Jalandhar, May 27
The CIA staff today arrested four persons for allegedly duping people by offering them help in getting jobs with the Indian Railways.

All four were arrested at a naka at Kapurthala Chowk and booked under Sections 420, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC at the Division Number 2 police station.

The police has also seized fake copies of appointment letters, medical certificates, laptop, printer and Mahindra car (PB-08-CG-9209) used by the accused.

Those arrested are Darshan Singh and Jodha Singh of Gurdaspur, Malkiat Singh of Amritsar and Manoj Kumar of Pathankot.

The ACP (Crime), Jatinder Singh Mand, said the gang had been operating in various districts targeting applicants in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana and Samrala. He said there also was a possibility of the gang having already made a quick buck to the tune of Rs 1 crore from the applicants. The ACP also did not rule out the possibility of the network of the gang in other states.

Apeejay School students celebrate their success after the declaration of the results of Class XII CBSE exams in Jalandhar on Monday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh

Jalandhar, May 27
Apeejay students topped the district by scoring 97 per cent marks in the commerce stream in the Class XII CBSE examinations, results of which were declared today.

Roop Kunwar Singh and Anurag Batra (97 per cent each) of Apeejay School secured the highest marks in commerce in the district.

Campuses were marked with a lot of cheer and happiness across the district as students picked up fellow toppers on shoulders, shouted, screamed and congratulated each other.

In the commerce stream, Simreet Monga of Innocent Hearts School secured 96. 4 per cent, while Ayush Dhir of Apeejay School, Somali Vij of Police DAV Public School and Naina of Shiv Jyoti Public School, secured 96.2 per cent each.

In the medical stream, Umesh Arora, student of MGN Public School, and Anmol Sanjay Chabra of Delhi Public School got 96.6 per cent marks each. Rashika Gupta and Manpreet Kaur came next by securing over 95 per cent marks.

In the non-medical stream, Rudatadeep Kaur of MGN Public School and Shivam Arora of Delhi Public School secured 96.2 per cent each. Surbhi Singla of Delhi Public School and Sumant Ahuja of MGN Public School got 96 per cent each.

The highest number of students to score 100 per cent in various subjects were from Innocent hearts School, where 18 students hit a 100 per cent mark in various subjects. Five students of Police DAV School hit a perfect 100.

Many of the schools saw a huge number of students scoring above 90 per cent marks.

As many as 42 students of Innocent Hearts School, 40 students of MGN Public School, 18 of Delhi Public School and 17 students of Police DAV School scored above 90 per cent marks in various streams.

Jalandhar, May 27
The Punjab Roadways has been incurring losses to the tune of crores of rupees for the past over a month with as many as 2,300 contractual employees remaining on strike and 300 buses off roads.

In the two Jalandhar depots alone, as many as 117 out of a total fleet of 232 buses have not been plying with the employees, including drivers and conductors, sitting on a dharna demanding regularisation of their services.

Only 40 out of the 118 buses of the Jalandhar-I depot have been plying on roads as only 30 per cent of the staff has been turning up for duty. The Jalandhar-II depot is somewhat better off with 75 of 114 buses plying.

After roadways staff held a massive rally this morning, roadways officials held a press conference in the evening to convey their side of the story. Parneet Minhas, GM, Roadways, Jalandhar-II, said it was a statewide problem. “We have interacted with the staff and tried to convince them that it was not feasible to regularise them straightaway. We will have to follow proper selection process and give a fair chance to everyone. We of course can give them more preference whenever the procedure is to be followed,” he said.

He added that though there were 2,900 contractual employees, a group of nearly 600 such employees had resumed duties and efforts were on to bring the remaining staff on duty.

Jalandhar, May 27
Rain in the early hours today provided some relief to the residents in the city and surrounding areas from extensive heatwave lashing the region for the last several days.

According to the Meteorological Department, 0.1 cm rain was recorded in the city today. The rain made the weather pleasant and cool breeze kept on blowing throughout the day following early-hour showers.

The rain brought down the maximum temperature to 36.9 degree Celsius whereas the minimum temperature was recorded at 22.8 degree Celsius.

The Meteorological Department forecast that the relief from the extreme heat was just temporarily as the maximum temperature was likely to increase on Tuesday.

Jalandhar, May 27
It was an unexpected surprise for Roop Kunwar Singh and Anurag Batra Apeejay School students, who became the highest scorers in the district in Class XII CBSE exams with 97 per cent marks.

While Roop hasn't even decided what he will do next, Anurag has his eyes set on becoming a Chartered Accountant.

While Apeejay School saw over 30 students making it to the top, the two students were seen cheering along with their classmates, who carried Roop around on their shoulders.

Surprised, pleasantly, with his performance, Roop said he hadn't thought he would figure among the highest scorers of the district. His father Manwinder Pal Singh and mother Arvind Kaur, both being managers in an insurance firm, commerce, it seems came naturally to him, but he says, "I just know I am good with numbers. I might be ambitious, but not passionate about studies. So the result thrilled me."

Laid back and fun loving, Roop, who smirked when mentioned the jobs like the civil services and the like, says, "I will never be able to work under someone. So I am a bit confused about my profession. I will be utilising this time to figure out what I am going to do next."

Crediting his parents and wonderful teachers for his success and sharing his mantra for success, Roop said, "Uniform studies throughout the year work best. I always knew what I have to study and never overdid it. I gues that is what worked for me."

