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Girls top PSEB Class XII exams
Man who set family ablaze held, failed in his attempt twice
earlier
Zila parishad poll
PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa addressing a press conference in Amritsar on Saturday. Photo: Sameer Sehgal |
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POLLDIGEST
Poll violence victims cremated
1,514 cops on guard in Fatehgarh Sahib
Poll-Ready: Policemen guard poll material on the eve of the zila parishad elections in Ludhiana on Saturday.
Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan
Books with vulgar content make way to school libraries
Farmers burning wheat stubble go scot-free due to political pressure
Farmers protest at a railway station near Amritsar.
Tribune photo
US court dismisses case against Badal
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Girls top PSEB Class XII exams
Mohali, May 18 Scoring 96.89 per cent each, Mehak of BCM Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, and Maninder Kaur of GTB Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Malout (Muktsar), shared the top position in the overall merit list. Both were from the humanities group. In the science stream, Davinder Pal Singh (95.78 per cent) of DC Collegiate Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar City, secured the top position. He remained at the fifth position in the overall merit list. In the commerce group, Tammana Sharma of Dashmesh Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, grabbed the top slot with 94.67 per cent marks. She remained 10th in the overall merit list. The second and third slots in all the three streams have also gone to girls. While Charanpreet Kaur (96.44 per cent) and Jyoti Bansal (96.22 per cent), both students of Sanmati Vimal Jain Senior Secondary Public School, Jagroan (Ludhiana district), won the second spot and third spots in the overall merit list as well as the humanities group, Prabhjot Kaur Mangat (95.56 per cent) of Guru Nanak Public Senior Secondary School, Khattmanpur in Fatehgarh Sahib and Nishant (95.33 per cent) of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar, remained second and third in the science group. In commerce, Rajwinder Kaur of Teja Singh Sutantar Memorial Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, and Gurpreet Kaur of Shri Harikrishan Sahib Public Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, secured the second and third positions. The overall pass percentage of the girls is 87 per cent as compared to 72.72 per cent of the boys. A total of 3,29,805 students appeared in the examinations, of whom 2,60,456 have passed with an overall percentage of 78.97 per cent. While declaring the results, Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka emphasised that there still was a lot of scope for improvement. "Our overall pass percentage this year (78.97 per cent) is better than last year's 72.31 per cent. We will strive towards improving our score," said Maluka. However, he expressed happiness over students of rural areas and government schools showing better results than that the previous years. "This year, the overall pass percentage of rural students is 78 per cent, which is slightly lesser than that of urban students (79.66 per cent)," said Maluka. He said the pass percentage stood quite low at 70.28 per cent in 2011. He also said students could apply for rechecking within 10 days.
Ludhiana all the way
With 136 students in the overall merit list, Ludhiana district has fared the best of them all. In humanities, all the top four slots (a Muktsar girl also shared the top position with a Ludhiana girl) have been grabbed by Ludhiana girls. Similar is the case in the commerce stream where all the top four positions have gone to Ludhiana girls. Of the top 25 students in the overall merit list, 15 are from Ludhiana district. Private schools left behind The government and aided schools have performed better than private schools. The pass percentage of government and aided schools is 82.22% as compared to 76.21% of private schools.
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Man who set family ablaze held, failed in his attempt twice
earlier
Bathinda, May 18 This was revealed by Lakhwinder to the police following his arrest from Ambala this morning. A police team of Ferozepur district nabbed him near the Ambala railway
station. Ferozepur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varinderpal Singh told The Tribune that the cold-bloodied planning and the way the accused set six sleeping persons on fire suggested how cruel he was. "I have not seen such a ghastly act in my life. The accused did not think twice before setting the aged mother of his enemy Balwant Singh on fire along with others. Such criminals need to be
psychoanalysed," he said. He said the accused was not remorseful even though the two families had no major enmity. Lakhwinder confessed to the police that he had visited Balwant’s house on Lohri (January 13) this year and had a tiff with him, following which he had decided to kill him and his family. The SSP said, “When he
(Lakhwinder) threw a bucket full of petrol and lighted the match, his hands, too, caught fire.” The police said the role of Lakhwinder’s father and brother was being looked into. While Balwant’s mother Bachan Kaur (70), daughters Jasbir Kaur (17), and Tasveer Kaur (15) died in the attack,
Balwant, his wife Veerpal Kaur and his son Satveer Singh (10) are under treatment.
