|
|
|
|
|
State Annual Plan fixed at
Rs 16,125 cr
Withdrawal of wealth tax by CENTRE |
|
|
Angry riot victims break barricade, protest
Community’s faith in justice system shaken: Makkar
Agencies weakening cases against Cong leaders, alleges Chief Minister
Mansa dist shows the way in community policing
Housefed may opt for
merger or liquidation
Post info on panchayat body poll on website, EC told
Panel not subordinate to govt: Justice Kuldip
800 bags of wheat stolen from Abohar
Matter resolved, notices to farmers to be withdrawn
Panchkarma unit at Sangrur sans specialised staff
Capt thanks Chidambaram, Haryana CM
Probe into ex-DGP’s case partial: HC
Missing files of Punjab IAS and PCS officers
Community policing centre rapped for retaining towing charges
Three undertrials escape, one caught
13 schoolchildren injured in accident
Six booked for raping woman
Casteist remarks: Assistant prof booked
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
State Annual Plan fixed at
Rs 16,125 cr
New Delhi, April 30 The Plan size was finalised at a meeting between the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here today. Ahluwalia assured the state government of continued support and pointed out that the issues raised by the latter would be considered appropriately. He said the commission was aware of the water problem in the state and the committee under Planning Commission member Mihir Shah had submitted a report which was under consideration. Ahluwalia said Punjab needed a strategy to reduce water use. The commission pointed out that non-communicable diseases were on the rise. There was a need to correct the gender ratio and for proper public health management. The state should undertake a drug de-addiction control programme. Other measures suggested were screening for early detection of cancer. As groundwater depletion in the state was alarming with about 80 per cent blocks either critical or overexploited, the Planning Commission suggested that Punjab needed to review its water policy and invest more for recharging groundwater, renovating water bodies and canal systems and shifting to crops requiring less water. Badal said the Annual Plan 2013-14 focused on development of infrastructure in power, roads and rural water supply and sanitation. Health and education continued to be the thrust areas with special emphasis on the girlchild and women empowerment. He said though the economy had slowed down during the past two years, Punjab had achieved an average growth rate of 6.73 per cent during the 11th Plan. The national growth was expected to be 5 per cent during 2012-13 and the state growth rate at 5.2 per cent. Punjab was better off than the all-India average in all socio-development indicators, except the gender ratio. Badal said the new industrial policy aimed at eliminating bottlenecks in growth was nearing finalisation and would shortly to taken up for Cabinet approval. The concerns in the agriculture sector would be reflected in the policy. He said storage of foodgrain was a major concern and central support was needed in encouraging the private sector to construct storage capacity. He demanded that the Centre announced a policy initiative aimed at promoting crop diversification.
|
|
Withdrawal of wealth tax by CENTRE
Chandigarh, April 30 Even before Finance Minister P Chidambaram today stated in Parliament that wealth tax on agricultural land had been withdrawn, the Punjab Public Relations Department issued a statement, claiming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured a “ satisfactory solution” to the problem in a communiqué to the state government. Pradesh Congress President Partap Singh Bajwa pointed out that Chidambaram made it clear in his speech in Parliament today that it was Congress leaders from Punjab who had approached him and that the Akalis did not even phone him up on the issue. The SAD claimed it was the first to raise the matter immediately after farmers started receiving notices on wealth tax. The party claimed the Punjab Congress leaders were forced to “run” to the party high command after it decided to take the issue to the people by announcing a statewide dharna. Punjab Public Relations Minister Bikram Majithia said the party had focussed attention on the issue by deciding to hold a special House session. It had met the Prime Minister and leaders of various national parties to create a movement against the proposed tax. “That got the Congress worried and it was forced to retract the proposal immediately”, he claimed. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the Punjab Congress at first had denied the problem, but was now trying to claim “undeserved” credit for resolving the issue. He said the ruling alliance would look into the fineprint of various clauses in the amendment to make sure there was no “mischief” against farmers. Meanwhile, a press note issued by the Punjab Congress, signed by the party's senior leadership, today urged the Chief Minister to show statesmanship by moving a resolution in the Vidhan Sabha on May 3 to express gratitude to the UPA Government for the “landmark decision”. Daljit Singh Cheema, SAD spokesman, announced said the SAD had decided to “postpone” its district-level dharnas planned for May 2. Harsimrat vs Bajwa in Parliament New Delhi: Akali Dal and Congress members traded charges in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday as they squabbled for credit after the government announced its decision to amend the Finance Bill 2013. While Akali MPs said their leadership was the first to flag the concern caused by the imposition of wealth tax, Punjab Congress leaders accused the Akalis of running a land mafia, saying that the UPA could never be anti-farmer. The Akali charge was led by Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, while Punjab Pradesh Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa was the Congress’ main speaker, who alleged that Akalis were “land sharks”. Daring the ruling SAD-BJP alliance to withdraw property tax to benefit farmers, Bajwa thanked Chidambaram for taking the “revolutionary step” of amending the Finance Bill.
