Ludhiana, August 30
It was the son of a Punjab Home Guards Jawan who masterminded the killing of Shammi Kumar (23).

Day after the angered residents of Jawarhar Nagar held an ugly protest, the four murder accused were arrested by police today.

The accused have been identified as Arun Kumar, Kulwinder Singh, Suraj Kumar and Jatinder Masih, all from Jawahar Nagar and Jatinder Masih.

The police cited personal enmity the reason behind the killing.

It has come to light that Kulwinder Singh, alias Sonu, is the son of Des Raj, a Punjab Home Guards Jawan.

Investigating officer said Shammi and a group led by Kulwinder Singh, alias Sonu, wanted to settle the score with each other.

On August 28, Sonu spotted Shammi at Jawahar Nagar. The intercepted Shammi Kumar and killed him.

After killing Shammi, they fled the scene and went into hiding.

Ludhiana, August 30
Calm prevailed at Bharat Nagar Chowk where the volatile protest took place yesterday.

Shops remained closed at Jawahar Nagar and surrounding areas. Even shoppers and traders were reluctant to visit the area.

Panic gripped residents, especially women living in nearby Model Town and Model Gram. "If such ugly protests keep taking place, people will stop visiting Jawahar Nagar and our business will be affected. The police needs to tighten noose around hooligans," said a store owner.

There were reports that the Government Senior Secondary School for Boys located at Jawahar Nagar remained closed due to thin attendance. However, District Education Officer (Secondary) Paramjit Kaur said she was not aware of it.

The blatant display of hooliganism left the right-minded city residents red-faced.

Youngsters were busy exchanging pictures on social networking website and mobile messaging application. The residents condemned the act and demanded strict action against those who attacked women.

Distancing himself from the controversy, area councillor Kapil Kumar Sonu strongly condemned the killing of

23- year-old Shammi Kumar. "I am in no way related to any of the accused," said Kapil Kumar Sonu.

He said leaders of the SAD-BJP and the Congress fuelled the protest and the police watched the youths vandalising the vehicles.

Taking a jibe at the police, Ishwarjot Cheema said first the police let the killing take place in full public view and then it did not act on time. To top it all, it failed to control the violent protest. 

Ludhiana, August 30
Subjecting corporal punishment to a student of Class IV at a school near Bhamian Kalan sparked off a protest by parents.

To make the matter worse, the police detained the parents instead of resolving the issue.

The parents gathered outside the Jamalpur police station and protested till evening against the highhandedness of the school authorities.

They lambasted the police for its boorish behaviour. Narrating the incident, Satwant Singh, whose sons study in the school, said his ward was punished for no rhyme or reason. He was made to stand on the bench for five periods just because he had not deposited the fee. "I came to know about the incident when I went to pick up my sons in the afternoon. My elder son told me about the punishment. A few days ago, my younger son, studying in UKG, was also punished. I immediately contacted two of his teachers who took me to one of the classrooms where we sat and talked. They asked me to deposit the school fee. I told them that I will get it deposited before the last date," he said.

He said both the teachers went out while he and his son were sitting in the classroom and after some time he noticed that they had locked the room from outside. I called up at 100 and the officers advised me to talk to the school authorities as they were helpless. After sometime the police came and detained Satwant Singh for creating ruckus in the school. ASI Baljit Singh confirmed that Satwant Singh was detained and taken to the Jamalpur police station.

"Satwant Singh's son was punished so he created ruckus," said Baljit Singh.

Later, Satwant Singh was let-off. Satwant Singh said, "Why did the police arrest me? Why didn't it act against the school authorities for illegal confinement."

After the day-long drama, the parents and the school authorities reached a compromise and withdrew their complaints. The investigating office confirmed that both the groups signed the compromise agreement. 

Ludhiana, August 30
The 27-year-old youth, who died under mysterious circumstances six months ago, was poisoned to death.

He had gone to attend a wedding. The viscera report, sent by a laboratory in Kharar, has established that the victim, Pawan Kumar, a resident Khud Mohalla, died due to poisoning.