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Zila parishad poll
Amritsar, May 18 Addressing mediapersons here, Bajwa said the Congress was fighting for the people's right and the voters should come out to vote in support of the Congress. He said though the state government was making tall claims of holding peaceful elections, the prevailing scenario suggested otherwise. He said he had met the Governor and the State Election Commissioner, seeking deployment of paramilitary forces for a free and fair poll, but the demand wasn't met. "The intentions of the SAD-BJP regime are clear. They are exploiting the police force to scare the people and resorting to unfair means for getting nomination papers of opposition candidates rejected to force them to withdraw from the poll fray," he alleged. On violence in the run up to the poll, Bajwa said the police didn't lodge an FIR in the case relating to attack on Congress MLA Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi while the main accused in the murder of Youth Congress leader Sukhraj Singh in Patti was roaming free. He alleged in all the cases, the police was quick to jump the gun and claim that it was a result of personal enmity. "I want to ask the Punjab Police even if somebody has a personal enmity, is it good enough excuse to kill somebody. Isn't it the duty of the police to maintain law and order in the state?" He said the Congress apprehended large-scale violence in tomorrow's polling. He said they met the EC twice, but he turned down all their demands, which included deployment of paramilitary forces, videography of the polling process and stringent measures to get licensed arms deposited. He accused Election Commissioner SS Brar of "mortgaging his conscience to the Badals" while terming him as a "spineless official". He said the total breakdown of law and order machinery and organised crime had created panic among the people. Bajwa claimed he had information that about 400 to 500 policemen had been sent to the Majitha assembly constituency to rig the elections. He said the Congress had not entered into any formal alliance with the PPP, but some Congress candidates had made adjustments with PPP leaders at the local level.
Expelled SAD leader joins Cong Bibi Kashmir Kaur, chairperson of the Block Samiti, Majitha, the home turf of Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia,joined the Congress in the presence of PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa. She was recently expelled by the SAD. She condemned the "feudal approach and anti-people policies" of the SAD
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Cong to face another poll debacle:
Sukhbir
Chandigarh, May 18 He asked the newly appointed PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa to get ready for first electoral drubbing. In a statement issued here, the SAD president claimed the Congress did not want to fight any election in Punjab as it would expose their support base and was looking for alibis to create disturbance in the state. He said right from day one when Bajwa witnessed "vanishing base" of his party during campaigning for these elections, he started demanding central forces, Governor's rule, intervention of the Election Commissioner etc. He questioned then why did the Congress lose the 2012 assembly elections which were conducted by the Election Commission of India under the supervision of central and paramilitary forces? He alleged the people of Punjab and the country were fed up with the "autocratic" rule of the Congress-led UPA government, which had broken all records of corruption. He said the people were being forced to pay a high price for LPG cylinders, diesel, kerosene and petrol. He said tomorrow's elections would be indicative of the performance of all the parties in the Lok Sabha elections where the state Congress was sure to bite the dust. Reiterating his commitment to provide conducive atmosphere for a free and fair poll, he appealed to the people to vote without fear and not get misguided by false propaganda of the opposition parties.
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POLLDIGEST Patiala: Patiala Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer GK Singh said arrangements at 900 polling stations for 21 zones of the zila parishad and 167 block samiti zones had been made. He said over 8,700 officials had been deputed for the same. Patiala Superintendent of Police said strict action would be taken against anyone who tried to create law and order problems during the poll. "We have deployed 3,700 policemen for guarding polling booths and have formed 50 patrolling parties," he said. Few Independent in fray in Muktsar Muktsar:
The participation of Independent candidates is far less as compared to the candidates belonging to the SAD, Congress and other parties in the zila parishad and block samiti elections. Of the 208 candidates contesting the panchayat samiti poll in the district, only 13 are Independents. The ratio is even worse for the zila parishad category as there is not even a single Independent candidate (of the total 28). In Gidderbaha block, not even a single independent candidate is contesting the elections. In Malout, Lambi and Muktsar blocks, three, four and six candidates are Independents.
