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Centre encroaching on state rights: CM
Rahul coming, PPCC plans united show
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Singla claims credit for hospital, but Bajwa calls it ‘Rahul work’
Gujarat’s Sikh farmers look to state leaders for help; plan protest rally
No regular jobs for staff recruited by service provider, rules High Court
Govt’s wrong policies led to industry’s flight: Cong
Medallists to get grace marks: Maluka
Farmers in 44 villages of Ajnala issued notices
PSEB detects 63 bogus Class X, XII certificates
Committee formed to look into ‘questionable’ land deals
Cop suspended as undertrial escapes
3 electrocuted in Tarn Taran
State govt building smart labs in ill-equipped schools
Rain makes matters worse for farmers in region
Ad
hoc appointments
Fleecing of cancer patients
Undertrial on bail kills neighbour
Notorious smuggler among two arrested with heroin
Five mowed down by truck
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Centre encroaching on state rights: CM
Jalandhar, October 9 Asked about the SAD’s demand for another seat for the forthcoming Delhi Assembly poll, he said the matter was still under discussion. “It will be sorted out amicably. We will be camping in Delhi to ensure the victory of SAD-BJP candidates,” he said. To a query on seat-swapping with the BJP for the parliamentary poll in Punjab, the CM said this too was under consideration. Asked if Satyajit Majithia, father of Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, could be a candidate, he reacted sharply, saying: “No he will not be a candidate. That is certain.” The Chief Minister said the policy of regularising colonies was in the interest of the general public as dues thus collected would be used to provide civic amenities to the residents. Badal tried to evade a question on alleged stamp duty evasion by Chief Parliamentary Secretary NK Sharma and some other political leaders. Hoshiarpur: The Chief Minister said that he believed in consensus rather than confrontation and sought the whole-hearted support of the Opposition in the state's development. He was talking to mediapersons here after inaugurating a maize dryer, the first in the country, installed at a cost of Rs 9 crore. Badal chided the Congress leadership at the Centre for failing to maintain law and order. He said the country faced both internal and external threat. Accepting the demands of farmers in kandi area, he agreed to 50 per cent subsidy on raising a wire fence for protecting crops against wild animals. The CM asked the Centre to introduce a mechanism for determining the MSP (minimum support price) for maize to motivate farmers to switch over to the crop in a big way. He asked Mandi Board chief Ajmer Singh Lakhowal to make available to farmers indigenous maize dryers in consultation with PAU technocrats. Garhshankar MLA Surinder Singh Bhullewal Rathan urged the CM to order the digging of 11 deep tubewells in the area. — Bipin Bhardwaj and Ravinder Sud
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Rahul coming, PPCC plans united show
Sangrur, October 9 Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla today set aside rumours that former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh would not be attending the rally as “the latter had not been adjusted on the stage with Rahul Gandhi". Singla said he had spoken to Amarinder Singh and that the latter would be participating in the event. Among others, Union Ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ambika Soni, Congress’ Punjab affairs in charge Shakeel Ahmed, state unit chief Partap Singh Bajwa, CLP leader Sunil Jakhar and former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal were likely to be present on the dais. Congress leaders, however, said the list of dignitaries who would be seated on the stage would be finalised only by tomorrow. While Rahul Gandhi and a select few leaders would be seated on the main stage, Congress MPs, MLAs and other senior leaders would be present on another stage adjacent to the main stage. There would be yet another stage for the artistes performing at the event. A huge ‘pandal’ has been erected for the rally. Singla said they were expecting more than a lakh people. Rahul Gandhi would first lay the stone for the PGI’s satellite cancer centre at Ghabdan Kothi, 10 km from here, and then address the rally next to the proposed hospital site. The 300-bedded hospital, to come up on 25 acres of land, is to be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,000-crore. The stone-laying ceremony, however, is likely to turn into a Congress show. The state government is learnt to have not received any invite for the event. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal even wrote to the Prime Minister today, expressing his displeasure on not being invited for the event. Badal claimed it was the Punjab Government that had struggled for the project and provided free land for it. On Badal not being invited, local Congress MP Vijay Inder Singla said he was not in the know of things as all invitations had been sent by the Director, PGI, Chandigarh. After laying the foundation stone, Rahul Gandhi would be addressing a rally next to the proposed hospital site. Around 1,700 police personnel have been deployed to ensure fool-proof security for the rally, one of the Congress’ biggest events in Punjab in recent past. The district administration has made the Sangrur Sub-Divisional Magistrate the in charge for the programme. Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Indu Malhotra said the district administration had no information so far whether anybody from the Punjab Government would be participating in the stone-laying ceremony. Senior Superintendent of Police Mandip Singh Sidhu said fool-proof arrangements had been made for the Congress leader’s visit to
Sangrur.