On the complaint of the victim's sister, Geetika, the police registered a case under Section 302 against Harish Verma of Harcharan Nagar. But no arrest was made by the police as it was awaiting the report.

Ludhiana, August 30
The state government has not released the salaries of the teachers of aided schools and colleges for the past one year. Mini-bus operators, who have been making rounds of the treasury wing to get their payments, have been told to keep off the office.

These are the problems that need to be addressed at the earliest, but it seems the government has something else on its mind.

At this time of crisis, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, along with seven to eight senior IAS officers, is touring Dubai/Istanbul to study projects there. They left on August 23 and will be back on September 1.

"The irony is that the government has allocated Rs 160 crore for the tour. It has been five months now and we have not received our salaries. Nobody is bothered to address the problem. The government can spend lakhs on such tours but can't pay us salaries. The teachers are approaching banks for loan," lamented Rehan.

There are over 4,000 such teachers/staff in aided schools who have not got the salaries. The teachers of aided colleges too are struggling to get their salaries. As many as 1,000 teachers have not received salaries for over an year now and more than 2,000 are yet to get their six-month salary. The state government allocates Rs 200 crore for aided colleges.

About 95 per cent of financial aid is given to aided schools and colleges by the state government and just 5 per cent of the finances are provided by the respective managements. There are over 480 aided schools and about 150 aided colleges in Punjab, where grants are disbursed by the state government. And in the absence of salaries, the teachers have been holding protests and staging dharnas, but to no avail.

The Deputy CM is being accompanied by PS Aujla, Venu Prasad, Anurag Aggarwal, Manvesh Sidhu, Ashok Gupta and Rakesh Verma. 

Ludhiana, August 30
Gold prices have shot up to Rs 31,080 per 10 gm ahead of wedding season. The prices have gone up after nine months.

"This has failed to cheer jewellers as buyers will now wait for the prices to come down," said Anand Parkash Sikri, president of the Ludhiana Jewellers Association.

He said speculations were rife that the prices would go up to Rs 34,000.

The prices soared to Rs 32,800 per 10 gm on December 3 last year. The rupee hit a record low and made the Dollar-priced metal costlier.

Silver prices rose to Rs 54,800 per kg. Bullion merchants said the prices rose after the Rupee plunged to 68.80 against the Dollar.

Silver coins were held steady at Rs 89,000 for buying and Rs 90,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

"At this point of time, things are quite unpredictable. Only a few customers are buying gold while the others are waiting for the prices to come down," said Ram Sareen, another jeweller from Sarafa Bazaar.

Highest rate of gold

Rs 32,800 per 10gm (2012)

Lowest rate of gold Rs 25,800 (August)

Ludhiana, August 30
To keep oneself fit, one should go for exercise, yoga and even gymnasium. But in a rat race of looking like a model many people go for excessive exercise in the gym without consulting experts. To shed down their extra fat, especially, women and to make their body look more muscular, these fitness freaks do exercise, take dietary supplements and thus spoil their vital organs. People from all age groups and both the genders seem to have been caught in the tentacles of fitness mania. But by the time they realise their mistake, it gets too late.

Dr HS Bedi, Head of Cardiovascular, Endovascular and Thorasic Surgery, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, said, “It is good to remain fit but with the consultation of health experts. It was in late 90s when I received a patient who had won the title of Mr Punjab. Thereafter, he damaged his heart and underwent an open-heart surgery. Later, I got to know that he used to take lots of dietary supplements. I suggest that one can eat eggs or chicken but not these supplements without medical consultation as they may damage kidneys and heart.

Dr Bedi said excess of exercise is also harmful. He said he receives four to six patients who suffer from heart problems in a year who land themselves in trouble due to excessive exercise without consulting a physician.

