|
|
|
|
|
Shinde: Will consider mercy demand
To protect its Panthic turf, SAD launches campaign to save Bhullar from gallows
|
|
|
Complaint against CM, Makkar, for ‘waging war against State’
Delegation approaches German Embassy
Charges up but services in govt hospitals still down
Need to de-politicise police, says Manpreet
Vigilance set to present challan in land scam
Combine rent mounts as harvesting season peaks
A combine harvester in action. A Tribune photograph
CSIO to work on ‘precision agriculture’ to fight plant disease and cut losses
Rajindra Hospital refers assaulted child to PGI
Govt pushing away investors: Bajwa
126 reside in one house as per draft voter list!
PSEB suspends five for glitches in exam process
Mushroom cultivation can employ 3 million people: Experts
Security up for Navratras, claims police
Private schools can’t charge at will: Maluka
Computers distributed
Cong moves HC on delimitation
HC: File challan in PSPCL job scam
Verdict in case against Sajjan Kumar on April 30
Robbers kill factory guard, loot goods worth lakhs
HS Mann, SSP, addresses the media at Fatehgarh Sahib on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
Chandigarh
firm raided
Five looters held with pistols
|
|
To protect its Panthic turf, SAD launches campaign to save Bhullar from gallows
Chandigarh, April 16 The SAD has time and again resurrected the Panthic agenda. Even now while pleading for clemency for Bhullar, it wants to come across as a party that cares for the Sikh community. In fact, sources say there is no option before the SAD. The party has kept the 1984 anti-Sikh riots issue alive 25 years after the tragedy and still uses it to attract votes during successive elections. As such the demand for commuting the death sentences of Bhullar and also that of Beant Singh assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana into life imprisonment have become Sikh issues. The Sikhs in Punjab feel that the ‘special circumstances’ in which the crimes took place should be taken into account and that both the militants be saved from the gallows. The case for saving Bhullar has become stronger in Punjab in the wake of the stand taken by the presiding judge of the apex court as well as reports of Bhullar’s poor mental condition. In such a situation there is no option before the SAD but to mount a campaign in favour of Bhullar. This takes care of Panthic sentiments and is likely to help the party garner Panthic votes in the forthcoming elections. Sources said the SAD is keen to guard its Panthic turf and more so in recent years. It saw its popularity in the Sikh heartland of Malwa suffer after former Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh competed with the Akalis on being more ‘Panthic’ than them. The SAD believes that the secular nature of the People's Party of Punjab (PPP) ensured that the Panthic vote did not drift away from the party in the last assembly elections. With Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Partap Singh Bajwa not keen on a Panthic agenda, the SAD feels it can hold on to the Sikh votes by taking up Sikh issues. The SAD has moved carefully to win over radical Sikh organisations to its fold in the past five years to consolidate its Panthic vote. It has won the support of the radical Damdami Taksal once headed by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, radical leader Jasbir Singh Rode and prominent human rights lawyers in Chandigarh. Those opposed to it, including Simranjit Singh Mann and Daljit Singh Bittu, have been marginalised. However, the SAD is walking a thin line. While it wants to make political capital of Sikh issues, it has to ensure that law and order in the state is not disturbed. As a source put it: "Anyone can take the lead, garner sympathy for a cause and also get votes. If despite this Bhullar and Rajoana are hanged, the onus can be put on somebody else, leading to a potentially violent situation in the state." The SAD, however, feels it can take up the Sikh issue and maintain law and order too, something it has not been able to do earlier.
Resurrecting Sikh agenda
|
|
|
Complaint against CM, Makkar, for ‘waging war against State’
Chandigarh, April 16 In a petition moved before the court of Judicial Magistrate Parvesh Singla, advocate Arvind Thakur has questioned their decision to meet the Prime Minister to seek clemency for Bhullar. The court will record preliminary evidence on May 6. Demanding action against Badal and Makkar, the petition states: “Parkash Singh Badal last year went to the President of India seeking mercy for Balwant Singh Rajoana, the main accused in the Beant Singh murder case. Now he is seeking clemency for Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar on the excuse that the hanging of these terrorists will disturb peace in Punjab. “Badal is forgetting his duty towards those killed in the blast caused by convict Bhullar and his oath that he will maintain the integrity and sovereignty of the Union of India.” The petitioner has alleged that “the political system is interfering in the judicial system... Badal and Makkar want to amend the Constitution according to their own system... “It is prayed that the accused may be summoned to face trial in the interest of justice.”