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Singla claims credit for hospital, but Bajwa calls it ‘Rahul work’
Patiala, October 9 Singla today circulated pamphlets in several parts of his constituency claiming it was him who had approved the hospital for Sangrur. He also urged the residents to participate in the rally in large numbers. The pamphlets have two big pictures of Rahul Gandhi on one side and Singla on the other. Several other Congress leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Punjab affairs in charge Shakeel Ahmed, state Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa, former Chief Ministers Capt Amarinder Singh and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar, have also found space on the pamphlets but in stamp-sized pictures. The pamphlets also show Singla’s various communications with the central leadership, including the Prime Minister, on the issue wherein he had requested them to “urgently set up a medical centre, which can cater to the poor people of the Malwa belt”. On being contacted, Bajwa said the credit for the hospital “single-handedly goes to Rahul”. Sources said the Punjab Congress leaders wanted to project the hospital as a collective effort of the state unit instead of any one leader taking credit. Another leader said Singla, being the Sangrur MP, had every right to do so but circulating pamphlets was not the right medium.
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Gujarat’s Sikh farmers look to state leaders for help; plan protest rally
Chandigarh, October 9 Amandeep Singh, who was hurt in the attack, told The Tribune this evening that a large number of Sikh farmers had contacted the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president, Partap Singh Bajwa, and other leaders. Besides Amandeep, Jaswinder Singh, Angrej Singh and Harpreet Singh were injured in the attack yesterday. The condition of Jaswinder Singh was said to be critical. Amandeep’s family originally belongs to Maur village near Kotkapura. Jaswinder Singh’s family belongs to Pitho village near Rampura Phul. “No one has been arrested by the police so far. The Gujarat police is, perhaps, going slow as most assailants were supporters of the ruling BJP,” said one of the farmers. The farmers have decided to gather at Loria tomorrow. Representatives of various Sikh organisations have been invited to the meeting. “We will plan our strategy at the meeting.We are thinking of holding a rally at Bhuj to seek action against the attackers,” said a farmer on the phone. A deputation of Sikh farmers from Gujarat had met senior Congress and SAD leaders recently, informing them on attempts being made to evict them from their land. The farmers had last week informed the Gujarat police and revenue authorities about certain influential persons issuing them threats, asking them to leave their farms.
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No regular jobs for staff recruited by service provider, rules High Court
Chandigarh, October 9 The significance of the judgment by Justice Surya Kant and Justice Surinder Gupta can be gauged from the fact that the Bench disposed of no less than 17 appeals filed by the employees hired through service providers. In their appeals against the State of Punjab and other respondents, Nishan Singh and others appellants had earlier challenged a judgment passed by a Single Judge on February 28. The Judge had dismissed the writ petitions for regularisation of their services ``in view of the policy decision'' dated March 18, 2011, issued by the Punjab Government. Engaged by a service provider, they were posted at the offices of Deputy Commissioners and Department of Excise and Taxation. Adjudicating the question whether employees engaged by any service provider were covered by the state policy of March 2011, the Single Judge ruled that the relationship of employer and employees did not exist between the government departments and the appellants. Taking up the appeal, the Bench asserted: “The submissions that the appellants are employees engaged by the respondent departments and the service provider has been used as a camouflage to deny the appellants their status as government employees or consequent at regularisation under the government policy and other statutory benefit has no substance or legal basis... “ The state has taken a policy decision for regularising the services of contractual employees who were appointed after fulfilling the eligibility criteria as per the procedure. In the case of appellants, neither were they selected under the Service Rules applicable to regular employees of Punjab, nor was there an advertisement issued by the state under which they applied for their engagement as regular or contractual employee of the state. “It was the service provider who entered into an agreement with the state agency to provide workforce on certain terms and conditions. The service provider selected the candidates and supplied the same to the government department. A service provider is not an agency of the state to make recruitment against civil posts...”
