B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

After Gidderbaha robbery, banks beef up security
Bathinda, May 29
Apart from the mandatory installation of Close Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) inside the banks and frequent change of vehicles used to transport cash, the banks in the region have decided to install CCTVs on the gates also to keep an eye on persons seen outside frequently.

CCTV cameras at Barnala bus stand
Barnala, May 29
To ensure the security and safety of the passengers, as many as 42 CCTV cameras have been installed on the premises of main bus stand here.

Call for zone-wise elections to Bar Council
Moga, May 29
A young lawyer Sunil Garg, former president of the Moga District Bar Association, has advocated that elections for the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana High Court should be held zone-wise so as to give more representation to the far-flung areas of Punjab and Haryana in the Bar Council, the supreme statutory and deliberative assembly of lawyers.

Suicide bid by woman cop
Bathinda, May 29
A woman cop, who was allegedly found at the quarters of a male cop at Guru Ki Nagri and later placed under suspension by the police department, today tried to commit suicide by consuming celphos tablets.

Police PRO’s daughter shines in class XII exams
Muktsar, May 29
Avneet Kaur, daughter of Muktsar police’s public relations officer, ASI Jagsir Singh, has brought laurels to Bhai Mastan Singh Public School, Muktsar and to her family after securing the first position in district in CBSE class XII results declared yesterday.

Cops clueless in Dalit girl kidnapping case
Moga, May 29
Three weeks after a 17-year- old Dalit girl was allegedly kidnapped by a youth and his four family members while returning from school at Khosa Randhir village in the district, the local police has so far failed to recover her.

Defamation case: Warrants against Punjabi film actors
Sangrur, May 29
In a defamation case filed against the team of Punjabi film "Taur Mittran Di", non-bailable warrants of arrest have been issued against actor and producer Jimmy Shergill, actors Amarinder Gill, Ranvijay Singh, Surveen Chawla and eight others.

Lawyers still on strike in Mansa
Bathinda, May 29
Lawyers at Mansa, Budhlada and Sardulgarh continued their strike for the third today in protest against a case registered against a senior advocate for allegedly outraging the modesty of a women on board a bus few days ago.

Horse breeders delighted over nod to draft bill on Punjab Horse Race Act
Muktsar, May 29
Yesterday's approval of Punjab cabinet to the draft bill for the enactment of Punjab Horse Race (Regulation & Management) Act, 2013 to provide for setting up of race courses has brought smiles on the faces of horse breeders in state, a majority of whom belong to Muktsar and nearby areas.

After Gidderbaha robbery, banks beef up security
Jupinderjit Singh/TNS

Bathinda, May 29
Apart from the mandatory installation of Close Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) inside the banks and frequent change of vehicles used to transport cash, the banks in the region have decided to install CCTVs on the gates also to keep an eye on persons seen outside frequently.

The branches of the State Bank of India (SBI) have already initiated the process in the wake of Rs 49 lakh robbery from the Gidderbaha branch of the bank on May 22.

The Muktsar police had busted the gang behind the crime yesterday and recovered Rs 33.5 lakhs.

Learning from the mistake of using the same vehicle (Maruti Alto car) for transporting the cash and no check on one of the accused, Nanak Singh, who did a recce of the bank and the movement of employees and vehicles by lurking outside the bank, the SBoP management has decided to install CCTVs outside, sensitise bank managers to strictly follow the security system laid down by the RBI, ensure alertness of the guard and follow the instructions of the police for avoiding such incidents.

Apart from the Gidderbaha robbery, the gang had looted a person from outside the Punjab and Sind Bank, Malout branch, also in a similar fashion on May 13.

SP Shrimali, Deputy General Manager, Bathinda Zone, while thanking the Muktsar cops for solving the Gidderbaha bank robbery case, said they are hoping to install the CCTVs outside the banks also.

He said the police had given fresh instruction to step up the security of the banks, employees and the vehicles used for transporting cash which were being followed. "Apart from that, we have already set a new security system in motion in all the 170 branches of our bank in Bathinda zone."

Shrimali said the arrest of the accused has filled the employees and bank customers with a sense of confidence that criminals looting them shall not go scot-free. He hoped the police will arrest the remaining three accused and recover the remaining Rs 15.5 lakh from them.