Dr KS Aulakh, Professor of Urology and Head of Kidney Trasnsplant Unit of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital said, “People who go for excessive exercise suffer from Myoglobin Urea. With lot of exercise, sometimes muscles get damaged. Muscle protein gets released into the body which is excreted through kidney. But instead of getting out it gets jammed in kidneys and leading to kidney failure.” Dietary supplements also damage kidney if taken without medical advice.

Dr Anand Sehgal, Chief Urologist at RG Stone Superspeviality Hospital said, “These supplements have high protein content, which is not good for everyone. Suppose someone's kidneys are already on the compromising state and if he takes these supplements, his kidneys will be damaged. One can know about the health of kidneys only through blood test and in some people, who don’t take supplements but go for excessive exercise, protein of their muscles gets dissolved and gets collected in kidneys. But kidneys fail to excrete it and thus suffers from kidney problem."

He further said that sometimes patients, who have tendency of stone formation, also worsen their health with these supplements.

Ludhiana, August 30
Enter PAU from Sidhwan Canal side and your way to the centre of the university would be a bumpy one. Although most of the roads of the university were carpeted last year, the stretch of the road from Sidhwan Canal is in a bad shape and needs to be carpeted.

Although the road is less commuted yet staff, students and many other people go to the university from that side.

"It doesn't suit of a university of this stature to have any road in such a bad conditions,” said an official at the university. “This is known as one of the Asia's best agricultural universities. Several international delegates visit the university. If they visit the farms, and see the bumpy roads, it affects the university's reputation. Roads should be in perfect condition. Many of the roads were in a bad shape when these were carpeted last year. But this stretch from the Sidhwan Canal towards the university was left uncarpeted," the official said.

"I face inconvenience whenever I come to the university from this side," he said. "It gets bad particularly during the rainy season, as water fills in the potholes," says an official who commutes this road regularly.

Despite several attempts, PAU Estate Officer did not respond to SMS and calls to comment on the issue.

Ludhiana, August 30
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari today wondered whether there was any transparent power tariff policy in the state.

"Of late, the power tariff in Punjab has become oppressively exorbitant, with common man being made to pay through the nose," he said in a statement issued here today.

Sharing concern over the inflated bills being issued to consumers, Tewari said Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had been imposing unexplained and arbitrary tariff and other charges on the helpless consumers who do not have any option but to pay their bills. The minister said the state government had failed to respond to the complaints regarding inflated bills. Tewari said several households had received electricity bills which were more than their monthly income. Similarly, several small and medium scale industrial units are on the brink of closure only because they are not in a position to pay their electricity bills, he said.

“The power tariff in Punjab looks more like the punitive tax imposed on the people during medieval times,” he said. He said Punjab had the second highest power tariff in the country, while the supply was among the worst. Tewari said the Akali-BJP government in Punjab had increased the power tariff in the state by 70 per cent during the last six years, but it had not added a single extra unit of power.

Sometimes the consumers are told that these are advance charges and sometimes they are told that these are the security deposit for 45 days, said Tewari, while asking for the justification of these extra charges. 

Ludhiana, August 30
The BJP is in the poll preparation mode. At a meeting of the party functionaries of the Doaba zone, Punjab BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh said the state BJP would contest on three out of 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab in the 2014 Parliamentary polls.

Chugh was in the city today to chair the meeting of the Doaba zone which, according to the BJP categorisation, comprises 11 districts of the state.

Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, Chugh said the BJP was consolidating its organisational structure at all levels. In Doaba zone, the party has planned 126 organisational meetings from September 1 to September 15 to finalise the details. Out of the 126 mandals, 119 have already been organised, while the rest will be structured by September 1, he added.

“Our objective is to prepare and motivate the electorate for a political change at the Centre. The people are already against the Congress-led UPA government. The inflation is at an all-time high. The rupee vis-à-vis Dollar is on the downslide," said Chugh. He accused some senior Congress leaders from Punjab of shying away from their responsibility towards the people.

Coming to the defence of BJP Member Parliament (MP) Navjot Singh Sidhu, Chugh said the MP's office at Amritsar has not been closed even for a single day. "When he's not there, his wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu take the charge. She attends to the people's grievances. The MP, due to some compelling reasons that he has admitted publicly, has not been able to attend his office regularly."

