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New Chandigarh is SAD creation
for self-benefit, claims Bajwa
Ropar revenue, agri depts differ on loss due to flood
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Div Commissioners to decide claims of riot-hit victims
Despite protests, govt may go ahead with e-trip
BARC to set up demo
plants to process crops
Traders seek better facilities at Attari
Work on Batalvi auditorium stalled
Board for teachers’ recruitment gets Badal’s approval
Govt to build four new jails
Another row erupts after convict Sarabjit’s death
Patiala govt colleges set for facelift
Woman accuses NRI of bigamy, seeks action
Make use of RTI: BJP Yuva morcha chief
Regularisation of illegal colonies evokes poor response
Implementation of Anti-Tobacco Act
PPSC Scam
Man gets life term for killing girlfriend
Premium can't be forfeited once lease cancellation is set aside: HC
Ludhiana Kidnapping
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New Chandigarh is SAD creation
for self-benefit, claims Bajwa
Phagwara, July 24 “Punjab has the sole right over Chandigarh and no other state enjoys that privilege,” said Bajwa, who was here to interact with party workers as part of the state Congress’ mass contact programme. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had recently commented that as Punjab had founded 'New Chandigarh', it should part ways with the original Chandigarh. Bajwa said as far as New Chandigarh was concerned, only 1,000 of the 15,000 acres of Mullanpur land could be sold or utilised so far. “The place is being branded as New Chandigarh as the first family of Punjab (read the Badals) owns land there… The SAD-BJP government aims to entrap NRIs who yearn to have a home in and around Chandigarh,” he said. The PCC president also criticised Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s silence over the alleged large-scale wrongdoings going on at Punjab Technical University (PTU), Jalandhar. “We vow we won’t sit idle till the Vice Chancellor Dr Rajnish Arora is removed. He is indulging in favouritism. Why is Badal not acting on the Vigilance’s report on mismanagement at the university,” he said. Lashing out at the SAD-BJP government for “deceiving” people, he asserted the ruling combine had promised not to levy any new tax this year. “But within a few months of the state budget, they have proposed to burden the state people with new taxes worth around Rs 5,000 crore. Why were these taxes not proposed in the budget.” He alleged the “ill-conceived” scheme to regularise illegal colonies was in fact a plan to fleece the colonisers and the common people and a ploy to raise Rs 100-150 crore. “Why did they allow mushrooming of illegal colonies at the first place? In fact, the SAD-BJP leaders of different cities were hand in glove with colonisers at the time of development of such colonies. Now when people have constructed their houses in such areas, they are being arm-twisted to cough up money for no valid reason. Interestingly, the government has been clearing house plans in such colonies and even giving power, sewerage and water connections for years. Moreover, most of people who even deposited development charges have come to know all of a sudden that their houses fall in illegal colonies. It is a gimmick to collect money before elections,” he said, demanding the government officials who allowed mushrooming of such colonies be taken to task. About reports that his proposed list of Congress office-bearers had been rejected by AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Bajwa said it was a “rumour that generated from the Akali Dal’s ‘propoganda machinery’”. Bajwa also opposed the SAD-BJP government’s decision to increase the retirement age of government employees to 60 years and described it a “betrayal” with the unemployed educated youth. “The decision will also block promotions of thousands of employees.” Among others who spoke on the occasion were Union Minister of State for Health Santosh Chaudhary, PCC vice-president Tarlochan Singh Soondh and party spokesman Sukhpal Singh
Khaira.
