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Re-totalling scam rocks ayurvedic varsity
Sukhbir oversees arrangements for Maghi Mela
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Exhibition on Ghadar Movement put off, but PM to release stamp
NRI conference brings in no investment
Cash-strapped govt spending
Rs 30 cr annually on political appointees
Red Cross sends 10 children to de-addiction centre
Ardas at Golden Temple in memory of Satwant, Kehar
Despite checks, illegal mining on in Ferozepur
HIV rising among injecting drug users in Punjab
Teachers urge Guv not to repeal pension scheme
Panel to suggest changes in law ineffective: Cong
Rakhra stopped from laying down foundation stone
Punjab Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra doing kar sewa at the Mata Kali temple in Patiala on Sunday. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar
Rape: Need to change mindset of people
Govt Mohindra College to post exam results to parents
Computer teachers shouldn’t do clerical work, DGSE to schools
Amloh cooperative society chosen for President's medal
Primary schools shut till January 12
Truck stolen
False cases worry police forces
Bhog performed in memory of ‘Damini’
Patiala case: Status report ready
Nabha murders: 2 years gone, no breakthrough
3 jawans held for thrashing constable
Rajpura police books three for rape bid
Woman held captive for a year rescued
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Re-totalling scam rocks ayurvedic varsity
Chandigarh, January 6
Documents available with The Tribune show that following the semester examination in 2011, a special committee was constituted by the university’s Vice-Chancellor Prof OP Upadhyay to recheck the total of marks on specific answersheets. The committee noted that both the award lists as well as answersheets were in the possession of the Controller of Examination (CoE). Therefore, it became the responsibility of the CoE to ensure that the cutting and overwriting of marks on the answersheets, and the total of all marks mentioned in words and figures, was done by the same person who checked and prepared the award list. However, the re-totalling exercise threw up several surprises. The marks of certain candidates increased manifold. One candidate’s saw a jump from 14 to 64 while another’s marks increased from 22 to 49. In individual (Sanskrit) papers as well, the marks of two candidates increased from 34 to 51 and from 34 to 44. Interestingly, the Vice-Chancellor signed the report of the special committee the same day it was submitted to him. He also gave instant directions for declaring the result. However, things turned ugly when the then Controller of Examinations, Dr Loveleen Kaur, objected to being “unfairly” targeted by the special committee in the re-totalling exercise. She represented her case before the Punjab Research and Medical Education Department. She alleged that an official who had been given the charge of Secretary, Vice-Chancellor, had been decoding the answersheets while bypassing her. Dr Loveleen also claimed that the award lists and marks obtained by each candidate were never demanded by the committee from her and that part of the rechecking was done when she was on official duty outside the university campus. She claimed that question papers were not demanded while clearing the case of a candidate who even the committee admitted had been given marks twice for the same question. She also alleged that the identity of 10,000 candidates appearing in the January 2012 Ayurved examinations for various degrees across 16 colleges in Punjab was deleted from answersheets, thereby, raising the suspicion of corruption in the entire exercise. She also alleged that students were directed not to write their roll numbers on part one of the answersheet, as was the practice. She said besides part one, only part four had the roll number of students, but it too was torn before evaluation. She said due to this new practice, only the serial number of answersheets could be used for identification. But, this was also destroyed or deleted while coding and putting new roll numbers on the answersheets. Dr Loveleen alleged that since nobody except a chosen few knew the identity of the sheets, these were reshuffled to help undeserving students. When contacted, the Vice-Chancellor’s Office requested this correspondent to talk with the Registrar since the former was busy. The Registrar, Dr Ashwani Bhargava, first maintained that the re-totalling case had been “settled”. Asked if any action had been taken on overwriting and cuttings on answersheets during the re-totalling exercise, he said no objection had been filed in this regard. He had no answer as to why the Vice-Chancellor allowed the result of this re-totalling exercise to be announced the same day, saying he would get the entire issue checked. Bhargava also claimed that he would get allegations levelled by Dr Loveleen Kaur about deletion of the identity of students from question papers checked. Despite being sent an e-mail in this regard on January 3, the Registrar did not revert back. Fishy matter
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Sukhbir oversees arrangements for Maghi Mela
Muktsar, January 6 It would be the Akali Dal’s first major political rally after coming to power for the second consecutive term in the state. The conference is also being seen as a show of strength ahead of parliamentary polls slated for 2014. Addressing a ‘Pre-Maghi Mela Conference’ at the SAD’s rally site on the Malout road today, Sukhbir exhorted the party workers to make the event a success. The SAD president was accompanied by several MLAs, MPs and the constituency in-charge. Sukhbir also held two meetings with the party workers to charge them up. “The rally should be the biggest gathering of the year. It will sound the death knell for the Punjab Congress, which is already struggling to retain its leadership….We are headed for a 13-0 in the next Lok Sabha elections,” he claimed. He also targeted his estranged cousin and People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Badal by saying that the public had already shown him the exit door from politics after not giving him mandate in the assembly elections. “So, organising a rally will not turn the things favorable for him.”
