The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Man booked for physically exploiting woman Our Correspondent Ferozepur, December 31 Crime against women continues to take place notwithstanding the huge public outrage and a series of nationwide protests that has recently rocked the country following the ghastly gang-rape incident in Delhi. In the last few days only, at least half a dozen instances related to the rape of a minor, physical exploitation of a married woman, fraud, dowry besides misleading a minor on the pretext of marriage were reported in the area. In the latest incident, the Ferozepur police today booked one Harchand Singh for physically exploiting a woman belonging to village Ghudduwala in Makhu for the last one year. Police sources said the accused used to intimidate the woman in the absence of her husband and forced her have physical relationship with him. Just two days back, the police booked a person, identified as Tony, a resident of village Peeranwala, for misleading a minor on the pretext of marrying her. In a complaint to the police, Balkar Singh, the girl's father alleged that the accused took her minor daughter with him after promising to marry her. However, she was later dumped. Another case was registered on December 28 against one Ashwani Kumar Sharma of Faridkot, who as per police sources, had allegedly lured a 19-year-old girl who was already married to an NRI belonging to Nawanshahar, into a relationship. Similarly, on December 27, four persons belonging to a family were booked for allegedly harassing one Tanvir Kaur of Ferozepur city for dowry which led to the abortion of her pregnancy. In another incident which came to light on December 25, a minor girl, aged around 13 years, belonging to village Jeeva Bharian under Sadar police station, was allegedly raped by a fellow villager identified as Gursewak Singh. However, as the victim belonged to a poor family, her parents could not gather enough courage to lodge a formal complaint with the police but seeing the public outrage following the gang-rape incident in Delhi, the minor along with her father finally reported the matter to the police a week after the incident took place. Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varinder Pal Singh said the police has launched a women helpline (1097 and 01632-249261) on which any incident related to crime against women can be reported. The Ferozepur SSP said that the district police has also deployed "Anti-teasing staff" that will keep a hawk's eye on incident related to eve-teasing outside the schools and colleges in the area.
	Cops on alert after lewd messages sent to girl Fazilka, December 31 The district police has launched an offensive against unscrupulous elements involved in crime against women and eve-teasing. It has booked a person under the non-bailable offence of sending obscene message to a minor girl belonging to the neighbouring town of Abohar. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amar Singh Chahal disclosed that one Manish Gupta often used to send offensive messages to a minor girl. He again sent the message on December 29, allegedly causing harassment to the girl and her family members. Following a complaint by the parents of the girl, the police booked the man under section 294 of the IPC and section 67 of the Information and Technology Act. The accused has been arrested by the police. — OC
	Miscreants snatch bag with child asleep in it Tribune News Service Faridkot, December 31 Presuming a sleeping bag with a child inside to be bag containing money, three unidentified motorcycle-borne miscreants snatched it from a couple on Sunday evening. But after covering some distance, when the miscreants realized that there was a child asleep in the bag, they dumped it and fled. Surjit Singh Grewal, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Moga said the police were jumped into action on Sunday evening when Ramesh Kumar of Bheem Nagar made a complaint about the kidnapping of his 30-month-old grandson. It was reported to the police that when the parents of the child were returning home from the main bus station in a rickshaw on Sunday evening, three youths, on a motorcycle, snatched the child who was wrapped in a sleeping bag and was being carried by his mother. "Immediately after getting the information, the police swung into action. Sounding an alert, all exit routes of the town were sealed and the police teams started checking the vehicles. However, after some time, the police received the information about a small child being found abandoned in Dashmesh Nagar, Moga," said the SSP. The child was immediately taken to the Civil Hospital and after a medical examination, the child was handed over to its parents, said the SSP. A case has been registered at the Moga city police station against unidentified persons under sections 307 and 356 of the Indian Penal Code and further probe is on.
	Frequent power cuts irk Muktsar residents Archit Watts Tribune News Service Muktsar, December 31 Unscheduled power cuts for a long duration in biting cold have made life miserable for the residents here. Earlier, during the summer, they were hopeful that the power supply would improve in winter but the department has failed to provide any relief to the residents. Nearly six hour of curtailment in power supply has disturbed the housewives and industrialists the most, because the power cuts take place most during the peak hours. The situation is the same everywhere including Muktsar, Malout and Gidderbaha sub-divisions. Mona Arora, a housewife, said, "The temperature remains 9 to 10 degree Celsius in the morning and evening and it is very difficult to work in the kitchen, without geysers or hot water. The government has already put a cap on the number of subsidised LPG cylinders, so we can't even use gas to get hot water." Similarly, Paramjit Kaur, a senior citizen, said, "Due to the power cuts, we have to brave the chill, because we are unable to switch on the blower and heater." "I have already suffered a heart attack and the doctors have advised me to keep the body warm, but the erratic power supply has made things worse, especially for physically weak people like me. I am now dependent on hot water bottle, as I can't switch on the blower," she added. An industrialist said, "The situation is turning grim with every passing day. For the last one week, we have been bearing huge financial losses, as we are unable to deliver the goods on time. Most of the time, there is no power supply. Sometimes, it comes for just half an hour and by the time a machine is switched on, the electricity goes off, disrupting production." However, the authorities of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) have already said that the disruption in electricuty supply was due to some technical snag and to avoid public outrage, they have started purchasing power from outside at Rs 5.50 per unit.