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Ropar revenue, agri depts differ on loss due to flood
Ropar, July 24 Ironically, officials of the revenue department have submitted a report to Ropar Deputy Commissioner PK Agrawal stating that no loss of crops was reported due to the flood. On the contrary, the officials feel that the flood has proved to be a boon for the farmers. Ropar Deputy Commissioner PK Agrawal said the report submitted by the revenue department from the area had stated that there was no loss to the crops in the area due to flood on July 19. “The patwaris said the farmers had gained due to the flood as there was paddy in almost all the fields and the accumulation of flood water would ultimately prove beneficial for the crop,” said Agrawal. On the other hand, Ropar chief agriculture officer Dr Lakhwinder Singh said the maize crop standing on nearly 2,500 acres of land had been completely destroyed due to the flood. There was nearly 2,400 acres of land under the maize crop in Mehndli Kalan and Chandpur villages. Half of the crop there was washed out and the remaining was partially damaged, he said. In the nearby Gajpur village, 500 acres of maize was damaged completely. Similarly, in Hariwal and Shahpur Bela villages, a complete loss was witnessed over 400 acres and 200 acres, respectively, he said. Karnail Singh, a block samiti member from Chandpur village, said farmers from his village had lost at least 600 acres of maize crop in addition to damage to paddy in the area. Dr Gulzar Singh from Gajpur said he had sown maize in one acre of land. Nothing was left in the field after the flood, he said. Surinder Singh Mataur also lost four acres of maize crop in the flood. Anandpur Sahib Tehsildar Surinder Pal Singh claimed that 15 per cent of paddy standing on 2,500 acres of land in the area was damaged due to floods. He said the department did not consider a loss of up to 25 per cent due to floods as unusual. Hence, the loss to farmers in the report had been mentioned as nil, he said.
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Div Commissioners to decide claims of riot-hit victims
Chandigarh, July 24 Disposing of a bunch of petitions filed by the riot victims, the High Court said the committee would decide appeals of victims unsatisfied with the Divisional Commissioners’ decision. It would be headed by the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, with the Secretaries Housing and Expenditure as members. The High Court clarified that the stay granted as interim relief would continue. As a result of the order, all cases pending in the High Court have been remanded to the Divisional Commissioners for early disposal. The directions by the Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih came on petitions filed by the riot victims, who alleged that the red card handed over to them had been illegally cancelled. The red card enables the victims to seek compensation. The High Court on a previous date of hearing had questioned the State of Punjab on the process of issuing the card to the victims. It had asked the state to spell out the parameters adopted for issuing the card. The Bench wanted to know whether proper physical verification was carried out. The directions came amidst allegations of issuance of forged cards. Only last year, the High Court had observed that a vigilance inquiry, said to have been conducted in matter, had found that the documents furnished by 30 beneficiaries were forged. Acting on a petition filed by the Sikh Danga Pirat Welfare Society, the High Court had observed that the state government had denied any anomaly in issuing the red card to 578 riot victims. It had claimed that the process had been carried out strictly in accordance with the norms. The Bench had said it appeared that a Vigilance inquiry into the matter had been conducted. It had found that the documents and certificates furnished by 30 beneficiaries were forged and an FIR against the beneficiaries had also been lodged.
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Despite protests, govt may go ahead with e-trip
Patiala, July 24 A final meeting between the industry representatives and the government functionaries is slated on July 30, but the government had already made up its mind to implement the system, said sources. They said the meeting, thus, may only provide the industrialists a platform to raise the issue of “high” VAT in Punjab. Sources said the industrialists had reportedly met SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema on Monday to take up the matter with the government. Cheema is learnt to have presented the case before Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal the next day. A delegation of some BJP and Akali MLAs also later met Sukhbir and explained to him the “problems” of the e-trip system. Not convinced, the Deputy Chief Minister, however, decided to go ahead with the proposal to implement the new system. The government claims e-trip would ensure “transparency” and not burden the industrial lobby with any new tax. Cheema told The Tribune that the government had decided in-principle to allow the Excise and Taxation Department to implement the system. “The system was already in place and the only change is that six new commodities have been covered under it. So, the Deputy Chief Minister told the delegation members that it would not burden anybody but only bring in transparency in the system,” Cheema said. The six commodities are cotton, sarson, plywood, iron & steel (excluding scrap), yarn and vegetable oil (edible and non-edible). Any dealer selling these goods within the state will be required to submit information regarding any transaction on the department’s website before physical movement of the goods takes place. But, transactions below Rs 50,000 would be exempt. Opposing the government decision, Punjab Plywood Manufacturing Association secretary Wazir Chand said instead of providing relief from the high VAT, the government was allegedly creating additional hurdles for the industrialists. Anurag Verma, Punjab Excise and Taxation Commissioner, said, “We expect to generate an additional Rs 200 crore if the scheme is implemented. A major part of tax evasion by traders is done during the sale of the six commodities added under e-trip…. Anyways, we are open for a dialogue with the industrialists.” What is e-trip system It is a system through which details of the movement of goods can be entered on the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department's website, which will result in the generation of an acknowledgement slip. The slip will facilitate smooth intra-state transportation of goods. In case the acknowledgement slip does not accompany the goods, the owner would become liable for action. Cotton, sarson, plywood, iron & steel (excluding scrap), yarn and vegetable oil (edible and non-edible) have recently been covered under it. Revert decision: Cong Punjab Congress vice-president OP Soni has said the e-trip system would ruin the business class. In a statement here, Soni alleged that besides taking away the freedom of choice of trade from the businessmen, the system would burden them further as most of them did not have the facility of computers and internet to file information on the movement of goods. “It is a desperate attempt by the SAD-BJP alliance, which has frittered away Punjab’s resources through reckless spending, to mop up revenue.”
