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Capt, his men not on Cong coordination committee
Rs 100 cr drug haul in Patiala
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Centre to blame for rising drug menace: Majithia
DSGMC asks Delhi Sikhs to boycott Sarna
Govt bans e-cigarettes, promoters to face action
CM: We’ve invited PM to Mullanpur function
Crackdown on protesters near FM’s house
Staff at Ropar health centres not paid for 4 months
Rain damages basmati crop
Dengue kills three in Mandi Gobindgarh
NRI Kahlon acquitted in drug haul case
Aspiring teachers get relief from HC
1.6 kg heroin recovered in Tarn Taran
Woman killed in clash over property
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Capt, his men not on Cong coordination committee
New Delhi, October 11 Approved by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the committee has PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa as its convener. It includes two senior leaders representing the Scheduled Castes and OBCs — Mohinder Kaypee and Lal Singh. Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has not been named in the panel. Also, none of the panel members are counted among his confidantes. The six-member committee convened by Bajwa comprises AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab affairs Shakeel Ahmed, secretary in charge Harish Choudhary, Congress Legislature Party Leader Sunil Jakhar, former Punjab PCC chief and special invitee to the Congress Working Committee Mohinder Kaypee and Lal Singh, former state minister, once considered close to Capt Amarinder Singh. The committee, formed at a time when the PPCC is yet to be reconstituted, will face the daunting task of uniting the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year. While forming the panel, the party president has done the balancing act by including prominent Jat, OBC and SC leaders from the state. Importantly, Lal Singh has managed a plum position in the Punjab Congress soon after he publicly distanced himself from Capt Amarinder Singh. In April this year, Lal Singh had openly questioned the absence of Capt Amarinder Singh and his son Raninder Singh at a function organised in Patiala to host Bajwa on his first visit to the city after taking charge as PPCC president. Kaypee, once considered close to Capt Amarinder Singh, has also drifted away from the former Chief Minister. He is now his own man. Capt Amarinder Singh’s waning influence is evident from the fact that none of his aides have found a place on the coordination panel at a critical time when the Congress is gearing for the General Election. Insiders said due representation had been accorded to leaders from all three regions of Punjab: Bajwa representing Majha (he is Gurdaspur MP); Lal Singh representing Malwa (his home city being Patiala); and Kaypee representing Doaba. The committee is expected to ensure that the party stands together in the run-up to the Lok Sabha poll and presents a tough challenge to the ruling SAD-BJP alliance.
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Rs 100 cr drug haul in Patiala
Patiala, October 11 They were identified as Delhi residents Rakesh Kumar, Mahesh Kumar, Sanjay Kumar Puri and Parveen Kumar and Jalandhar resident Kamal Raj Chawla. Two gang members, who are yet to be nabbed, are said to be close to a former minister. They run a firm in Karnal that manufactures prohibited drugs. The Additional DGP, Law and Order, Dinkar Gupta, and Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hardyal Singh Mann claimed that Rs 100-crore worth synthetic drugs such as parvon forte, parvon spas, proxyon and spasmocip plus made from dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride salt and banned under the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, had been recovered from Karnal-based Pioneer Pharmaceuticals and Prime Pharmaceuticals. The unit was manufacturing banned drugs and supplying these to various parts of the country through a network of commission agents, Gupta said. He said the recovered drugs included 90 kg diphenoxylate hydrochloride, 65 kg codeine phosphate and 25 kg powder (180 kg in all). Besides, 7,10,000 capsules of parvon forte nand spasmocip pluse, 6,600 bottles of fancidryl, a cough syrup, seven bags containing blank shells of capsules and other material required for preparing these drugs had been seized. Sources said the drug dealers fled after setting ablaze two trucks carrying the contraband. "We have taken pictures and are conducting raids to nab the smugglers. Influential persons based in Ludhiana and Amritsar who are close to some politicians are also under the scanner," they sources said. "Owners of the Karnal unit, Prithvi Singh Chaudhary and his son Pradip Chaudhary, fled abandoning their Innova following the raid. They were said to be well- connected. The Additional DGP said that the border zone had registered FIRs against 52 top smugglers.
