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Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee poll -2013
DSGMC president Paramjit Singh Sarna (centre) at a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
Complaint against ‘bogus’ votes
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Ensure Panth’s victory: SAD
CBI wants Bibi convicted of murder, seeks early hearing
HC seeks list of pending rape cases
Special court in Amritsar
Capt Kanwaljit’s daughter Dolly joins Congress
Manpreet Kaur Dolly being welcomed by Union Minister Preneet Kaur and Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh in Chandigarh on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
Nabha SHO shifted for dereliction of duty
Govt to re-auction quarries, amend mining policy
Haryana to implement Punjab’s power model
Setback for PTU
Waive road tax worth Rs 26 crore, PRTC to Punjab Government
RTI: Phillaur BDPO fined Rs 25,000
Four Pak prisoners sent back via Attari
Heroin worth Rs 50 crore seized
Rape Hoax
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Complaint against ‘bogus’ votes
Chandigarh, January 22 A complaint in this regard is being submitted by the party to the director of gurdwara elections. In a statement, the party’s secretary and spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said a deputation of senior leaders of the party would meet the director to apprise him of all the illegalities being committed by the Sarna brothers in connivance with the Delhi Government. Cheema said SAD candidate from Rajinder Nagar Paramjit Singh Chandok had brought to his notice that in his ward, a number of dead persons had been enrolled as voters. Besides, there were hundreds of women voters who had been married out of Delhi, but their votes still existed, he said. The SAD leader said there were gross irregularities in the voter lists of Paharganj ward where 66 bogus votes had been registered. “There are 31 votes in house No. 2407. But in reality this house has been demolished. A photo of the demolished house has been attached with the complaint. Similarly, there are 35 bogus votes against two vacant houses,” he added.
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Ensure Panth’s victory: SAD
New Delhi, January 22 Dhumma and Rode, who was Akal Takht chief during Operation Black Thunder-II in 1988, both shared the dais with Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal here this evening. Dhumma, who leads the Sant Samaj, said: “The SAD symbolises the Panth and you must ensure its victory in the elections. Paramjit Singh Sarna opposes the Akal Takht edicts. Hence, he does not deserve to win.” Dhumma’s speech to the 800-strong crowd at the Delhi residence of SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal was received with cries of ‘Bole So
Nihal. Rode, a nephew of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwala, was even more forceful in his speech. “You must ensure that the reins of the DSGMC are handed back to the Panth. And we will ensure your welfare,” he said. Later Sukhbir Badal, when asked to clarify if this meant that his party was backed by the Panth in its fight against Sarna, he said: “This if a fight of the community against these people (the Sarna brothers)”. Sukhbir, who landed in Delhi this evening, told his supporters: “Sarna is being used to weaken the community. But nobody, from Sonia (Gandhi) to Sajjan Kumar to (Jagdish) Tytler, can stop the victory of the Panth”. Sukhbir’s team that consists of leaders like Ludhiana legislator Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and old warhorses Balwant Singh Ramoowalia and Tarlochan Singh, are working behind the scenes, meeting people one on one. They have been able to build so much pressure that Sarna’s main candidate against Manjit Singh GK, Badal’s presidential nominee, has withdrawn from the contest. He was seen at today’s congregation, sharing the stage with Dhumma and Rode.