|
||
|
Angry riot victims break barricade, protest
New Delhi, April 30 The police had a tough time controlling the large number of protesters who tried to enter the trial court in the Karkardooma complex immediately after the Judge had pronounced the judgement. Jagdish Kaur, complainant in the case relating to the killing of five Sikhs in the Delhi Cantonment area during the November 1984 riots, sat on a protest inside the courtroom, demanding justice. The protesting families of the victims said justice had been denied to them. The police detained several protesters, including a man who threw a shoe inside the courtroom. Akali MP Naresh Gujral said the party would pursue the cases relentlessly till justice was delivered. The protesters broke the police barricade and opened the iron gate despite the presence of a large police force and members of the Rapid Action Force. The policemen finally gheraoed the protesters and pushed them out. Nirpreet Kaur, one of the eyewitnesses in the case, said there was no hope of justice. "But we will go to the High Court for further legal action. The judgement has come to us as a major shock." Baby, who resides in Tilak Vihar, said: “We have been fighting the case for the past 29 years. All the eyewitnesses have given their statements. We have given up hope for justice after today’s judgement. Eight members of my family were killed by rioters.” Leela Kaur said: “ If he (Sajjan Kumar) is not guilty, what was he doing during the riots in his area. Being MP, where was he when Sikhs were being killed? I lost 10 persons of my family. The family has 10 widows." A distraught Darshan Kaur alleged that Sajjan Kumar had been able to get away because of his political clout. Senior DSGMC leaders, president Manjit Singh (GK), general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kuldeep Singh Bhogal and Onkar Singh Thapar, also joined the protest. The protestors were detained but later released.
|
||
|
Community’s faith in justice system shaken: Makkar
Amritsar, April 30 In a statement, Makkar said: “Each and every Sikh in Delhi knows that it was Congress leaders like Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler who led the rampaging mobs that massacred thousands of Sikhs in the Capital. However, none of these leaders have been punished even after 28 years of the tragedy. If they are all innocent, then who killed thousands of Sikhs on the streets of Delhi?” Makkar said the verdict had shaken the faith of the Sikhs in the country’s justice system. He said it was surprising that though Sikh soldiers guarded the country’s borders and Sikh farmers had made the country self-sufficient in foodgrain, those behind the Sikh carnage in the Capital were being let off on the pretext of lack of evidence. “As Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar is convicted and sentenced to death, merely on the basis of his confessional statement made while in police custody, the death sentence awarded to Kishori Lal, who massacred 34 Sikhs in 1984, is commuted to life term.” Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said the Sikhs had been denied justice by the government as well as the judiciary. While those who had killed Sikhs in the 1984 riots were being acquitted despite evidence, Bhullar, a Sikh, had been convicted in spite of the fact that there was no witness against him. He said all Sikh organisations should fight a legal battle on behalf of the 1984 riot victims till the end.
