B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

HC orders legal action against retired officer
Faridkot, February 4
In a case regarding the alleged sale of about 3,030 square yards of prime land belonging to the canal department in Faridkot to some property dealers, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Senior Superintendent of Police, Faridkot, to take the necessary legal action.

Shimla youth murdered in Moga village
Moga, February 4
A student of BBA final year, studying in the BIS Group of Institutes at Gagra in Dharamkot sub-division of Moga district, was allegedly murdered by his college mate, late last night.

SGPC member’s kin fired at
Abohar, February 4
Satnam Singh, a nephew of SGPC member and circle SAD president Jathedar Kaur Singh Wahabwala and his companion Satpal were attacked by a resident of the same village late last evening.

Kids campaign against drugs
Moga, February 4
Under the banner of various religious and social organisations, children under the guidance of their teachers and parents held a rally at the nearby Bukkanwala village last night to urge the electorate not to get lured by the offers of liquor and money in the Moga byelection.

Akali sarpanch booked for murdering girl
Ferozepur, February 4
Five years after she had eloped, the body of the girl identified as Gurmeet Kaur, daughter of Kundan Singh belonging to Basti Kesar Singh Wala, was found floating in the river Sutlej along the Indo-Pakistan border near village Jalloke here today.

Sukhbir’s elevation internal matter of SAD, says Khanna
Abohar, February 4
BJP MP Avinash Rai Khanna has said the saffron party will have no objections if the SAD resolves to elevate Sukhbir Singh Badal as the Chief Minister of Punjab.

YAD leader booked for firing at girl
Faridkot, February 4
The police has registered an attempt to murder case against a Youth Akali Dal (YAD) leader, Jagmeet Singh, for allegedly opening fire at a female member of a dance troupe. The accused allegedly dragged the girl from her vehicle and when she resisted, he fired at her. 

Two killed in separate mishaps
Abohar, February 4
Meetu Rani, a resident of Rajiv Nagar, was crushed to death by an unidentified vehicle near Malout bypass here. Her body was handed over to the kin after post-mortem examination. In another case, Bhala Ram of village Kerakhera, who was on a bike, sustained fatal injuries after a canter hit him on the Seetogunno road today. The police has seized the canter. — OC

Tehsil complex to come up in Zira
Ferozepur, February 4
After the commissioning of the new administrative complex at the district headquarters here, the state government has now approved a plan to construct a tehsil complex at Zira to cater to the needs of offices situated at the sub-division level, including that of the SDM, Tehsildar and DSP. 

Youth booked for abducting girl
Fazilka, February 4
A youth, his sister and brother-in-law have been booked by the city police on the charge of kidnapping a girl. The teenaged girl and the boy had allegedly eloped on February 2 and are yet to be traced.

Another escapee held
Tarn Taran, February 4
Narain Singh alias Rajbir Singh, an undertrial who, along with two others, had escaped from the Amritsar Central Jail on January 8, was arrested from Gaur Singh village, 40 km from here, along with his two accomplices — Gurpreet Singh alias Kalu of Marri Gaur Singh and Ankush alias Kawaljit Singh of Naraingarh village.

HC orders legal action against retired officer
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, February 4
In a case regarding the alleged sale of about 3,030 square yards of prime land belonging to the canal department in Faridkot to some property dealers, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Senior Superintendent of Police, Faridkot, to take the necessary legal action against a retired IAS officer, the seller and three persons who had purchased this government land.

The High Court directed the SSP to take necessary action in the case within a month.

In a petition filed before the High Court, Pawan Kumar, a resident of Faridkot, had alleged that the government land was sold in January, 2010 and despite two separate inquiries by the Economic Offences Wing of the police, and the revenue department having implicated the accused for the fraud, no action was taken as one of the accused was a retired IAS officer while his son is a serving senior IAS officer in Himachal Pradesh.

It is alleged that while the retired IAS officer was the owner of only 272 square yards of land, he sold 3030 square yards that included the adjoining land of the canal department also. It is alleged that though the revenue department officials knew this, due to the clout of the officer, no objection was raised at the time of the registration of the sale deed and the entry of its mutation in the revenue record.