|
|
|
Delegation approaches German Embassy
New Delhi, April 16 The memorandum says that when Bhullar was brought from Germany, the German Appeals Court had noted that he should have not been deported from Germany. “Bhullar’s conviction is based on a confession made in police custody. While Bhullar is convicted for abetment and conspiracy, the main accused has been acquitted by the court,” the memorandum reads. It says Bhullar is not in a fit state of mind and is in a mental hospital. “As per our information, your government has always taken a stand against the awarding of death penalty to Bhullar. We are informed that your government had been assured by the Government of India that Bhullar would not be given the death penalty... We request you to take up this matter with the Government of India and the President to accept the petitions not to award Bhullar the death sentence,” the memo says. — TNS
|
|
|
Charges up but services in govt hospitals still down
The major problem plaguing public hospitals is inadequate infrastructure and shortage of doctors. The government hospitals have been authorised to utilise the revenue generated under the revised tariff plan, which has been implemented from April 1. The hospitals will be able to use these funds without any procedural formalities as was the practice earlier. Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, said the money would be used for meeting expenditure on sanitation, security and other related services. Hussan Lal, Managing Director, Punjab Health Systems Corporation, said the hike had been incorporated to generate funds for day to day running of the hospitals. “There had been no increase in charges for a long time. The charges have been increased for registration, admission, medico-legal examination, diagnostic facilities, surgeries, ambulance and room charges,” he said. (With inputs from Manmeet Singh Gill, Balwant Garg, Gagan Teja, Archit Watts and Anupam Baghria)
In need of booster dose
Findings of a report on govt hospitals
Amritsar: The Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital has the required equipment to conduct laparoscopic surgeries. But there is no trained surgeon. The hospital has trained staff in the Department of Cardiology, but its holter monitor and TMT machines are lying dysfunctional. Similarly, the hospital has a trained plastic surgeon, but no material to operate upon patients. The city has five satellite hospitals on its periphery to provide childbirth services. But none of these have facilities to perform caesarian section. Faridkot:
The two-storey newly constructed building of Government Hospital for gynaecology and paediatrics departments has not been put to use because of insufficient staff. The hospital has 26 sanctioned posts of doctors, including 19 of medical specialists. It has only 12 doctors, including nine specialists. Out of the total 101 sanctioned posts of doctors in the district, 53 posts are vacant. Patiala:
There is a shortage of super specialists in government hospitals here. A large number of patients have to pay hefty charges for availing medical services at private clinics. Most hospitals either do not have proper equipment or have faulty machines. Patients thus have to get their medical tests done from private labs. Muktsar:
Of the total 67 sanctioned posts of medical specialists, the district has 24. All nine posts of specialists are vacant in the Gidderbaha Civil Hospital. At the Muktsar Civil Hospital, 12 of the 16 posts of specialists are vacant. At Malout, five of the nine posts are vacant. Ludhiana:
The Lord Mahabir Civil Hospital has 130 beds whereas it gets 170 to 180 indoor patients daily. There are only two dialysis machines and one ultrasound machine. Due to staff shortage, the hospital's newly constructed burn unit is yet to be made functional.
|
|
|
Another smuggling bid foiled, heroin worth Rs 90 crore seized
Amritsar/Ferozepur, April 16 The troops witnessed suspicious movement of two-three persons ahead of the border fence around 3.15 am and subsequently an alert was sounded. When challenged, the smugglers retracted into the Pakistan territory. During the search operation, the BSF recovered 18 packets of the contraband, a 10-metre-long plastic pipe and another packet containing the fake currency. The incident occurred at a distance of about 150 metres from the international border. The BSF authorities have announced that the three jawans who carried out the operation will be rewarded. This is the second such instance of contraband smuggling that has been thwarted by the BSF in the recent past. On March 19, the BSF had shot an Indian smuggler dead while injuring two Pakistani smugglers. It had also recovered 10 packets of contraband, a German-made 30 bore pistol, a magazine, four rounds and a mobile phone with a Pakistani SIM card. However, when the BSF later confronted their Pakistani counterparts over the issue at the flag meeting, the latter denied any such movement on their side. The smuggling of contraband witnesses a spurt in March-April as wheat crop along the fence provides shelter to smugglers.