|
||
|
Agencies weakening cases against Cong leaders, alleges Chief Minister
Chandigarh, April 30 Sukhbir said today’s developments had weakened the people's faith in the ability and intention of the justice system. It seemed that two laws operated in the country, one for the majority and the other for minorities. Harsimrat said she would raise the issue again in Parliament. The court has taken a hypertechnical view. When the testimony of witnesses has been believed for convicting five accused, how can the same witnesses be disbelieved for the sixth accused, Sajjan Kumar
|
|
Mansa dist shows the way in community policing
Bathinda, April 30 The district police has won laurels for its performance during the Police Station Visitors’ Week (PSVW) organised by the Institute for Development and Communication (IDC), an Altus member. Altus is a global alliance working across continents to improve public safety and justice. The district police had introduced a van that travelled to villages educating the masses about the variety of services they could seek from the police. The police thus went a step ahead from merely opening Sanjh Kendras. The van carried pamphlets and an audio-video system which told villagers that there was no need for middlemen or connections for seeking help from the police. Mansa SSP Narinder Bhargava, who was awarded for introducing the best and innovative saanjh practices, said hard work of his team and guidance by senior officials helped in making the scheme a success. He said the government would implement the scheme in all the districts. Mansa is one of the most underdeveloped districts of the state. It is known for its history of confrontation between residents (including trade and farmers unions) and the police over varied issues. Under such circumstances, the scheme of sending a van carrying awareness message to the doorsteps of the villagers proved of much value. Mansa Saanjh Kendra was adjudged best for its successful implementation of the community policing programmme in Punjab. Chandigarh: Meanwhile, the Bhawanigarh police station in Sangrur won laurels for its top performance from among the participatory police stations. The award for consistency in performance was given to Chandigarh's top assessed police station Sector 17. In the national perspective, Assam's top assessed police station was Baihata Charali which was recognised for people orientation in times of conflict. Meghalaya's top police station Pasteur Beat House, Shillong, was awarded for civil society initiative. Dr Rainuka Dagar, Global Program Director, Altus Global Alliance, said the sixth round of the annual PSVW was organised from December 3-9, 2012, in which 17 countries participated with 1,000 police stations receiving more than 5,000 citizens. This global participatory programme aimed at measurably improving the quality of local police services as perceived by local communities, taking into account the capacity of SHOs, the exchange of good practices and the effectiveness of accountability mechanisms in police stations. Dr AA Siddiqui, IPS (retd), former DGP of Punjab and Manipur, emphasised on the need to converge community policing with police station reforms. SK Sharma, ADGP (Human Resource Development and Community Policing), Punjab Police, said Punjab had converged Saanjh Community Policing Programme with police reforms. Police Station Visitors’ Week
|
|
|
Housefed may opt for
merger or liquidation
Chandigarh, April 30 The Chief Minister has asked the cooperative to ensure settlement of all its employees in case of a decision to wind up the operations. Talking to The Tribune, HS Sidhu, Managing Director, Housefed, said: "The interest of the employees will not be compromised. The 400-odd employees who will leave are in the higher age bracket. Their claim will be settled through a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS)". Sidhu said: "The issue of the cooperative having outlived its utility in its current form came up during a recent meeting with the Chief Minister. It was rightly argued that the state has a number of housing agencies like PUDA, GMADA etc. The state might wind up for the cooperative or merge it with another agency". The MD said: "The cooperative has outstanding loans worth more than Rs 500 crore. It is not possible to wind it up in 15 days. The cooperative also has projects going on at Sangrur and Bathinda which cannot be left midway". A senior employee said: "Housefed is a profit-making organisation. It should not be closed down". The MD said: "The cooperative is a profit-making organisation. But, we are thinking about a merger as it is in best interest of the employees". About Housefed The cooperative was set up on November 17, 1970, for providing financial assistance to individuals for the construction of houses in rural and urban areas. With a total membership of 345 cooperative house building societies, Housefed had disbursed Rs 1,13,326.15 lakh till November 30, 2011 for the construction of 1,21,179 houses through its 17 district offices. Besides advancing loans, the federation has also undertaken construction work of group housing complexes in Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and SBS
Nagar.