Of traffic violations Addressing the party workers, Sukhbir said, “As this is the first major political rally being organised by the SAD after its victory in the assembly elections, buses carrying workers should be filled almost double to their capacity. Not only inside, workers should be seated stop buses holding the party flag. The drama should remain the same as that in the previous years, but the number of people must increase,” Sukhbir said. But in the same breath, the SAD president cautioned the party workers to remain alert while travelling so that there were no mishaps.
On snub to Majithia
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Exhibition on Ghadar Movement put off, but PM to release stamp
Cochin, January 6 Caught in legal wranglings and red-tapism, the last-minute cancellation has been owing to differences between the Ministry of Overseas Indians (MOIA) and the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) over authentication of
the artefacts that were proposed to be displayed here. 'Initially, it was left to the GOPIO to put up the exhibition. But with changes in the MOIA, the proposal has been dropped as the officials wanted the exhibits to be checked and approved by the Ministry of Archaeology and Archives before the exhibition could be opened to the public. "The idea of dedicating the Pravasi Bharti Divas: 2013 to the Ghadar Movement, holding of an exhibition, release of a commemorative stamp and a book on major players of the movement was mutually agreed upon by the MOIA and GOPIO last year in August," says Inder Singh, chairman, GOPIO. There will be an oration on the Ghadar Movement by a renowned historian besides a mention of the movement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his speech on January 8 when he releases a postal stamp on the Ghadar Movement here. But neither the exhibition nor the book on eminent Ghadarites are on the MOIA agenda. There was a feeling in a section of the MOIA that the Ghadar Movement need not be played up now as it was primarily related to Punjab. "We have tried to negate this feeling by quoting facts that all major communities were involved with the Ghadar movement," said a source in the GOPIO. Though the MOIA would be no more financing the commemorative volume tracing history of the 48 Ghadarites who were hanged to death, 65 given life imprisonment and 15 others tried by the US for the uprising, it would be brought out by the GOPIO on its own, said Inder Singh. He said they would be releasing a special 18-minute documentary on the Movement that will be on the GOPIO website in a couple of days The GOPIO, at its convention here this morning, dedicated a session to the Ghadar Movement where Prof Harish Puri, Dr Savitri Sawhney, daughter of Ghadar hero Khankhoje, and Dr Tressa Wycliff spoke. Australia-based broadcaster Manpreet Kaur Singh spoke on the aftermath of the Ghadar Movement.
The Last-Minute Glitch About the uprising
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NRI conference brings in no investment
Chandigarh, January 6 The NRIs saw their major concerns regarding harassment through false cases and problems in getting documents regarding their properties being addressed. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has already cleared a file for setting up a fast-track court to try
NRI cases and announced that Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) alone would handle complaints against NRIs. Though Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal did showcase the development in the state as well as his vision for the future, there was no attempt to seek investment from the NRIs and no homework was done in this regard.Nor was any attempt made by the state to target and invite prominent Punjabi entrepreneurs and professionals to attract investment. Sources said the fact that the government invited elected Punjabi NRI representatives from all over the world as well the NRI media reflected its desire to woo the two. Sukhbir made it clear that he wanted to change their perception about the government built on the basis of statements of the Opposition. The elected representatives also talked about what they wanted from the state and there was a word on giving something back to the state.The elected representatives did not bring any investors with them. Though the Chief Minister indicated that the NRIs from Gujarat and Kerala were doing a lot for their states and urged professionals among the NRIs to bring in new technology to the State, there was no response.The delegates' sole interest seemed ensuring that their property was secure.This despite the fact that the NRIs were feted on state expense. The conference invited derision from the Opposition. Former Congress minister Ashwani Sekhri said he had been told during the Vidhan Sabha session that in the past 12 years, only two NRIs had submitted applications to set up industrial units in the state and that only one such unit was coming up.