	Farmers set jungle ablaze as search for leopard proves futile Our Correspondent Abohar, December 31 Upset over the denial of permission by the officials to go to their fields due to the operation launched to catch the leopard that has been on the prowl in the area, scores of farmers and farm workers have set the shrubs ablaze around Gumjal, the last village of the Abohar sub-division, located near NH-15, on the Abohar-Sriganganagar road. The officials had warned the villagers against going to the fields as the leopard had attacked four persons after devouring two dogs and a blue bull. Crackers were also fired to force the animal to come out of the jungle but in vain. The injured farm workers have been told by the doctors at the Civil Hospital here that anti-rabies injections are not available. Senior wildlife officials have reportedly dropped the proposal to install CCTV cameras and might remove the huge iron boxes also as they believe that the leopard might have shifted to the neighbouring Sriganganagar region that also forms a part of Asia's largest open wildlife sanctuary spread over 18 villages of this sub-division. The Wildlife Department had listed Gumjal and a few neighbouring villages in the map of the sanctuary last year as people confirmed that there had been a movement of black bucks, deer and blue bulls besides birds to the jungle located on both sides of the inter-state border. The wildlife authorities in the border district of Sriganganagar have also launched an operation to spot the leopard as its footprints were found 2 km away from Gumjal village on the canal close to the inter-state border.
	Oblivious of the danger, people squat on rly track Tribune News Service Muktsar, December 31 Despite knowing about many accidents, deaths every year and warnings from the railway authorities during foggy weather, people continue to sit over the railway tracks and cross the unmanned railway crossings putting their lives in danger. The state transport department has also put 819 unmanned railway crossings and 75 critical unmanned railway crossings across the state on its official website, issuing warning to the commuters, still seems they are not willing to follow the rules. Walking along the railway tracks near Muktsar railway station, this correspondent found that people were not only crossing the railway tracks with their two-wheelers, but some of them were also sitting after burning firewood there. Irked over this illegal practice, a train driver said, "During the foggy weather, our job becomes one of the most difficult. The visibility remains poor and some illiterate people continue sitting over the tracks for attending nature's call or burning firewood to give warm to their body. Sometimes it becomes difficult for us to apply brakes and save the lives of those sitting or crossing the tracks." The driver also said that people must also avoid staging protests on railway tracks, which could also sometimes result in a major mishap. However, when the people sitting on the tracks were asked about any specific reason behind the practice, they said, "This is not a new practice for us. Whenever a train comes, we leave the tracks for a few minutes and move out of the train’s way. So, there is no danger to our lives."
	Four NCC cadets from Abohar for R-Day parade Our Correspondent Abohar, December 31 For the third consecutive year, this remote sub-divisional town has achieved the distinction of sending the highest number of NCC cadets in the region for the Republic Day parade to be held at Rajpath in Delhi. Interestingly, the four selected cadets are from the rural areas. NCC company commandant Colonel KL Bishnoi confirmed that Anil Kumar Beniwal of Raipura village, Gurkirat Singh of Dhaani Mandla and Rohit Riwar of Bashir village, all students of the local DAV College and Manpreet Kaur of Himmatpura village, who is a student of Bhag Singh Hayer College for Women, were selected for the two-month training camp in which 62,000 cadets from different states had participated. College principals Dr SK Arora and Dr Parminder Sharma have lauded the cadets on their achievement.
	High drug MRP raises hackles Tribune News Service Faridkot, December 31 While one is aware that one should not pay more than the maximum retail price (MRP) of any product one buys, this yardstick is not applied to the medicines, warns Bhai Kanhia Cancer Roko Sewa Society, an NGO in Faridkot. After a study of the actual price of many medicines and surveying the opinion of patients, the NGO, that is fighting for the cause of cancer patients said one should be vigilant before buying medicines. Many a time, the MRP, that is the price printed on a strip of medicine or vial, is ten times more than the drug's actual price. The NGO has started an awareness campaign regarding the exorbitant prices of many medicines and the alleged nexus between the chemists, doctors and pharmaceutical companies. In one such public awareness meeting held in Faridkot today, the members of the NGO produced a number of cancer drugs before the people. The MRP printed on these medicines was ten times more than the actual market price. For example, the MRP printed on Paclitaxel injection was Rs 10,500 but the society purchased this injection for Rs 1,050 from a local chemist. Pemozoleomide salt capsules had Rs 19,200 as the MRP but the NGO purchased this medicine for Rs 1,994. Another injection, Docetaxel, had a printed MRP of Rs 15,200 but is freely available for Rs 2,400. A strip of 10 tablets of Imatinib-Mesylite, has a printed MRP of Rs 3,330 but these tablets have been purchased for Rs 500, claimed Gurpreet Singh Chandbaja, the president of the NGO. Most of these are cancer drugs, said Kultar Singh, the grandson of the late President of India Giani Zail Singh, who is a member of the NGO. Because of this difference between the MRP and the actual price, the patients are at the mercy of the chemists and have lost confidence in the healthcare system," said Chandbaja. Under the Consumer Goods (Mandatory printing of cost of production and maximum retail price) Act, 2006, which lists guidelines so that consumers are not overcharged, the MRP should not be 10-15 per cent more than the actual cost of production but the gap between the MRP and actual price is one-fifth or one-tenth, said Maghar Singh, another member of the NGO. Sometimes, the printed MRP is so high that the difference between the selling price and the MRP can be as much as 1000 per cent. "We have started a public awareness campaign in the rural and urban areas about this plundering of the patients and we also plan to file public interest litigation (PIL) in the High Court against this exorbitant MRP of the medicines. Under the Drugs Price Control Order, while the cost-based formula should be the criterion for fixing the MRP, many pharmaceutical companies are printing an inflated MRP," said Kultar Singh.