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Bus fare hike will benefit Badals most: Cong
Fissures to fore in party’s Doaba unit
Ferozepur-Delhi Express flagged off
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Patiala teachers threaten to discontinue mid-day meal
MLA Jain had used a forged passport
MS Gill writes to PM on Gujarat Sikhs
Manpreet hits back, tells Badal to mind own business
Stop misuse of ambulances, Union Minister tells state
Badal’s Eid bonanza for Malerkotla town
Divided Cong to hold separate rallies at Baba Bakala fair
Fatehgarh Sahib Bus Accident
Cabinet slashes composition fee for illegal colonies
Rural job scheme cards for disabled, elderly in Khamano
Health insurance scheme for 30 lakh families soon: Sukhbir
Army to run dope test on aspirants
Martyrdom day: Rs 7 lakh for Dhadhogal village
Majha-origin IFS officer back in US for record 3rd time
Govt denies increment to
senior-most PCS officer
Safai karamcharis on strike from Aug 12
Govt draws HC ire for denying allowance to differently abled
Petrol station worker shot dead at Makhu
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Bus fare hike will benefit Badals most: Cong
Jalandhar, August 9 Bajwa announced that the PPCC would expose the “illegal mining” being carried out in the state under political patronage. Interacting with party workers at Nakodar, he alleged that “besides the transport business, members of the Badal family had also monopolised the liquor trade in the state”. He alleged that the hike in the Motor Transport tax on mini bus operators was aimed at knocking out small transporters from business. "At the same time, the fleet of AC buses owned by the ruling family has been exempted from the hike in the Motor Transport Tax," Bajwa pointed out. "The life of the common man has been made miserable by the SAD-BJP Government. During the past six years, there has been an unprecedented 29 per cent power tariff hike. At a time, when the industry needs incentives to survive, , the Badal Government has burdened it with more taxes," Bajwa said. He said his party would soon launch an agitation against the hike in power tariff and bus fares. He said the night patrolling scheme started by the Deputy Chief Minister had failed to serve any purpose as criminals continued to strike terror in rural area.
Fissures to fore in party’s Doaba unit
Jalandhar, August 9 While former Punjab Minister Amarjit Singh Samra alleged publically said PPCC general secretary Gurvinder Singh Atwal had connived with the SAD to ensure the party's (Congress) defeat in panchayat samiti elections, Atwal retorted alleging Samra had extended his clandestine support to senior SAD leader and Punjab Minister Ajit Singh Kohar in Shahkot during the 2012 assembly elections in lieu of support to him in Nakodar. Samra was defeated by SAD's Gurpartap Singh Wadala in the assembly elections. Atwal, a former Punjab Mandi Board chairman who was also an aspirant for the Congress ticket from Nakodar, was denied the party ticket. In protest, he had filed his papers as an Independent candidate, though he withdrew himself from the race at the eleventh hour. Samra and former minister and senior Congress leader Chaudhary Santokh Singh had even filed a complaint to the party high command against the "anti-party" activities by Atwal. The complaint was recently forwarded Congress' Punjab affairs in charge Shakeel Ahmed to Bajwa. Atwal, however, denied any such activity on his part. "Samra has got confused after losing the Nakodar seat. It was he who has been hobnobbing with the Akalis, particularly Kohar."
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Ferozepur-Delhi Express flagged off
Ferozepur, August 9 Ghubaya said that after being elected MP from the Ferozepur parliamentary constituency, he had consistently raised the demand for a train to Delhi from Ferozepur and Fazilka. He said the Railway Ministry, however, took a long time to give its approval to the train. The MP said he had also taken up the demand for revival of the Amritsar-Ferozepur rail link via Patti. The Union Government had selected 100 railway stations under a modernisation plan. However, Punjab had been ignored. Brar said he had personally met then Railway Minister Pawan Bansal several times for sanctioning the train. He said the people of the area wanted another train to Haridwar and he would take up the issue with the minister soon. Pinki said the traders of the region would benefit from the new train to Delhi. Naresh Chander Goyal, DRM, Ferozepur Division, said the intercity train (14626) would start from Ferozepur daily at 4.30 am and reach the Delhi Sarai Rohilla station at 11.45 am via Faridkot, Kotkapura, Bhatinda, Mansa, Jakhal, Narwana, Jind and Rohtak. On its return journey, the train would start at 6.45 am and reach Ferozepur at 2.45 pm. The train had 15 coaches, including two AC coaches, five sleepers, and two brake vans. Railway sources said 40 passengers travelled in the general compartment today. Only five opted for the AC coaches.