|
|
|
Post info on panchayat body poll on website, EC told
Chandigarh, April 30 The directions came as the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain took up a PIL filed by Jaskirit Singh of Ludhiana and Parvinder Singh Kittna of Nawanshahr. They were seeking directions to the Election Commission to create its official website and post notifications pertaining to the elections on it. As the case came up for hearing, Punjab State Election Commission Secretary ML Sharma said a website http://pbsec.gov.in had been created and the respondents were trying to make available relevant information for general public through the website. Directing the respondents to upload relevant notifications on the newly created website within two months, the Bench directed that information pertaining to the forthcoming panchayat and zila parishad elections be immediately uploaded on the website.
|
|
|
Panel not subordinate to govt: Justice Kuldip
Chandigarh, April 30 The assertion came after the Punjab Government sought a report from the secretary to the special tribunal on the functioning of its two members. The report was sought after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the Secretary, Revenue, to submit a report “regarding attending office by two members of the commission since the date it started functioning”. The government claimed that record was not being maintained at its level. “However, in view of order dated March 26, a report was obtained from the secretary to the special tribunal”. In his report, the special secretary quoted Justice Kuldip Singh as saying: "The special tribunal was constituted by the High Court. The Tribunal consists of advocate-member Prem Nath Aggarwal, advocate-legal adviser Babu Ram Gupta and me as chairman…. “The Tribunal is functioning under the supervision of the High Court. Since Prem Nath Aggarwal and Babu Ram Gupta are actively practising before the High Court, it is not possible to lay down any fixed procedure or routine for our functioning. “It keeps on varying in view of the professional obligations of the advocates towards the High Court.” More than a month after Justice Kuldip Singh panel minced no words to say “thousands of acres have either been grabbed or are in process of being grabbed” on Chandigarh’s periphery, the Punjab Government today virtually admitted that its Vigilance Bureau was sitting tight over the matter. In an affidavit submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the government asserted: “The Vigilance Bureau has reported that no criminal case regarding illegal alienation/possession of public land on the periphery of Chandigarh has been registered”. The assertion came in response to a suggestion by the panel to hand over the matter to the CBI. Referring to the suggestion, the affidavit added since criminal cases had not been registered, “there is no occasion to entrust the investigation into such cases to the CBI or any other such authority”. Already facing criticism for netting “small fish” in different cases, the government’s response has once again brought under focus the Vigilance Bureau’s functioning. The assertion indicates that the bureau just did not take steps to probe illegal acquisition of land and involvement of government officials, even though the panel placed in the dock directors and additional directors, consolidation, for passing illegal and fraudulent orders after entering into collusion with revenue officers and “rights holders”. It also found fault with certain mutations and sale deeds in Kansal and Karoran villages, where Punjab’s Director-General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini too owns a chunk of land.