Chugh was accompanied by District BJP President Parveen Bansal on the occasion. 

Ludhiana, August 30
The Excise and Taxation Department today raided four firms in the city for VAT evasion and bogus billing. Raids were conducted under the supervision of AETC, Tejbir Singh Sidhu.

Rohit Enterprises on Gill Road, RK Metal at Nichi Mangli, Sabharwal Enterprises at Kartar Nagar and Prem Wire Products at focal point were raided for possible VAT evasion and over billing.

“Documents, sale-purchase vouchers, a laptop and two computers were seized by the department,” said Sidhu.

Meanwhile, inspection was also conducted at Aruna Enterprises at Vishwakarma Colony under the supervision of AETC Jaskarn Brar for bogus exports. The firm has exported goods to the tune of Rs 3.75 crore through the Nepal border. — TNS

Phillaur, August 30
The residents of Bahadurpur village along with students of Government Primary School and their parents staged a dharna on the Phillaur-Nurmahal road today. The protesters blocked the traffic for over an hour to protest against the decision of the government to merge the school with a nearby Shampur village school on Phillaur-Nurmahal road.

Bahadurpur village sarpanch Davinderjit said, “The decision of the government is snatching away the children’s right to education.” Students’ parents said sending their wards to Shampur School is no less than a danger to the lives of their children, as the road is always busy with traffic.

They said there are 26 students in Bahudarpur village who study in Shampur School. They warned to intensify their stir if the decision was not taken back.

The blockade was lifted when the block primary education officer, Jaswinder Singh, reached on the dharna site and assured the protesters a proper course of action.

The protesters submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister to
the officer. 

Doraha, August 30
On the occasion of the 92nd birth anniversary of the leader of the masses, late Dr Ishwar Singh Malhans, residents of Doraha commemorated the contributions made by him in varied fields. A physician, an educationist and a social worker, Malhans was highly respected in social circles. He even represented various medical associations.

Dr Ishwar Singh was the founder president of Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, and Guru Nanak Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha. He was also the manager of RS Khalsa High School, Jaspalon, and Sikh Girls High School, Jaspalon, apart from being the trustee of Nankana Sahib Public School, Ludhiana.

“He was the president and the vice-president of the Municipal Council, Doraha, for several years. He was also a member of the Municipal Council, Doraha, for 45 years. Besides he was a member of various clubs, associations and organizations, formed for well-being and welfare of the public,” said Roop Brar, Malhan’s daughter and the president of the Guru Nanak Managing board.

Ludhiana, August 30
Employees of the State Bank of Patiala staged a dharna in front of the zonal office of the bank against the merger of associate banks with the SBI.

Under the banner of All-India Bank Employees’ Association and Bank Employees Federation, the protesters decided to observe an all-India strike on September 25 against the ‘anti-people’ banking sector reforms, contemplation for merger of public sector banks, unwarranted closure of associate banks and merger with the SBI, retrograde policy to give banking license to corporate and business houses and unilateral imposition of service conditions.

Naresh Gaur, assistant general secretary of the AIBEF, said: “Banking laws are being liberalised and regulations are being relaxed and hence it is our duty to fight against these measures," he said. 

Ludhiana, August 30
A three-week summer school on machinery for natural resource management and technologies sponsored by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was inaugurated at the Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering (FMPE) of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 30
A business family was duped of jewellery worth lakhs on the day of Janmashatami. The family, residing at the Yash Painter Street area, was cheated by a gang of swindlers who entered the house on pretext of some work related to a sanction of loan. The imposters posed as bank officials and took away the ornaments kept at a secret place in the house.

Satish Kumar, head of the family, alleged two unknown persons committed the crime in the evening when all members of the family, except the children, were away.

The modus operandi of the swindlers suggests that some insider was also involved in the crime.