Taksal’s Dhumma, Rode address voters Sukhbir’s team , comprising Ludhiana MLA Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and old warhorses BS Ramoowalia and Tarlochan Singh, are meeting people one on one They have built so much pressure that Sarna’s main candidate against SAD’s presidential nominee has withdrawn from the contest He was seen at the SAD congregation sharing stage with Dhumma and Rode
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CBI wants Bibi convicted of murder, seeks early hearing
Chandigarh, January 22 The CBI has sought directions for convicting and sentencing Bibi Jagir Kaur for murder.The premier investigating agency has claimed that the Trial Judge had failed to appreciate that Harpreet’s death was homicidal and had “committed a grave error in law in not giving a finding that the death was under mysterious circumstances”. In its application, filed through CBI’s special public prosecutor RK Handa, the investigating agency has asserted that Bibi's acquittal of the murder charge and for destroying evidence was not justified.The matter pertains to the year 2000 and must be brought to a logical end at the earliest. The CBI has said in its appeal that Harpreet was abducted on March 18, 2000, from Chandigarh after being sedated. She was confined at Bibi's trusted friend Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi’s residence Jasdil Mansion in Phagwara. Her pregnancy was terminated against her will on March 20, 2000, at Kartarpur by Dhesi, Bibi’s political confidant Paramjeet Singh and approver Dr Balwinder Singh
Sohal. The CBI has claimed that the Trial Judge had committed a grave error in disbelieving Dr Sohal’s testimony as far as the conspiracy to murder was concerned while believing his witness regarding conspiracy to kidnap, wrongfully confining Harpreet and terminating the pregnancy. The Trial Court had also ignored the evidence that phenobarbitone tablets were procured from Dr Sohal and the powder was mixed in food and served to kill Harpreet in Dr Sohal’s presence. The Judge had again failed to appreciate why Harpreet was at Jasdil Mansion, where she died and to take into account the body’s hurried disposal “by cremating Harpreet within hours of her death that was indicative of concealment of the murder."
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HC seeks list of pending rape cases
Chandigarh, January 22 The need for expediting trial of rape cases has been felt after the gruesome Delhi gang rape that resulted in the death of the victim. Already, the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri, has issued orders for designating 11 courts in Haryana and eight in Punjab as fast-track courts for speedy trial of heinous crimes against women. Available information suggests the number of pending rape cases could be astounding, considering the fact that no less than 680 rape cases were registered in Punjab alone last year. In December 2012, as many as 78 FIRs were lodged. The situation was worse than it was in 2011, when 479 rape cases were registered. In 2011, Haryana recorded 733 cases of rape. Of these, 578 cases are under trial at different courts. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the conviction rate in Punjab and Haryana is not even 50 per cent. The directions by Justice Ranjit Singh came on a petition filed by a Gurdaspur district resident against the State of Punjab and five other respondents, alleging unnecessary adjournments on one pretext or the other. Justice Ranjit Singh took into consideration the fact that the rape case was registered way back in May 2006 and the trial was still pending, while summoning the details of other pending rape cases. In her petition filed through counsel Ramdeep Partap Singh, the petitioner insisted that directions should be issued to the trial court to expedite the trial and complete it in two months. Ramdeep Partap Singh said that the complainant was compelled to move the High Court earlier too when no FIR was being registered on her statement, as the accused were influential persons. He said even after a lapse of almost six years of the registration of the case, the trial was yet to conclude.
Alarming Figures
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Special court in Amritsar
Amritsar, January 22 In Amritsar, there are at least 100 such pending cases, said District Legal services Authority Secretary Arun Kumar Aggarwal. He said Neelam Arora, Additional Sessions Judge, would hear the cases. Earlier, judicial officials, police officials, public prosecutors and representatives of the Bar Association held a meet to discuss the procedure to be adopted. Aggarwal said the police had been asked to file a challan in such cases as early as possible. The cases would be heard on a daily basis.
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Capt Kanwaljit’s daughter Dolly joins Congress
Chandigarh, January 22 The former SAD leader’s daughter, who was welcomed into the Congress with a “siropa” and a sword, said her father and Badal had faith in each other. “But after the demise of my father, the bond was broken. There is no point in continuing with the SAD”, she said. Dolly was accompanied by a large number of supporters. She arrived at the Punjab Bhawan along with Preneet Kaur, who is instrumental in her joining the Congress.