|
|
|
800 bags of wheat stolen from Abohar
Abohar, April 30 The theft has put the police in a spot as it has not been able to make any headway in cracking similar crimes that took place on February 4 and March 14. The culprits arrived in a Bolero van at 2 am, kidnapped the driver Bakshish Singh of Tootwala village and stole the vehicles along with the goods. The driver was guarding the bags of wheat purchased by PWC at focal point in Bazidpur Bhoma village. The wheat was yet to be stacked in the godowns. They later threw Bakshish Singh out of the truck near Dabwali, a few kilometres from the Punjab-Haryana border. Preliminary investigation indicated that the miscreants paid toll tax for one of the vehicles at Jalalabad on the Fazilka-Ferozepur road. The police has questioned the staff and other drivers at the godowns. On March 14, a few miscreants brandishing swords had scaled the wall of a Punsup godown near Burjmuhar village on the Fazilka road, locked watchmen Ram Lal, Phumman Singh and Bhagirath in a room and looted 70 bags of wheat using a tractor trailer. On February 5, PWC manager Satish Kumar informed the police that over 12 persons wielding sharp-edged weapons stormed in jeeps at the godowns located on the Abohar-Sriganganagar road at about 2.30 am. They locked four watchmen - Karam Singh, Om Parkash, Kuldeep and Mohit - in a room at gunpoint and stole 130 bags of wheat. Dangerous trend
|
|
|
Matter resolved, notices to farmers to be withdrawn
Chandigarh, April 30 However, in all such cases in which notices have been issued, the respondents will be exempted from paying wealth tax and can claim recovery of any tax paid by them as long as they can prove that they have been using their land for agricultural purposes. Sources said since the measures announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Parliament today were operative from April 1, 1993, all farmers who were using their land for agriculture as per the revenue record, were exempted from paying tax. In the Finance Bill,1992, there was a provision of levying wealth tax on areas within 8 km of notified urban areas. Sources said this provision was largely unimplemented mainly because circle rates of agricultural land, even close to cities, were very low in the nineties. They said in most areas, the circle rates were only Rs 5 lakh to 10 lakh per acre and that since only land worth more than Rs 30 lakh per acre came under the ambit of the tax, the farmers remained unscathed. But with circle rates increasing nearly every year in the last 10 years (these being Rs 1 crore per acre around Jalandhar), wealth tax would have been virtually unpayable for the average farmer. Wealth tax on urban land was introduced in 1970, abolished in 1982 and re-introduced in 1992. The amendments in the Finance Bill 2013 were to come into effect from April 1, 2014. This would have led to taxation on agricultural land whereas the income from agriculture is exempted from income tax. It would have also led to taxation on a productive asset - agricultural land- and made tax more than the income derived from such land, in some cases. The minimum amount of tax per acre would have been at least Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per acre. The issue of wealth tax became a major political issue in Punjab after Akali leaders Rajinder Nagra and his brother Gurdeep Nagra were issued notices in 2006 on this account and subsequently lost appeals in court. Their 30 acre land was attached by the Income Tax Department for recovery of Rs 51
lakh.
|
|
|
Panchkarma unit at Sangrur sans specialised staff
Sangrur, April 30 The Department of Ayurveda, Punjab, had set up the unit at a cost of over Rs 5 lakh by providing equipment at its Indian System of Medicine (ISM) wing in the hospital. However, neither specialised staff was recruited nor requisite funds were provided for smooth functioning of the unit. The unit is yet to be made fully operational also because of the lack of space for installing its equipment, which can be seen lying in an unorganised manner at the ISM wing. These include tools for body lubrication, body steaming in a sitting posture, body steaming in a lying posture, steaming for a particular body part, vomiting chair and oil bath steel tub. No doctor specialising in the Panchkarma therapy has been posted in the unit till now. The Panchkarma is a kind of therapy which treats both the body and the mind. Experts of this therapy claim that besides treating chronic diseases, it is useful in treating skin diseases and obesity. Lubricating and steaming the body are Panchkarma’s pre-operative methods. Thereafter, the treatment includes adoption of five methods - vomiting, purgation, nutritive enema by inserting an oily substance or medicated liquid, nasal method and removal of impure blood by puncturing a typical vein. The post-Panchkarma method includes giving light to normal diet to the patient in a phased manner. District Ayurvedic and Unani Officer, Sangrur, Dr Gopal Krishan said the department had vacant land adjoining the ISM wing, where a hall and a room for installing the equipment of the Panchkarma unit could be constructed. He said though they had started with the initial treatments under the Panchkarma, they needed specialised doctors and staff for making the unit a success. He said they also required sufficient space for installing the equipment to make the unit fully operational.
|
|
|
Capt thanks Chidambaram, Haryana CM
Chandigarh, April 30 In a statement, he express ed his “gratitude” to Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda for leading a delegation of MPs and leaders from Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to press for the demand. He ridiculed CM Parkash Singh Badal for trying to create “undue hype” on the issue rather than pursuing the matter in a proper way, as was done by
Hooda. He said, while Badal’s intentions were purely political, those of Hooda were genuine. But 30 senior Congress leaders, including his former loyalists Choudhary Jagjit Singh, Kewal
Dhillon, Rana Gurmeet Sodhi, Arvind Khanna and Kushaldeep Dhillon, in a separate statement, praised PPCC chief PS Bajwa for “rising to the occasion” and getting the wealth tax withdrawn.