IG, Bathinda Zone, Nirmal Singh Dhillon said special instructions have been passed to all the banks regarding safety measures to be adopted for the transfer of cash, duty of the security guard, CCTVs and other requirements.

CCTV cameras at Barnala bus stand
Tribune News Service

Barnala, May 29
To ensure the security and safety of the passengers, as many as 42 CCTV cameras have been installed on the premises of main bus stand here.

The executive officer (EO) of the Barnala Improvement Trust, Dayal Chand Garg said these 42 CCTV cameras had been installed on the direction of chairperson of the Trust-cum-deputy commissioner Dr Indu Malhotra. An amount of Rs 6.25 lakh had been spent on the installation of the cameras by the Improvement Trust so far, he added.

The EO said the cameras had already started working which would function round-the-clock. He said the control of these cameras would remain in the hands of the staff of the police post, located at the bus stand here. He said due to the presence of the cameras, anyone involved in any type of crime or mischief would be nabbed easily.

The EO said security guards had also been posted at the bus stand to prevent all types of vehicles, barring buses, from entering the bus stand.

Call for zone-wise elections to Bar Council

Moga, May 29
A young lawyer Sunil Garg, former president of the Moga District Bar Association, has advocated that elections for the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana High Court should be held zone-wise so as to give more representation to the far-flung areas of Punjab and Haryana in the Bar Council, the supreme statutory and deliberative assembly of lawyers.

After visiting at least 26 districts in two states, Garg said, “It’s easier to fight the Lok Sabha or Assembly elections but it is virtually not possible to reach out to all the lawyers for campaigning in the far-flung areas of Punjab and Haryana spread over 700 kms.”

Wherever Garg went, he spoke of ‘justice’ for the lawyers who had never got a chance to contest the elections. “I promise to bring a resolution in the Bar Council for making zones/constituencies so that equal representation can be given to lawyers in all the regions to represent their body”, he said while addressing at Moga. — TNS

Suicide bid by woman cop
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 29
A woman cop, who was allegedly found at the quarters of a male cop at Guru Ki Nagri and later placed under suspension by the police department, today tried to commit suicide by consuming celphos tablets.

She consumed the tablets and went into the grounds near DSP Gurmeet Singh Kingra's house at 9:30 pm. Kingra said he saw the girl crying bitterly and asked his subordinates to summon her.

"I asked her the reason for crying but she could not answer. I felt something was wrong and directed my subordinates to take her to the Civil Hospital," said Kingra.

The woman cop was first taken to the Civil Hospital and then referred to a private hospital where she is currently undergoing treatment.

The DSP said the cause behind the suicide bid would be ascertained when the girl is in a position to talk and give her statement.

Police PRO’s daughter shines in class XII exams
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, May 29
Avneet Kaur, daughter of Muktsar police’s public relations officer, ASI Jagsir Singh, has brought laurels to Bhai Mastan Singh Public School, Muktsar and to her family after securing the first position in district in CBSE class XII results declared yesterday.

She has got 95.6 per cent marks in Medical stream.

The girl, who wants to become a doctor, has got 98 marks in chemistry, 96 in biology, 95 in English, 96 in physical education and 93 in physics.

She gave the credit of her success to her parents and teachers. Her mother is a teacher.

Her success has come as a morale booster for a region that is synomymous with backwardness and discrimination towards the womenfolk.

Cops clueless in Dalit girl kidnapping case
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, May 29
Three weeks after a 17-year- old Dalit girl was allegedly kidnapped by a youth and his four family members while returning from school at Khosa Randhir village in the district, the local police has so far failed to recover her.

Not only this, the FIR was registered by the police on Tuesday after a delay of 20 days. The SHO of Kot-ise-Khan police station, Jasvir Singh, who is investigating the case, confirmed that one Jaswinder Singh, a resident of the same village along with his four family members, had kidnapped the girl on May 8.

The girl's father stated in his complaint that Jaswinder had allured his daughter on the pretext of marriage and abducted her.

In reply to a question, however, the SHO maintained that the parents of the girl were not sure that the girl had been kidnapped and they were looking for her. She often used to visit her relatives. After having confirmed that she was not with any of their relatives, a complaint for lodging a criminal case was made to the police due to which the FIR was delayed, the SHO said.