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BARC to set up demo
plants to process crops
Chandigarh, July 24 A high-level BARC team which visited the state from July 22-24 called on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal this morning and apprised him of the development. The team informed the Chief Minister that the BARC would provide technology and engineering support for setting up these plants which would also process onions, wheat, suji, maida, spices and other commodities. The team told Badal that the institute would also provide high-yielding varieties of sugarcane, pulses, including arhar, soyabean and moong, besides groundnuts to Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) for trials, which would be subsequently recommended to the farmers for sowing. The team also agreed to suggest technology for storage of potatoes on the scientific lines. The BARC would set up an isotope hydrology laboratory for carrying groundwater investigations in Mohali. The laboratory would be instrumental for the detection of uranium, arsenic and phosphorous in groundwater.
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Traders seek better facilities at Attari
Amritsar, July 24 In a meeting initiated by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the traders raised various issues confronted by them at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Attari with the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI) and Customs officials. Nobody from the Railways attended the meeting despite the fact that the traders are facing hardships while carrying out trade with Pakistan via rail route. Rajdeep Uppal, chief of the CII Zonal Council, said: “We have demanded additional warehouses for imports at the ICP as the number of items being imported from Pakistan has gone up in the recent past. We have also sought construction of proper platforms for unloading of loose cargo like gypsum. The issue of high labour charges was also discussed.” Surprised at the absence of railway officials in the meeting, he said it seems that the Railways did not have any interest in promoting the bilateral trade. “They have not spent a single penny in boosting infrastructure at the rail cargo facility in Amritsar. At times, there is no interchange for days.” He, however, expressed satisfaction that some of the issues like the one regarding weighing of exporters’ trucks at the ICP had been resolved. Suneet Kochhar, director, Khanna Paper Mill, raised the issue of containerised movement of goods saying that it would help in faster movement of goods directly from origin to destination. “We have suggested that the government should set up a dry port near the ICP and the movement of goods be done through sealed containers.” He also advocated the need for easing visa norms for businessmen of both the countries. He demanded that an additional railway line should be activated for trade movement from the Attari-Wagah border. He also sought extension of the freight corridor up to Attari. Presiding over the meeting, Darshan Singh, Joint DGFT, Ludhiana, said the exercise was aimed at understanding the ground realities and problems being faced by the traders so that the authorities concerned could redress their grievances. He said all the issues raised by importers and exporters would be taken up for resolution in a time-bound manner. Anil Mehra, dry fruit importer, expressed displeasure about the lack of arrangements at the ICP for rains, which was taking a toll on the quality of imported goods. “Dry dates are unloaded in the open even while it is raining. Warehouses at the ICP are ill-equipped. Importers are suffering huge losses.” Sanjeev Arora, an importer, said though they were paying high labour and parking charges, they were not getting adequate facilities. “I imported four trucks of salt from Pakistan today but all of it got wet in rain,” he said while demanding that they should be provided sheds. Their wishlist Additional warehouses for imports Proper platforms and sheds for storage of loose cargo Reasonable labour charges Containerised movement of goods Simplification of visa norms Additional railway line for trade with Pakistan Extension of freight corridor up to Attari
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Work on Batalvi auditorium stalled