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Patiala teachers threaten to discontinue mid-day meal
Patiala, August 9 To add to their woes, the department is not even paying the teachers their salaries on time. It had recently released the salaries of teachers after two months. The worse affected are the teachers working under centrally-sponsored schemes and Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan as they have not been paid for about 15 months and three months, respectively. The heads of some schools have already brought the matter to the notice of the District Education Officer. They have threatened to shut down the mid-day meal scheme in the future if they do not receive pending payments. Several schools have also sought advance payments for food grains and vegetables. In the district, there are 479 elementary schools under the Education Department, 478 schools under the Zila Parishad and 26 schools under the Local Bodies. One of the teachers requesting anonymity said, “The department barely releases half of the money that we have already spent during each installment. The dues keep adding on.” Moreover, the prices of tomato and onions, had increased manifold making it impossible to make the meal in the amount sanctioned for each student, he said. “The government provides 100 gm grains and Rs 3.50 for each student of Class I to V per day and 150 gm grains and Rs 5 for each student of Class VI to VIII. This amount is insufficient since the prices of food grains and commodities have increased manifold,” a school principal said. Senior functionaries requesting anonymity said they had already brought the matter to the notice of senior authorities.
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MLA Jain had used a forged passport
Chandigarh, August 9 This disclosure may come as an embarrassment to the ruling alliance. Jain, who shifted his loyalty to the SAD, was awarded with the post of Chairman, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation. The disclosure came in connection with a petition filed in public interest against his appointment as corporation chairman. Jain has filed his reply, along with a copy of the order dated January 7, 1992, passed by the court of KC Lohia, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi. The order reads: “Arguments on the charge heard. From the evidence and the investigation carried out, a prima facie case for framing of charges under Sections 419/471, IPC, is made out against the accused. It is alleged that on January 29, 1988, when the accused was going to Hong Kong via Bangkok, he was found in possession of a passport in the name of Mohan Lal on which the photograph of the accused was pasted. The accused used the forged passport dishonestly and fraudulently with a view to cheat the immigration authorities. “Accordingly, a charge under Sections 419/471 IPC is framed against the accused which is read over and explained to the accused to which he pleads guilty. I am satisfied that the accused has pleaded guilty to the charge voluntarily. I, therefore, hold the accused Joginder Pal Jain guilty under Sections 419/471 IPC…..” The order, on the quantum of sentence reads, “It is submitted that the “accused is not a previous convict and belongs to a respectable family and had no intention to cheat any department. In fact, he is a victim of a travel agent…. According to him, from his childhood, he used to be called by the name of Mohan Lal and as such the passport was given to him by the travel agent in the name of Mohan Lal…. Since he is not a previous convict, as such the accused is released on furnishing the probation bond….” The PIL filed by advocate HC Arora will come up for further hearing on August 19.