|
|
|
Need to de-politicise police, says Manpreet
Jalandhar, April 16 At the top, he said, was the deteriorating law and order situation. To tackle this, he claimed, there was a need to de-politicise the Punjab Police. Addressing the PPP conclave on its concluding day here, Manpreet alleged that the law and order situation in the state had worsened under the SAD-BJP regime. “The coalition is using the police as a tool to settle scores with rival political parties. The chain of command in the police needs to be re-established. It is not that the Punjab Police lacks honest officers, but the Akali government is not allowing the dedicated policemen to deliver,” he said. Apart from law and order, the other “problems” on the PPP’s action plan are: poor fiscal health, decline in education standards, lack of health facilities, growing debt trap in the farm sector, rampant corruption, unemployment, ever-rising drug menace, industrial issues and poverty among the marginalised sections of the society. “Unfortunately, successive governments have chosen to ignore these crucial issues, which can ensure all-round development. We have identified the top ten concerns that face our state and have suggested some remedial action as well,” he said. Hitting out at Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, Manpreet said, “The people of Punjab are being looted by the present regime.” The PPP chief also said there was a need to put an end to the “red beacon” and gunmen culture, “promoted by our politicians”. He demanded the posts of chief parliamentary secretaries and chairmen of various government boards and corporations be abolished to do away with “wasteful” expenditure. In the 30 months of the PPP’s existence, he said, the party leaders had travelled across the length and breadth of Punjab several times to understand the problems facing the common man. “Power in Punjab is the costliest across the country. Likewise, VAT on petrol is the highest here. There are several other taxes, which do not exist in other states. As such, the common man is reeling under inflation and struggling to earn two square meals a day. It is shameful that those at the helm of affairs are so insensitive that they went for holidaying to Goa in the name of brainstorming,” he said.
PPP Conclave: 10-point action plan for Punjab’s progress
Tribune report in focus Manpreet Badal waved a copy of The Tribune showing a report, ‘Construction work at Talwandi Sabo plant stops’. He said: “A reputed English daily has reported how bureaucratic wrangling has resulted in the developers stopping construction work. This proves the state government is not providing conducive atmosphere to private companies.”
|
|
Vigilance set to present challan in land scam
Patiala, April 16 Sources said the Vigilance was trying to seek the re-arrest of Naib Tehsildar Gurinder Walia, who was out on bail and was allegedly “not cooperating” in the investigations ever since Garg was arrested last month. The sources said the questioning of all four government officials indicated that Garg was instrumental in getting the land transferred illegally. “Garg was their boss and was instrumental in the entire case to get the land transferred to private persons despite objections by his predecessor Dipinder Singh,” they said. A senior Vigilance official attached with the investigations said they had proof to establish that the then District Revenue Officer, Rajbir Singh, also an accused, had written on the file that he did the registry following instructions from Garg. “During questioning, he (Rajbir) accepted that Garg was adamant on getting the land transferred to private persons,” he stated. The officials are likely to soon discuss the case with Vigilance Bureau Chief Director Suresh Arora to ensure a “fool-proof” challan in the court. The investigating agency, however, was yet to follow the alleged money trail in the case. “We believe money exchanged hands and it was invested in realty business. But, we are yet to establish it,” an official said. Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) Pritam Singh said the challan would be presented in the court as soon as a “few missing links were joined”. “The arrested accused have confessed that since Vikas Garg was their boss, they could not disobey his orders (on land transfer),” he said. Garg, who remained the Patiala Deputy Commissioner twice, is currently lodged at the Central Jail here.