analysis
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Cash-strapped govt spending
Rs 30 cr annually on political appointees
Chandigarh, January 6 The appointees, two advisers, two OSDs and more than 100 chairpersons and vice- chairpersons of various boards and corporations, are getting salaries and enjoying various facilities such as a office staff, entertainment allowance and daily allowances. However Kamal Oswal, adviser (industry), has decided not to accept any salary/honorarium from the government while one OSD Sukhdeep Singh Sidhu is on deputation from the Industries Department. The rest of the political appointees are getting anything between Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000 per month as honorarium, besides all facilities given to a Grade-A officers. When in power, both the Akalis and the Congress have doled out sops to those owing allegiance to them. But it is for the first time that the list of such political appointees has been so big. With the state’s finances in a mess, it is rather strange that the government has chosen to spend crores on their faithful. Figures on the amount spent by the state exchequer on the political appointees provided by the Chief Minister’s office (CMO) and the Directorate of Disinvestment in response to RTI applications by Ropar-based lawyer and RTI activist Dinesh Chaddha show that Kamal Sharma and Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal get a monthly honorarium of Rs 30,000. They also get Rs 2 lakh annual visiting allowance, a daily allowance of Rs 1,000, accomodation with a monthly rent limit of Rs 50,000, telephone facility with a limit of Rs 10,000 per month, a car with a driver and a fuel allowance for 3,000 km per month at the rate of Rs 12 per km, a monthly entertainment allowance of Rs 5,000, a personal secretary, a clerk and a peon. These advisors are also entitled to expenditure on medical treatment. The two OSDs, Gurcharan Singh and Balkaran Singh Wanwala, get a salary of Rs 30,000 per month, telephone facility, a government flat in Sector 39 or in Sector 24 and a staff car. Interestingly, in reply to a query on the educational qualifications and criteria for the appointment of these advisers, the CMO office said that these were political appointments and would continue till the tenure of the government. Chaddha pointed out that despite the CMO approving appointments of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of boards and corporations, it did not divulge information regarding the selection criteria for these posts. He was told to collect the information from various departments. A separate RTI query to the Directorate of Disinvestment revealed that the chairpersons got a Rs 25,000 monthly honorarium and
Rs 25,000 as monthly house rent, a daily allowance equal to a Grade-A officer, telephone expenses upto Rs 10,000 per month, a car with a driver, 290 litres of petrol or 440 litres of diesel, Rs 60,000 as annual car maintenance expenses and Rs 1,000 as monthly entertainment allowance, besides medical treatment. The vice-chairpersons got Rs 20,000 each as monthly honorarium, rent and daily allowance as given to Grade-A officers, travelling expenses at the rate of Rs 6 per km up to 2,500 km per month, telephone facility, entertainment allowance and medical reimbursement. “A rough calculation reveals that the state is spending roughly Rs 30 crore per annum on these appointees,” Chaddha said.
Just how much advisers Kamal Sharma and Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal get: OSDs, Gurcharan Singh and Balkaran Singh
Wanwala: Chairmen of boards and corporations: Vice-Chairmen of boards and corporations: *Information obtained from Chief Minister’s office and Directorate of Disinvestment
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Red Cross sends 10 children to de-addiction centre
Faridkot, January 6 The Red Cross Society came to know about these children after a child was admitted to the Red Cross De-addiction Centre. He had collapsed due to a high dose of a volatile inhalant two days ago. When the centre’s chairperson questioned the boy about the history of his habit, he revealed that there were many others like him who were addicted to these inhalants. Red Cross members nabbed 10 such youngsters who were also admitted to the de-addiction centre. The children said they took to such drug habits due to the easy availability of these substances. They said there were a number of such children who sniffed glue, ate bread laced with Iodex or show polish and inhaled paints, said Roshan Lal, secretary, Red Cross, Faridkot. “The use of these substances is common among children in some backward localities of the town. Such drug habits can prove fatal for children below 10-15 years of age,” said Dr Harish Arora, senior psychiatrist, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital Faridkot. Inhalants slow down the body's functions and induce a sense of intoxication which usually lasts from 15 minutes to an hour, he said. In September, 2011, 11 such children all below 13 years of age were nabbed from Kotkapura. They had been inhaling various pungent fumes to get a high. After a week of treatment, these children were discharged but many of them relapsed to the inhaling habits after some time, said Dr Harish Arora. Most of these children are school dropouts. “After treatment, we will send these children back to the school. There will be a proper follow-up till they are fully rehabilitated”, said Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot.