Pawan Kumar alleged that once he filed a complaint with the police and the civil administration about the fraud, two separate inquiries proved the guilt of the accused.

Even in his legal opinion to the police on November 30, 2012, the district attorney asked the police to register a criminal case against the accused but no action was taken.

“Rather, I am receiving threats from the accused for exposing the scandal,” Pawan Kumar alleged in his petition before the High Court.

Taking a prompt action and a serious view of case, the High Court did not even issue a notice of motion to the state government before issuing the orders on January 30 to the police for action.

More than 50 years ago, the canal department had acquired over two lakh acres of agricultural land in the south-west Punjab for the construction of Rajasthan Feeder Canal.

In the present case, the retired IAS officer had also sold his land to the canal department and had received the compensation for this land from the department in July 1959, Pawan Kumar said in his writ petition.

Shimla youth murdered in Moga village
Tribune News Service

Moga, February 4
A student of BBA final year, studying in the BIS Group of Institutes at Gagra in Dharamkot sub-division of Moga district, was allegedly murdered by his college mate, late last night.

His body was recovered by the police from the nearby fields on Monday evening.

Police sources said the deceased, identified as Pushpinder, son of Gautam Dev, was a resident of Sanjoli (Shimla) and was living in a private hostel not owned by the college management here. He had a brawl with his friend Shubam, son of Mangat Ram, a resident of Rampur Bushahr (HP) last night.

Shubam allegedly drugged his friend and then threw him from the top of the hostel building.

The police registered a case of murder under Sections 302 and 201 of the IPC against the accused after arresting him and began investigations into the incident. The post-mortem examination of the body would be conducted on Tuesday, said police sources. 

SGPC member’s kin fired at

Abohar, February 4
Satnam Singh, a nephew of SGPC member and circle SAD president Jathedar Kaur Singh Wahabwala and his companion Satpal were attacked by a resident of the same village late last evening.

The youths were returning home on a motorcycle after attending a marriage function in a banquet hall at Abohar, reports indicated.

As per the statement given to the police by Satpal, one Kuljeet Singh targeted them near the Abulkhurana drain on the Abohar-Hanumangarh road.

Satpal and Satnam Singh have been admitted to the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here with injuries.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amar Singh Chahal along with SP (D) Balbir Singh and Balluana DSP Veer Chand visited the hospital to enquire about the incident. They also inspected the drain where the crime took place.

A case under Section 307 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered. — OC

Kids campaign against drugs
Tribune News Service

Moga, February 4
Under the banner of various religious and social organisations, children under the guidance of their teachers and parents held a rally at the nearby Bukkanwala village last night to urge the electorate not to get lured by the offers of liquor and money in the Moga byelection.

They reminded the voters of their duties and responsibilities towards society and asked them to reject those who tried to lure them.

The children raised slogans and went door to door in the village.

They said the people should strengthen the principles and values of democracy by choosing the right candidate with a clean image who did not use the influence of money and drugs to influence voters.

Akali sarpanch booked for murdering girl
Our Correspondent

Ferozepur, February 4
Five years after she had eloped, the body of the girl identified as Gurmeet Kaur, daughter of Kundan Singh belonging to Basti Kesar Singh Wala, was found floating in the river Sutlej along the Indo-Pakistan border near village Jalloke here today.

The Ferozepur police has booked an Akali sarpanch, identified as Surjit Singh of village Jalloke, along with one Jaswant Singh for allegedly keeping the girl in illegal custody and thereafter, eliminating her.

According to the information available, the police has booked the Akali sarpanch and his associate on the basis of the complaint lodged by Shingara Singh, the brother of the deceased.

In his statement, Shingara Singh alleged that around five years ago, he had sought Surjit’s help to reach a compromise with a party in connection with a police case.

Thereafter, Surjit allegedly started frequenting their house in Basti Kesar Singh Wala in Guruharsahai sub-division and later lured his sister Gurmeet into a relationship on the pretext of getting her a job.

Sources said after the girl went missing from her house in 2008, Surjit allegedly arranged her marriage with one Jaswant Singh following the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In reality, the girl continued to stay with him only.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varinder Pal Singh said the body of the girl was identified by her father Kundan Singh besides other family members.