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Govt’s wrong policies led to industry’s flight: Cong
Patiala, October 9 Decrying Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s claims of making Punjab power-surplus, Bajwa said such statements held no meaning when a majority of the industry had already migrated. Bajwa, who was in the city to mobilise supporters for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Sangrur tomorrow, said: “A large number of units have already shifted base to other states while many others are in the process of doing so. In such a scenario, the state’s power demand is sure to come down, which in itself will make Punjab power-surplus even if the Talwandi Sabo and Rajpura plants are not commissioned." The PPCC chief claimed hardly any industry had come to Punjab in the last seven years. On the contrary, the ones that were here, including Hero Cycles, Sonalika and Nestle, were setting up their expansion units in other states because of the “huge burden” of taxes on these units, he said. On some senior Congress leaders from Doaba being not much happy with his functioning, Bajwa said the party was like a family. “I am on good terms with all Congress leaders… the loyalties of all our leaders in the state are towards the party and the high command and not towards any individual," he said. About speculations that Congress MLA from Rajasansi Sukhwinder Singh Sarkaria may join the Akali Dal, Bajwa alleged Sukhbir was trying to misguide the masses and making a desperate attempt to lower the morale of the opposition by spreading such rumours. Condemning the attack on a Sikh family in Kutch, Bajwa said it was an alleged attempt by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to terrorise the Sikh community so that they vacate Kutch. “This is what Modi did to the Muslim community earlier. But that hasn’t stopped Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal from giving the title of ‘Sardar’ to Modi,” he said.
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Medallists to get grace marks: Maluka
Bathinda, October 9 This was stated by Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka here today during his visit to St Xavier’s School to watch the ongoing Punjab State School Sports Tournament. He said students of Classes X, XI and XII who won medals at state-level events would be awarded 15 grace marks and those winning medals at the national level would be awarded 25 grace marks. Acknowledging the contribution of coaches to producing sportsmen, he said the state government would reward them too. “The state government has already announced that the coach adjuded best in the district will be rewarded Rs 5,000. The coach adjudged the best in the state will get Rs 21,000.” Pulling up Additional Education Officers, Maluka said only those who performed well would be retained on the post and no "sifarish will work." The minister said while earlier the budget for state-level sports tournaments was only Rs 7crore-8 crore, this year it had been raised to Rs 100 crore. Asked when the rural games would be held, he said he would have to consult Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on the matter.
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Farmers in 44 villages of Ajnala issued notices
Amritsar, October 9 Talking to The Tribune, Border Area Sangharsh Committee general secretary Rattan Singh Randhawa claimed that the farmers in Ajnala as well as those in other parts of the state had received such notices. These farmers had been asked by the Forest Department to evacuate their land, saying the land was encroached upon. But the farmers maintain that it was the government that had allotted them land during the green revolution. Ajnala tehsildar Amrit Lal said he was not aware of such notices being issued to the farmers. Randhawa said the government, instead of a confrontational approach, should hold talks with the farmers' body and find a way out. "Ideally, these farmers should be given ownership rights after charging them nominal rates as the land is their sole source of livelihood," he said. Jamhuri Kisan Sabha Punjab chief Satnam Singh Ajnala said the farmers in the Sidhwan Bet area of Jagraon had also received such notices. Among the affected villages in other parts of the state were Khurshedpur, Pajian, Kania Khurd, Sherewal, Baria, Madhepur, Khuralpur, Akkowal, Kot Umre, Bhundri, Rajjapur, Hambran and Tahli, he said. The land in these villages was either being claimed by the Union Government or the state Forest Department, he added.
