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High Court notice to state, 11 colleges over petition by guest faculty lecturers
SC Commission pulls up state government
Live coverage of assembly proceedings may be limited
Now Dullo trains guns on Capt
3 SSPs among 18 officers shifted
Class XII student killed in accident
Murder accused flees from Bathinda hospital
Industrial consumers can now apply for connections online
Patiala police yet to arrest Pardhan, Vikas Garg
New rules to ease supply of minor minerals
Dengue, malaria cases in Muktsar declined in 2012
Switch to maize production: PAU VC to paddy farmers
Bhaniarawala acquitted
Punjab rivers soon to be home to crocs
173 Mandi Gobindgarh steel mills to switch to CNG
Fatehgarh Sahib blind murder solved, 4 held
Former Akali MLA dies
Despite ban, construction goes on in Bathinda
Candidates lodge protest with authorities
Jam from factory outlet ‘kills’ Rajpura man
10-yr RI for drug lord Kandola’s accomplice
Two held for rape in Malerkotla
Chaura’s arrest leads to more recoveries
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Jalandhar School van Accident
Jalandhar, March 4 The van that met with the accident was a Tempo Traveller with a yellow plate and a PB-01 series registration number, clearly indicating that it was plying on a tourist permit rather than a school permit. The van, which has 12 seats, was overloaded as there are reports that there were 26 children on board when the accident occurred. Also, the van does not comply with the Motor Vehicle Act as it is not painted yellow and also it does not bear the name of the school and its phone number. Parents said it was Gurdeep Singh, younger brother of the regular driver, who was behind the wheels at the time of the accident. Eyewitnesses said the vehicle did not have any first aid kit and the driver was not in uniform, as mandated by the Act. Denying their responsibility, the school authorities said they did not provide any transportation facility. “It was a direct contract between parents and van operators. They were paying charges directly to the operator,” said RS Mehta, school principal. District Transport Officer Dalwinderjit Singh confirmed that the van did not have a valid permit to ply schoolchildren. Deputy Commissioner Shruti Singh said she would get an action initiated through the transport department not just against Akal Academy but also other private schools in the periphery. The deceased Suhkman Toor* (nursery class) of Mudda village Jashanpreet Singh (nursery) of Talwandi village Manpreet Singh (nursery) of Mudda Kanwarpreet Singh (nursery) of Bharo village Navpreet Kaur (nursery) of Talwandi Harjasmeet Kaur (KG) of Mudda Jaskaran Toor (KG) of Mudda Gurjoban Singh (KG) of Mudda Gurleen Kaur (Class I) of Talwandi Manpreet Singh (Class I) of Talwandi Gurjot Singh (Class III) of Talwandi Kairanvir Singh (Class III) of Talwandi Kirandeep Kaur of Mudda (*As the victims were students from nursery to Class III, they were all below 11 years of age)
Unsafe school transport system in focus again
Jalandhar, March 4 Officials said a majority of the buses and autos ferrying children to schools openly flouted norms, thereby putting the safety of children at risk. Such mishaps, they said, also raised a question mark at the role of the school bus operators and the authorities concerned in the administration. After such mishaps, schools usually shun their responsibility by terming the transport arrangement as a contract between parents and bus or auto operators. On the other hand, the Transport Department parries questions by claiming that it keeps on challaning and impounding erring vehicles from time to time. The rules governing the transportation of students suggest that it is mandatory for buses to be equipped with a first aid box, a fire extinguisher, convex cross view mirrors for driver, hand rails, low floor doors, window rods, emergency exits and speed governors. However, a majority of school buses do not comply with safety measures. Three-wheelers carrying children to schools are also mostly seen filled beyond capacity. Social activist Rajat Mohindru said it was the responsibility of the transport and police authorities to ensure that buses and autos adhered to safety norms. District Transport Officer Dalwinderjit Singh said, “We keep on penalising transporters who violate norms. More than 20 buses have been challaned in the last six weeks alone.” He said it was the responsibility of the schools concerned to ensure the safety of their students. “We keep on sensitising educational institutes about safety norms from time to time.” Mohindru said apart from issuing operational certificates to school buses, the transport authorities should check the use of mobile phones by drivers, curb over-speeding and ensure optimum seating.