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Centre to blame for rising drug menace: Majithia
Hoshiarpur, October 11 "Sealing the international border is the sole responsibility of the Union Government. Rahul should stop trying to make the state government a scapegoat for what is essentially a failure of the Central Government," he said Speaking to mediapersons after installing Sarbjot Singh Sabi as Chairman, Hoshiarpur Zila Parishad, and Satwinder Pal Singh Dhatt as Chairman, Hoshiarpur Central Co-operative Bank, Majithia said the recent arrest of Border Security Force employees for smuggling heroine from across the border had exposed the Centre's failure to curb the menace. Terming the "Adhikar Yatra" as the "antim yatra" of the Congress-led UPA Government, he said Rahul Gandhi should initiate action instead of preaching the state government on the issue of unemployment and drug addiction. The minister said the Punjab youth was as important as that in Raibareli or Amethi. "Instead of harping on the problem of unemployment, Rahul should ask his government to shift the newly sanctioned projects from Raibareli and Amethi to Punjab," Majithia said. He said the SAD-BJP Government had recruited more than 1.5 lakh unemployed educated youth during the past five years. Speaking about Hoshiarpur, he charged local Member of Parliament and Minister of State for Health Santosh Chaudhary of indulging in gimmicks rather than bringing any development project to the state. Prominent among those present on the occasion were Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Tikshan Sud, both advisers to the Chief Minister, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Sohan Singh Thandal and Mohinder Kaur Josh, Surinder Singh Bhulewalrathan and Varinder Singh
Bajwa.
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DSGMC asks Delhi Sikhs to boycott Sarna
New Delhi, October 11 The DSGMC president, Manjit Singh (GK), said when the gurdwara committee announced in June this year to raise a memorial to the 1984 carnage victims at Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib, Sarna moved a petition before the Delhi High Court, objecting to the proposed memorial. Subsequently, Akal Takht issued a notice to Sarna and the latter withdrew the petition. “To gain lost political ground, Sarna asked one of his aides to file a petition in the High Court, challenging the authority of Akal Takht Sahib,” Manjit Singh alleged. Addressing a press conference, he said Sarna had backstabbed the Sikhs.
Sarna, when approached, said: “I have nothing to do with the petition filed by Jatinder Singh Saili in the Delhi High Court. I had filed a case when the DSGMC announced construction of the memorial at Rakabganj Sahib. But I withdrew it on the advice of Akal Takht Sahib.” He said Saili had contested the DSGMC elections in 2007 as Manjit Singh’s man. Despite repeated attempts, Saili could not be contacted for comment.
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Govt bans e-cigarettes, promoters to face action
Chandigarh, October 11 Principal Secretary, Health, Vini Mahajan today said that extensive research had showed that e-cigarettes contained nicotine in a liquid form which could be lethal. The cigarettes were invisible at roadside stalls and big shopping malls. However, social networking sites and personal emails were flooded with discount offers promoting e-cigarettes. Dr Rakesh Gupta, State Programme Officer, Tobacco Control Cell, said: “These companies are posting offers even on the official website of the Health Department. These cigarettes can be purchased by placing an order online for Rs 300-Rs 2,000. One website has even mentioned addresses at New Delhi,
Mumbai, Kolkata, Bhopal and Jodhpur.” Dr Gupta said that e-cigarettes were sold over the internet by tobacco retailers, which meant these were being sold to all without any age proof. In Brazil, the sale, import and advertising of e-cigarette is forbidden. In Australia, every form of nicotine, except those used for replacement therapies, are considered dangerous. Now Punjab too has made the sale of e- cigarettes an offence punishable under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the
IPC. In Punjab, at least 12 districts have been declared ‘tobacco-free’. Among these are
Mansa, Amritsar, Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Sangrur,
Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Muktsar and Bathinda.
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CM: We’ve invited PM to Mullanpur function
Chandigarh, October 11 “I have sent a written request to the PM. We are not against anybody,” Badal said. He was at the PGIMR to inaugurate a workshop on “Cancer Registries and Cancer Control.” He announced that 50 acres had already been approved for the Tata centre. The CM did not attend the stone-laying ceremony of PGI’s Satellite Centre in Sangrur yesterday, maintaining that he had not got an invitation from the Centre. “The invitation for the Sangrur function should have come from the Centre. That is the protocol,” Badal said while speaking to The Tribune today. He said the Prime Minister had so far not responded to his letter expressing “surprise, dismay and displeasure” over the lack of courtesy shown to him. In his letter, he had urged the PM to “impress upon his colleagues not to allow politics to take precedence over issues of development or to override basic courtesies”.
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Crackdown on protesters near FM’s house
Sangrur, October 11 The workers demanded posts for veterinary artificial insemination workers, which had been abolished in 1982. Simranjit Singh Mann, president of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), condemned the act of the police and asked the Punjab Government to provide jobs to these workers. The activists were later let off after the police booked them under various Acts. Station House Officer (SHO) Harinder Singh said the agitators had become a nuisance in the area after they had installed loud speakers.
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Staff at Ropar health centres not paid for 4 months
Ropar, October 11 The zila parishad runs 30 health centres and 18 veterinary dispensaries in the rural area of the district. A pharmacist and a Class IV employee are posted at each dispensary on a contract basis at a monthly salary of Rs 7,000 and Rs 3,000 respectively. Since employees of the parishad have not been paid since June, several staff members have had to borrow from money lenders at a hefty rate of interest. Surprisingly, the authorities remained oblivious to their plight. Additional Deputy Commissioner Amarjit Singh Shahi was not aware of the issue and advised this reporter to contact Zila Parishad Secretary Preetinder Singh Bains. Bains said the employees had not been paid as their contracts were yet to be renewed. He said the treasury had not released the money even though they had been apprised of the matter repeatedly.