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MS Gill writes to PM on Gujarat Sikhs
New Delhi, August 9 "Efforts are on to push these farmers out of Gujarat on the pretext that they are not Gujarati’s," said Gill, who has earlier served as Chief Election Commissioner and was the Union Agriculture Secretary in the early 1990’s. “Such actions will cut the roots of the Constitution and its protection to all Indian people,” Gill wrotein his letter, pointing to the fact that these farmers were being evicted only on the basis of being non-Gujaratis. At least 1,000 families originally from Punjab and Haryana who shifted to the Kutch region in the sixties face an uncertain future as their only source of livelihood, agricultural land worth crores, is being taken away. Worried, these families are camping in the Capital, hoping to get justice. They have met the Prime Minister and several Congress and Akali Dal leaders. The District Collector of Kutch in 2010 issued an order to ‘freeze’ the land of ‘outsiders’. This despite the fact that farmers hold the registration papers and also the girdawari which, as per the revenue records, indicates the tiller. These farmers from Punjab and Haryana moved to Gujarat following the 1965 war with Pakistan. The Gujarat Government has now used the Gujarat Agricultural Land Ceilings and the Bombay Tenancy Act to ‘freeze’ the agricultural accounts of these farmers, meaning there should be no mention of their land in the revenue records. The Gujarat High Court in July this year set aside the decision of the District Collector. Tthe Gujarat Government has approached the Supreme Court.
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Manpreet hits back, tells Badal to mind own business
Manpreet, the Chief Minister’'s estranged nephew, took a dig at his uncle over a remark that he “had spoiled his political career by quitting the Akali Dal”. The PPP chief said, "Politics is not a career. Rather, it is a sacrifice to serve the people. One can imagine the fate of this country had Shaheed Bhagat Singh thought of making politics his career." In reply to a question, Manpreet clarified the PPP had so far not entered into any alliance with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections. "We have contested the panchayat polls with adjustments at the local level with the Congress in certain pockets of the state, which worked out well. We are thinking of fighting the local body elections jointly and if things go well, we can think of seat adjustment in the parliamentary elections after considering the sentiments of the Left parties and other alliance partners," he said.
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Stop misuse of ambulances, Union Minister tells state
Chowdhary and Mittal held a meeting on July 17 to discuss the alleged misuse of ambulances in the state. The Union minister also quoted a media report which claimed that Mittal himself caught an ambulance carrying large quantity of drugs in nine bags and later in six more bags at Kiratpur under his own assembly constituency Anandpur Sahib. She also sought details about the quantity and value of medicines purchased during the last two years and of these, how many have not been distributed to the patients due to expiry of dates with the reasons thereof. Chowdhary asked whether any inquiry has made regarding the racket of syphoning-off of the medicines which were to be distributed to the poor and taking them to the market. "Such medicines have to be destroyed as per the procedure," she said. The Union Minister also asked for action against the erring official for the gross misconduct and immediate remedial steps in this regard. — PTI
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Badal’s Eid bonanza for Malerkotla town
Malerkotla, August 9 Badal announced a grant of Rs 25 lakh for a community hall and Rs 5 lakh for a park in the mosque premises. Badal said a high post would be given to a member of the Muslim community in the state's Minority Commission. The Muslims would also be given representation on various boards and corporations. Among others present on the occasion were Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Chairman of the Punjab Wakf Board, Mohammad Izhar Alam, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Farzana Alam and Parkash Chand Garg and Amargarh MLA Iqbal Singh Jhundan. At a function later, Badal lashed out at the Congress for its policy to "divide people on religious lines" to gain political mileage. " The Shiromani Akali Dal believes that all religions are equal. Hence, people of different faiths should remain united," he said. On declaring Malerkotla a dry city, the Chief Minister said he would take up the matter with the officers of the Excise and Taxation Department.