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PSEB detects 63 bogus Class X, XII certificates
Faridkot, October 9 The PSEB authorities receive many dubious certificates of matriculation and 10+2 for verification every day. Increasing number of these certificates are being found bogus. After receiving many of these certificates from various government departments and educational institutions in Punjab, the scrutiny of these certificates by the PSEB in recent times detected that 63 of these were fake and forged, revealed information procured from PSEB. BFUHS has also come across a scam involving fake certificates to get admission in nursing and paramedical colleges in Punjab. A medical university has already cancelled the admission of over 40 students after the BFUHS sent class X and XII certificates of some suspicious candidates to PSEB, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Rajasthan Education Board (REB), Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh School Education Boards some time back for verification. The verification report of over 40 certificates established these to be fake and as a result, the university has cancelled the candidature of these students in different nursing and paramedical colleges across the state. The verification report for many other dubious certificates is still awaited, revealed sources in the medical university. After cancelling the registration of all these students, the BFUHS has already conveyed to the medical colleges concerned the decision towards expulsion of these students. Some days back, BFUHS sent the suspected certificates of six nursing students to PSEB for verification. All these certificates were found bogus. While some of these certificates were found bogus ab initio as there was no record of these certificates with the PSEB, in some cases, there was tampering in the certificates, with the date of birth changed, said Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal, PSEB chairperson. After getting a request from the Military Engineering Service (MES), Jalandhar Cantt for the verification of a matriculation certificate of a woman employee, the PSEB found that the woman had tampered with her date of birth as it appeared on the certificate, changing it from June 5, 1970 to June 5, 1976. On the demand of Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, while verifying the matriculation certificates of Gurjit Kaur and Jageshwar, the PSEB found that never were any certificates with the given roll numbers issued in the name of these candidates. The PSEB record showed these certificates were issued in the name of Resham Kaur and Ram Babu. After getting a request for verification from the Medical Council of India (MCI), the PSEB found that the 10+2 certificate of a medical college student was bogus. The departments which encountered these bogus certificates include Punjab Police, Postal Department, Punjabi University, DPI (Colleges), Punjab Roadways, BFUHS, Banks and Army recruitment office.
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Committee formed to look into ‘questionable’ land deals
Mohali, October 9 Mohali Deputy Commissioner Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu today constituted a committee to look into the matter. Headed by Sidhu, the committee would comprise Mohali Additional Deputy Commissioner, District Revenue Officer, SDMs concerned and
other officials, including tehsildars and patwaris in the area. The committee would go through all land records to check irregularities, if
any, in the land deals in question. After Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira and SAD leader NK Sharma accused each other of undervaluing land two days ago, it came to light that commercial land was being registered as agricultural land in order to pay minimum stamp duty on registration of its sale deed. Mohali Deputy Commissioner confirmed the development and said he was to submit a detailed report of these land deals to the state government. “All the records of the land in question have been summoned,” said the Tejinder Pal Sidhu. Recently, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister summoned top functionaries of the district to his residence and directed them to look into the said land deals.
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Cop suspended as undertrial escapes
Bathinda, October 9 Lodged at the Bathinda Central Jail, Brij Kumar made good his escape while he was being produced in the court in connection with an NDPS case registered against him in 2010. Sources said the undertrial borrowed the policeman’s mobile phone and in the garb of talking to someone, he gave the police the slip. Though the undertrial escaped around 1.30 pm, the matter was reported to the judicial complex police post at 3 pm. Senior Superintendent of Police Ravcharan Singh Brar said a case had been registered against the undertrial as well as
Nardev.
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3 electrocuted in Tarn Taran
Tarn Taran, October 9 The deceased have been identified as Manoj Kumar Yadav (35) and Ganesh Kumar Yadav, both of Belhi (Bihar), and truck driver Angrej Singh. The injured were Kirni and Ranjit Kumarm, also of Belhi (Bihar), who have been admitted at the local Civil Hospital. They were stated to be out of danger. According to information collected by this correspondent here today, the deceased and the injured labourers, alongwith their other associates, were on their way from township Khadur Sahib to the local grain market. They were sitting atop bags filled with paddy and loaded on to the truck which the deceased Angrej Singh was driving. On reaching here in the early hours, the driver stopped the truck on the roadside. As soon as the labourers stood up to alight from the truck, Manoj had contact with the cable wires passing over the truck. Ganesh tried to rescue him by pulling him towards himself. Both were electrocuted while the driver Angrej Singh died as he was checking the tyres of the truck and thus had contact with the truck's body, which in turn had contact with live wires. Two labourers were injured in the incident. Inspector Lakhvir Singh, SHO, said a report under Section 174 of CrPC had been registered and an ASI Partap Singh has been deputed for further action. As many as seven labourers had a narrow escape as they alighted from the truck minutes before the mishap.