The Station house officer (SHO), Randhir Singh said, “Jatinder Kumar, elder son of the complainant, had brought jewellery and ornaments and only few of the family members knew the secret place in his room, where the jewellery was kept.”

On Wednesday evening all the male members of the house were busy in their routine chores, while the women had gone to visit a temple where a child of the family was to participate in the Janmashtami celebrations.

Two of the swindlers were probably keeping a track of the activities of the family members and decided to take advantage of the absence of other family members, said the SHO.

The intruders were intercepted by the complainant’s wife when she returned from the temple, but the miscreants managed to flee.

The police has initiated an investigation in a scientific manner.

Phone call records of persons concerned and recordings of the CCTV cameras installed at various places in the town are being examined to nab the culprits.

SHO Randhir Singh said, “Vital clues regarding the incident have been received by the police.”

Jagraon, August 30
The local police has confirmed the arrest of four youths in connection with the murder of a local youth, Gursewak Singh. The victim was found dead in his car, under mysterious circumstances, on Monday night at the link road connecting the Agwar-Lopon area with Nanaksar near Jagraon.

The police today revealed the identities of the four accused youths. They have been identified as Rachpal Singh, alias Pali, a resident of Jagraon, Manpreet Singh, alias Mana, a resident of Phide village in Ferozepur district, Narinder Singh, alias Janta, a resident of Galib Ran Singh village near Jagraon and Gaurav Sachdeva, alias Gora of Agwar Gujran locality in Jagraon.

“While Manpreet Singh is the cousin of Gursewak Singh, the other three accused were hired by Manpreet for killing Gursewak”, said Deputy Superintendent of Police, Jagraon, Surinder Kumar. The station house officer, Jagraon, Mohamad Jamil, said in the preliminary investigation it was revealed that the illicit relationship between Manpreet Singh and Gursewak's NRI wife, Sanpreet Kaur, led to the murder. “During the interrogation, Manpreet Singh confessed that he had an illicit relationship with Sanpreet and that they had hatched a conspiracy to eliminate Gursewak Singh from their way. Manpreet Singh hired three contract killers to execute the murder, while Sanpreet provided the funds and also gave information about the whereabouts of Gursewak to his cousin on the day he was murdered”, said the SHO.

The DSP said, “The police has booked the victim’s NRI wife along with the four youths arrested by the police. The efforts to bring her to India will begin very soon.”

Gursewak got married to Sanpreet Kaur, who originally hails from Meerpur Hans village near Jagraon, around two years ago. But soon after the marriage, she developed an illicit relationship with Gursewak's cousin Manpreet Singh who was already married. After some time, Manpreet divorced his wife and deserted his six-month-old daughter.

Ludhiana, August 30
The Division No 8 police has booked a couple for duping a person on the pretext of sending him abroad. The accused has been identified as Pardeep Singh and his wife Parmajit Kaur, residents of Mandeep Nagar.

The incident took place in January 2013. The case has been registered following an inquiry. According to the complainant, Lakhvir Singh, a resident of Roop Nagar, the accused fleeced him on the pretext of sending him to Canada.

Ludhiana, August 30
Asking to remove encroachment from a road and to clear garbage from a vacant plot proved costly for a 19-year-old youth who was allegedly attacked by a man and his mother at New Deep Nagar on Churpur road.

Dhruv Puri suffered head injury and a deep cut on his face after he was attacked by a sharp-edged weapon. Narrating the incident, the victim’s father, Parveen Puri, said: “On August 25 my son Dhruv requested the neighbours to remove encroachment from the road and clear the garbage and cow dunk from the plot."

He said Davinder Singh, his mother and brother live on a plot at the rear of their house. They are into the dairy business.

“I was spending money for constructing the road and my son had asked Davinder Singh to vacate it. This rattled Davinder and his mother and they attacked my son with sharp-edged weapons. It happened so quickly that I could not react. When I intervened, Davinder and his brother attacked me and my wife," alleged Parveen Puri.

Dhruv was rushed to a hospital. He received 19 stitches on his head and deep cut on his upper lip. His is stated to be out of danger.