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Divided Cong to hold separate rallies at Baba Bakala fair
Amritsar, August 9 One of the factions is headed by Congress leader Ranjeet Singh Chhajalwadi who lost the elections to the Baba Bakala assembly seat to the SAD. The other faction is led by former Beas MLA Jasbir Singh Dimpa who as a considerable clout in the area. Both the rallies are to be held on the same site, at a distance of barely 500 metres. Chhajalwadi claimed that his rally would be the official one as he was the halqa incharge and he had obtained the permission to hold the rally from the District Congress Committee (DCC) chief. He claimed that the other faction comprised expelled party leaders and that the Punjab Congress chief, Partap Singh Bajwa, had made it clear that rebels had no place in the party. On the other hand, Dimpa said the Congress always held a single conference to mark the event. "We will have one rally," he claimed. Harpartap Singh Ajnala, DCC chief, said the PPCC chief would soon sort out the matter. Asked about differences within the party, he said party discipline would not be allowed to be breached. The rivalry between the Dimpa and Chhajalwadi factions started during the 2012 assembly elections when the Congress fielded the latter from the Baba Bakala Assembly seat. Dimpa wasn't pleased with the party's choice as the constituency is carved out of the Beas assembly seat that he had represented in the past. Subsequently, he reportedly threw his weight behind party rebel Baljit Singh Bhatti who polled more than 17,000 votes and played a key role in Chhajalwadi's defeat. Dimpa, who contested from Amritsar (South), lost to SAD's Inderbir Singh
Bolaria.
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Fatehgarh Sahib Bus Accident
Amritsar, August 9 In this hour of crisis, the colleagues of the late Surinder Singh (driver) and Raman (conductor) have come to the rescue of the deceased’s kin. Both Pooling in Rs 200 each, the employees handed over cheques amounting to Rs 2.2 lakh to each of the aggrieved families. Besides, Chandigarh-based service provider, ‘The Providers’, the company through which the public transport authorities had hired the staff, also gave monetary assistance of Rs 50,000 each. Both the deceased belonged to humble backgrounds. Karamjeet Kaur, the driver’s widow, received the cheque during her husband’s bhog ceremony at their native Vaan Tara Singh village in Bhikhiwind today. Son of a marginal farmer, 32-year-old Surinder lived in a rented accommodation in Chheharta. He is survived by his wife and a three-year-old son, who was recently admitted to a school. Raman (22) belonged to Shakurpura village in Batala and had joined the Punjab Roadways’ Amritsar Depot-1 just eight months ago. As he was unmarried, the relief cheque was handed over to his mother. Punjab Roadways/Punbus Workers Union president MS Sidhu said, “Both the families lost their sole bread-earners. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had announced Rs 1 lakh ex gratia, but the relief is yet to reach the families. The insensitiveness of the government authorities can be gauged from the fact that no official was present at the bhog ceremony of our deceased colleagues.” Sidhu demanded that the state government should offer a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each and a job to their next of kin. Punjab Roadways Depot-1 General Manager DS Gill, however, maintained that like other government-run buses, this bus too didn’t possess an insurance cover. “The compensation to the accident victims, therefore, will be settled by the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Tribunal. Various factors, including the victim’s age and earning capacity, will be taken into consideration,” he said.
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Cabinet slashes composition fee for illegal colonies
Chandiagrh, August 9 Colonies established after 2007 would have to pay a fee at 2 per cent of the collector rate, with a minimum cap of Rs 1 lakh per acre and the maximum Rs 5 lakh per acre. For colonies established after August 17, 2007, on more than 20 acres, the composition fee would be 5 per cent of the collector rate. Residential plots measuring up to 50 sq yards in all colonies and plots up to 100 sq yards in slum areas have been exempted under the policy. A provision has been made for easy payment in installments. Colonisers now do not have to pay 25 per cent of the total charges along with their application. They can deposit 10 per cent of the total charges along with their application. The remaining charges can be paid within 30 days from the date of submission of application. The Cabinet also approved the Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Rules, 2013, for regulating travel agencies and consultants. These rules envisage that a person desirous of undertaking the profession of travel agent/consultant or is already in the trade on the date of commencement of the Act would have to seek a licence from the government by depositing the requisite documents along with the prescribed fee. The licence, valid for five years, would be renewed after the submission of fee. The Cabinet approved the setting up of a sub-committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for re-structuring the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB). The Cabinet also decided to levy water charges on crops recoverable in two equal installments of Rs 75 per acre payable by May 31 and November 30 every year. The Cabinet gave its approval to amend the toll notification issued by the PWD (B&R) determining the toll rates to be levied and collected from certain users of highways, bypasses, bridges and ROBs. The cabinet also gave the green signal to start a government college for girls at Jalalabad in Fazilka and a college at Amargarh in Sangrur from this academic session. The Cabinet okayed the Punjab Agricultural (Group-A) Services Rules, 2013 and agreed to transfer 83 acres of land of the Punjab State Industries Export Corporation (PSIEC) to the Jail Department for the construction of a district jail at Goindwal Sahib in Taran Tarn. In lieu of the land, the Jail Department will transfer 78 acres in Nabha to the PSIEC for an industrial focal point. The Cabinet also approved the new recruitment and promotion policy for outstanding sportspersons in the Police Department. Any sportsperson winning the Gold, Silver, or Bronze in the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, the World Cup and the Olympics will be offered a Class-I post in the Police Department.