Batala, July 24 Dr SS Nijjar, president of Shiv Kumar Batalvi Arts and Cultural Society, claimed they had received a letter from the Gurdaspur district administration asking that some government officials, including the Batala Senior superintendent of Police (SSP) and the Additional DC (General), be made its members. The state government, after much dilly-dallying, had last year released a grant of Rs 1.80 crore for renovating the auditorium. Last week, officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) engaged by the society for reconstruction work suddenly decided to halt work, leaving the society members flummoxed. Former Cabinet Minister and Qadian halqa in charge SS Sekhwan is the chief patron of the society while the auditorium is in Batala which is controlled by Sekhwan’s bête noire and Batala halqa in charge LS Lodhinangal. Sources claim that political rivalry between the two is taking a toll on Batalvi Arts and Cultural Society. Dr Nijjar claimed that the administration was impeding the completion of the project. “I don't understand the need to change the socity's members at this stage," he said. The Deputy commissioner, Dr Abhinav Trikha, said that work on the auditorium had been halted because of the rainy season. "We want to make certain changes in the society to ensure its functioning is transparent ,” he claimed. Sources said Lodhinangal was adamant on having his men in the society which now has members owing allegiance to his rival. The decrepit condition of the auditorium, constructed in 1980, was noticed three years ago when the government decided to hold the writer’s 75th birth anniversary celebrations. The government gave Rs 1.80 crore to the society to renovate the auditorium.
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Board for teachers’ recruitment gets Badal’s approval
Chandigarh, July 24 A decision to this effect was taken by the Chief Minister in a meeting with senior officers of the School Education Department. The board headed by Principal Secretary, School Education, will have vice chancelllors of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; and Punjabi University, Patiala; and chairperson of the Punjab School Education Board as its members and DPI, Schools, as its convener. Announcing that new model schools would be established at Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda and Mohali, he said every model school would be established over 10 acres and Rs 10 crore would be spent to equip these schools with facilities like computer labs, laboratories, libraries, besides playgrounds and residential complexes for teachers and students.
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Hoshiarpur, July 24 To reduce overcrowding, four new jails were being built at Muktsar, Bathinda, Amritsar and Tarn Taran, Rajpal Meena, Additional Director -General of Police (Prisons), said. The capacity to house prisoners in Sangrur and Nabha jails had been increased, he said. "There are more than 26,000 prisoners, including 1,200 women, as against the capacity of 18,000 prisoners in various jails of Punjab," he said. "Stress is being laid on improving the food and health services to the prisoners. Metro canteens for prisoners have been set up in some jails. The facility will be extended to all jails," he said. — PTI
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Another row erupts after convict Sarabjit’s death
Amritsar, July 24 Dalbir Kaur had fiercely fought for the release of her brother for more than two decades. Claiming to "expose" her, Baldev Singh alleged that he had been duped of his money and then dumped by his wife. Sources said the compensation awarded by the Punjab Government and other global organisations to Sarabjit Singh's kin had left them badly divided. Baldev Singh claimed that after Sarabjit Singh’s arrest in Pakistan on August 28, 1990, he took the responsibility to take care of his family. “Sarabjit's elder daughter Swapanjeet was adopted by us. On my wife's persuasion, I sold assets worth lakhs at Laksar and borrowed money from relatives and friends to help Dalbir bring her brother back. She assured me that the compensation money awarded by the government after Sarabjit was released would help us re-establish ourselves,” he said. He claimed that Dalbir Kaur, after "collecting" loads of money, was a changed person. She had refused to help him repay the money he had borrowed from his friends. "She has lodged a police complaint to frighten me. But I am determined to expose her,” he said. Endorsing Ludhiana resident Baljinder Kaur's claim that she, not Dalbir Kaur, was Sarabjit Singh's biological sister, Baldev Singh said his wife had filed a police complaint against him, convinced that it was he who had instigated Baljinder Kaur to "speak out the truth." Dalbir Kaur, when contacted, refused to comment. The Station House officer, Chabal, SS Loharka confirmed that she had filed a complaint against her husband. “She has alleged harassment by her husband. We have