Bathinda, September 28
A day after the honour killing of a 26-year-old girl in Maur Khurd village, the police today arrested five persons, including the deceased's mother, two brothers and a cousin.

The partially-burnt body of the girl, Harjinder Kaur, was recovered by the police on Thursday evening following the complaint of Jagsir Seera with whom the girl was reportedly in love.

Seera accused her brother-in-law, an RMP, of raping and torturing her at Rori (Haryana) after she refused to lodge a police complaint against him (Seera).

While talking to TNS today, Seera said while Harjinder's elder brother was in Mumbai for the past sometime her younger brother too had gone in search of work to Kotkapura around a year ago.

"Her mother had initially agreed for the marriage but her brothers raised objection even as there was a little difference between our castes," Seera said. "The girl had informed the police that she had left her house on June 24 on her own and called him up after reaching Bathinda railway station. There is no question of kidnapping," he said.

After the girl was traced, the police handed her over to her family members, who first took her to nearby Ramnagar village where her uncle resides and later, she was taken to Rori in Haryana where her elder sister was married.

Seera suspected that Harjinder was killed by her family members by injecting some medicine into her body.

SP (Detective) Naveen Singla said he was enquiring into the incident. "So far, we are yet to confirm the cause of her death," he said.

Maur Mandi SHO Kulwinder Singh said those arrested were the deceased’s mother Gurmeet Kaur, brothers Kulwant and Kulwinder, a cousin Jagdeep and his friend Sukhwinder. He added that during interrogation the accused confessed to have administered two injections to Harjinder. She was first injected a sedative. Another injection was given to her later, which took her life, the SHO said.

Turn of events Jagsir Seera, an electrician, came in contact with Harjinder Kaur, who lived with her widowed mother after her brothers left home in search of work. The girl left her house on June 24 and called up Seera after reaching Bathinda railway station. The duo spent a night at a hotel and reached Jandawala village near Hanumangarh in Rajasthan. Her family learnt about their presence in Hanumangarh and forcefully took the girl back to Maur Kalan. They forced the girl to lodge a complaint against Seera and accuse him of kidnapping and rape, but the girl refused to do so. Upset over her refusal, the family members beat her up after she was taken to her uncle's house in Ramnagar village. She was later taken to Rori district of Haryana where her elder sister was married to an RMP. The boy accused Harjinder's brother-in-law of raping her at Rori. The girl was brought back to Maur Khurd where she was allegedly injected some medicine and she died. The boy learnt about the death and reported to the police. The police took the girl's body into its possession and registered a case against 12 members of her family.

Bathinda, September 28
A statue of Razia Sultan would be installed at the Bibiwala Chowk so that visitors know about the Razia Sultana Fort in the city, said Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla, who was the chief guest at the function organised by the Bathinda Hotel, Restaurant and Resorts Association today to celebrate the World Tourism Day.

Former Mayor Baljeet Singh Bir Behman, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Mohammad Tayyab and former senior deputy mayor Tarsem Goyal were the guests of honour on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, Singla patted the back of the Punjab Government for spending a lot of money to develop tourism in the city. ADC (D) Tayyab promised all kind of help to the association.

In his address, the president of the association, Satish Arora, threw light on why September 27 was celebrated as the World Tourism Day.

He said although the city had major attractions like boating facility and adventure sports at the lakes, Deer Safari, historic Qila Mubarak, Maiserkhana temple and several other places, the lack of sufficient funds was hampering the development of city as a tourist hub.

Arora stated that even as the funds for setting up an information centre in the city were released by the Central Government, the district administration was yet to earmark a place for it.

Students of the MHR School and the IHM institute presented a cultural programme during the function which received a huge round of applause from the gathering. The students were given appreciation letters for their performance. The guests were also presented mementos by the association.

Vipin Garg, Swadesh Goyal, Ashok Dhunike, Rajinder Kumar Raju, Kuldeep Goyal, Janak Raj Aggarwal, Keval Krishan Garg, KK Garg, Navneet Bansal, Pankaj Arora, Somnath Bansal and Bhushan Aggarwal among several others were present on the occasion.

Bathinda, September 28
Four Class IX students of a private school in Rampura are reported missing for the past 24 hours.

A complaint in this has been lodged by their relatives in Rampura City police station.

The students left for the school yesterday but did not return home. Three students are from Guru Nanakpura Mohalla while one is from Dhipali village. They all belong to middle-class families and were close friends. When the family members enquired about their wards from the school authorities, they learnt that the students were reported absent yesterday.

SHO (City) Surinder Bansal said one of the students was carrying a mobile phone, which was now switched off. The last location of the tower revealed that the mobile was somewhere near the railway station, Bathinda, at around 4 pm yesterday.

