Bathinda, May 24
The ordeal does not seem to be over for the headmaster who was earlier booked for insulting the District Education Officer (Elementary) who is the wife of the MLA from Bathinda (Rural) constituency.

SHO, Civil Lines, U. Cee Chawla today said a resident of Kalianwali had lodged a complaint accusing the headmaster of allegedly taking Rs 1.5 lakh for providing job.

The headmaster, Labh Singh, was earlier booked for entering into heated arguments and maligning the image of DEO (Elementary) Amarjeet Kaur, wife of Bathinda (Rural) MLA, Darshan Singh Kotfatta.

Labh Singh was deployed as headmaster at Government High School in Giana village. He was accused of barging into the office of the DEO at the District Administrative Complex, Bathinda, and distributing copies of his police complaint with objectionable remarks against the DEO. Labh Singh had accused the DEO of not attesting the certificates of his wife.

He was booked on April 11 this year under sections 353 of the IPC (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), section 186 of the IPC (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), section 506 of the IPC (criminal intimidation) and section 509 of the IPC (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman). The case was registered against the headmaster at the Civil Lines police station. The headmaster had later retracted his statement and said he was mentally upset at that time.

DEO Amarjeet Kaur told TNS that the headmaster has already been suspended by the department and has spent a few days in jail.

"The Education Minister has sought details of certificates belonging to him and his wife which would be minutely scanned by the department," Amarjeet Kaur said. She added that apart from suspected fake certificates, the headmaster also seems to have obtained his "physically unfit" certificate on flimsy grounds, which too would be scrutinised.

Cops at the court complex police post said the headmaster had not turned up to get back his belongings including mobile phone, cash and other items seized during his arrest.

Earlier, a police team comprising SP Narinder from Muktsar, Bathinda ASP Alka Meena, DSP Darshan Singh from Gidderbaha and DSP (D) Ranjeet Singh, posted at Bathinda, looked into the case and removed the charges that had been levelled under the SC/ST Act.

Bathinda, May 24
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), New Delhi, has set July 19 as the next date of hearing in the Solid Waste Management and Treatment Plant case.

It is learnt that during today’s hearing, the NGT pulled up the municipal commissioner, Uma Shankar Gupta, for choosing a wrong place for setting up the plant, which is located on the Bathinda-Mansa road.

The Tribunal also directed the commissioner to send a detailed reply to a questionnaire given by the NGT during the last hearing held on April 29. The NGT had directed the member secretary of the State-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), the member secretary of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and the secretary of science, technology and environment and a representative of the petitioners to form a committee and look into the merits and demerits of the site, to give a timeframe within which the Solid Waste Treatment Plant will start complete and optimum functioning and to fix a time frame needed for establishment and commissioning of the segregation and processing plant at the site.

The committee had also been directed to list out the scientific method required to be adopted by the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), for collection and disposal of solid waste in accordance with the established norms. The committee is also to state as to how the fluorescent tubes and CFLs will be disposed of.

The counsel of the petitioners, Guriqbal Singh Chahal, challenged the BMC's clearance to the plant stating that the boundary wall of the Housefed Colony is at a distance of 250 metre from the dumping site, Nachhatar Nagar is 175 metre away, Guru Ram Dass Nagar is located at a distance of 225 metre while Bhai Matti Dass Nagar is 375 metre away from the dumping site.

Apart from the residential areas, the Army’s ammunition depot is located at a distance of a little more than a km and open water storage tanks of the water works are situated about 200 metre away.

He also pointed out that the Bathinda distributary, water of which was used for irrigation and drinking purposes, was running at a distance of 50-60 feet from the dumping site. He added that instead of showing the Air Force Station (AFS), Bhisiana, as the nearest airport, the airport at Amritsar was shown as the nearest airport to the plant.

When contacted, municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta, who was on his way back from Delhi, said he had submitted the details of the measures that the MCB was taking to mitigate the effect of the plant on the environment. “The Tribunal has now asked us to file an affidavit stating the details of the Solid Waste Treatment Plant, what will be its components, how will the plant process the waste, etc. We will file the affidavit within the time frame set for us,” he said.

He claimed that as per the rules, any place which was being used for dumping waste for five or more years could be further developed for setting up a waste treatment facility.

Brushing aside the arguments of the opposing counsel that the MCB flouted the rule that no residential area or a water body should be within 500 metre radius of such a treatment plant, he said, “The waste is being dumped at the site for the past 30 years. Many of the residential colonies around it developed much later. No matter which place is chosen for dumping the waste, residential areas are bound to develop around it over the years.”

I have submitted the details of the measures that the MCB was taking to mitigate the effect of the plant on the environment. The Tribunal has now asked us to file an affidavit stating the details of the Solid Waste Treatment Plant, what will be its components, how will the plant process the waste, etc. We will file the affidavit within the time frame set for us.
— Uma Shankar Gupta, Municipal Commissioner

Bathinda, May 24
The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Bathinda police booked Ritesh Kumar, owner of Birbal Das Firm, 32-B New Mandi, Hanumangarh, (Rajasthan) for duping a Bathinda resident of guar worth Rs 1.80 crore.

In a complaint to the police, Rajesh Goyal, a resident of the Bhagu road, Bathinda, said he had stored nearly 600 quintal of guar in the store of the accused in Rajasthan.