|
|
|
Combine rent mounts as harvesting season peaks
Muktsar, April 16 To harvest an acre of wheat, the owners of combines are charging between Rs 1,000 and 1,100. The charges were Rs 800-Rs 900 last year. “Due to a shortage of labour, daily wages have almost doubled within a year. Last year, the daily wage of a labourer was Rs 250. But now, we are paying Rs 450. We are thus left with no option but to harvest our crop with machines,” said Gurdev Singh, a farmer of Mukand Singh Wala village. Gurmeet Singh of Lambi Dhabh village said: “The minimum charges for a combine are Rs 1,000 per acre. Since the weather has been changing frequently, the farmers want to harvest their crop at the earliest. This has further pushed up the demand for combines.” He said: “The combine owners blame higher charges on rising diesel prices. But, diesel is costlier by 15 per cent as compared to last year while combine charges have gone up by almost 30 per cent”. To harvest an acre of wheat crop, the machine takes almost half an hour and consumes nearly 5 litre of diesel, he added. Another farmer Amardeep Singh of Bhullar village said: “I had to pay Rs 1,100 per acre for hiring a combine. My crop was flattened by rain and it was difficult to harvest it. For harvesting a mature standing crop, the charges are Rs 1,000 per acre.” Bhola Singh of Malout, who owns a combine, said: “With labour being a major problem this year, the combines are proving a boon. We are charging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,100 per acre. Our season lasts merely 20 days. We have spent more than Rs 15 lakh to buy a machine. Besides, we get money from the farmers in installments that too after the sale of their produce. We have to keep all these factors in mind while fixing charges.” The use of combines to harvest wheat has become common in most parts of the state. However, the problem with using the machine is low straw recovery as compared to manual harvesting.
|
|
|
CSIO to work on ‘precision agriculture’ to fight plant disease and cut losses
Chandigarh, April 16 CSIO scientists said it was very important to identify plant disease before it affected the crops. For this an early warning system had to be developed which would be based upon the continuous monitoring of certain parameters, the degradation of which result in lack of proper growth or disease in plants. The parameters include air temperature, relative humidity, leaf wetness, wind speed, rainfall, soil moisture, ground temperature and solar radiation. “This will be an agri-metrological approach for early detection of crop disease,” a senior scientist at CSIO said. “The parameters will be measured and stored by various sensors and actuators with remote connectivity. A computing algorithm will also be developed for diagnosing crop -specific diseases,” he said. The crop-specific information will be shared with the farmers which will be helpful in deciding mitigating efforts, pest spray and other damage control measures. Automated storage solution is another aspect of this programme. India suffers an estimated loss of about Rs 50,000 crore annually due to inadequate post-harvest infrastructure and inefficient supply chain management. About 10 per cent of the grain production gets wasted. An essential factor for proper grain storage is balance between water content, ambient conditions and the length of the storage. Imbalance in these parameters reduces the quality of the grain, leading to losses. Since a controlled environment-monitoring system and other issues like energy efficiency, pre-storage treatment and in-situ quality parameter monitoring are of prime importance, scientists are working to develop a safe, economical and effective storage technology to enhance the shelf life of grains and seeds.
|
|
|
Rajindra Hospital refers assaulted child to PGI
Patiala, April 16 His father, Baljit Singh, had allegedly abused him physically and burned him with cigarette butts. Singh and Rajatdeep’s mother Amandeep Kaur had separated and were fighting a divorce case in court. Singh had the custody of the child when the incident was reported. The child in his statement to the police had informed that he was brutally tortured by his father and his relatives every time he insisted on meeting his mother. Though his physical wounds have by and large healed, his left kidney is not functioning properly. The child is referred to PGIMER for a Radioisotope Renography that is not available at Rajindra Hospital. Dr Inderjeet Singh Chawla from Rajindra Hospital, said this test would ascertain the reason behind his malfunctioning kidney. “Since it is a legal matter, we have to be careful. This test will help us find out whether the child has had this problem since birth or it arose after the assault. We can proceed further only after the report is out,” said Dr Chawla. The police has failed to nab the victim’s father, his uncle Amarjeet Singh and his wife Manjit Kaur even after 15 days of registering a case against them. Lakhvir Singh, Station House Offcier, Sadar, said the police had conducted many raids at their relatives’ houses but has not been able to nab the accused. The hunt is on, he added.