questioned him,” he said. "Those claiming blood ties with Sarabjit should be questioned as to where they were all these years when I was fighting a solitary battle for Sarabjit's release,”she said. Baldev Singh claimed that his wife had instructed the family members to keep mum, on the plea that any controversy on Sarabjit's parenthood could pose a hindrance to his release from jail. “We were fooled by Dalbir. She pushed everyone out of the picture, claiming she alone had the influence in political circles to pursue Sarabjit's case," he added. Fissures within the family Dalbir Kaur's husband Baldev Singh says that having ‘collected’ loads of money, she is a changed person He says she has refused to help him repay the money he had borrowed from friends to secure Sarabjit's release Endorses Ludhiana resident Baljinder Kaur's claim that she, not Dalbir Kaur, is Sarabjit's biological sister
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Patiala govt colleges set for facelift
Patiala, July 24 Giving information in this regard, Patiala Deputy Commissioner GK Singh said this amount would be spent to ensure that the basic amenities, including drinking water, electric works, library, computer rooms, classrooms, cycle stands, laboratories and canteens, are maintained in good and congenial surroundings. The Punjab Mandi Board has been entrusted with the responsibility of renovating these colleges and the deadline for completion of work is December 31. Lauding the decision, the principals of these colleges said this would help them in restoring the identity of their colleges. Government Bikram College of Commerce principal Prof Satinder Kaur said students preferred government colleges to private colleges due to the low fee structure and so, these institutions were catering to a large number of students. He said it was therefore all the more important to upgrade the infrastructure. "In the first phase, we will be taking up renovation and repair and in the second phase, we will set up new infrastructure," she said. “Since the government colleges charge very low fee, we cannot spend much on the upkeep of infrastructure from our own collection. This money will be extremely helpful for us since our college is almost 138 years old and urgently requires renovation,” said the principal of Government Mohindra College, Dr Sukhbir Singh Thind. Principal of Government College for Girls Dr Rajinder Kaur Pasrija said, “With the introduction of new subjects in the colleges, the strength of government colleges is increasing every year. We were in dire need of new classrooms in order to properly accommodate all students. This grant will certainly give us a big boost,” she said. College Grant Government College for Girls
Rs 2.25 cr Government College of Physical Education Rs 1.70 cr Government College, Niyaal Patran
Rs 1.69 cr Government College of Education Rs 1.59 cr Government Mohindra College
Rs 1.0093 cr Government Bikram College for Commerce Rs 89.46 lakh Government Ripudaman College, Nabha
Rs 39 lakh
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Woman accuses NRI of bigamy, seeks action
Sangrur, July 24 In an application to the SSP, Swaranjit Kaur alleged that the NRI, who belonged to a village in Fatehgarh Sahib, had married her daughter in February 2005 without disclosing that he was already married. He had “divorced” her forcibly in December 2011 in the United States of America (USA). She alleged he was still harassing her daughter. She said at the time of the registration of the marriage, the NRI had shown himself as unmarried. The complainant said in 2006, he took her daughter to the US, where she came to know that he was already married and had a daughter. She also added in her application that later, he started harassing her daughter for getting a divorce as “he was in a relationship with a girl from Mexico”. Swaranjit said these incidents had been brought to her notice by her daughter when she came to Kurar village in January this year to attend her sister’s marriage. She said her daughter had also told her that she was living alone now in
the USA. She stated that the NRI had come to his village in India now, so legal action should be taken against him. She alleged that he had cheated them in connivance with his two relatives. She urged the SSP to initiate action in this case at the earliest because as per her information the NRI would leave India for America on July 30. Barnala Superintendent of Police (Detective) Balraj Singh Sidhu said the application was with the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). Barnala DSP Swaran Singh Khanna said he would hold an inquiry into the matter.