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Ardas at Golden Temple in memory of Satwant, Kehar
Amritsar, January 6 Both were hanged on this day 24 years ago for assassinating the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The Jathedar presented a siropa to Tirlok Singh, the father of Satwant Singh at a function organised by the SGPC to pay tributes to both of them. SAD (A) president Simranjit Singh Mann and Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh were also present on the occasion. No speech was delivered, but “ardas” was performed in their memory. The Jathedar accorded them the status of “martyrs of faith”.
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Despite checks, illegal mining on in Ferozepur
Ferozepur, January 6 Sources said following a ban imposed on mining in the region, around 58 FIRs had been lodged against more than 140 offenders. Besides, more than 100 vehicles, including tractor-trailers and JCBs, had been issued challan and some of them impounded. Besides, an amount of Rs 8.64 lakh had been recovered from them in the form of penalty. Despite this, the process is allegedly going on in utter disregard of all the regulations. The sources said the illegal activity mainly took place at odd hours so as to evade any kind of action. The top surface of sand is filled with earth or any other material to dodge the authorities. Meanwhile, the price of the sand has escalated manifold which has affected the common man who has to bear the brunt of these inflated prices. Officials said as per the government policy, the price of a sand trolley should be around Rs 800. However the same was being sold at an exorbitant amount ranging from Rs 1,800 to Rs 3,000 per trolley. Officials belonging to the Industry Department said they had to work in the office the entire day and then tour vulnerable areas during the night to apprehend offenders. “We have to keep a watch on such activities in the entire district. It is a challenging task given the fact that we do not have sufficient manpower and resources. The area is also spread over hundreds of kilometers and to keep an eye on the movement of illegal miners along the entire stretch is extremely difficult,” admitted another official. Gursharan Singh, General Manager (District Industries Centre), said the department was taking strict action in cases related to illegal mining. The sources said there were 57 legal sand pits in the district where mining was earlier permitted. However, after the High Court directions making it mandatory to obtain environment clearance, the mining has been barred even at these locations too. Earlier, the Forest Department had unearthed an illegal sand mining racket in a protected forest area close to the Indo-Pak border near Bareke village, around 12 Kms from district headquarters. In that case, the offenders had even cut several trees to make inroad into the forest area to carry out their unlawful activity.
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HIV rising among injecting drug users in Punjab
Chandigarh, January 6 These IDUs were selected from targeted intervention (TI) projects run by local NGOs in certain districts across Punjab. Of these, 250 individuals were randomly selected for HIV sentinel surveillance. The people recruited were in the age group of 15 to 49 years. In 2006, when the survey was primarily conducted across Ludhiana district, 13.80 per cent IDUs were tested positive for HIV. It was 13.79 per cent in 2007 when Ropar and Tarn Taran districts were also covered. In 2008-09 survey, covering Amritsar, Ropar and Mohali, the HIV prevalence turned out to be 26.36 per cent. In 2010-11 survey, covering Mohali, Ropar, Tarn Taran, Moga, Ludhiana and Amritsar, 21.10 per cent IDUs tested positive for HIV, showing an increase over previous surveys. Suggesting ways to control the spread of HIV among IDUs, a researcher from the Department of Community Medicine said: “Needle exchange programmes and oral substitution therapy along with counselling are found to be successful among those who have already started injecting drugs in reducing the risk behaviour for acquiring HIV. “The best strategy, however, is to catch hold of people when they are young and prevent them from starting using drugs either orally or injecting”. Researchers said with the introduction of HIV sentinel surveillance among high-risk groups, including IDUs, for the first time in Punjab in 2006-07, HIV infection among IDUs came to the notice of the health authorities. This led to the introduction of TI projects for IDUs and provision of services. As these services were started a few years ago, it would take some time for the saturation of services to halt and reverse the epidemic, they added. Targeted intervention projects under which the IDUs were identified are funded by the State Aids Control Society (SACS) in Punjab. The projects have staff who contact IDUs on a regular basis and provide services such as counselling, distribution of syringes and needles under the needle exchange programme, referring them for HIV testing, condom distribution, treatment of minor ailments etc.