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Moga Byelection
Chandigarh, January 22 This amply indicates the seriousness of the Punjab Congress to take on the Akalis and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has exhibited supreme confidence in getting a Congress legislator to resign his seat and contest a bypoll on the SAD ticket. The Punjab Congress is keen to knit a coalition against the SAD in Moga. The PCC president, when questioned, said he would request People's Party of Punjab (PPP) president Manpreet Singh Badal to withdraw his candidate. Indicating that the PPP might be inclined towards the proposal, he said he was hopeful that Manpreet would review his decision. Amarinder said he would also meet senior Akali leader Surjit Singh Barnala, who was also PPP patron, as well as CPI leader Joginder Dayal, whose party was part of the Sanjha Morcha along with the PPP, to push for a common candidate against the SAD in the Moga bypoll. Amarinder said with the PPP's support, the Congress would be able to give a tough fight to the SAD. He refused to dub the election as a referendum on the law and order situation in Punjab. He said a byelection could not be dubbed as a referendum as it usually went in favour of the ruling party. However, the feedback which the party was getting from the ground level was positive and "by God's grace the Congress will be able to win the seat," he said. Amarinder claimed that the SAD was up to its old tricks and that it had recently released old-age pension to sway the voters of the constituency. He said the party would approach the Election Commission in this regard. The PCC chief took on SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal for failing to react on the refusal by a Panchkula gurdwara to hold "bhog" in memory of former Lt General RS Dayal because of his role in Operation Bluestar. Amarinder said Sukhbir had evaded the issue on the specious plea that the incident had occurred in Panchkula. He also criticised SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar for lauding the gurdwara
management. CD on Majithia Amarinder said the Congress would play the compact disc showing Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia hurling expletives against Congress legislator Rana Gurjit. "The point is to show what kind of person he is," the PCC president
said. 6 SHOs shifted In view of the byelection, the Police Department today shifted six SHOs out of Moga district. The transfers are subject to approval by the Election Commission.
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Nabha SHO shifted for dereliction of duty
Nabha, January 22 The ASI was recently arrested by the Vigilance Bureau on charges of accepting bribe. Sources confirmed that the action against the Nabha SHO was taken after the Vigilance complained how the arrested ASI Balwinder Singh had held a woman in illegal confinement inside the police station for two days. He released her only after her husband had allegedly paid the first installment of the bribe. “All of this happened, when the SHO was present in the police
station. He did not know what was happening in his own police station,” sources said. Vigilance Bureau officials said Angrez Singh had complained to VB that the ASI, who was the investigating officer in a fraud case registered against him and his wife Choti, had taken his wife to the police station on January 15 and illegally locked her up. Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police
Gurpreet Singh Gill confirmed that Gurinder Bal had been shifted. “Under the SHO’s supervision, the ASI managed to keep the woman illegally locked up in the police station for two days. We have sent Bal to Police Lines for dereliction of duty,”
he said. The ASI, to settle the fraud case, had allegedly demanded Rs 25,000 from the complainant. He freed Angrez Singh’s wife on January 17 after he was paid the first installment of Rs 15,000. On Saturday, the VB team headed by Inspector Satinder Kumar arrested Balwinder red-handed from a hotel in Nabha on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from Angrez Singh. The complainant had already paid a bribe of Rs 15,000 to
Balwinder. SHO Gurinder Bal has been embroiled in controversies in the recent past also. He had allegedly punched and slapped former Patiala Divisional Forest Officer Dharminder Sharma in April 2011
in Nabha. A probe was then ordered by the Deputy Commissioner, which later concluded that the matter was resolved between the
two officers.