SAD supporters fire gunshots in Chabal Tarn Taran:
High drama was witnessed when supporters of the SAD candidate from Chabal Pukhta block samiti zone fired gunshots in the air at Chabal, 16 km from here, today. The supporters of SAD candidate Vikram Singh gathered in front of the shop of one Sonu Cheema, on the arrival of local MLA Harmit Singh Sandhu, and fired in the air, causing panic in the vicinity. Sonu is backing Independent candidate Jasiqbal Singh Dhillon from this block samiti zone. Supporters of the rival group, too, reached the spot with weapons. SHO Chander Bhushan said the situation was under control as the police had dispersed members of both the parties
Most hypersensitive booths in Batala Amritsar:
Out of the five police districts falling in the Majha region, Batala and Tarn Taran has the maximum number of hypersensitive polling booths. Paramraj Singh Umranangal, DIG Border Range, said 2,599 polling stations and 3,569 polling booths had been set up in Amritsar Rural, Batala, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts. Out of these, 229 polling stations and 642 polling booths had been declared hypersensitive.
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Poll violence victims cremated
Amritsar, May 18 The families of both the victims were given different times for cremation to avoid any confrontation between the two groups. While Congress MLA Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria was present during the cremation of Gurjinder, no SAD leader attended the cremation of Balkar Singh. Meanwhile, the police today registered a cross case. Balkar Singh's brother Buta Singh complained to the police that Partap Singh, Master Manjit Singh, Ranjit Singh, Baljit Singh, Gurbaz Singh and Sawinder Singh, all residents of the same village, attacked him and his brother. He alleged Partap Singh fired a shot at his brother which pierced his head leading to his death. The police has already arrested SAD sarpanch Jagir Singh, his brother Major Singh and Mangat Singh. No further headway has been made in the case as the Police Department was busy in mobilising force in view of the tomorrow's elections. Paramraj Singh Umranangal, DIG, Border Range, said the police parties were conducted raids to nab the absconding accused. He said Jagir Singh was already facing nine criminal cases. Sources claimed the police teams found only two bullets from the spot which were fired from the same weapon.
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1,514 cops on guard in Fatehgarh Sahib
Fatehgarh Sahib, May 18 About 1,514 police personnel would guard 478 polling stations in five blocks of the district. Twentytwo patrolling parties have been deployed to maintain peace during the polling. About 135 polling stations have been declared sensitive and special video teams will keep a close eye on anti-social elements. District Returning Officer Malwinder Singh today said besides a heavy security force, 3,000 employees were on poll duty in the district. He said all the polling stations would be manned by staff members who had been trained in the election related work.
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Books with vulgar content make way to school libraries
Chandigarh, May 18 Language could not be baser than the one served to innocent children laced with innuendoes of the relations of a man and his wife’s younger sister typical to the rural settings of the state. In one of text book paragraphs, the “jija” is cajoling his sister-in-law saying “your pretences are killing me”. He calls her “a glass of wine” in another book and tells her that “her looks kill him” in a third book given to the school libraries. Cheap songs and write ups showing immoral values, typically associated with lewd songs playing in trucks on national highways abound in different books. “Kudi panj futti talwar” (girl is a five-feet sword on the road); “college vicch aaya patola” (our college had a head turner); “masti bhare nazaare uh dinne dekhuondi nazaare (her beauty shows me stars during the day); and “hussan phulljhaddian shehr dian kuddian (city damsels are like firecrackers) are just a few such examples. Some of the sentences in these books contain highly vulgar expressions. Such books have been distributed in Ropar and Mohali and are being supplied in Hoshiarpur district. Confirming the development, a senior official of the Education Department said the books were purchased as part of the Rs 9-crore grant, received by the department on March 28. With just three days to go before the end of the financial year, the department went in for arrangements for hurried purchases. Meanwhile, Director-General School Education (DGSE), Kahan Singh Pannu, in a letter to all the district education officers said: “Primary schools will get Rs 3,000 while middle schools will get Rs 10,000 under the scheme. Purchase your books from the Punjab State University Textbook Board or the state Languages Department”. The list of the textbooks along with telephone numbers of the officials concerned too had been communicated. The decision to buy the controversial books, however, was taken by a committee involving the DPI (Elementary) and the DEO (Mohali), it is learnt. The Tribune is also in possession of a letter from the DPI (Ajitgarh) asking children to buy knowledge imparting books published by a publishing house based in Mansa district. Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka said: “The vulgar text is a very unfortunate academic debacle. We have a special committee to pass the books. How could they overlook the contents? We have constituted a committee to look into the matter. Action will be taken against the guilty.” Maluka added: “There is a possibility that the publisher might have showed us some other books and supplied different ones. If this is the case, it is a serious offence.”