Who are injecting drug users (IDUs)? Alarming scenario
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Teachers urge Guv not to repeal pension scheme
Patiala, January 6 Jaswinder Singh Brar, Convener of the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), said, “PUTCC feels that repealing the pension scheme violated the legitimate rights of the employees waiting for the implementation of the scheme since 1996. How could the state Congress leadership become party to the decision, which was enacted by the Congress government in 1996.” Terming the decision as arbitrary, Lakhwinder Singh Sidhu, member of the Punjabi University Teachers Front (PUTF), said, “Passing such a landmark resolution in such a discrete manner in order to avoid contempt of the Punjab and Haryana High Court is highly deplorable. It is a matter of social security and the government cannot cancel the scheme and run away from its responsibility. Saying that it doesn’t have funds seems to be a lame excuse on the government’s part. It is ironical that the state has refused to implement the law, which has already been passed and implemented in over twenty states,” he rued. The members appealed to the state government to reconsider its decision and urged the Punjab Governor not to accord his assent to the proposed Bill.
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Panel to suggest changes in law ineffective: Cong
Chandigarh, January 6 Cell co-chairman and Supreme Court advocate Jaiveer Shergill claimed that the panel’s structure was “bureaucratic” in nature. He said the committee had been formed to suggest amendments to laws mainly governing women who were below 35 years of age. But, there was not even a single young lawyer or a woman social activist on the panel to present the correct perspective of the society, he pointed out. “The current panel is like a team of doctors performing a surgery in the absence of a specialist familiar with the true nature of the disease,” he said. Shergill said the need of the hour was not to create bureaucratic panels but to take initiatives to curb the growing crime against women. He alleged that the SAD-BJP government was not serious about checking the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, something evident from the recent killing of a police officer in Amritsar, rapes in Patiala and Ludhiana as well as “political interference” in the daily working of the police. The legal cell alleged that non-seriousness of the government towards the protection of women could also be gauged from the fact that of the total 28 SSPs/commissioners posted in the state, there was only one woman officer. “The Chief Minister should detail how the government planned to improve the law and order situation and protect women when a gender bias already existed in the Police Department,” he said.
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Rakhra stopped from laying down foundation stone
Patiala, January 6 However, Rakhra was unfurled various other development works at the temple today. He inaugurated the renovated rooms built for pilgrims, gave approval to begin fitting the marble flooring and silver doors at the temple; to clean the temple sarovar. The Samiti members led by general secretary Ashutosh Gautam said the samiti had vacated the area after the government had assured them of building a multi-storey parking lot. The samiti members are now at logger heads with the government as it changed its stance and instead proposed to build a single storey parking lot. The samiti also did not want Rakhra to take the credit for the parking lot as the samiti had put in a lot of effort in clearing the area. The minister agreed to their demand and did not lay the foundation stone of the parking lot.
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Rape: Need to change mindset of people
Patiala, January 6 The seminar was organised to pay a tribute to the Delhi rape victim and to explore the reasons behind the increase of such heinous crime in the society. Distinguished speakers, including former Punjab DGP Shashi Kant, social scientist Dr Swaran Singh, eminent social worker Dr Harshinder Kaur, Shatin Goel, secretary, Legal Services Authority, Patiala, Dr Dharamvir Gandhi and Karamvir Karan attended the seminar. While Dr Swaran Singh laid emphasis on the amalgamation of culture and the positive aspects of both eastern and western culture. Dr Harshinder Kaur threw light on the startling facts related to the heinous crime. She said international reports suggested that only 10 per cent of the rape cases were reported in India. Kaur said in 75 per cent of the rape cases reported in rural areas, the victims was molested by family members. Therefore, the need of the hour was to sensitise people and bring about a change in their mindset. Increasing security in social spaces was not enough. Former Punjab DGP Shashi Kant said the aggressor usually committed such heinous acts as he suffered from various psychological disorders.