|
|
Probe into ex-DGP’s case partial: HC
Chandigarh, April 30 Dismissing Virk’s petition for changing investigating officer Param Raj Singh Umranangal, Justice Daya Chaudhary minced no words to assert the investigation conducted by the officer was not fair and impartial, as he was facing an inquiry into a fake encounter. Justice Chaudhary added investigation was also in violation of the directions issued by the High Court, and an undertaking given before the apex court. “But to give any direction in the present petition at this stage will be unjustified as the issue relating to investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation is still pending before the apex court for July 15”. Elaborating, Justice Chaudhary added the directions issued by the High Court and undertaking furnished before the apex court were still in operation. The directions and undertaking make it clear “that the investigation would be conducted by an officer against whom no complaint or inquiry is pending and there would be an untainted and an independent investigating officer for fair, impartial and un-bias investigation.” As such, at this stage, this petition on the same cause of action is not maintainable. Before parting with the case, Justice Chaudhary added: “In view of the discussion, no direction can be issued to hand over the investigation to some independent agency. Accordingly, the present petition is dismissed at this stage in terms of the aforesaid observations. However, the petitioner would be at liberty to avail appropriate remedy, if necessity so arises, at proper stage.” In his petition, Virk had earlier challenged the investigating officer’s appointment on the premise that specific directions were issued by the High Court and by the apex court that an untainted and an independent investigating officer was to be appointed. The investigation has also been challenged on the premise that the petitioner has been implicated in the case, as present Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini had a personal bias against
Virk.
|
|
|
Missing files of Punjab IAS and PCS officers
Chandigarh, April 30 As the case came up for hearing before the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, IO Ashish Kapoor stated that the statements of four secretariat employees had been recorded, following registration of an FIR on March 8. He told the court that "movement registers" pertaining to missing files were taken into possession but these did not carry signatures of the recipients of the files. In response to his query, the Secretary, Personnel, stated the practise of obtaining signatures was not prevalent. Appearing before the Bench, petitioner HC Arora appealed that instruction be issued to the Punjab Government to supply requisite information to the investigation officers. The counsel for the Chandigarh Administration also stated that the Punjab Government was not forthcoming in furnishing requisite information to the IO. The high court directed the IO to seek requisite information by sending a written communication to the Secretary, Personnel Department. The Bench also directed the Secretary, Personnel, to immediately supply information required by the IO. "Any laxity on the part of the Personnel Department will be taken very seriously," the Bench observed.
|
|
|
Community policing centre rapped for retaining towing charges
Chandigarh, April 30 The Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain also directed that the surplus amount after payment of charges to the towing agencies be deposited in the government treasury. The Bench also issued notice to States of Punjab and Haryana, Union of India, and Chandigarh Administration on a PIL filed in this regard by Kuldeep Singh Khaira through advocate HC Arora. He was seeking directions to the respondents to strictly follow the Motor Vehicles Act in the matter of towing wrongly parked vehicles. The petitioner alleged in the PIL that at several places in Punjab, the police authorities had found a novel way of usurping a chunk of towing charges, instead of depositing the amount in the government treasury. Quoting an example, the PIL said Shunty Motor Recovery Store and Recovery Service was selected as the towing agency in Ludhiana in February 2012. An agreement was also signed by the Centre with the agency that Rs 100 out of every Rs 500 collected from owners of wrongly parked vehicles as fine, would be retained by the CPRC. In this manner, during the first seven months, the CPRC retained Rs 19 lakh approximately, out of Rs 51.66 lakh collected as fine for wrongly parked vehicles. Issuing notice of motion to the respondent for May 15, the high court directed that the scheme for towing wrongly parked vehicles would continue but the share of the CPRCs would be deposited in the government treasury and not retained by them. Modus operandi
|
|
Three undertrials escape, one caught
Tarn Taran, April 30 Jagjit Singh Walia, DSP, said the undertrials were brought from the Central Jail, Amritsar, to be produced in a local court. They managed to escape before appearing in the court. Narinder Singh and Harbhajan Singh are facing a murder case while Gurpreet Singh was lodged in the jail under the Excise Act.