|
|
|
Govt pushing away investors: Bajwa
Amritsar, April 16 Talking to mediapersons here today, Bajwa said the allegations levelled by Sterling Limited, the promoter company of the thermal plant, against the SAD-BJP government “are serious and will turn away investors from Punjab”. He said the power company had blamed that it was forced to stop work due to “non-conducive atmosphere and bureaucratic wrangling”. He said the project came to a standstill at a time when the company had already spent Rs 7,000 crore of its estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore. He said the development had sent wrong signals to the investors. The PPCC president said about 80 per cent hike in power rates in the past six years had sounded the death knell for the small-scale industry. He said more recently, knitwear units of Ludhiana had decided to shift base to Himachal Pradesh due to “unbearable” power tariff. He claimed 80 per cent of the steel units in Mandi Gobindgarh had been shifted to Gujarat. Bajwa said: “Punjab is facing a serious financial crisis which is evident from the fact that 3.5 lakh government employees were not paid their salaries for April till yesterday. The state’s debt has mounted to a whopping Rs 1 lakh crore”. He also lashed out at the Badals for “not doing enough” for Amritsar. “There is no sign of any SEZ or magnetic pods in the city,” he said. On sand mafia operating in the state, he said would conduct raids in the areas where illegal mining was thriving next month. Replying to a query, he said a helpline for Congress workers bearing the brunt of vendetta had been started. A couple of cases had already been reported in Amritsar which were being examined, he said.
|
|
|
126 reside in one house as per draft voter list!
Sangrur, April 16 Voters from serial number 206 to 331 reside at house number 704 and of these, 115 voters belong to the age group of 20 to 25 years. The draft voter list was published on March 11, 2013, seeking objections from the public till March 18. The final voter lists were to be published on April 4 but these have still not been released. GS Sahota, Subdivisional Electoral Officer, Sangrur, said he had not received any objection from anyone about the voter list. On the other hand, Manpreet Kaur, Sarpanch of Bahadurpur village, in a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Punjab, on April 7, had demanded action against the officials, who had enrolled these 126 persons as voters in their village. She also demanded that these 126 voters be deleted from the list, alleging that they weren’t residents of the village. She said despite raising several objections, the authorities concerned had done nothing in this regard. Pala Mal Singla, resident of Bahadurpur village, also alleged that most of the 126 voters were students of colleges, situated near Bahadurpur village. They had been enrolled as voters in the ward, Singla added.
|
|
|
PSEB suspends five for glitches in exam process
Mohali, April 16 Dr Balwinder Singh, PSEB Secretary, said the officials were suspended for showing “irresponsibility” and failing to maintain a “proper coordination” with the officials concerned. He said “glaring glitches” were noticed in connection with the conduct of certain Class XII examinations, which had earlier been cancelled due to complaints of copying. He said information was received about the “glitches” from the DEOs of various districts, including
Pathankot, Amritsar, Fazilka and Gurdaspur. The Secretary said packets containing examination material sent to the centres did not have documents like the “cut list” and the “signature chart”. These were important for the smooth conduct of the examinations. He said the missing documents created problems and led to stress among the examination centre superintendents, particularly with regard to the seating arrangements for the examinees.
|
|
|
Mushroom cultivation can employ 3 million people: Experts
Ludhiana April 16 Dr Amrik Singh Sidhu, Director, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, said if only 10 per cent of the agriculture waste was used for the cultivation of mushrooms, three million people could get employment. While inaugurating the conference, Sidhu said India could produce 7.2 million tonnes of mushroom and provide employment to 30 lakh people if the waste was used for mushroom cultivation. India generates 140 million tonnes of agriculture waste annually. Sidhu emphasised that India needed to improve the productivity of mushrooms. There are more than 200 species of mushrooms but only 30 species are edible. He said there was a need for producing quality mushroom seed (spawn)
to improve mushroom production. There was also a need to supply spawned compost in small poly bags for domestic production. Dr Harnek Singh Garcha, former Dean, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the development of mushrooms in Punjab.