Wake up call
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Govt Mohindra College to post exam results to parents
Patiala, January 6 The authorities have decided to take this step to ensure that parents are informed of their ward’s performance at the institute. Parents would often complain to the college authorities they weren’t aware of their children’s performance and how many lectures had they attended. College principal Dr Sukhbir Singh Thind said, “We want students to attend classes regularly so they would perform better in the exams. Now that their parents would be in the know, students would be more accountable," he said. A few violent incidents have taken place at the college in the past, so in order to get directly in touch with the student, the principal has circulated his mobile number. —TNS
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Computer teachers shouldn’t do clerical work, DGSE to schools
Ludhiana, January 6 New directions from the Director General School Education (DGSE) made it clear that the primary responsibility of computer teachers was to teach students and not to do clerical work at schools. The major reason behind deploying computer teachers for clerical work was that most of the school clerks were not able to operate computers. DGSE Kahan Singh Pannu said, “The department has now trained school clerks how to operate computers so they are able to download and upload official mails. In case they face any technical problems, they can approach the computer teachers during the morning assembly.” According to the instructions, if the clerk is not available then the school head can seek the assistance of computer teachers. Pannu said students should not lose out on studies on any condition and it will not be tolerated. Gurwinder Singh, State President Computer Union Punjab said, "We welcome this step, however, we hope that it is also implemented effectively. The department has trained the clerks but they do not have separate computers for clerical work. We hope that they are soon provided with the infrastructure.”
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Amloh cooperative society chosen for President's medal
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 6 The society has 897 members belonging to four villages and they help the members in providing loans at cheaper rates for various agriculture and allied activities like dairy, poultry farming, fisheries, bee keeping etc. The society will get the President's medal along with Rs 50,000 in cash and a commendation certificate, said Fatehgarh Sahib Deputy Commissioner Yashvir Mahajan. He said there were 112 multipurpose cooperative societies in the district and the govt contributed 33% as subsidy for purchase of these implements. He said in the last five years, 25 branches of the Cooperative Bank had provided loans to the tune of Rs 466.50 crore to farmers.
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Primary schools shut till January 12
Chandigarh, January 6 Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka said that for senior classes ( above Class VI), the schools would start at 10 am.
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Tarn Taran, January 6 The track, driven by Manjinder Singh, was going back to Fazilka after de-loading marble at Amritsar. The city police has registered a case. — OC
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False cases worry police forces
Bathinda, January 6 After receiving some false allegations of rape and written complaints in this regard, senior police officials have issued fresh instructions and guidelines to thoroughly investigate such cases to determine the truth. Inspector General of Police, Bathinda zone, Nirmal Singh Dhillon and DIG Parmod Ban today admitted that there has been a rise in such complaints and said instructions have been passed down the line for in-depth investigations to bring out the truth pertaining to crime against women. "We have passed orders not to spare the guilty but if a man is found innocent after the investigations, then the complainant levelling the false allegations will have to face the music. We are bound help every woman but at the same time, if someone tries to take advantage of the ongoing tide of sympathy against women facing criminal activities, then it will not be tolerated," the IG said. Sharing some facts regarding the false complaints received by the police recently, the IG said two women have been booked by the police for trying to blackmail a Raman-based arhtiya after lodging a false rape complaint. A girl from Naruana village of Bathinda too lodged a false rape case against a man. After the investigations, it was found that the girl had consensual physical relationship with the man for a long time and there was no truth in the allegation. Similarly, investigation into a case from Muktsar is on to determine the veracity of the rape charge, the IG said. The investigation pertaining to such cases takes time and the policemen are told to deeply study such cases so that they can reach the conclusion without any bias. "Our endeavour is to provide impartial justice to all and lay special emphasis on crime against women and to give special attention to such cases so that they are disposed of at the earliest. The aim is also to ensure that such cases do not occur again," the IG added. He pointed out that the police would immediately get the FIRs cancelled if these are found to be incorrect but if found correct, then the priority of the police would be to nail the guilty without any delay.
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Bhog performed in memory of ‘Damini’
Barnala, January 6 Former president of the Ex-Serviceman wing of the SAD Gurjinder Singh Sidhu demanded the resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit and sought maximum punishment for all the accused in the gang rape of ‘Damini’. The area in charge of Bhadaur Assembly constituency Darbara Singh Guru condemned the rape incident and demanded that the laws to protect women be implemented in letter and spirit. He also urged the government to amend the existing laws. Rajdev Singh Khalsa, former Member Parliament said the increasing population, poverty and unemployment contributed to such incidents and the government should initiate steps to control the same. Among others present on the occasion included District President of Ex-Serviceman wing Hardip Singh Randhawa, advocate Kulwant Rai, President of the Municipal Council Paramjit Singh Dhillon, Jarnail Singh Bhotna, Gurmeet Bawa, Inderpal Singh Chehal, Kulwant Singh Kanta, Teja Singh Jaagal, Karam Singh Bhandhari and Rajinder Singh Bhola.
