some workers in the fields near Ratta Kherra village at 3 pm yesterday. The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Shailender Kaur said it might have travelled a long way before reaching the area. The leopard after attacking a few people yesterday jumped into a well, which the police later covered with an iron grill. Heavy sand bags were then placed on top of it and the leopard got trapped there till he was pulled out by the officials from Chhatbir Zoo.
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Way to justice cut short for border area residents
Chandigarh, December 8 Till Friday, so many of the litigants belonging to the two districts were forced to stuff themselves up in jam-packed buses for taking the road much frequented by the villagers in search of righteousness. But the 700-year-old history of the area today changed for good, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court laying down a new roadmap to justice. Sprawling on the bank of the Sutlej, Ferozepur was founded by Firoz Shah Tughlak sometimes in the 14th century. It then found a place for itself in the history with the British using it to rule most of the North-West India. But much water has flown under the bridge since then. And the city, resplendent with the relics of the Raj, today saw history being rewritten with structures of the British era paving way for new computerised court complexes and justice being brought nearer home. As the morning sun heralded a new day, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice A.K. Sikri, accompanied by at least seven other Judges, drove in their cars all the way towards a fresh awakening on the concept of “justice at your doorstep”. The Judges started from Ferozepur, went to Fazilka some 90 km away, and returned via Guruharsahai after travelling for nearly six hours, inaugurating courts, laying down foundation stones of judicial complexes, and in the process making justice easily accessible to all. For the residents of Fazilka, the distance to justice was reduced anywhere between 80 and 150 km, as two courts of Additional District and Sessions Judge were made functional after Chief Justice Sikri inaugurated them. The need for establishing these courts was being felt ever since Fazilka was carved out as a separate district from Ferozepur. As per the new arrangements, the Ferozepur Courts, catering to the people of Ferozepur, Gurharsahai, Zira, will now have a Sessions Judge and three Additional District and Sessions Judges. Fazilka courts, catering to the needs of Abohar, Fazilka and Jalalabad, would have two Additional Sessions and District Judges. Putting up in a small town on the Rajasthan border, Daljeet Singh, present during the ceremony, said he would travel on a rickety weather-beaten bus, often standing, for no less than 150 km to Ferozepur for attending a date in the Court of a District Judge for a family litigation involving a chunk of ancestral land, often to be told that the hearing on the appeal had been adjourned. Flashing a smile that accentuated the wrinkles on his sun-baked face, he said the travelling time would be reduced by half with two Additional District and Sessions Judges being housed in Fazilka. "Things are expected to get only better, once the strength of the Judges is increased with the coming up of a high-tech ultra-modern court complex in Ferozepur," said Justice Ranjit Singh, in charge of the High Court building committee, soon after Chief Justice Sikri laid its foundation stone. The complex is expected to come up in about two years, a High Court official hazarded a guess, soon after the Chief Justice assured the gathering of his full support and effort for the early completion of the project. Justice Sikri and Justice Ranjit Singh were also of the estimation that apprehensions on burden increasing on the two judges, with the transfer of litigation from Ferozepur, were ill-founded. The entire process was being carried out in a phased manner, and eventually the number of judges was to increase. The apprehension stemmed from the belief that 60 per cent of the Ferozepur-Fazilka litigation belongs to area under the jurisdiction of the Fazilka courts, with just two Additional District and Sessions Judges. After the conclusion of the function, the Judges left for Guruharsahai for the inauguration of the Sub-Divisional Court. Accompanying them on the dais there was former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Justice SS Sodhi. Appreciating his contribution, Chief Justice Sikri said the complex would not have come up without the "blessings of elder brother, Justice Sodhi". He along with Justice Jasbir Singh, Justice Ranjit Singh, Justice R.P. Nagrath, Justice R.K. Garg, Justice R.K. Jain, Justice Jaswant Singh and Justice T.S. Dhindsa were presented mementos. Also present at the occasion was Guruharsahai MLA Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi. Known to have played an active role in ensuring the setting up of the judicial courts at Guruharsahai, he said it was for the first time a newly created sub-division saw the functioning of the courts at such a short interval. "It will be of great convenience to the people of the area, as earlier they had to travel all the way to the district headquarters, wasting in the process valuable time and resources. "Justice Sodhi played very significant role, as he also belongs to Guruharsahai," he said. The last leg of the tour saw the Chief Justice inaugurating the new judicial court complex and laying down the foundation stone of the alternative disputes redressal centre at Ferozepur. Local MLA Parminder Singh Pinky too was present on the occasion, and brought to the notice of the Chief Justice the issues pertaining to the area requiring attention, sanitation included. Accompanied by Sessions Judge Fateh Deep Singh, the Chief Justice all through the trip emphasised the need for quality and speedy justice, free of cost for the poor, and for giving the women a fair share. Justice Jasbir Singh too laid stress on the need for delivering justice and not judgments; and to make the courts more than a concrete structure.