Couple provides emergency care, saves several lives
Jalandhar, March 4 It being a Monday, Sonu Chaudhary and his wife Anju Bala were returning to their workplaces when the accident had just occurred on the Jalandhar-Nakodar highway. “We had never witnessed a tragedy of this magnitude. All the victims are children below 11 years of age. The gory accident did not allow us to move ahead,” said the couple. While Sonu runs a travel agency in Jalandhar, Anju is a clinical instructor at a nursing college. Being from the medical background, Anju checked the pulse of all the victims who were being taken out of the bus. “A few villagers and other passersby also gathered and helped in rescuing the children and shifting them to hospital,” said Anju, who has done post-graduation in nursing. “While three children were conscious, all others were either unconscious or dead.” The couple also shuttled between the accident site and a nearby hospital to shift the injured children for timely care. The duo also informed the parents of the victims. “While all other survivors recalled the phone numbers of their parents, there was a badly traumatised child who failed in doing so. We got him treated and asked him if he knew the way to his house. He responded positively and came along. When we dropped him safely at his home in Talwandi Bharo village, the scene of the family reunion came as a very satisfying experience,” said
Chaudhary.
Principal’s defence Principal Amandeep Kaur said: “While the schoolchildren are ferried to schools by three vans, except the staff van, the rest are private vehicles arranged for by parents. Parents are directly paying the van drivers for the service.” School closed When The Tribune visited the school, a lock hung at the door. A board outside read: ‘Tuhade baccheyan de sunahri bhavikh layi’ (For your children’s bright future). Guards informed that the school shall remain closed tomorrow as well. Unlucky couple Fate played a cruel joke on Jaswinder Singh of Mudda village. It was after a long wait of 12 years that Jaswinder Singh and his wife were blessed with two sons (Jaskaran and Sukhman). Both died in the accident today. Truck driver flees Truck driver, a resident of Karyal village in Moga, absconded after the accident.
Irretrievable loss: Capt
Jalandhar, March 4 Expressing his sympathies with the bereaved families, he said: “This is an irreparable and irretrievable loss to the near and dear ones. My heart goes out to all the family members who have lost their children in the tragic accident”. The PCC president underlined the need for enforcing strict road safety measures so that “such tragedies do not recur.”
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High Court notice to state, 11 colleges over petition by guest faculty lecturers
Chandigarh, March 4 Acting on a petition, Justice Augustine George Masih issued notices for April 10 to the Punjab Government, DPI (Colleges) and Principals of 11 government colleges across the State of Punjab. The notice came on a petition filed by Mukhvir Singh and 33 other guest faculty lecturers working in government colleges. They were seeking issuance of directions to the respondents to stop the practice of relieving them at the end of academic session on February 28. Directions were also sought for taking them back in service at the start of next academic session. The petitioners stated that Punjab Cabinet of Ministers had taken a decision on December 17, 2011, to the effect that “the guest faculty, who are continuing for the last five years or more in the educational institutions of Punjab, may be employed on contract basis from year to year basis at their present salary”. But, few colleges have implemented the decision. Their counsel H.C. Arora asserted the petitioners have not been taken as lecturers on contract basis despite having more than six years’ experience as guest faculty lecturers. They were still being paid honorarium at hourly basis, instead of consolidated salary on monthly basis. Issuing notice of motion, Justice Masih asked the respondents to inform the Bench whether the petitioners were being relieved despite the Cabinet decision. The colleges to whom notices have been issued are Government College, Bholath; S.C.D. Government College, Civil Lines, Ludhiana; Shaheed Udham Singh Government College, Sunam; Government College, Ropar; M.R.P.D. College, Talwara; Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Government College, Kapurthala; Government Ripudaman College, Patiala Gate, Nabha; and Government College for Girls, Civil Lines, Ludhiana. The remaining colleges are Government College, Phagwara Road, Hoshiarpur; Giani Kartar Singh Memorial Government College, Tanda Urmar; and Principal Gursewak Singh Government College of Physical Education,
Patiala.