Parveen said that initially the police tried to hush up the case under political pressure as Davinder Singh was being supported by a former sarpanch who is close to the sitting MLA.

As the police was dilly-dallying the matter, Parveen brought the matter to the notice of senior leader and former MLA Harish Rai Dhanda and finally the case was registered four days after the incident.

"But the police played a cruel joke with us. While my son sustained serious injuries, the police imposed minor sections, including trespass and voluntarily causing hurt, on the accused," said Parveen. 

Ludhiana, August 30
A 49-year-old junior engineer with Punjab State Power Corporation Limited was killed in a road mishap at Dugri, Phase III, today.

The victim was identified as Inderpal Singh. The incident took place in the Focal Point area this morning when Inderpal was on his way to his office on his scooter.

Ludhiana, August 30
Bharatiya Vidya Mandir (BVM) Senior Secondary School, Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, branch continued its dominance as after making a clean sweep in the girls’ section yesterday, the boys of the school lifted to out of three titles which were at stake in the Inter School SQAY Martial Art Championship organised by the District Education Department at BVM Udham Singh Nagar campus ground here today.

The boys clinched top honours in the U-14 and U-19 categories while Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, came out triumphant in the boys’ U-17 group.

The BVM garnered 25 points to romp home champions in the boys’ U-14 section and Guru Nanak Public School collected 17 points to finish second while Spring Dale School secured 10 points for the third position.

In the boys’ U-19 category, BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, scored 23 points to clinch the title. They were closely followed by Saraswati Model School, Civil Lines, with 19 points. BVM, Kitchlu Nagar branch (16 points) was adjudged third.

However, in the U-17 category, Guru Nanak Public School performed exceedingly well. The team scored 30 points to lay their hands on the trophy. Saraswati Model School secured second position with 19 points while the hosts, BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, could muster 15 points and finished at the third place.

Individual results (boys U-14) Below 25 kg (Vashu Sharma of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar I, Gurmail Singh of GNPS III and Bhavish of Saraswati School III).

Below 29 kg (Harman of GNPS I, Sourabh of Spring Dale School II, Amrit of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, and Chirag of Saraswati School III).

Below 33 kg (Dev Sagar of GRD Academy I, Gurneet of GNPS II, Sagar of Saraswati School and Aditya Joshi of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, III).

Below 37 kg (Gaurav of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, I, Imandeep of GNPS II, Tushar of Spring Dale School and Puesh of Saraswati School III).

Below 41 kg (Lakshay of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, I, Pushkar of GNPS II, Nishant of Spring Dale School and Yuvraj of Saraswati School III).

Below 45 kg (Vivek of Spring Dale School I, Uttam Gupta of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, II, Deepak Singh of SBS, Jagraon, and Rohit of Saraswati School, Civil Lines, III).

Above 45 kg (Bhavav of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, I, Lovesh of Saraswati School II and Gurmukh Singh of SBS, Jagraon III).

Boys U-17 below 40 kg (Peush of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, I, Aditya of Saraswati School II and Harsimrandeep of Spring Dale School III).

Below 44 kg (Tejeshwar Singh of GNPS I, Kapil of Saraswati School II, Karan Sharma of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, and Simranjit Singh of Spring Dale School III).

Below 48 kg (Amandeep Singh of GNPS I, Bhuvesh of Saraswati School II, Mohit Sharma of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, and Anish of BVM, Kitchlu Nagar III).

Below 52 kg (Anganddeep of GNPS I, Subhav Gupta of Saraswati School II, Syeam of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, III).

Below 56 kg (Ekjot Singh of GNPS I, Bhuvnesh of Saraswati School II, Naman of BVM, Kitchlu Nagar, and Harshdeep Singh of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, III).

Below 60 kg (Karanvir Singh of GNPS I, Sanjeev of Saraswati School II, Shivan Gulati of BVM, Udham Singh Nagar, and Kashish Jain of BVM, Kitchlu Nagar III).