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Rain damages basmati crop
Amritsar, October 11 Talking to The Tribune, Amritsar Chief Agriculture Officer Dilbagh Singh Dhanju said the rainfall had led to the flattening of the ripened basmati crop, adding that this would lead to discolouration of the grain. He said it had rained heavily in and around Amritsar, while Ajnala and Majitha areas had reported moderate rainfall. He said the Agriculture Department would take stock of the exact losses tomorrow. The farmers were expecting a bumper harvest of basmati, but the rainfall seemed to have hit their hopes adversely. Besides the crop, the paddy produce of farmers lying in grain markets for procurement also got damaged.
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Dengue kills three in Mandi Gobindgarh
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 11 The records available with the Health Department state as of October 10, 92 persons were suffering from the disease. District Health Officer Dr Kulwinder Singh said 15 teams of health officials had been constituted to survey the affected areas on a regular basis. He said to check the spread of dengue the authorities fogged the area from where a case was reported. He said health teams also instructed residents to remove stagnant pools water around their houses. He said the department had also been distributing pamphlets in the area.
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NRI Kahlon acquitted in drug haul case
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 11 Proceedings against Kahlon, who was booked in the case on March 8, are pending in another case registered on March 3 wherein 26 kg of heroin worth Rs 130 crore was seized. Kahlon’s name cropped up when the Mandi Gobindgarh police arrested another NRI, Manpreet Singh alias Manni Gill (35), and his relative Gabbar Singh (27) with 2 kg heroin, 20 kg chemical powder and hawala currency of Rs 1 crore. Along with Kahlon, Manni revealed that he also had links with Sunil Katyal, Chander Parkash Yadav, Kulwinder Singh alias Rocky, Paramjit Singh Gulati, Kulwant Singh and Narinder Kumar
Goyal.
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Aspiring teachers get relief from HC
Chandigarh, October 11 The development is significant as otherwise only candidates clearing TET last year were being considered. As the issue came up for resumed hearing, the High Court granted relief to a significant number of petitioners by permitting them to provisionally appear in counselling. The state government had invited applications last year for the posts with a condition that such candidates must have passed TET. The move was challenged on the ground that the government had not conducted TET at all, although it was mandatory for it to do so once a year. During the pendency of the writ petitions, the government conducted TET in June 2013. Some of the now qualified candidates filed the writ petitions seeking extension of the last date for receipt of applications as they could not pass TET earlier on account of the lapse on government's part to conduct the examination in 2012. Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa directed that all those petitioners who qualified the TET Examination on June 9, 2013, and who otherwise fulfilled conditions of eligibility, would be allowed to participate in counseling provisionally, but the result would not be declared without permission of the High Court.
Contempt notice
Senior advocate Virender Kumar Jain is in contempt loop. After the advocate and a High Court Judge were caught in a verbal spat, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notice to the lawyer. The arguments between the lawyer and the Judge took place after the senior advocate appeared before the Bench in a kurta-pyjama, instead of proper dress. The issue is threatening to snowball into a major controversy with Justice Rakesh Kumar Garg referring the conduct of Jain to Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul. Justice Garg was seeking the initiation of contempt of court proceedings against advocate
Jain.
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1.6 kg heroin recovered in Tarn Taran
Tarn Taran, October 11 The two were arrested recently on the charge of smuggling heroin. Two cars allegedly bought by them after selling heroine were impounded. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajjit Singh Hundal said the jawans were arrested in connection with the recovery of 19 kg of heroin in a joint operation by the Tarn Taran police and the Special Operations Cell on October 1. He said the Sarai Amanat Khan police had recovered 300 gm of heroin from Avtar Singh of Naushehra Dhalla village. The Valtoha police had recovered 300 gm of heroin by arresting Gurdev Singh of Kalia village and Dharminder Singh of Sankattra village.
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Woman killed in clash over property
Tarn Taran, October 11 The deceased has been identified as Devinder Kaur. Her husband Parminder Singh (50) and son Amandeep Singh (28) were among six injured in the violent clash. The Chabal police has registered a case against 11 persons, including Ajit Singh, Laddi, Gurjaswant Singh, Aman Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Himmatbeer Singh. Ajit Singh reportedly has close ties with senior leaders of the SAD. Sources said Ajit Singh and his family members and friends tried to take possession of a plot. When Parminder Singh and his family members tried to intervene, Ajit Singh and his supporters opened fire at them. Parminder, Devinder and Amandeep were injured. They were taken to hospitalis in Amritsar where Devinder succumbed died. — OC
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Majha region represented by Partap
Bajwa, who is Gurdaspur MP
Malwa belt
represented by Lal Singh; his hometown is Patiala