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Patiala case: Status report ready
Patiala, January 6 Already, the state government has formed a three-member committee headed by the Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP), Crime, Jaswinder Singh, Inspector-General (Crime), Shashi Prabha Diwedi and Inspector-General (Zonal) Paramjit Singh Gill to probe the matter. The committee will determine if there had been dereliction of duty by any officer right up to the level of Senior Superintendent of police (SSP) in handling the case. “The report, which is to be presented in the High Court on January 8, will give details of the investigation done so far, the action taken by the government, including suspension of the Patran DSP and dismissal of two other policemen and the arrest of Badshahpur police post in charge Nasib Singh,” said police sources. Patiala, SP (Crime) Jaipal Singh, refusing to entertain any query about the case, said: “We are not authorised to speak to anyone. You may speak to my seniors." Diwedi also refused to comment. On December 28, 2012, the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, taking taken suo motu cognisance of media reports on the alleged suicide by the gangrape victim following "harassment" by the police, had issued a notice to Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, directing the authorities concerned to fix responsibility and submit a detailed report on the circumstances leading to the suicide by the victim.
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Nabha murders: 2 years gone, no breakthrough
Nabha (Patiala), January 6 In August 2010, Amritbir Singh informed the police that his father Iqbal Singh, mother Jaswinder Kaur, grandfather Hamir Singh and sister Gurmanbir Kaur had been murdered. Amritbir was held for the killings but the police failed to prove his guilt in court, despite recovering the crime weapon, because of alleged negligence by Nabha Station House Officer Harbhajan Singh. The accused was acquitted by the court of Additional Sessions Judge Vivek Puri on April 28, 2012. After the acquittal, the district police registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and for carrying shoddy investigations against Harbhajan Singh (who has since retired as
DSP).
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3 jawans held for thrashing constable
Patiala, January 6 Station House Officer (SHO) Baldev Singh said Pawan Ganesh, Amlesh Yadav and Vinay Chohan boarded a reserved compartment in the Amritsar-Dadar Express from Patiala. When Gurmail Singh asked them to move to another compartment, the jawans allegedly beat him up and tore his uniform, the SHO said. The jawans have been sent to judicial custody.
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Rajpura police books three for rape bid
Patiala, January 6 Narrating the incident, the victim said she had gone to the fields to fetch fodder when Jung Singh attacked her from behind. "He tried to pull me and when I objected, he tore my clothes and started beating me. “On hearing my screams, his family reached the spot and started intimidating me. They warned me not to file a police complaint and when I refused, they started thrashing me. I fainted and have no idea how I reached the hospital," she said. One of the eye witnesses, Hardeep Singh said when he reached the fields, the victim’s head was bleeding profusely and her clothes were torn.
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Woman held captive for a year rescued
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 6 The police has booked a man and two other members of his family. The woman was held hostage in a rented accommodation in Kacha Dalip Nagar area of Mandi Gobindgarh allegedly by Sahjad Khan and his family members, police said. Neighbours of the woman approached the police after suspecting some foul play, as main gate of the house was kept permanently locked; however, the woman lived inside, the police said. After that, the police raided the house and rescued the woman after breaking the lock. The woman told the police that she met Sahjad, who hailed from Malerkotla town of Sangrur district of Punjab, during a train journey around 15 months ago. They developed close relations and Sahjad promised the woman that he would marry her and took her to his house. However, Sahjad and his family members forced her into prostitution, the woman alleged. She accused Sahjad, his brother Salman Khan and mother Parveen of physical and mental torture, police said. On the statement of the woman, the police has registered a case against both the brothers and their mother. The woman told the police that she was kept locked in the house and was not allowed to speak to anyone. Fatehgarh Sahib Senior Superintendent of Police HS Mann said on the statement of the girl, the police has registered a case under various sections of the Immoral Trafficking Act. Punjab Woman Commission's newly appointed chairperson Paramjit Kaur Landran has said the police should immediately arrest all the accused. — PTI
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Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who is also the SAD president, today took stock of the arrangements for the Maghi Mela conference to be held on January 14 here.
The two-day Pravasi Punjabi Sammelan, which concluded at Jalandhar yesterday, achieved nothing for Punjab as far as investment is concerned, but it did a lot to address the concerns of the
NRIs. It also brought the SAD closer to the Indians living overseas. The NRIs saw their major concerns regarding harassment through false cases and problems in getting documents regarding their properties being addressed.
The Hindu Suraksha Samiti stopped the Punjab Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra from laying down the foundation stone of the new parking lot for the Mata Kali temple
here today.