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SC Commission pulls up state government
Chandigarh, March 4 Dr Panna Lal Punia, Chairman of the commission, said: “The government has been categorically told that the fund cannot be diverted to other fields. We will initiate strict action against the officials concerned if the amount remains unutilised this fiscal year too.” It was pointed out at the meeting that the budgetary provision of Rs 4,039 crore had been included in the supplementary agenda of the Vidhan Sabha for 2012-2013. In 2011 too, the Scheduled Castes Commission chief had summoned Punjab officials for an explanation. The issue this time was raised by the president of the Chamar Maha Sabha, Paramjit Singh Kainth, who pointed out that not a penny had been spent on the welfare schemes. “Shockingly, a number of officers attending the meeting pleaded ignorance about the provisions of the scheme for SC welfare,” he claimed. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh, Principal Secretary (Finance) Satish Chandra and Anurag Aggarwal, Secretary, SC/BC Welfare. Kainth said: “The government has given an undertaking to the commission that the state will constitute a special committee for implementing the scheme and to periodically review the progress made. The commission will meet next on May 13.” Kainth said several schemes for SC welfare had remained on paper since 1985. It seemed the SAD-BJP Government was not serious about implementing these schemes, he alleged.
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Live coverage of assembly proceedings may be limited
Chandigarh, March 4 The Speaker said though the issue was still under consideration, live coverage could be limited to specific occasions like Governor's Address, the Chief Minister's reply, the Budget speech of the Finance Minister and his reply to the same after debate. There is another proposal to stagger the coverage of the House proceedings. The Vidhan Sabha Secretariat is also taking steps to ensure that the entire proceedings are taped. The Secretariat was caught unawares when it could not come up with evidence to corroborate allegations by Majithia that he had hurled expletives against Rana Gurjit only when provoked by the latter. Speaker's initiative
Meanwhile, the Speaker has invited leaders of all three principal parties in the assembly for a meeting on March 8 to discuss ways and means to ensure smooth functioning of the Budget session. Sources said Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal had been invited to the meeting. Pradesh Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh had been left out. Among others who will attend the meeting are Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, minister Sikandar Singh Maluka and BJP leader Madan Mohan Mittal. Privilege Committee
The Speaker said the Privilege Committee was examining the motions received from members of the ruling party on the screening of the compact disc on the House proceedings by the Punjab Congress on several occasions, including the Muktsar Maghi Mela at Muktsar and in Sector 17, Chandigarh. Atwal said no screening could be allowed once the Speaker had expunged remarks from the Vidhan Sabha record. He said this had been intimated to all parties on December 20. He said the Privilege Committee had also received motions from Congress members. These would be given due consideration, the Speaker added.
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Now Dullo trains guns on Capt
Patiala, March 4 He said Amarinder Singh should have gone into the reasons for the Moga defeat instead of issuing the notices. Claiming that the notices had been issued in a “pick and choose” manner, Dullo claimed that several Congress leaders had abstained from campaigning but were not asked to give an explanation. He alleged that Amarinder Singh had failed to take his fellow party men along and that the show-cause notices would not serve any purpose. Dullo also pointed out that when the Congress lost the assembly elections in 2007, he had resigned as PPCC president on moral grounds. Senior party leader Laal Singh said there should be no blame game. “Any misunderstanding should be resolved amicably,” he added. Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Patiala (Rural) Brahm Mohindra, who is among those issued a show-cause notice, has shot off another letter to Amarinder Singh. "In the larger interest of party unity, I had decided not to pursue the matter further. But your statement in the newspapers today belittling me has precipitated the issue," he has said, adding that the party high command has been apprised of the situation created by the notices.
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3 SSPs among 18 officers shifted
Chandigarh, March 4 An official spokesman said that MK Tiwari, ADGP, Administration, has been given the additional charge of ADGP, Provisioning; CSR Reddy has been posted as ADGP, IT and T; Harpreet Singh Sidhu as IGP, Home Guards; Paramraj Singh Umranangal as DIG, Border Range; Parmod Ban has been posted as DIG, IRB, and has been given the additional charge of DIG, Ferozepur; Shive Kumar Verma has been posted as DIG, Patiala Range; Jatinder Singh Aulakh as DIG, Administration; Amar Singh Chahal as DIG, Bathinda; Balkar Singh Sidhu as DIG, Crime, Punjab; Mohnish Chawla as DIG, Intelligence, Amritsar; Vibhu Raj as DIG, IT and T; Mukhwinder Singh Chinna as DIG, Provisioning; Surinder Pal Singh Parmar as DIG-cum-Joint Director, PPA, Phillaur; SK Singh as DIG, CDO, Punjab; and Gurinder Singh Dhillon as DIG, Intelligence, Administration, Chandigarh. Following the promotion of SSPs of Khanna and Fazilka, S Bhoopathi has been posted as SSP, Khanna, and Sukhdev Singh Kahlon as SSP, Fazilka. Ashish Chaudhary, who held the post of SSP, Ludhiana Rural, before being posted to Moga recently, has been posted as SSP, Ludhiana Rural, again. Faridkot SSP Gurpreet Singh Toor has been given the additional charge of SSP, Moga.