“I have set up special teams to recover the girl and raids are also being carried out on a regular basis at the possible hideouts of the culprits to arrest them. I hope we will soon recover the girl and nab the culprits,” the SHO added.

SSP Surjit Singh Grewal could not be contacted as he was on leave.

Defamation case: Warrants against Punjabi film actors
Tribune News Service

Sangrur, May 29
In a defamation case filed against the team of Punjabi film "Taur Mittran Di", non-bailable warrants of arrest have been issued against actor and producer Jimmy Shergill, actors Amarinder Gill, Ranvijay Singh, Surveen Chawla and eight others.

The warrants were issued by Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Moonak, Harsimranjit Singh, on a complaint filed by Arpinder Singh Sidhu in September last year, alleging that in the film, defamatory dialogues had been used against the lawyer community.

Others named in the case are actor Amita Pathak, co-producer Sunil, production head Kailash Jadhav, executive producer John Cherain, associate director Amit Prashar, editor Manish More, writer Dheeraj Rattan and director Navaniat Singh.

Harinder Lally, counsel for the complainant, said on April 9, the court had issued bailable warrants for May 28 against all the 12 persons against whom the defamation suit had been filed.

He stated before the court that all the accused were avoiding the service of bailable warrants, so non-bailable warrants of arrest be issued to secure their presence. The court observed in order to speed up their summoning and procure their presence, let the accused be summoned through non-bailable warrant of arrest for July 7.

Lawyers still on strike in Mansa
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 29
Lawyers at Mansa, Budhlada and Sardulgarh continued their strike for the third today in protest against a case registered against a senior advocate for allegedly outraging the modesty of a women on board a bus few days ago.

Omkar Singh Mittal, spokesperson of the Mansa Bar Association, said the advocates of the Bar Association took out a protest march through the city seeking immediate cancellation of the FIR and suspension of the Jhunir police station SHO for for the registration of what they said was a false case.

However, police sources said the case was registered on the complaint of the woman, who had called the women helpline while traveling in the bus. Besides, police officials said there were independent witnesses to the incident also.

Mansa Bar Association president Gurpreet Singh Sidhu and secretary Gurikbal Singh Manshaia said the lawyers will remain on strike till their demands were met with. They said the agitation will be intensified and a state-wide agitation may be launched soon.

Horse breeders delighted over nod to draft bill on Punjab Horse Race Act
Archit Watts/TNS

Muktsar, May 29
Yesterday's approval of Punjab cabinet to the draft bill for the enactment of Punjab Horse Race (Regulation & Management) Act, 2013 to provide for setting up of race courses has brought smiles on the faces of horse breeders in state, a majority of whom belong to Muktsar and nearby areas.

In the draft bill, the government has proposed the setting up, management and operation of race courses, betting activities and intermediaries involved and also for licensing, regulation, control and management of horse races on race courses.

Tegbir Singh Brar, son of MLA Muktsar Karanbir Kaur Brar, who owns Dashmesh Stud Farm at Sarainaga village in Muktsar, said, “I have been involved in the move to set up a racecourse in the state since 2006. The Punjab cabinet has taken a huge first step by approving a draft bill to start racing in the state and one hopes that stakeholders in the sport are involved in the process of giving the bill its final structure before it is made a law.”“The setting up of a track in Punjab will be a huge fillip to the thoroughbred horse breeding industry, contrary to popular belief that racing is an elitist sport it is actually an industry that is very labour intensive and connected directly with farming/agriculture and animal husbandry,” he added.

Similarly, Paramjit Singh ‘Billu’ Sidhu of Muktsar, who also owns a stud farm, said, “It will be beneficial for the state government as well as for the stud farm owners. If the government allows betting, it will earn huge taxes and the stud farm owners will get business through it. Setting up a racecourse will also get many more to set up stud farms thus diversifying from traditional agriculture.”

He further said, “The race course will be beneficial, only if the betting will be allowed. Betting is not illegal. In horse races, every rupee bet is done through a legal channel.”

Currently, the stud farm owners have to go to sell their stock in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Mysore, Chennai, Ooty and Delhi. It may be mentioned here that Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal has keen interest in horses and also owns some.