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Rural job scheme cards for disabled, elderly in Khamano
Fatehgarh Sahib, August 9 MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) is the central government’s scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days work to people in rural areas. People in the area alleged that no development works had been carried out in Kheri Naudh Singh village for the last five years. Subedar (retd) Hardarshan Singh, sarpanch of the village, Hari Singh, Prakash Singh, Ajit Singh, Jagjit Singh, Prem Singh and others said they were not aware of any such job cards. Job card holders in the scheme are supposed to open bank accounts so their wages could be directly transferred to their accounts. However, Hardarshan Singh alleged they were not asked to open any accounts. Applications for the job cards that are valid till August 5, 2013, were invited on December 12, 2008. Block Development and Panchayat Officer Manjit Kaur said Rs 3.10 crore had been spent on development works that were being carried out in 20 villages under MNREGA. She said no such matter had been brought to her notice in the past year. She said money was being directly transferred into the bank accounts of the job card holders. Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) said he would hold an inquiry into the issue.
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Health insurance scheme for 30 lakh families soon: Sukhbir
Moga, August 9 Talking to mediapersons after administering oath to newly elected panchayat members of the district here, he said initially, a family would get monetary medical assistance of Rs 30,000 per year. But in the years to come, he said, the government would enhance the limit. Sukhbir said the government had reserved a sum of Rs 1,700 crore to repair and upgrade the rural link roads and the work would be completed in the next four months. “We are also working on a plan for the overall development of villages in the next three years,” he said. When asked that hundreds of Punjabis had been killed in Philippines during the past few years and why the Punjab Government had failed to raise the issue with the Philippines Embassy in New Delhi, Sukhbir said they (state government) could not do anything in the matter. “It is a separate country and has its own law, how can we intervene,” he asked. In a statement issued by the Public Relations Department later, Sukhbir lashed out at the Congress-led UPA Government for failing the protect the Punjabis in Philippines. He said that it was a matter of great regret that with Minister of State for External Affairs being a Punjabi (Preneet Kaur), Punjabis were not safe abroad. Earlier, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Rural Development and Panchayat Minister, and Jathedar Tota Singh, Dharamkot MLA, also addressed the sarpanches and panches. The local MP, Bibi Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, local MLAs Rajwinder Kaur, Mahesh Inder Singh, Joginder Pal Jain, former DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill and several other local leaders of the SAD and the BJP were among those present.
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Army to run dope test on aspirants
Ludhiana, August 9 "If any candidate is found using performance enhancing drugs during the recruitment drive or training period, strict action would be taken against him,” said MS Mahar. The need to conduct the doping test was felt after candidates began setting record timings in the 1,600m race. "Doping is prevalent across the country. We have been recruiting for the Army for a long time and can easily make out whether or not aspirants were doping,” said a Recruiting Officer. An aspirant requesting anonymity blamed the cut-throat competition for the rise in doping among youth. However, Mahar said no candidate found doping had been disqualified. Mahar said that Army Intelligence Wing and policemen in plain clothes had been deployed to keep a tab on touts, who dupe youngsters on the pretext of getting them selected into the Army.