|
|
Security up for Navratras, claims police
Chandigarh, April 16 Sources say state police chief Sumedh Singh Saini has been holding meetings for long hours to review the security arrangements. It is learnt that the police is preparing an emergency plan based on inputs from the Intelligence wing. This, of course, has not been confirmed officially. However, senior officers do not deny taking preventive steps in view of the Supreme Court turning down convict Devinder Pal Bhullar's mercy plea. Additional DGP Dinkar Gupta, said: “Security personnel have been deployed as a precautionary measure.”
|
|||||
|
|
Cong moves HC on delimitation
Chandigarh, April 16 In its petition filed in public interest through president Partap Singh Bajwa, the party sought directions to the State of Punjab, the minister and 22 Deputy Commissioners to undertake the process afresh. The petition is scheduled to come up for hearing before the Vacation Bench of Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Amol Rattan Singh tomorrow. Claiming to have received "numerous complaints" in recent past on "grave illegalities, irregularities and gross violations of law in the process of wardbandi," the party said that irregularities were being committed by the respondents with malafide and insidious designs. The respondents, for their selfish and vested interests, were manipulating and manoeuvering the panchayat elections "by wrongly, illegally and arbitrarily doing the wardbandi to suit their political interests," the party said. The petition, however, is silent on how the ruling party would gain out of "illegal" and "irregular" wardbandi. Going into the technicalities, the party said Section 10 (1) was amended by the Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2012 to provide for wardbandi for election of panches in the gram sabha area. It was changed from a multi-member single constituency to multi-members constituencies known as wards. "The wardbandi has been done in the most undemocratic, illegal, arbitrary and malafide manner, keeping the whole process a top secret from the voters/electors who are required to be kept in the loop. The entire process has taken place behind closed doors at the behest of the political masters of the day." The party said that the information available showed that final notifications of wardbandi had already been issued in almost all districts. "However, the respondents are still not providing/supplying copies of the final notifications to the voters/general public."
|
|
|
HC: File challan in PSPCL job scam
Chandigarh, April 16 The directions came during the hearing of a bunch of petitions filed by Major Singh and other petitioners against Punjab State Power Corporation Limited and other respondents, challenging the written examination conducted by the respondents for the selection of assistant engineers and junior engineer (electrical). The petitioners contended that the leakage of question paper had throttled the rights of deserving candidates for selection. They also sought directions to the respondents to re-conduct the examination in a transparent manner after cancelling the examination held on July 15, 2012. Directions were also sought to get an independent inquiry conducted into the leakage of the question paper. During the course of hearing, the respondents moved an application for placing on record a decision taken during the Board of Directors’ meeting held on March 25 at Mohali passing a resolution and approving the cancellation of the written test. Appearing before the Bench, counsel for the PSPCL told the court that the resolution stood implemented. Taking on record the decision, Justice Rakesh Kumar Garg asserted: “In view of the stand taken, this court is of the view that all these writ petitions have been rendered infructuous... However, the selected candidates are at liberty to challenge the action of the respondents in cancelling the examination in accordance with law, if so advised..." Justice Garg added: “The state counsel has also filed a status report with regard to investigation in the FIR number dated March 5, 2013, at Police Station Cyber Crime, Mohali, in a sealed cover and the same is taken on record…. “The respondent-state is further directed to complete the investigation in the FIR and file the report under Section 173 CrPC (challan) as expeditiously as possible. A compliance report/status report be filed on or before July 31”.
|
|
|
Verdict in case against Sajjan Kumar on April 30
New Delhi, April 16 District Sessions Judge JR Aryan said he required no clarification from the CBI counsel and the accused. "Come on April 30 for judgment," he said straight after taking seat in the courtroom. Sajjan Kumar and the others are facing trial for allegedly conspiring and inciting a mob against the Sikh community in Delhi's cantonment area after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, resulting in five killings between November 1st, 1984, and November 2, 1984, in the Raj Nagar area , under the Delhi Cantonment police station. The case was registered in October 2005 and the CBI filed a charge sheet on February 1, 2010. Seventeen witnesses were produced by the prosecution and 17 by the defence.