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Rs 5 crore unearthed in IT raids
Chandigarh, December 8 India Cloth House, Mittal Jewellers and New Electric Store were the shops that were raided. This renewed drive to detect tax evasion is to encourage business houses to voluntary disclose income and comply with the advance tax norms that were effected in November. Sources said the special team was led by Patiala Assistant Commissioner Rohit Kumar.
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Hoshiarpur girl’s murder turns out to be honour killing; parents held
Hoshiarpur, December 8 The police alleged it was a case of honour killing where the parents got their daughter killed to save their family from “disrepute”. Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Hoshiarpur, said the police had arrested Manpreet’s father Kapur Singh, mother Balwinder Kaur, Satnam Singh Sona of Parsota and Jaswinderpal of Meetpur and seized Rs 1.50 lakh, a wedge used in the crime, a Maruti Zen car and the deceased’s mobile phone. Another accused Gurinder Singh of Mona Kalan is absconding. Kapur Singh had earlier told the police that his daughter left the house at 6 pm on December 5 to attend the engagement party of her friend’s sister. Manpreet had Rs 4000, one gold chain and a gold ring at that time. He said he suspected that some robbers might have killed his daughter. The SSP said investigations revealed that Manpreet wanted to marry Sandeep Kumar, son of Rattan Lal of Motian, PS Chabbewal, who belonged to the Scheduled Caste community, but her parents were against it. Gill said: “On December 5, her parents called Satnam Singh and his driver Gurinder Singh to their house. They told Manpreet to snap ties with the boy, but she kept insisting on marrying Sandeep. Enraged over this, Satnam allegedly hit a wedge on her head and killed her on the spot. Later, they called Jaswinderpal to help them in disposing of the body. “Jaswinderpal took Rs 1.50 lakh and agreed to report the matter to the police as an accident case. Later, Satnam took the body in his car to a tubewell where he changed the blood stained clothes. He then took her to Bhagora village and his driver Gurinder Singh followed him on Manpreet’s Activa scooter which they dumped along with the body”. All the accused have
confessed to their involvement in the crime, the SSP added. Shameful act Manpreet Kaur (25) of Subhanpur village was found dead near Mahilpur on Thursday Her father had told the police that he suspected robbery as motive behind her murder Police investigation revealed Manpreet wanted to marry Sandeep Kumar, who belonged to the SC community
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Assistant Sub-Inspector Ravinderpal Singh, who was shot dead by three armed assailants, including an Akali leader here on December 5, had left the crime scene once, but returned only to be shot dead. 
Three days after the ASI’s killing, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal finally visited the bereaved family to express his condolences in Rampura today. He disowned the prime accused Ranjit Singh Rana, former district SAD general secretary, saying neither he nor Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia had "met him ever". Badal said: "Rana had recently joined the party. We don't know much about his background. We don't even know how he came to the party fold".
Sukhbir lands near Rampura
CM, Dy CM should quit, says Manpreet