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Martyrdom day: Rs 7 lakh for Dhadhogal village
Sangrur, August 9 Badal also flayed successive Congress governments at the Centre for not remembering freedom fighters in a befitting manner. He said it was the SAD-BJP government that was truly honouring the nation’s martyrs by building several memorials. Badal announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the Government High School for Girls, Dhadhogal, and Rs 2 lakh for a youth club at Dhadhogal village. He announced that a power grid in the village would be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh Dhadhogal.— TNS
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Majha-origin IFS officer back in US for record 3rd time
Chandigarh, August 9 The only other Indian diplomat to have been posted in Washington on three different occasions was TV Sreenivasan. Taranjit Singh Sandhu hails from the illustrious Samundari family of the Majha belt. His grandfather, Teja Singh Samundari, has a hall named after him in the Golden Temple complex while his father, Bishan Singh Samundari, was the first Vice Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. One of his brothers is serving the Punjab Government as an IFS officer while the other one worked as a hockey coach in the Panchayati Raj Khed Parishad. Initially, considered as an expert on the erstwhile Soviet Union, Taranjit Sandhu had a posting in Moscow where he learnt Russian. When the Soviet Union disintegrated, Taranjit returned to one of its old member states in Kiev. After completing the assignment of spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, Taranjit got his first posting in Washington in 1997 as a First Secretary. Thereafter, Taranjit moved to the United States for his second assignment there as a Political Assistant to India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nirupam Sen.
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Govt denies increment to
senior-most PCS officer
Jalandhar, August 9 Bhardwaj is currently the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar. The issue, kept pending in the July 23 Cabinet meeting, was put up again in the agenda for today's meeting. The denial of increment has come despite a clean chit given to him by former PPSC chairman Lt Gen RS Sujlana (retd) and recently by Lt Gen MS Buttar. Sources said the matter was hotly debated during the meeting with some of the ministers advocating an increment, but the Chief Minister preferred to decide otherwise. The decision is also being seen as an attempt to put down the case of the 53-year-old officer at a time when the lists of senior PCS officers were doing the rounds for selection to the IAS by the Union Public Service Commission. IAS officer SR Ladhar, in an inquiry in 2008, had indicted Bhardwaj in a complaint during the conduct of the 2003 panchayat elections when he was posted as DM, Batala.
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Safai karamcharis on strike from Aug 12
Jalandhar, August 9 Technical Workers Union of Municipal Corporation Jalandhar general secretary Sham Lal said the strike decision had been taken after the breakdown of their talks with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal. The safai karamcharis have been demanding annulling of the solid waste management projects in Jalandhar and other major cities of the state as they fear that these would render them jobless. The talks were facilitated by Chief Parliamentary Secretary for Cooperation and Jalandhar (North) MLA KD Bhandari. It was on Bhandari’s assurance that the union members had deferred their strike till August 12 after a one-day agitation on August 1. Bhandari, accompanied by Mayor Sunil Jyoti and Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Singh Bhatia, had assured the safai karamcharis against the setting up of the solid waste management projects. Their demand was also supported by the Opposition Congress.