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Govt to re-auction quarries, amend mining policy
Chandigarh, January 22 After the Punjab Cabinet approves the re-auction of the quarries at a Cabinet meeting scheduled for January 28, the Punjab Industries Department proposes to increase the earnest money to be deposited for participating in the auction, raise the reserve price of each of these quarries and have a say in calling off the auction without assigning any reason, in case collusive bidding is suspected. Talking to The Tribune, Anil Joshi, Industries Minister, said they now proposed to increase the earnest money from 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the reserve price. "Even the reserve price of all these quarries will be enhanced, based on the bids received in the auction of these mines on January 10-11. Since the bids received during the e-auction of these mines were several times higher than the reserve price (almost 100 times), we will suitably increase the reserve price of these sand quarries," he said. As against the government's efforts to auction 22 sand quarries, the highest bidders for only nine quarries have deposited 50 per cent of the total bid amount and staked claim to extract sand and gravel from these mines. For the remaining 13 quarries - Chandiala (SAS Nagar), Amritpur (Kapurthala), Kailon, Harta, Dandiana Kalan, Deowala. Hargarh, Patti and Khalwana (all in Hoshiarpur), the state government had sent offer letters to the second highest bidder for starting mining operations, after the highest bidders failed to deposit the bid amount.
To thwart collusive bidding....
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Haryana to implement Punjab’s power model
Patiala, January 22
Haryana would adopt at least one 11-KV feeder in each operation circle to implement the Punjab model. While in the last five years, the Punjab power corporation has brought down AT&C losses from 22.5 per cent to 17.4 per cent, the present figure for Haryana is about 25 per cent. In 2007-08, the power engineers working in the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) had taken the initiative to reduce AT&C losses under a pilot project and had selected four 11-KV feeders of the Patiala West Division. Under the project, engineers shifted meters outside the premises of the consumers, replaced the conductors and transmission wiring. After the pilot project became a success, it was extended to the entire state a few years back. Pleased about the fact that Haryana was following the footsteps of Punjab, the Punjab State Power Corporation Director (Distribution) Arun Verma said so far 20 lakh electricity meters had been shifted out of the consumers’ premises and work to shift the rest of the 45 lakh meters was underway. “Apart from this, conductors on the 10,000-km stretch have been replaced. The AT&C losses in Patiala are only 15 per cent,” he said. “Shifting the meters and replacing the wiring and conductors improved the voltage and eliminated any chance of power theft,” said Secretary, Finance, Northern India Power Engineer Federation. Recently, the federation had given a presentation on the adoption of the low cost model to bring down AT&C losses to the Haryana Distribution Companies.
Reducing power theft
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Setback for PTU
Jalandhar, January 22 The High Court took note of an advertisement published by the PTU on December 3, inviting applications from students for admissions. The university move came despite specific directions by the council on October 12 last that no student should be admitted under the
programme. The orders have come in the wake of a PIL filed by a Delhi resident. The court observed: "The PTU was granted approval by the council for the period from 2007 onwards. It appears that for the current academic year, the approval has not been extended and the request is pending before the council. We direct the PTU not to admit any student pursuant to the advertisement made on December 3, 2012, without a specific approval from Distance Education Council." Reacting to the matter, a PTU spokesman, Rajneesh Sharma, said, "We have not received a copy of the court order as yet."
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Waive road tax worth Rs 26 crore, PRTC to Punjab Government
Patiala, January 22 The PRTC seeks the exemption in order to balance their books. PRTC Managing Director DPS Kharbanda has written a letter to the government asking to waive the tax since PRTC did not have any government funding. Kharbanda said the sudden rise in the prices of diesel will increase the expenditure of the corporation by Rs 10 lakh per day. “We haven’t received a single penny from the Punjab government since 1992 and still are generating revenue for the government. We deserve some help," he said. On increasing bus fares in the near future, Kharbanda said it was the government's prerogative and they did not want to increase the prices since the hike was only on bulk purchase. Kharbanda said PRTC will purchase diesel from private pumps as the state government had directed the PRTC to purchase petrol and diesel from private pumps situated close to their depots. The MD has already asked the managers of all depots to invite quotations from various pumps situated near their depots and select the pump which offers them the biggest discount.