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Class XII student killed in accident
Tarn Taran , March 4 The deceased has been identified as Jarnail Singh (18) and the injured were Baljinder Singh and Kulbir Singh, all of them from Sangha village. Kulbir, who was in a serious condition, was referred to a Amritsar hospital while Baljinder Singh was admitted to the local Civil Hospital. — OC
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Murder accused flees from Bathinda hospital
Bathinda, March 4 He was lying on a stretcher when 10-15 persons arrived there. The gang threw chilli powder into the eyes of the armed guards and fled with the accused. The ‘rescuers’ took away a guard’s carbine. Officials investigating the matter said that it was a meticulously planned operation. They also said that an insider could have helped the accused to escape. Gurwinder Bindu was charged with the murder of Simarjeet Maur, who was shot dead near the Dashmesh Gun House at the busy Mehna Chowk on September 5 last year during firing between two warring groups over a property dispute. Bindu received bullet injuries in the cross-fire and was admitted to a private hospital on the Barnala road from where he was arrested. Ravcharan Brar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), said the entire district had been sealed and police parties were searching for the accused. “ We were not informed by the jail authorities that the prisoner was being escorted out of the jail, as is mandatory,” the SSP said.
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Industrial consumers can now apply for connections online
Patiala, March 4 PSPCL introduced the system of accepting the application online from March 1 Power Corporation functionaries said the consumer would now get the connection in the stipulated period of a week unlike earlier when a consumer would have to wait for one to two months to get the connection. Moreover, industrial units can also apply to get approval for operating Captive Power Plant
(CPP) or Turbo Generator (TG) set of 500-KW or above online. A person sets up a CPP to generate electricity primarily for his own use. The project is a brainchild of PSPCL
Chairm-cum-Managing Director KD Chaudhri. He said, “The new system will cover the whole process from online registration of applications up to the release of the connection.” The single window system will enable the applicant to go through all the formalities online. Earlier, an industrial consumer had to submit his application to get an electricity connection at the sub-division level. The application would then go through various channels to finally reach Patiala headquarters. In the new system, after the documents of the applicant are verified, the requisition form is accepted by the PSPCL online. Thereafter, the form will proceed online through an automated process. The file would eventually reach the Feasibility Clearance Committee which decides the case.
Avtar Singh, general secretary, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings welcomed the step. “Industry will immensely benefit from the new system. Industrial consumers would not have to wait for two months to get the new electricity connection now,” he said, adding this new system would end the harassment of the applicants at the hands of the lower ranked PSPCL employees
PSPCL.