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Make use of RTI: BJP Yuva morcha chief
Chandigarh, July 24 Addressing the first meeting of Punjab’s new BJYM (BJP’s youth wing) executive here today, Thakur said the social media had best been seen in action during the ‘Arab Spring’, particularly the Egyptian uprising. “Social networking sites have changed the pattern of information flow,” he said. Thakur said the BJYM was developing its social networking site of blood donors. “We have a membership of approximately 40 lakh youth, who will be accessible anywhere in the country,” he said. He said senior BJP leaders, including Sushma Swaraj and Narender Modi, had more than 30 lakh followers on the social media. He also cautioned the youth wing workers to beware of overreacting to news. “Reacting immediately is like facing a sword, which is sharp on both its sides,” he said. Thakur exhorted the youth to make use of the RTI. “Flood the commission with queries on as many public issues as possible and bring the information in the public domain,” he said. Pointing out a visibly negligent girls’ presence at the meeting, Thakur asked the youth leaders to garner girl support in party activities. Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma was also present on the occasion.
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Regularisation of illegal colonies evokes poor response
Sangrur, July 24 Only 15 individuals collected application forms at these camps in Mansahia Colony and Guru Nanak Colony (Block-D) for getting their plots/houses regularised under the new policy of the state government. However, no coloniser visited these camps to collect the application form today. The executive officer (EO) of the the civic body, Vijay Kumar Gupta, said they had made announcements through a public address system in a rickshaw for two days in the unauthorised colonies of the city but the response on the first day was not very good.
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Implementation of Anti-Tobacco Act Mohali, July 24 He said the nodal officers would be issued challan books so that they could take action against persons who consumed and sold tobacco products at public places by issuing challans. Thind was speaking while presiding over a district-level meeting of the Tobacco Control Committee today. Thind said Mohali was the first district in the state to be announced as smoke-free district by the Punjab Government. As such it was the duty of the employees of various departments to cooperate in the strict implementation of the Anti-Tobacco Act in the district. A special campaign would be started against persons selling tobacco products at public places for which special teams would be set up and representatives of social welfare bodies would also be included. Hoardings carrying anti-tobacco messages should be put up outside government offices, educational institutions and public places, said Thind. Dr Gurpreet Singh, District Tobacco Control Officer, said advertisements for selling cigarettes and other tobacco related products should be banned. Any person below the age of 18 can not sell these products and these can also not be sold within a radius of 100 yards from educational institutions. There is a complete ban on the sale of gutka and pan masala.
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PPSC Scam
New Delhi, July 24 A Bench comprising Justices HL Dattu and Dipak Misra issued a notice to the state government on July 22 on the appeal against the February 15, 2013, verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court upholding the order of the Special Judge, Patiala. In its September 27, 2010 order, the trial court had withdrawn the pardon granted to the two approvers, citing evidence given against them in two fresh FIRs related to the scam. Arguing for the petitioners, advocate RK Kapoor contended that there was no legal provision for “transporting” the facts of one FIR to another.