|
|
|
13 schoolchildren injured in accident
Patiala, April 30 The injured children, students of Jasper School, were rushed to Civil Hospital,
Rajpura, by passers by and school staff. School students Kushjeet, Amanpreet, Manpreet, Satwinder, Navjot and Gurpreet received injuries on their head and arms but are said to be out of danger. Other students received minor injuries and were discharged after being administered first aid. ASI Sukhpal Singh said a case of rash driving against the driver of the private bus had been registered.
|
|
|
Six booked for raping woman
Ludhiana, April 30 The woman had gone missing in January. She was first 'gang raped' at a non-operational factory in the Bajra area in Meharban and later, handed over to a man, who took her to Jalandhar. The man allegedly kept raping her for three months. Finally, he fled after leaving her in a bus to Kirtpur Sahib, from where the police rescued her. The police found out that the woman had gone missing from Ludhiana and so, contacted the local police. Subsequently, a case was registered at the Meharban police station against Rahul, Rubi, Bittu and three unidentified persons under Section 376- D and 366 for gang-raping and kidnapping the woman. Meharban police station SHO Surjit Singh Nagra said the victim had lost her way when she left her house in Bajra village to purchase grocery items in January. The victim told the police that five persons of Bajra village had kidnapped her and had taken her to a non-operational factory unit where they had gang-raped her. Thereafter, they took her to some other place in a car. Finally, they left her with a person identified as Rubi, who took her to Jalandhar, she said. She alleged Rubi had established physical relations with her, due to which she became pregnant. She said Rubi had given her Rs 1,000 and left her in a bus to Kirtpur Sahib yesterday. Some people found her wandering and informed the police. The SHO said the medical examination of the victim had been conducted and the reports were awaited.
|
|
|
Casteist remarks: Assistant prof booked
Patiala, April 30 Teaching staff of the college is up in arms against the “one-sided act” of the police. The police said the FIR was registered against Rajindra Medical College assistant professor Dr Harsimran Singh on the complaint filed by MBBS student Anmolpreet Singh. In his complaint to the police, Anmolpreet stated that the accused professor had passed caste-based remarks against him in front of the entire class. Following the complaint and a preliminary probe, the police registered a case under Sections 3 (1), (10) of the SC, ST Act 1989 against the accused at the civil lines police station. Sources said it was only after the chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes asked the district police chief to register a case that the accused was booked. They said the accused could be arrested anytime as the sections were non-bailable. However, with over 100 students as witnesses and many of them willing to give their statement in the case, the police might take more time to investigate the matter. "While some students have backed the victim, others have told us a different story," said a police source. Patiala SSP Gurpreet Singh Gill said they were investigating the matter and statements of witnesses would be recorded. “It is too early to say anything but we are sure the investigation will be done in an impartial manner,” Gill said. Teachers from the general category are opposing the registration of the case, claiming that the student was under the influence of a senior professor, who was known for using such tactics to settle personal scores. Seven similar complaints had been received — three at the medical college and four at Rajindra Hospital. In August 2012, three such complaints were filed by Class IV employees of the hospital. However, following investigations, it was found that none of the complaints were genuine. “We are for strict punishment against anyone using caste remarks against anyone but it is hard to believe that an assistant professor would use such words in a classroom without a valid reason,” said a senior doctor. “Such cases will cause a rift instead of bridging it and we demand an impartial probe. Till then, those involved in the case should be shifted from their positions so that students are under no pressure,” he said.
|
|
| 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 | |
New Delhi, April 30
Sangrur, April 30
Patiala, April 30