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RTI: Phillaur BDPO fined Rs 25,000
Chandigarh, January 22 The commission took serious note of the fact that the BDPOs neither presented themselves to the commission nor replied satisfactorily throughout the case proceedings. Ranjit Singh sought an apology for causing the delay in supplying the information. The complainant has been awarded Rs 10,000 for having “suffered on account of visiting the Commission repeatedly to attend the hearings in Chandigarh”. The commission held that “the respondent-Public Information Officers (PIO) concerned did not supply the requisite information to the seeker”. The commission noted that “the respondent-PIO furnished incomplete information after one year.”
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Four Pak prisoners sent back via Attari
Amritsar, January 22 Among the freed prisoners were Asif Ali (lodged in the Tihar Jail) and Wajid Ali, Mohammad Mushtaq Punnu and Ishrat Begam (from the Amritsar Central Jail). Asif Ali said he was arrested by the BSF in 2006 when he crossed the Indian border in an illegal manner through Nepal. He said he was implicated in a rail bomb attack and remained in Tihar for seven years. Ishrat Begam admitted to have crossed the border in an illegal manner 13 years ago and was lodged in the Amritsar Central Jail. “I am happy to be back with my family after such a long period,” she said. Mushtaq said he entered India three years ago through Ferozepur Sector and was caught on the border by the
BSF.
Goodwill gesture Among the freed prisoners were Asif Ali (lodged in the Tihar Jail) and Wajid Ali, Mohammad Mushtaq Punnu and Ishrat Begam (from the Amritsar Central Jail).
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Heroin worth Rs 50 crore seized
Amritsar, January 22 Three smugglers were spotted with a plastic pipe in their hands. They were trying to push the contraband to the Indian side of the fence. By the time the patrol party reached the spot, the smugglers retracted to Pakistan. A search operation was launched, which led to the recovery of 10 packets of heroin, wrapped in plastic adhesive tape. Mishra said, ”We have issued operational guidelines to strengthen border domination, especially in view of the prevailing foggy weather, to effectively check the menace of narcotics smuggling on the Punjab border with Pakistan.” In recent past, the BSF has seized 11 packets of heroin, Indian fake currency of Rs 11.90 lakh face value and also arrested a Pakistani and Indian national each at the border for smuggling. Last year, the BSF had seized 288 kg of heroin, 540 gm of opium, 5.5 kg of poppy husk, 23 weapons, 33 magazines, 264 rounds of ammunition and fake currency to the tune of Rs 46.21 lakh. Seven Pakistani and 19 Indian smugglers were arrested in separate incidents.
Smuggler arrested Amritsar:
Sleuths of the local State Special Operation Cell, a unit of the Punjab Police’s counterintelligence wing, today arrested an alleged smuggler from Chheharta. The arrest was made during a raid conducted following a tip-off. Over 500 gm of heroin along with fake Indian currency of Rs 3 lakh face value was also recovered. A resident of Naushehra Havellian in Tarn Taran, the accused, Gurdev Singh, was allegedly involved in cross-border smuggling.
— TNS
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Rape Hoax
Bathinda, January 22 Brar said the accused had been booked under Sections 420, 468, 211, 195 and 120-B of the IPC. He said Gurvir, along with her accomplices, had hatched a conspiracy to implicate her lover's wife Kanta and her family members in a false case. He said Gurvir and Rohtash were in police custody till January 24. The main accused, Sunil Kumar, who was lodged at the Central Jail, Ferozepur, would be brought here on production warrant in the next few days for further questioning.
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recently become the focus of Delhi and Punjab Sikh leaders who are all out to woo them in the run up to the 46-member Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee
elections.
Chandigarh, January 22
Former SAD leader Capt Kanwaljit Singh’s daughter Manpreet Kaur Dolly today joined the Congress, claiming she had lost faith in the SAD as well as Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal. Dolly joined the Congress at the Punjab Congress Bhawan here in the presence of PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh, Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, CLP Leader Sunil Jakhar and Rajpura MLA Hardyal
Kamboj.
New Delhi, January 22