Confirming the registration of the case against Surjit Singh, the SSP said the police was trying to ascertain the veracity of the facts in the matter, adding that the alleged accused were likely to be arrested soon.

Sukhbir’s elevation internal matter of SAD, says Khanna
Our Correspondent

Abohar, February 4
BJP MP Avinash Rai Khanna has said the saffron party will have no objections if the SAD resolves to elevate Sukhbir Singh Badal as the Chief Minister of Punjab.

Responding to a specific question at a media meet here on Monday afternoon, Khanna said the choice of its leader is the prerogative of SAD.

He said the BJP workers will be advised to gear up for the panchayat and municipal council elections after the Moga bypoll. "We are in the process of making preparations to sweep the next Lok Sabha elections in Punjab also," he said.

Coming down heavily on the UPA Government, Khanna said it had lost the trust of the people due to its policies.

Indicating that unchecked price rise and scams will be major issues during the next Lok Sabha elections, the BJP MP said the UPA would face problems in staging a comeback.

YAD leader booked for firing at girl

Faridkot, February 4
The police has registered an attempt to murder case against a Youth Akali Dal (YAD) leader, Jagmeet Singh, for allegedly opening fire at a female member of a dance troupe. The accused allegedly dragged the girl from her vehicle and when she resisted, he fired at her. The police have also recovered the pistol, which was registered in the name of the accused’s father, who has been arrested. — TNS 

Two killed in separate mishaps

Abohar, February 4
Meetu Rani, a resident of Rajiv Nagar, was crushed to death by an unidentified vehicle near Malout bypass here. Her body was handed over to the kin after post-mortem examination. In another case, Bhala Ram of village Kerakhera, who was on a bike, sustained fatal injuries after a canter hit him on the Seetogunno road today. The police has seized the canter. — OC

Tehsil complex to come up in Zira

Ferozepur, February 4
After the commissioning of the new administrative complex at the district headquarters here, the state government has now approved a plan to construct a tehsil complex at Zira to cater to the needs of offices situated at the sub-division level, including that of the SDM, Tehsildar and DSP. Deputy Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang said an estimated expenditure of Rs 45 lakh would be incurred on the construction of the tehsil complex at Zira for which the map was being prepared by the town and country planning department. The DC said at the moment, the offices were situated at different locations due to which people were facing inconvenience. The DC said he has asked the PUDA officials to expedite the process for the construction of the tehsil complex. — OC

Youth booked for abducting girl

Fazilka, February 4
A youth, his sister and brother-in-law have been booked by the city police on the charge of kidnapping a girl. The teenaged girl and the boy had allegedly eloped on February 2 and are yet to be traced.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ram Parkash said the girl’s father, Sandeep Kumar, alleged in the FIR lodged today that one Sukhbir, a resident of Dabwali in Haryana, had eloped with the girl on the night of February 2.

The girl’s mother learnt in the wee hours that their daughter was missing. Inquiries revealed that Sukhbir had abducted the girl with the help of his sister Vaneeta and brother-in-law Anil Kumar, residents of Fazilka.

"City police in-charge Surinder Singh is investigating the case. The police is working on the theory of kidnapping and other angles. No arrests have been made so far," said the DSP. The three accused have been booked under section 363, 366 and 120-B of the IPC. — OC

Another escapee held

Tarn Taran, February 4
Narain Singh alias Rajbir Singh, an undertrial who, along with two others, had escaped from the Amritsar Central Jail on January 8, was arrested from Gaur Singh village, 40 km from here, along with his two accomplices — Gurpreet Singh alias Kalu of Marri Gaur Singh and Ankush alias Kawaljit Singh of Naraingarh village.

The Amritsar rural (Mohkampura) police has already nabbed Suraj Kumar from Jaura Phatak in Amritsar on January 9. The third accused, Budh Singh, is still at large.

SSP Kamaljit Singh Dhillon said Narain, a resident of Thatgarh village, had formed a new gang. The police recovered four stolen bikes, a country-made pistol, a kg of intoxicant powder and two sharp-edged weapons from their possession, he added. — OC