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State govt building smart labs in ill-equipped schools
Patiala, October 9 Since several schools do not have spare rooms to set up these smart labs, school authorities are transforming their staff rooms and libraries into these labs. “Instead of building more smart labs, the government should focus on upgrading the existing infrastructure and construct more classrooms for the rising number of students,” said a schoolteacher. Though the state government will build 36 classrooms in various schools in Patiala district at Rs 5 lakh per room, some say this will hardly serve any purpose. There are over 94 classrooms in the district that are in dire need of repair. Even schools have written to the Education Department to declare these unsafe. At Government Senior Secondary School, Machingan, 16 classrooms have been declared unsafe by the Rural Department and Panchayats Department. Depending on the number of classrooms, a school gets from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 under the Sarv Siksha Abhiyan and Rs 75,000 under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Sikhsha Abhiyan for maintenance. Schools also pay their bills from these funds. Sources said the condition of rooms in several schools was pitiable with a large number of schools requiring at least five new classrooms to cope with the rising student strength. “The Punjab Government has directed that no school should hold classes in the open. But during Class X and Class XII board exams, schools that are converted into examination centres do not have any option but to do the same,” the source said. Punjab Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka said he had been getting requests to upgrade infrastructure from schools and would take suitable action soon.
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Rain makes matters worse for farmers in region
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 9 Widespread rain in Khamano and its surrounding areas further damaged the paddy crop besides affecting the vegetables in fields. Official records state only 8,467 metric tonnes of paddy has been purchased by various procurement agencies this year against the 15,900 metric tonnes of paddy purchased till October 8 last year, showing a decline of about 50 per cent. One of the farmers, Nirmal Singh of village Khojemajra, said procurement agencies had rejected his produce, citing excess moisture. He said in the absence of sunshine, the crop hadn’t dried properly. Another farmer, Baldev Singh of Badali Kalan village, demanded that government increase the permitted moisture content from 17 per cent to 20 per cent so they don’t face any problems in selling their produce. He said since paddy crop yield had gone down by 20 to 30 per cent this year, the government should compensate the farmers. Punsup purchase officer Harish Duppar said the excessive moisture content and discolouring of the crop were the main reasons for agencies to reject the produce. The dust storms and heavy rains that lashed the region last month had damaged paddy crop on around 45,000 acres in the district. The Agriculture Department confirmed that
paddy production in the district would be down by 25 per cent.
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Ad hoc appointments
Chandigarh, October 9 The reprimand by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih came during the hearing of a petition filed by Amrish Kumar and four other unemployed graduates, and a connected public interest litigation filed by Priyanka. She was seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the alleged conduct of university Vice Chancellor in first making ad hoc appointments by adopting pick-and-choose policy, and then devising tailor-made criteria to make permanent the hand-picked ad hoc and daily wagers by giving them excessive weightage for experience gained on the ad hoc jobs. The petitioners alleged that PTU had recruited hundreds of persons on ad hoc basis on non-teaching posts without issuing advertisements in the newspapers. When the appointments were challenged by some unemployed persons through a PIL, the BoD in its meeting in November 2009 devised a strategy for making all such employees permanent. Under the criteria framed by the BoD, it was decided to give three marks for each year of experience to its ad hoc/daily wage employees, subject to a maximum of 30 marks. In order to ensure unemployed persons or fresh hands did not apply for 200 posts of clerk, the condition of three years experience was incorporated in the public notice issued by the PTU. The High Court disposed of the writ petition and PIL by directing the new Board of Directors to clear the mess created by the university by taking an appropriate decision on
aspects raised by the petitioners. For the purpose, the Bench set three months deadline The Bench also deprecated the conduct of PTU “which has created a mess, by first making ad hoc appointments, then continuing those ad hoc employees for years on the job, and when it found that such ad hoc employees may become incapable of getting alternative jobs elsewhere, devised a policy for giving excessive weightage to those ad hoc employees for their experience in
the PTU, so that they may be selected on permanent basis.”