The SHO said the students’ planning came to fore when the mobile phone of one of the parents was inspected and an SMS was found which read ‘get ready, we would leave tomorrow’. — TNS

Bathinda, September 28
A day after the iron gate of a gurdwara fell on Suraj Kumar, a student of Government Elementary School, Dhobiana Basti, the authorities concerned sat up and took note. While Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav has promised to probe the matter, District Education Officer (Elementary education) Amarjit Kaur Kotfatta assured that work on constructing the boundary wall of the school would begin next week.

Suraj, along with his classmates, came out of the school during the lunch break and got hurt as the iron gate of the adjacent gurdwara on which he was taking a ride unhinged and fell on him. His rib cage was injured in the mishap. He is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the city.

Interestingly, only earlier this month, the Deputy Commissioner had directed Dr Kotfatta to start upgrading the infrastructure at the school but the work is yet to begin.

Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, the DEO said, "The land on which the boundary wall and more classrooms are to be built is disputed. A few followers at the adjacent gurdwara have been hampering the development. I have asked the school management committee members to meet me on Monday so that we can start the work within a week."

"Besides, I wonder what the teachers were doing when the gate fell on the students. In the absence of a boundary wall, shouldn't they have been more careful about where the children are playing. The school is located near a pond. What if a student falls into it? Who will be responsible? It is easy to pass the buck," she added.

Former municipal councillor of the area, Manjit Singh, who has been fighting for upgradation of the school for a year, said, "During her sangat darshan in the city, MP Harsimrat Kaur announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh for construction of the boundary wall and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla also gave Rs 5 lakh for upgrading the school. The DC passed orders for the development work to begin but nothing has been done till now."

"The school lacks basic facilities like toilets and potable water. Stray animals are also a danger to the children. Without a boundary wall, safety of the students is always at stake," he added.

"I had directed the Municipal Commissioner to have the land earmarked and begin construction of a boundary wall. I will look into the matter," the DC said.

Bathinda, September 28
A team of four officials, including doctors and policemen, has been formed to probe the suspected killing of a three-day-old baby girl in Sardargarh village near Goniana. The Beti Bachao Manch, Bathinda, had brought the killing to the notice of the district administration.

Terming it a case of female infanticide, Rajnish Rana, the convener of the Manch, informed that the child's family members were visibly not happy with her birth. One of the ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers informed the officials that the baby was delivered on August 24 in the Primary Health Centre, Balluana.

The child weighed 4 kg and was healthy. She showed no symptom to indicate that she was ill and could die within three days of her birth.

The ASHA worker, who visited the child's house for post-natal care, overheard heated arguments being exchanged between her family members.

The worker is made one of the witnesses in the case. The team comprises District Family Planning Officer (DFPO), the in-charge of the committee, DSP (City), the project officer of the PNDT Cell and the convener of Beti Bachao Manch.

The committee members said the child was buried at the village cemetery and the body might be exhumed for conducting post-mortem examination to ascertain the cause of death.

ADC (D) Mohammad Tayyab, who is the president of the PNDT Cell, ordered formation of the committee.

The letter issued by the ADC also suggested recording the statements of eyewitnesses in a local court under Sections 164 of the CrPC. The letter also raised concern over the casual attitude adopted by the Senior Medical Officer (SMO) of Goniana.

The committee would submit its report to the ADC on October 5.

Bathinda, September 28
The 2K11 batch of the Giani Zail Singh Punjab Technical University (GZS PTU) Campus, Bathinda, lifted the overall trophy by winning the maximum number of competitions held during the annual techno-cultural fest, Tarannum-2013. The two-day event concluded on Friday.

The 2K11 batch won the first prizes in the best from waste, Java juggling, Hindi debate, regional dance, group discussion, Western solo, weave it, media fire, folk dance and Western group dance competitions.

During the evening session of Day I of the fest, Rajinder Mittal, managing director of Bathinda Chemicals, was the chief guest and deputy general manager of the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, Anil Kumar and general manager of the National Fertilizers Limited, SC Singla, were the guests of honour.

The guests, along with the campus director Dr Jasbir Singh Hundal, lighted the ceremonial lamp. Dr Hundal acknowledged the moral support provided by Dr Rajneesh Arora, Vice-chancellor of the Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar.

Students competed in various events like solo dance, duet dance, choreography, giddha, mime, classical solo song, regional dance, and others. The college newsletter was also released the same evening by the guests, campus director and the student team members of the editorial board, headed by Dr Seema Sharma.

The highlight of the evening was a live performance by singer Shehnaz Akhtar. The winners of various events were awarded by the guests. Prof Sandeep Kansal proposed a vote of thanks.