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Farmers burning wheat stubble go scot-free due to political pressure
Gurdaspur/Batala, May 18 Over the last fortnight, officials were allegedly instructed by senior SAD politicians, who were eyeing their respective vote banks, to turn a blind eye to the burning of stubble. Senior officials of this district, which has five powerful SAD leaders as 'halqa' (area) in charges of Vidhan Sabha segments they had lost during the last assembly elections, are fighting a loosing battle as far as taking punitive action against farmers burning stubble was concerned. Gurdaspur District Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha had announced a series of measures to check the menace, including severance of their power supply connections, but the results are not forthcoming as hazardous smoke could be seen billowing out from every third field in the region. “It seemed Gurdaspur was going up in flames. However, we could not take action as our hands were tied to our backs following pressure from senior SAD politicians,” said an official on the condition of anonymity. In Batala and Gurdaspur districts, not even a single case has been registered against the erring farmers in the past fortnight. Officials said whenever the police initiated action, they received a call from senior Akali leaders following which they had to take a lenient view. Trikha said neither he nor his officials were under any political pressure. However, a drive on the Gurdaspur-Batala and Gurdaspur-Pathankot roads belied his claims. The situation is particularly bad in the Dera Baba Nanak area.
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Farmers protest case against leaders
Amritsar, May 18 Various farmer organisations under the patronage of the Kisan Sangarsh Committee
(KSC) blocked the railway lines at the Jandiala Guru Railway Station, about 20 km from Amritsar, at about 4 pm. As the Tarn Taran railway line does not have the facility of power, diesel engines were pressed in to cover up for the loss, which increased the cost of travel.
Ferozepur Division Railway Manager Naresh Chander Goel said five trains were routed through the Amritsar-Tarn Taran-Goindwal Sahib route to reach
Beas. KSC leader Satnam Singh Pannu said various farmer
organisations, including the Bharitya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugraha) and the Kirti Kisan Union, had extended their support for the agitation. He said following the death of ASI Kulbir Singh on March 6, the police had registered an FIR against their 44 leaders. Of these, 11 had been locked up in the jail, he said.
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US court dismisses case against Badal
Chandigarh, May 18 The case was filed by a New York-based human rights organisation, Sikhs for Justice, SAD (Amritsar) led by Simranjeet Singh Mann and others. The case was filed on August 8, 2012, when the Chief Minister was on a visit to Wisconsin to mourn the death of seven innocent Sikhs in a shootout tragedy. A spokesperson for the Chief Minister’s office said District Judge Lynn Adelman pronounced the judgement on Friday. — TNS
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PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa today made an appeal to the electorate of Punjab to "save the democratic institutions by voting in support of the Congress in large numbers and give a befitting reply to the SAD-BJP alliance which is out to break these institutions".
Keeping in view the poll-related violence in other districts of the state, elaborate security arrangements have been made in the district for smooth conduct of the zila parishad and block samiti elections tomorrow.
About 1,514 police personnel would guard 478 polling stations in five blocks of the district. Twentytwo patrolling parties have been deployed to maintain peace during the polling.