— TNS
|
|
Robbers kill factory guard, loot goods worth lakhs
Ludhiana, April 16 The crime is suspected to be the handiwork of notorious Chanderma gang. Police suspects that someone inside the compound may have helped the assailants enter the unit. Upon entering, the assailants bludgeoned Dhan Bahadur to death. The assailants then took away Rs 1.5 lakh cash, 200 silver coins, copper wires worth Rs 8 lakh, four tonnes of raw eletroplating material and four silver idols. It is suspected that they took the material away in a truck. The accused also removed the CCTV cameras and the recording system installed at the electroplating unit. The incident came to light when Dhan Bahadur’s daughter went looking for her father and found her father lying dead on the floor in the guard’s room. She then informed the factory owner Vijay Kumar about the incident. Soon police officials, including Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh and Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Bhupinder Singh Sidhu reached the spot. Vijay Kumar, owner of the unit, said the victim Dhan Bahadur lived on the premises with his wife and five children. He said he had suffered a loss of over Rs 20 lakh. Police said the robbery was well planned as the assailants were aware that due to a scheduled power cut on Tuesday, the factory units would remain closed and they would be able to enter the premises easily. The incident has caused considerable panic among industrialists. They demand that adequate security measures be taken in the area. The police has registered a case against the assailants and started the investigation.
Planned attack
|
|
|
Drug haul case: Peddler Bhola’s driver held with narcotic powder
Fatehgarh Sahib April 16 Addressing the media, HS Mann, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) said the police during a naka on the Chandigarh-Kotla Bhai Ka road this morning, stopped a Qualis van (PB-05-K-7070) for checking and recovered a container with powder. The van driver, who identified himself as Devinder Singh alias Happy, a resident of Thermal Colony, Bathinda, claimed to be carrying the consignment that belonged to Anoop Singh Kahlon, Sub-Inspector Sarabjit Singh( who is in police custody), and dismissed policeman Jagdish Singh Bhola. Happy claimed to be the latter's driver. The SSP said the police found Happy with two driver's licences with his photographs.The date of birth and address on both the licences were different. The police was verifying the authenticity of the licences from the DTO's office, the SSP said. During interrogation, Happy had confessed that he was a member of the core committee headed by Bhola and that the Qualis van driven by him belonged to arrested SI Sarabjit Singh, the SSP said. The SSP denied that Bhola was in police custody.
|
|
|
Chandigarh
firm raided
Chandigarh, April 16 Sources said the raid came after the reply of the Fatehgarh Sahib police to an ED questionnaire sent to it following recent arrests in connection with the drugs recovery from Zirakpur. Canada-born Manpreet Singh Gill alias Mani and former Punjab Police DSP Jagdish Singh Bhola are part of the links in the money flow through Western Union. Bhola is yet to be arrested. Hardial Singh Mann, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Fatehgarh Sahib, said the district police had given inputs to the ED regarding a hawala racket being run by the international drug traffickers.
|
|
|
Five looters held with pistols
Sangrur, April 16 The SSP said the accused were Babloo Singh, Sukhjinder Singh, Jagwant Singh, Satgur Singh and Harjinder Singh, all residents of Mangwal. A Bolero vehicle and a motorcycle had also been seized. Bhullar said the police busted the gang when they were making preparations to loot arhtiyas and farmers at grain markets. A case has been
registered. — TNS
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
The SAD may have turned secular under its president Sukhbir Singh Badal, but the Sikh or Panthic agenda remains at the core of its being. And it is because of this that the party has launched an initiative to save militant Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar from the
gallows. The SAD has time and again resurrected the Panthic agenda. Even now while pleading for clemency for
Bhullar, it wants to come across as a party that cares for the Sikh community.
People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) chief Manpreet Badal today presented a 10-point action plan for the “betterment” of Punjab.
Manpreet claimed though there were several other issues too, the 10 selected by his party at yesterday’s brainstorming session were of utmost importance and needed immediate redressal.
At the top, he said, was the deteriorating law and order situation. To tackle this, he claimed, there was a need to
de-politicise the Punjab Police. Addressing the PPP conclave on its concluding day here, Manpreet alleged that the law and order situation in the state had worsened under the
SAD-BJP regime.
Muktsar, April 16
Chandigarh, April 16