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Patiala police yet to arrest Pardhan, Vikas Garg
Patiala, March 4 Sources say the police has been lax in investigating cases involving politicians and senior government officials.The Patiala police had a whole day to arrest Patiala Mayor Jaspal Pardhan when a murder case was registered against him. But the police said it would first complete the probe and only then arrest the Mayor, giving him ample opportunity to escape arrest. The government has now formed a three-member Special Investigating Team (SIT) under Inspector-General (IG-Crime) Shashiprabha Diwedi. Pardhan is missing and the police seems to have no clues whatsoever about his whereabouts. "We need to question Pardhan as the probe has reached a crucial stage," said a police officer investigating the alleged murder of 29-year-old Parampreet Kaur. "The claim of the victim's parents that Pardhan was her father-in-law needs to be corroborated," he said In the infamous Patiala land scam pertaining to the transfer of government land worth over Rs 250 crore to private persons, the Vigilance Bureau has failed to arrest the former Patiala DC despite the Supreme Court rejecting his bail plea in January. "We have conducted several raids but in vain," said investigating officer Pritam Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Vigilance. A probe by the then Divisional Commissioner, SR Ladhar, had indicted Garg for executing the land sale deed of a plot valued at Rs 250 crore for just Rs 6.3 crore. Nine others were been named co-accused in the FIR registered last year under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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New rules to ease supply of minor minerals
Chandigarh, March 4 Karan A Singh, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce, said under the rules, environmental approval of mines spread over less than five hectares would be accorded by a district-level committee headed by the Deputy Commissioner with General Manager-cum-Mining Officer as member secretary. He said this committee, while approving the Environment Management Plan, would also ensure that mining activities were undertaken as per the rules. The new rules would prove to be beneficial for both the common man as well as the government. Mining activity in 241 quarries stopped in August last year would be resumed shortly, he informed, adding that 100 more quarries on area less than five hectares would be auctioned next month. — TNS
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Dengue, malaria cases in Muktsar declined in 2012
Muktsar, March 4 As per data of the health department, dengue cases came down from 405 in 2011 to five in 2012. In 2010, there were 100 dengue cases. There was no case in 2009 and 74 in 2008. This year, till date, no dengue case has come to the notice of the health department in the district. Similarly, the number of malaria cases decreased from 429 in 2011 to 232 last year. Earlier, the district witnessed 531 malaria cases in 2010, 439 in 2009, 229 in 2008 and 102 in 2007. This year, so far, seven cases have been reported across the district. Officials of the health department said both these diseases break out during and after the monsoon season but their measures to control them had worked well. Vikram Asija, district epidemiologist, said, “These diseases spread due to mosquitoes but our timely surveys regarding fever, intensive fogging operations in vulnerable areas and timely cooperation by all departments concerned paid off.”
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Switch to maize production: PAU VC to paddy farmers
Chandigarh, March 4 While speaking at a seminar at the CII office here, he said farmers should switch to maize production as the crop was likely to become an alternative of paddy. He said maize was the crop of future for most of the states in north India. Dhillon urged the Central government to fix the MSP of paddy as Rs 1,800 per quintal to make its production a viable alternative for farmers. He urged the Centre to approve a viability-gap fund for farmers to compensate them for losses they incur while switching from paddy to maize production in the initial stage. The PAU Vice-Chancellor said winter maize would be successful in the state. He said while paddy had to be given at least 25 doses of water, five were enough for the maize crop. Also, he said, several industrial products, including medicines, were prepared from maize. RPS Dhaliwal, a farm technocrat, said a lot of maize was being brought in Punjab from Maharashtra and other states. “There is a ready market of sweet corn in the state. For importing frozen sweet corn from Maharashtra, one has to spend an additional Rs 30 per kg as the transport cost,” he said. Dr Milkha Singh Aulakh, the Vice-Chancellor of the MSKJ University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda (UP), said of the total available subsoil water, 89 per cent was being used for farming and seven per cent for the domestic sector. He said the state could not afford to waste water on crops such as paddy because of the limited availability of water in the region. He called for firm policy decisions in this regard. National Seed Corporation Advisor Sai Dass said there would be no problem of marketing maize.