Anurag on the other hand is the one who swears by hard work. Serious about studies, Anurag said, "You can't do both 'masti' and get great marks. Somewhere letting go of fun is important. I studied hard, for about seven to eight hours a day. Took tuitions and cleared my basic concepts and here I am today."

Anurag's father Umesh Batra is a businessman and mother Vandana Batra is a homemaker. He credits both parents and teachers for his success. "My grandmother also motivated me a lot," he adds.

While he will be appearing for his CA entrance on June 16, the topper tag has come in as a much needed future kick for his career.

His message for other students: "Study hard."

Jalandhar, May 27
The representatives of the Vayapar Sena submitted separate memorandums to Punjab Local Bodies Minister Bhagat Chunni Lal and Chief Parliamentary Secretary for Cooperation Krishan Dev Bhandari regarding various industry-related issues on Monday.

Stating that a huge amount of VAT of the businessmen is pending with the state government, Vayapar Sena president Ravindra Dhir demanded that "the Punjab Government should reduce VAT from between 6 per cent and 14.5 per cent to 1 per cent."

Dhir demanded that the new target fixed for ETOs in the enforcement wing should be immediately withdrawn as it would have adverse effect on the business community. According to the new target, each ETO in the enforcement wing has been asked to impose monthly penalty of at least Rs 25 lakh on the businessmen, he added.

Dhir said, "Bhagat Chunni Lal said he would take up the issue at proper platform, whereas Bhandari said he would raise the matter with senior state leadership of the BJP."

Jalandhar, May 27
Seeking regularisation of their jobs, members of the Contract Multi-purpose Health Workers' Union (Female), Punjab, held a protest march against the Punjab Government here today.

Scores of members of the union, who reached the city from across the district, assembled at the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall early this morning and held a meeting. Later, while holding banners and placards, they marched towards the office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) where they handed over a memorandum of their demands to the Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Praneet Bhardwaj.

Talking to the Tribune, the general secretary of the union, Sarbjit Kaur, said the Punjab Health Department had 1,154 vacant regular posts while 2,310 contractual health workers (135 in Jalandhar alone) were working against the said posts for a long time now. The union sought regularisation of the contractual staff.

Notably, the Central government had been providing 85 per cent of the amount spent on their salaries while the state government had to bear the remaining 15 per cent only, she revealed.

The protesters added that members of the union had met the Punjab Chief Minister at Chandigarh on May 4 and the CM had promised them that the services of the contractual staff would be regularised. The union threatened to intensify the agitation in case the government did not regularise the contractual staff working in the Health Department.

Jalandhar, May 27
The weekly Apni Mandi is causing traffic bottlenecks on the busy Guru Nanak Pura road, linking the Laddowali road with the GT Road at Chuggitti.

While the motorists have been grappling with the problem for past many years, the Jalandhar Market Committee officials have turned a blind eye to it.

The waste, left on the road by vendors, adds to the woes of the motorists as it invites stray cattle thereby increasing the risk of road accidents.

Vegetable sellers set up their temporary establishments early in the morning which eats away almost half of the road's width.

Besides, haphazard parking of vehicles by vendors and customers alike aggravates the traffic problem.

The problem turns acute in the evening when customers flock to the market in huge numbers. Crossing the stretch becomes a tough task then.

The area does not have a proper drainage system. Light showers are enough to convert the stretch into a pool.

Residents of the area said there was no doubt that the mandi was of a great benefit to them but its poor maintenance was what that bothered them.

When contacted, the secretary of the Market Committee, Jalandhar, Jaspal Singh Gill, said he would take up the issues with members of a committee of vendors tomorrow. “The problems of parking and dumping of solid waste along the road is not tolerable. It would be sorted out shortly," Gill said.

Jalandhar, May 27
Umesh Arora, a student of the MGN Public School, and Anmol Sanjay Chabra of the Delhi Public School, both of whom scored 96.6 per cent marks in the medical stream of the Class XII exams conducted by the CBSE, belong to family of doctors.

With their both parents in medical profession, it appears that Umesh and Anmol always had it in them.

Talking to The Tribune, Umesh said, "I was expecting good results but had not thought I would score over 95 per cent. I am very happy."

Ask him about the secret of his success and he says his teachers from the MGN, especially his music teacher Amarjeet, who motivated him to study hard.

An aspiring musician-cum-actor, Umesh relied on a six-hour study schedule. "I studied mostly at night as it is easy to concentrate in quiet surroundings," he said.

However, he adds, "The number of hours that one spends on studies is never a criteria for getting good marks. Concentration and determination that plays a major role in a person's success."

"I have played a lot too. No matter how hard one studies, never miss out on the essential element of having fun," he shared, adding that he was lucky to have parents (Dr Vinod and Dr Neeta Arora) who made things easier for him.

Umesh is done with an entrance test and is preparing for another. He aims at making it to MBBS but does not want to leave acting and music.

Anmol Sanjay Chabra has almost similar notes to share. Studying hard in the morning worked for him. Though he is equally close to his father Dr Sanjay Chabra and mother Dr Shelly Chabra, he owes more to her mother as far as his success in CBSE exams is concerned. "She shaped her life according to mine. She used to wake up as and when I did. She provided me with everything necessary for my studies and has been doing it for years. I think she has worked harder than I did on my studies. I will always be thankful to her," Anmol shares.

While Anmol has always been a topper, he detests being a bookworm and doesn't advise his juniors to getting hooked to books.

"Focusing on the competition, studying as per requirement and a bit smartness would see one thorough in exams," he quips.

Anmol hopes he would do well and earn good ranks in national and state-level competitive exams.