Jalandhar, June 8
In a major forgery unearthed in the revenue department, the Rural Police today arrested a naib tehsildar, a sales clerk and a photostat operator at sub-tehsil Lohian, a part of the Shahkot sub-division.

On a complaint by the Deputy Commissioner (DC), the three have been booked for allegedly preparing 31 bogus conveyance deeds related to government land, forging signatures of another Naib Tehsildar, not depositing the challan amount in the treasury and going to the extent of making fake "intkals" for a village falling in Moga district, not falling in the jurisdiction.

Leave aside the amount pocketed by the trio, the exact loss to the state exchequer is tremendous, as 31 persons have been illegally made owners of government lands on the basis of the registered documents.

The three arrested include Naib Tehsildar Inderjit Singh Dhanoa, a resident of Amritsar, sales clerk Angrej Singh of Shahkot and photostat operator Harwinder Singh of Miani village. They have been booked under Sections 420, 409, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471, 477-A and 120-B of the IPC in addition to section 13(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act after an investigation into the matter by SP (D) Rajinder Singh and DSP Shahkot Harpreet Singh. The DSP said all three were produced in court today and sent to police remand till June 11.

In her complaint, the DC wrote that the matter had been brought to her notice by Amarjit Singh, naib tehsildar, Lohian, who had written that ever since he resumed the charge of the post of Naib Tehsildar on May 24, 2012, it was brought to his notice that some documents under his forged signatures had been registered in sub-tehsil Lohian.

After making an inquiry, Amarjit Singh had submitted that he had submitted his preliminary report to SDM Shahkot on November 6, 2012. On the basis of report, the SDM on November 30, 2012, had asked the tehsildar Shahkot for verification of files mentioned in the list sent by naib tehsildar, Lohian.

Thereafter, there were a detailed investigation was held.

Tehsildar, Shahkot, on the basis of records and inquiries from Angrej Singh, filed a detailed report on April 4, 2013, to the SDM which showed that the transfers of government land had got effected in favour of 31 persons through registered conveyance deeds, for which there were no corresponding files available. Further, no treasury challans could be produced by the sales clerk, which indicated that the sales price had been pocketed by the accused themselves.

The 31 files pertained to the transfer of lands in Pipli, Miani, Mandala, Fatehpur Bhangwan and Mundi Kallu villages of sub-tehsil Lohian.

In yet another interesting revelation, it has been found that the accused naib tehsildar had registered nine documents in the office of the joint sub-registrar Lohian on May 2, 2012, for Paralliwal village even as it had moved to tehsil Dharamkot in Moga district since December 2011. A report of tehsildar, Shahkot, mentions that all documents were found to be bogus and have been concluded without the existence of any file.

A note by the DC mentions, “It is observed that there is a possibility of some other revenue officials and deed writers involved in the conspiracy and that a case be registered against them as well.”

Jalandhar, June 8
The city railway station has been witnessing an unprecedented rush owing to the ongoing summer vacations.

While the station witnesses a footfall of about 20,000 passengers per day on an average, during the peak season like this, passengers' prime complaints include lack of adequate benches, sheds, dirty bathrooms and a number of garbage mounds around the station, causing insanitary conditions in an already crowded station.

Sonia, a passenger waiting for her train said, "We have been waiting here for the past hour, but we do not have anything to sit on. While some seats are available to sit on further down the platform, people are not sitting there due to the lack of sheds over them. This has led to people crowding the central part of the platform."

Passenger Dhani Ram, said, "While it has only been a few months since the new bathrooms were made, their condition is already deplorable and it is a nightmare for passengers to use them."

Speaking about the garbage accumulated on the tracks, the authorities said the staff from the railway colony had specially been roped in to pick up garbage and ensure the washing of the tracks.

While on an average, 100 trains stop at the Jalandhar city railway station, as many as 50 of these are passenger trains, while the remaining are express and/or superfast trains.