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Man gets life term for killing girlfriend
Patiala, July 24 Ranjit Singh was convicted under Sections 302 and 309 of the IPC registered against him on December 19, 2011, for killing Harpreet Kaur. On the fateful day, the accused had an altercation with Harpreet, following which he hit the girl to death with an axe. — TNS
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Premium can't be forfeited once lease cancellation is set aside: HC
Chandigarh, July 24 The directions by Justice Satish Kumar Mittal and Justice Mahavir S Chauhan came in the case of Merchants Private Limited against the Chandigarh Administration and other respondents. In the petition filed through advocate Vikas Jain, the company claimed that a site in Sector 8, Chandigarh, was allotted to it on a lease-hold basis for 99 years, after an open auction was held in March 1999. In addition to the terms and conditions of the allotment letter, the allocation was governed by the provisions of the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, and the Chandigarh Lease Hold of Sites and Buildings Rules. As per the rules, the lessee was bound to execute a lease deed after the payment of 25 per cent of the premium. The rules specified that the Estate Officer may cancel the lease and forfeit up to 25 per cent of the premium, if the lessee failed to execute the lease deed in accordance with the rules. Garg claimed the company had paid the dues within the stipulated time, including the ground rent but could not execute the lease deed within the time prescribed as it was not aware of the condition. A show cause notice was issued to the petitioner before the Estate Officer cancelled the lease and ordered forfeiture of 25 per cent of the premium. The petitioner then filed an appeal before the Chief Administrator, which was allowed. The lease cancellation order was set aside, with directions on the forfeiture of 10 per cent of the premium. The petitioners referred to judgments in the cases of Goyal and Company versus Union Territory Chandigarh, HS Virdi versus Estate Officer and Satwant Kaur and another one versus Chandigarh Administration and others. The bench asserted: "In these judgments, it has been clearly laid down that oncethe order of cancellation/resumption of the site is set aside, no order of forfeiture of the premium can be passed." “It has been held that the cancellation of lease and forfeiture of the premium must go simultaneously…. Even if the Estate Officer has to cancel the lease, the discretion is left with him to either forfeit or not to forfeit the whole or part of the amount paid as a premium. Once the order of cancellation of lease is set aside by accepting the reasons given by the allottee, then no forfeiture of any amount can be ordered against him.”
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Ludhiana Kidnapping
Ludhiana, July 24 The shop sells artefacts and replicas of weapons imported from Germany and France, said police sources. "These weapons are as good as original.
The only difference is that these are locked," said a police officer. Gurarpan and his paramour Deepali, the alleged masterminds of the kidnapping, reportedly told the police that they had purchased the fake AK-47 a few days before the crime. The shop is owned by a Bangalore-based woman. It is learnt that some of the replicas have been gifted to police officers and politicians. The police has booked a tailor, who stitched the police uniform that was worn by the kidnappers, and a printer who provided identity cards to the criminals. However, no action has been taken against those who sold the fake AK-47 to the accused even though the Khanna police reportedly visited the shop and questioned its employees. Sources claimed that the investigation was not allowed to proceed by some police officers and politicians. In her defence, the owner of the shop reportedly told the police that the fake weapons were strictly meant for decoration or for exhibitions and that she had a Customs clearance for fake weapons. The sources said that the shop sold at least 10 such weapons, including AK-47, every month.The workers at the shop did not care to check the profile of the customer, they alleged.The shop sold replicas of weapons with rubber bullets that could cause considerable injury to a person, the sources added. Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) S Bhupati said the owner told the police that the replicas were "mere toys and that she has a licence to sell these. We have issued her a notice and are awaiting a reply." When contacted, Commissioner of Police Paramjit Singh Gill, who headed the team that cracked the case, said action would be taken against all those who had assisted the kidnappers in the crime. None would be spared, he added. * The shop is owned by a Bangalore-based woman *
It is learnt that some of the replicas have been gifted to police officers and politicians. *
The police has booked a tailor, who stitched the police uniform, and a printer who provided identity cards to the kidnappers *
However, no action has been taken against those who sold the fake AK-47 to the kidnappers
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After Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s assertion that no other state can lay its claim on Chandigarh, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Partap Singh Bajwa today said the City Beautiful belonged only to Punjab.
In a major boost to the Punjab Government's crop diversification initiative, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has agreed to establish three multi-product radiation processing technology demonstration plants to process high-yielding varieties of basmati, potatoes, maize, sugarcane and other alternative crops in the state.
The state government has released Rs 9.5 crore for the upgrade of seven government colleges of Patiala district. This is for the first time that this grant has been issued to the Higher Education Department with a view to ensure academic standards, including proper infrastructure, in the government colleges of the district.
A replica of the AK-47 assault rifle, used in the kidnapping of industrialist Manish Bharara on July 13, was purchased from a shop in a mall on the Ferozepur road for Rs 40,000.
Dalbir Kaur claimed that the money awarded to the family had been "deposited" with Sarabjit’s daughters and wife.