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Bhaniarawala acquitted
Ropar, March 4 The publication, sale and possession of this book was banned on the ground that the book was defamatory to the Sikh religion. It was also alleged that the material promoted enmity between different groups of society on grounds of religion A case under Sections 501, 295A and 153A was registered against the baba 12 years ago on October 3, 2001 at Nurpur Bedi. Following this Baba Bhaniara was arrested in October 2001. The prosecution failed to prove that these books were penned down by Baba Piara Singh Bhaniara and that the material was recovered from his dera. Thereafter, Ambala Chief Judicial Magistrate Anshu Jain acquitted him. CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE
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Punjab rivers soon to be home to crocs
Patiala, March 4 Sources inside the Wildlife Department confirmed that the department had, last year submitted a project to the Central Wildlife Department. The project had been lying pending with a few objections. “However now all the objections have been cleared and hopefully soon, we might get some eggs and a few pairs of the reptile,” they said. Native to the Indian sub-continent, the gharial, also known as the gavial or 'fish-eating' crocodile, is considered the only true descendant of the ancient crocodilian family that existed on earth some 100 million years ago. The gharial is one of the three crocodilians found in the world. It was earlier found in Punjab but vanished due to constant poaching. Earlier, almost all efforts made by the Wildlife Department to initiate ghariyal breeding turned futile as the young ones that hatched from the eggs of the lone pair in Punjab could not survive. “Crocodilians are survivors from the great reptilian age and are recognized as keystone species in their environment due to the role they play in maintaining the ecosystem,” said Chief Wildlife Warden Dhirender Singh. Gharials are characterised by their long snout and grow up to three to five metres. A carnivore, gharials can easily haul humans but find it difficult to swallow them, owing to their thin and fragile jaws. “There would be no man-animal conflict as gharials are not known to attack humans,” said experts. Dhirender further said that the former Maharaja of Kapurthala had tried to procure a ghariyal specimen in 1965 and unsuccessfully attempted to revive the species in the state. “We will get pairs from Uttar Pradesh and also ask WWF-India for help,” he added.
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173 Mandi Gobindgarh steel mills to switch to CNG
Patiala, March 4 Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chairman Ravinder Singh said after a lot of persuasion the mills agreed to use CNG instead of coal. He said GAIL has agreed to lay a separate pipeline up to Gobindgarh. This will be an extension of the main CNG pipeline going to NFL Nangal through Amloh. Ravinder said GAIL has agreed to lay the pipelines to all such units which will switch over to CNG by July. He said, “This will lower the level of air pollution and will be much cheaper to use than coal.” Board chairman said since there were over 325 rolling mills in Mandi Gobindgarh, and that they would persuade the rest of the units to switch to
CNG.
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Fatehgarh Sahib blind murder solved, 4 held
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 4 The police recovered the dead body of the youth from Bhakra canal near Samana town. The police has booked all the accused under Sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) HS Mann today said Netar Singh, resident of Chanarthal Khurd village, on 23rd February, had lodged an First Information Report (FIR) that his son Amandeep Singh (24) disappeared. However, the police could not trace Amardeep. SSP said he constituted a special team to start the investigation which rounded a thief Pritpal Singh alias Peeta. Upon questioning, Pritpal revealed that Amardeep’s mother Jaswant Kaur had found out that the accused Charanjit Kaur, resident of Chanarthal village, was having an illicit relationship with Satpal Singh of the same village. Jaswant had let the secret out and ruined Charanjit’s reputation in the village. So, Charanjit planned on taking revenge and therefore conspired with Satpal and others to kill Jaswant’s son Amardeep on 23rd of January. Satpal Singh, Gurwinder Singh and Pritpal Singh were the other accomplices in the crime. SSP said the accused cornered the victim close to the Bhakra canal, attacked him with iron rods and threw him into the canal. Mann said Charanjit had confessed her role in the crime. All the accused are in police remand.
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Patiala, March 4 Grewal was elected MLA from Samana assembly constituency in 1977. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal expressed his profound grief over the sad demise of Grewal. Sharing his sympathies with members of the bereaved family, the CM described Grewal as a disciplined and committed soldier of the party. — TNS
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Despite ban, construction goes on in Bathinda
Bathinda, March 4 Bricks, gravel and sand heaped on the road have made it nearly impossible even for two-wheelers to pass through the area safely. While there is no check on frequent constructions, the building material is creating problems for the commuters. "The entire street gets choked when a tractor-trolley laden with construction material arrives and is unloaded. It does not leave enough space for vehicles to take a U-turn, which results in traffic jam," said Ravi Kumar, a shop owner. The construction in the area is in full swing despite a ban imposed under the rules of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), as the Bathinda Fort has been declared an ASI monument. According to the rules, new construction within a distance of 100 m from the monument is prohibited, whereas beyond 100 m till 200 m only repairs are allowed. New constructions and repairs can be undertaken only after seeking permission from the ASI through the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB). "When I was getting my shop altered, some MCB officials visited and said erecting new rooftops was not allowed. When told that I was just carrying out minor alterations, he did not bother to cross check and just left. “This means that people around have been carrying out major constructions by claiming that only the repairs work is going on," he added. Naresh Kumar, a resident of Pujjan Wala Mohalla, alleged that illegal constructions go around the fort in connivance with the MCB officials. "The problem is that these rules are applicable to government departments only, whereas private people carry out such activities," he said. Before adding a brick to the Desraj Memorial Government School a series of permissions had to be taken. Meanwhile, SDO Davinder Singh Jaura said buildings could be constructed in the Mehna Chowk area as it lies beyond the 100 m limit from the Fort. “No constructions are being carried out without getting clearance from the ASI,” he claimed.