Speaking about the inconvenience faced by passengers owing to the seasonal rush, assistant station master Ashok Singh Salaria said, "Given the peak season, the rush at the station is natural. However, the seating and other arrangements are all proper and as per the guidelines of the railway board. The early afternoon and evening hours witness a lot of rush, but as far as cleanliness is concerned, a platform or its periphery can't be cleaned amid the crowds. A platform can only be cleaned once it is relatively less populated."

Speaking of any special ticket counters to cope with the rush, he said, "We have five counters at the station and a number of JTB counters across the city. In addition, many travel agents have also been nominated for booking." 

Jalandhar, June 8
Two women lost their gold earrings in two snatching incidents here this morning. Both incidents occurred in a gap of half an hour and the snatchers in both cases reportedly used Pulsar bikes. One of the complainants, Balbir Kaur, of Sarabha Nagar, said she was returning home after fetching milk at 7.30 am when two bikers, wearing caps, snatched her gold earrings at gunpoint.

The matter was reported at the Division Number 8 police station. Inspector Kewal Krishan said no arrests had been made so far.

In the second snatching incident reported today at the Basti Bawa Khel police, complainant Avinash Rani of New Rattan Nagar said she was returning from her morning walk when two masked men intercepted her near a factory and took off her earrings.

In another episode, an elderly man was beaten up by miscreants, leaving him injured on 120 Feet Road around noon today. The miscreants took away his bicycle and a mobile phone.

Karnail Singh of Shahkot, who serves at a gurdwara at Guru Ravi Dass Chowk, was taken to the Civil Hospital for treatment by the Division Number 5 policemen.

Jalandhar, June 8
The locker operators of Punjab and Sind Bank, Reru branch, who had lost their valuables on January 19, organised a big protest outside the bank premises today.

Demanding compensation for the laxity on part of the bank, the agitators did not let the bank staff discharge any services this morning for two hours from 9.30 am to 11.30 am. It was after an assurance by the assistant zonal manager of the bank, MS Tuli, that the protesting locker operators lifted their dharna. The manager told them to wait till July 1, as there had been some procedural delays owing to the retirement of the board of directors and the transfer of previous zonal manager SS Kalra.

Vikram Singh Khaira, leading the protest, said they had been given today’s date for the grant of compensation. “Since there seemed no such move on part of the bank, we decided to lodge our protest. Earlier too, we had been told to wait till May 3. We will now be coming back on July 1. If they again extend the date, we will lodge the protest day through,” he said, adding that as many as 38 families had lost their valuables, including gold jewellery.

On January 19, miscreants had broken open 38 lockers and decamped with valuables from the bank. The locker operators have been agitating against the lack of provisions at the bank, including no night security guards, inoperative theft alarms and no CCTV cameras.

Jalandhar, June 8
The students of Ivy World School today showcased their talent in a cultural bonanza. They shared their experiences about how the Rajasthan Royals Skills Clinic helped them change their attitude and brought sportsmanship in them.

Jalandhar, June 8
Punjab girls defeated Kerala 6-5 and Delhi boys beat Punjab 18-10 in the 31st Junior National Softball Championship-2013 which ended here today.

The chief guest of the closing ceremony, LPU chancellor Ashok Mittal, gave away the winner and runner-up trophies, medals, certificates and prizes to the players, officials, coordinators and other participants.

Chairman, Softball Association of India, Roop Lal Sharma, secretary general, Dr Pravin Anaokar, and Punjab Softball Association secretary general PN Passi were also present on the occasion. Nearly 700 players from 46 teams of boys and girls, 100 coaches, 50 members of the softball associations and 50 other officials from across India were also present on the occasion.

Chief coach of the Indian softball team Milind Darp from Indore said, “The Softball Association of India (SBAI) is recognised by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. The body is passionately nurturing the game not only at the national level but internationally also.”

Jalandhar, June 8
In the just declared results of the first semester of LL.B. (3 year course) and LL.B. (5 year course) of Guru Nanak Dev University, the students of St Soldier Law College won the top positions.

In the three-year LLB course, Anjali Chauhan (384 marks), Pankaj (369 marks) and Surinder (361) bagged first, second and third positions respectively. —TNS