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Govt draws HC ire for denying allowance to differently abled
Chandigarh, August 9 For the purpose of making the payment, Justice Dhindsa has set a deadline of a month. The directions and the strictures came on a petition filed by Sukhmander Singh against the State of Punjab and other respondents. Currently holding the post of a headmaster under the Department of Education in the State of Punjab, the petitioner had alleged that he was not being released the “handicapped conveyance allowance”. Elaborating, the petitioners had asserted that the allowance was admissible to him in light of a letter dated June 15, 1982, issued by the state government. In an attempt to substantiate his contentions, he had placed reliance on a judgment dated July 25, 2011, passed by the High Court in a petition preferred by a similarly situated “handicapped employee” working as a Hindi teacher. He too had been denied handicapped conveyance allowance. The petition has been disposed of while noticing that delay had occurred while releasing the handicapped conveyance allowance. Accordingly, cost of Rs 25,000 as litigation expenses was imposed. As the case came up for hearing, a reply was filed on behalf of the state and other respondents. In the written statement, it was admitted that the petitioner was entitled to handicapped conveyance allowance in light of the Punjab Government’s letter. It was added an order dated June 24 was passed and “the requisite financial benefits along with arrears towards handicapped conveyance allowance had already been released to the petitioner”. Justice Dhindsa asserted: “The present writ petition for all intents and purposes has been rendered infructuous. Be that as it may, this court cannot overlook the fact that the hands of a handicapped employee were forced to approach this court to claim the conveyance allowance that was admissible in the light of the letter.” No probe on anonymous complaints, says court
Justice Augustine George Masih minced no words to say: “The factum that there are instructions issued by the Punjab Government that on an anonymous complaint no departmental action is to be initiated and the same has to be consigned to records, has a purpose behind it, which is based upon the basic principle of opportunity of confronting the complainant so that the source on the basis of which the said complaint has been made, can be made available to the official against whom the complaint has been submitted. The instructions although may not have a binding effect but the same have been and are required to be adhered to”. The Bench also referred an earlier judgment in Harbans Lal Gupta's case: “This aspect has been considered by this court in the case and it has been concluded that by and large the said instructions are required to be adhered to, which has not been done in the present case”. The ruling came on a petition filed by Rajwant Kaur. Working as Horticulture Development Officer, she was seeking the quashing of an order dated February 8, 2012, dismissing her from service on the ground that she managed to procure Scheduled Caste certificates to get an appointment under the category. Allowing the petition, the Bench asserted anonymous complaints were received against the petitioner earlier also that her SC certificates were fake. In an inquiry, the certificates were found to be genuine. On that basis, the complaints were filed in 2005. Obviously the natural consequence thereof would be that the SC certificates produced by her at the time of admission to the college and thereafter for seeking appointment to the post of Horticulture Development Officer, asserting therein to be belonging to Darain caste, an SC category, are genuine.
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Petrol station worker shot dead at Makhu
Ferozepur, August 9 Varinder Pal Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), said at 4 pm the police received information that two motorcycle-borne persons had shot dead Ashok Kumar, employed with Ram Sharan Dass Satpal Filling Station near Makhu. The SSP said the police swung into action and a team was rushed to the crime site. The police team chased the attackers who escaped towards Mallanwala. A team led by Sub-Inspector (SI) Jagdev Singh zeroed in at the hideout of the suspects and conducted a raid. A panic-stricken Satnam Singh opened fire at the policemen. Displaying exemplary courage, SI Jagdev Singh pounced on him. As he grappled with the criminal, he received two bullets on his face and leg. Satnam Singh was overpowered and taken into custody. the SSP said the SI was rushed to a private hospital in Ferozepur. He was out of danger. During preliminary interrogation, it had came to the fore that Satnam Singh's son Angrej Singh was killed a few months ago. Today’s attack was owing to personal enmity as Satnam Singh wanted to avenge his son’s killing, the SSP said. Satnam Singh was assisted by his second son Arshpreet in murdering Ashok Kumar. A case has been registered.
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Targeting the Badals, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa today demanded that the hike in bus fares and the Motor Transport tax be rolled back.
The much-awaited Ferozepur-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Intercity Express was flagged off at the cantonment railway station amid jubilation this morning.
Participating in the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations here today, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal showered generous grants worth Rs 25 crore on
Malerkotla.
Greeting the Muslim community on the occasion, Badal announced a grant of Rs 5 crore for laying drains in Malerkotla and Rs 10 crore each for Malerkotla-1 and
Malerkotla-II blocks for various development works.
Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Taranjit Singh Sandhu has joined a select band of career diplomats with the distinction of getting posted in Washington for the third time. Belonging to the 1988 batch of the IFS, Taranjit Sandhu from Amritsar will be the new Deputy to India’s Ambassador to the United States Nirupama Rao.
Moga, August 9
Chandigarh, August 9