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Candidates lodge protest with authorities
Patiala, March 4 The test was conducted for 385 posts of assistant engineer and 330 posts of junior engineer last year in the month of July. The candidates, requesting anonymity, handed over a two-page letter to Arora asking him why they had not been hired despite clearing the test. Arora accepted the letter but refused to comment on the matter. Allegations of cheating during the exam surfaced and an inquiry into the alleged recruitment scam was conducted by PSPCL Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjiv Gupta and later by Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Police, Cyber Crime, Vijay Partap Singh. The matter is also pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
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Jam from factory outlet ‘kills’ Rajpura man
Patiala, March 4 Police said another person has been admitted to hospital after he complained of food poisoning. Rajpura Station House Officer (SHO) Bikramjit Brar said the victim Satpal Singh, resident of Rajpura, had consumed jam on factory premises after which his health deteriorated. “We are awaiting the viscera report of the deceased whose postmortem was conducted today,” he said.— TNS
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10-yr RI for drug lord Kandola’s accomplice
Chandigarh, March 4 Found guilty under Section 21 of the NDPS Act, she will undergo rigorous imprisonment for two more years in case of non payment of fine. Vania Khanna was found guilty of possessing two kg heroin. Upon questioning, she had disclosed that she was an acquaintance of Ranjit Kandola. The court said “keeping in view all the facts and circumstances of the case as well as the quantity of heroin recovered from the possession of the convict the price of which in the international market is worth several crore rupees, the convict Vania Khanna does not deserve any leniency in the matter of sentence. Therefore, she is sentenced to undergo a rigorous sentence”. The court held that the prosecution “has been able to prove that on June 3, last year, in the area of Panam village (Police Station Garhshankar), she was found in possession of two kilograms heroin without any permit or licence and thereby committed offence under Section 21 of the NDPS Act.” Vania Khanna’s counsel, Paramjit Kaur Gill, said, “We will approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the decision.” The police report argued that when the accused Vania Khanna was interrogated in case FIR No 49, she disclosed that she was a friend of Ranjit Singh Kandola and Amandeep Singh and was a supplier of packets of heroin. Police said that she also disclosed that a few days before she was arrested, Ranjit Singh alias Raja and Amandeep Singh had handed over two kilograms of heroin, contained in two packets, to her to supply the same at Delhi. Vania, supposedly, conceded that when she visited village Chack Singha, she had noticed more police patrolling. She concealed the consignment at a petrol pump, belonging to Reliance, near Panam village, which is situated on Garshahnkar-Balachaur road. Later, she handed the consignment to the police in presence of lady constables. About the case
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Two held for rape in Malerkotla
Sangrur, March 4 Harcharan Singh Bhullar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Sangrur, said Mohammad Zahid and Shamshad Ali, both residents of Malerkotla. had been arrested. The third accused, Mohammad Latif , hasd fled. The SSP said the matter had been brought to the notice of the police by the girl’s parents. The medical examination of the girl had been conducted at the Malerkotla Civil Hospital.
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Chaura’s arrest leads to more recoveries
Mohali, March 4 This is the second big recovery of arms and ammunition after Chaura was arrested last month. Though senior police officers were tightlipped over today’s recovery, sources said a police team, led by Mohali Superintendent of Police (Detective) Balwinder Singh took Chaura to an undisclosed place last night and recovered the arms. Earlier, the Mohali police had recovered two AK-56 rifles, 20 live cartridges, two pistol and 10 hand grenades from the riverbed of the Slaimpur river in Kurali. Chaura, a resident of Dera Baba Guru Nanak, Gurdaspur, was arrested by the Amritsar and Gurdaspur police in a joint operation. Chaura, who faces more than 12 cases, including murder, had played a key role in the Burial jailbreak.
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Jalandhar, March 4