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Fleecing
of cancer patients
Faridkot, October 9 Punit Tayal, the proprietor of Universal Chemists, was booked for cheating and forgery on September 21 after an inquiry by the Faridkot police found him guilty. Several cancer patients had complained that they were overcharged for cancer drugs at the chemist shops owned by Tayal. Since there were no other chemists in the medical college, customers had no other option but to buy
cancer drugs from Tayal’s shops. Moreover, buying medicines from the shops situated on the premises of the hospital is mandatory to claim relief under the state scheme. The police started inquiry following a complaint by Jaspal Singh, a poor farmer from Ahahal village. His daughter, a cancer patient, is getting treatment at the medical college. After registering a criminal case against Punit Tayal, the district police had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe an array of allegations against the chemist shops in the medical college for selling drugs at exorbitant rates. It is alleged that ever since inquiry began over two weeks ago, Tayal was evasive and did not join the police inquiry. On the other hand, many cancer patients and voluntary organisations in the area were pressuring the police to arrest and interrogate him for hoodwinking cancer patients. After arresting Tayal, the Faridkot police produced him in the court of the
Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Faridkot, which sent him to police remand for
10 days. On August 31, a team from the Health Department raided Universal Chemists and found several "physician's samples" stocked in the shop. These samples of the expensive drugs, which were not meant for sale, were being sold to gullible patients from rural areas on highly inflated prices. Besides, the team also found persons other
than pharmacists selling medicines. “While selling physician samples is illegal, employing an unqualified person to sell drugs is also a violation of rules of the Health Department,” said Civil Surgeon Dr Baldev
Singh Sahota.
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Undertrial on bail kills neighbour
Moga, October 9 Station House Officer (SHO) of Mehna Jagtar Singh investigating the case said Sukhdev Singh was shot dead by at least three persons. One of them, Kirpal Singh, was his neighbour. The SHO said Kirpal Singh was a notorious criminal of the area facing several cases of murder and robbery. He was out of jail on bail. He was reported to be running a smugglers' gang. The SHO said Kirpal Singh suspected Sukhdev Singh of being a police informer. The two had had an argument over a petty issue a few days back that could have led to the murder. Sukhdev Singh’s wife Angrej Kaur, in her statement to the police, said that Kirpal Singh and his accomplices came to their house on two motorcycles and opened fire. While she escaped unhurt, her husband was hit in the chest and head. He died instantly. The police had registered a case against Kirpal Singh and two unidentified persons under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act at the Mehna police station. A hunt for the killers is on.
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Notorious smuggler among two arrested with heroin
Amritsar, October 9 Those arrested include notorious smuggler Gurdev Singh, a resident of Amarkot village in Tarn Taran. Another suspect, identified as Tarsem Singh, also belongs to Tarn Taran. Amarjit Singh Bajwa, AIG Counter Intelligence, Jalandhar, said that following a tip-off, the officials of SSOC and Counter Intelligence intercepted a white coloured Tata Indica car (PB-46K-9356) from near Sultanwind Canal, which led to the arrest of both the accused. "Preliminary investigations revealed that the two accused were in touch with a Pakistan-based notorious smuggler code-named "Bhatti". While "Bhatti" smuggled the consignment to Gurdev Singh through his Pakistan-based accomplices, Gurdev hired Tarsem, collecting the contraband from the Indo-Pak border fence," said
Bajwa.
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Five mowed down by truck
Sangrur, October 9 The deceased have been identified as Jaswant Kaur (40) of Lehragaga, Baldev Kaur (38) and her daughter Manpreet Kaur (14) of Dharamgarh, Balbir Kaur (60) of Ladooana village and the infant, Jasraj Singh of Lehragaga. The injured, Jaswant Kaur (40) and Paramjit Kaur (23), were admitted to Sangrur Civil Hospital. A case has been registered against the truck driver, who is on the run. Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Indu Malhotra announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased after several people blocked Lehra-Sunam road, demanding the same.
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Patiala, October 9