The guar was purchased at a price of Rs 3,000 per quintal in May 2011. Later, the guar price shot up to Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per quintal during the last months of 2012.

As the prices skyrocketed, the complainant asked the store owner to sell the stored material so that he could make a huge profit but the store owner refused to hand over guar to the complainant and claimed that the latter had stored wheat instead of guar.

The store owner refused to hand over the money or the guar to the complainant and offered wheat of the same quantity. The complainant said the wheat prices had plummeted and taking back wheat instead of guar would have lead to a loss to the tune of Rs 6 to 7 lakh.

The officials of the EOW after scrutinising the records of both the parties found that the store owner did not pay the increased amount on guar.

The officials investigating the matter said such business depended upon the honesty of both the sides. 

Bathinda, May 24
Two police constables, including a female, were suspended today after some residents objected to their "meeting" at a rented accommodation in Guru Ki Nagri last evening. The female constable, however, claimed that she had come to give meals to her colleague as he was was suffering from fever . The female constable resides in a locality of Bathinda while the male constable is a native of the nearby village.

The residents raised a hue and cry last evening and created a scene when they found the both constables in the room.

They bolted the room of the constable from outside besides calling the police and the media. The residents blamed the young policemen of bringing a bad name to the area. DSP (city) Gurmit Kingra has confirmed the suspension. 

Bathinda, May 24
Accusing the police of not listening to her repeated complaints, a woman has moved a petition in the court against domestic violence. Complainant Prabha has accused her husband of beating her and demanding dowry. Pratibha is presently residing at the Thermal Colony with her parents. She was married to Rahul, a resident of Partap Nagar, in November 2012. The woman is three-month pregnant. She alleged that the policemen at the woman police station refused to entertain her complaint and pressurised her to reach a compromise.

The woman alleged that she was abused and harassed by her husband, mother-in-law and sister-in-law. She accused that the family members were demanding Rs 2 lakh from her parents and harassing her for not spending much on the marriage. The woman alleged that situation worsened with increasing interference of her sister-in-law who was married and was residing in the nearby locality.

Rahul, victim's husband, when contacted over phone, refuted all the allegations. "We got separated due to the excessive interference of my mother-in-law. My wife had good relationship with me but due to her mother's interference the situation went out of control," Rahul said.

Rahul, a tea vendor at the local railway station, too had filed a case in the court, seeking the court's intervention to bring his wife back to his house. The hearing of the case is scheduled to take place next month. 

Bathinda, May 24
Baba Farid Senior Secondary School today conducted an interactive session with Nirvair Singh Rai, a photograper and a participant of "Mission Covershot", a programme on National Geographic Channel. Students of classes XI and XII participated in the session. A welcome note was delivered by BD Sharma, deputy director (activities), BFGI on the occasion.

During the session, Nirvair shared his views and experience at Dhaka (Bangladesh) through different videos and photographs. He also spoke to the students on creative happiness.

He motivated the students to share their views with their parents and use their free time in creative things. He said no profession or work was worthless and hard work was a must to become successful in the life.At the end of the session, he was honoured by BD Sharma and principal Baljinder Singh.

Bathinda, May 24
The Rajiv Gandhi Study Circle, Punjab, held a seminar, dedicated to democratic rights, brotherhood, social justice and the national development, on the campus of Swami Vivekanand Girls' College on Thursday. During the seminar, concern was expressed on the deteriorating fabric of society. Speakers opined that the present condition of society had pushed the country towards degradation.

They said without strengthening the educational set-up, the progress of society and the nation could not take place. —TNS

Bathinda, May 24
The police has arrested Nitin Goyal, a resident of Hazura Kapura Colony, Bathinda, for gambling. An amount of Rs 1,050 has been recovered from his possession.

A case under Sections 13-A, 3, 67 of the Gambling Act has been registered against the accused. — TNS 

Bathinda, May 24
Continuing their winning streak, Bathinda routed Ferozepur by 10 wickets in a group B match of the Punjab State Inter-District Under-19 Cricket Tournament for the Dhrove Pandove Trophy in Ferozepur today.

On day I of the match, the hosts won the toss and chose to bat first. Bathinda bowlers struck early in the match and one could see the batting lineup of Ferozepur tottering. The hosts managed to make only 100 runs in their first innings. Nikhil scored the highest, 40, for his team. Bathinda bowlers Ajay Yadav and Bhanupratap showed their bowling skills and took four and three wickets respectively. Arjun Singh and Manpreet Singh also contributed by taking one wicket each.

Bathinda’s Jashanpreet Singh remained the highest scorer of the match with 111 runs while Arjun Singh followed with 51 runs. Bathinda declared their innings at 271 runs for the loss of four wickets. Although Ferozepur started the second inning with a plan to set an unachievable target for Bathinda, the hosts could not brave the bowling aatck of Bathinda and crumbled on175 runs. Bathinda’s Bhanupratap led the bowling attack and took five wickets. Manmohan and Ajay Yadav also did the much needed damage by taking three and two wickets respectively. Bathinda needed only five runs to win the match.

Bathinda, May 24
Government High School, Chathewala, won the district-level maths quiz, which was organised at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mall road, here today.

The teams that after winning at the block-level participated in the contest The second and the third places were won by Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Chak Ruldu Singh Wala, and Government High School, Bhunder, respectively. — TNS