A number of students participated in different events such as solo song, Western solo, Punjabi solo, pair on stage and other literary events. The chief guest at the cultural evening on Friday was Gurpreet Singh Maluka, chairman of the Zila Parishad, Bathinda.

The guests of honour were Ramesh Raina, general manager (operations), Vardhman Polytex Limited, Bathinda, and renowned comedian Gurpreet Singh Ghughi who also made the evening a memorable one with his wisecracks during his performance.

The cultural evening on Friday began with a patriotic song dedicated to Shaheed Bhagat Singh. The campus director motivated the students to live like Swami Vivekananda and die like Shaheed Bhagat Singh.

Several competitive events like classical solo dance, solo song, folk dance, Western solo, Punjabi solo, Western group dance, dance to the beat, pair on stage, and a special performance by the college Bhangra team were conducted.

The guests were presented mementos by Dr Hundal. The chief guest gave away prizes to the winners of the competitions held during the day. 

Bathinda, September 28
A national Lok Adalat would be held in Bathinda on November 23 with the help of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Bathinda.

District and Sessions Judge-cum- chairman of the DLSA, Tajwinder Singh said cases relating to motor accidents claim, compoundable criminal cases, Negotiable Instruments Act, traffic challan, disputes pertaining to houses or commercial rent, family dispute cases, Domestic Violence Act, civil suits, labour disputes, cases pertaining to railways, banking, forest department, MGNREGA, sales tax, income tax and others would be taken up during the Lok Adalat. The judge urged the people to move applications in the respective courts. — TNS

Bathinda, September 28
Police today booked two residents of Chak Atar Singhwala village for beating and damaging the vehicle of another village resident, Gursewak Singh. In a complaint to the police, Gursewak said the accused, Hargobind and Bhupinder of his village, harboured a grudge against him after the Panchayat elections a few months ago as he did not support the candidate which they were supporting. Upset over this, they attacked him after finding him alone. The complainant also accused the assailants of damaging his vehicle. Police has registered a case under sections 341, 427, 323 and 34 of the IPC at the Nandgarh police station. No arrests have been made so far.

In another incident, police booked two persons, Gurdeep Singh and Gurwinder Singh, for beating up Jagjit Singh of Akalia Jalal village. A case has been registered against the accused at the Dyalpura police station. — TNS

Bathinda, September 28
Police today booked three members of a family after a man committed suicide by hanging himself from the roof of his house. The deceased, Jagdeep Singh, a rickshaw-puller, was found dead at his house in Gangaram Wali Gali in the city.

The complainant, Gurdeep Singh, brother of the deceased, in his statement to the police, alleged that the wife of the deceased had illicit relationship with someone and they had fights over it.

Investigating officer Jaidev Singh said a case under sections 306 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against Jagdeep’s wife Neetu, mother-in-law Bimal Kaur and sister-in-law Nimmo at Kotwali police station. — TNS

Bathinda, September 28
The popularity of no other dish must have increased in the past six months as much as the momos. Momos, a form of dumplings, native to Nepal, Tibet and India's other eastern neighbours, is fast making its way to the plates of Bathinda's food lovers.

Momos, which first carved a niche for themselves in metropolitan cities in Northern India, are now slowly making inroads into the smaller cities as well. The city, which loves its snacks spicy and hot, has started savouring these steamed delights.

So much has the popularity of momos grown that it is not unusual to spot vendors of momos at almost all the major markets in the city. If there's one at the Gol Diggi, another can be spotted right outside Mittal Mall and others along the 100 Feet Road, Bhagu Road, Ajit Road, Amrik Singh Road and Dhobi Bazar.

Suresh, a native of Nepal, who sets up his vend along the 100-Feet Road, accepts that he learnt making momos through trial and error. "I worked my way from being a house help to owning a vend. I had eaten momos in Nepal and tried making them here and selling them," he says,

"People here like spicy food and I alter the bland nature of the original dish by adding diced green chillies and adding chilli powder. Since chicken is quite expensive, I add onions and finely chopped cabbage to the filling," he adds.

While everyone enjoys them, few think about the difference between what they should be and what they really are. While the authentic recipe says that to prepare the outer crust of the dumplings, the dough should be rolled till translucent and baked for only about ten minutes and the vegetable filling should be crunchy, these are the qualities that the momos served by the roadsides here lack.

Not only is the outer crust thick and chewy, minced and overcooked vegetable constitute the filling. As opposed to the mild black pepper and garlic flavour of the original, the ones served in the city range anywhere between being moderately spiced and hot to suit the Indian palate.

Brazenly flouting the 10-minute steam rule, these are steamed and re-steamed again and again before being served. And the fact that eight chicken mince momos are offered for just Rs 50-60 is something to ponder on.