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assembly in session
Untimely rain compounds farmers’ woes
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Badal govt not paying MSP to paddy farmers: Bajwa
Drug smuggling, distribution in state
Cops may hit a dead end as Kharar laboratory has no digital records
Retd Army officer wins claim to service benefits at 80
Quashing of Jain’s appointment a setback for ruling SAD
Badal reaches out to Cong MLAs
Dy CM: Steps to be taken to reduce road accidents
Radical Sikhs seek another memorial
Bajwas’ land deals rock Assembly
...but unity show over waterlogging
210 pvt buses ‘forced’ to ferry supporters today
Girls bag top three spots in PCS exam
Trio abducted in Hong Kong to arrive today
Regularisation drive: 2,057 applications filed in Ropar
Plan panel okays upgrade of Rajindra Hospital
Cyber cell to probe videos on
jailed criminal’s Facebook
wall
Trucking firm told to pay Rs 900 cr in accident case
Three held for blackmail
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assembly in session
Chandigarh, October 31 The debate, taken up on the insistence of the Leader of Opposition, Sunil Jakhar, citing public importance, saw allegations and counter allegations flowing between the treasury benches and the Opposition benches. While Congress MLA from Kharar Jagmohan Singh Kang named two prominent Akali leaders from his constituency — AS Khera and Ujagar Singh Wadali — for being involved in illegal mining, Industries Minister Madan Mohan Mittal charged at him and accused him (Kang) of being the “kingpin of mining mafia”. Interestingly, Revenue Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia, who had been accused by Qadian Congress MLA Charanjit Kaur Bajwa of spearheading the illegal mining operations in the state, remained absent from the House during the zero hour when the debate on the issue was taking place in the Vidhan Sabha today. However, former SAD MLA Sarabjit Singh Makkar was seen sitting in the Visitors Gallery, as the two sides debated on the high price of sand and gravel and allegations continued to reverberate in the Assembly. Starting the debate, Industries Minister Madan Mohan Mittal said the reason for high prices of sand and gravel was that the demand of the minor minerals was much more than supply. “We have a large number of sand quarries identified across the state. But because of delay in getting environmental clearances from the Centre and because of frequent court orders on the issue, we are unable to auction these quarries and increase demand,” he said, adding that many development works in the state had been shelved because of the poor availability of this construction material. He was supported by Ropar MLA Daljit Singh Cheema, who said poor availability was hurting economic development in the state. However, his statement was rejected by the Congress MLAs. Kang, who spoke for his party, said that while Rajasthan and Karnataka can get environmental clearances, there was no reason why Punjab should be denied this. “It just suits some powerful people to have a low demand, as they can then monopolise the trade,” he said. The Leader of Opposition then raised pertinent points on the issue, including the fact that the state government had been unable to hold auction of quarries in a fair manner and courts had to intervene and auction was then held in the court itself. He also said that it was strange that a journalist (referring to Jalandhar-based journalist Jasdeep Malhotra) investigating the sand mining dies mysteriously, and demanded a probe into his death. He also asked the Chief Minister to step in and make efforts to control prices by setting up state-run depots for sale of sand and gravel. In case there is delay in getting clearances, I can accompany you to meet the Union Environment Minister,” he said. Later, the House passed a resolution saying effective steps should be taken to control prices.
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Untimely rain compounds farmers’ woes
Chandigarh/Fatehgarh Sahib, October 31 "Rain at this stage can pose problems for paddy crop as it can lead to increase in moisture content in the crop," Punjab Agriculture Director MS Sandhu said here today. Though the Agriculture Department officials ruled out extensive damage to paddy crop due to the rain, they feared that farmers could be further exploited by private traders in grain markets when they bring the crop for sale. "As of now, there are no reports of any heavy damage to the standing paddy crop because of the rain. But gullible farmers are often exploited under these circumstances when they bring the crop with high moisture content for sale in mandis," an official said. Moderate to heavy rain today lashed several parts of Punjab. Among other places that received showers include Amritsar, Faridkot, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Gurdaspur, Mohali and Fatehgarh Sahib. Till now, 20-30 per cent paddy crop is yet to be harvested in Punjab. It is being feared that it would be hit because of untimely rains, experts said. The precipitation will delay the harvest of basmati paddy. Farmer Baljit Singh, who had engaged a combine to harvest the basmati paddy from tomorrow, said he would have to wait three to four days for the crop to dry. Assistant District Agriculture Officer Satish Kumar said that harvesting has been delayed by a few days and the farmers would have to wait till the weather improves. He said he had not received any reports of any crop loss in any part of the district. During the ongoing kharif marketing season, paddy arrivals in Punjab has reached 91.77 lakh tonnes. Punjab is expecting to procure 130 lakh tonnes of paddy in the current season. Paddy growers have already been bearing the brunt of inclement weather conditions in Punjab where farmers have complained of fetching prices lesser than even the minimum support price (MSP) because of high moisture content and discolouration. According to reports, farmers at several places were forced to sell their crop at Rs 1,000-1,200 per quintal as against MSP of Rs 1,345 per quintal. At some places, rice millers and procurement agencies even refused to buy the crop, citing high moisture content and discoloured grains. The level of moisture content in paddy arrivals was found to be more than 20 per cent which is in excess of permissible limit of 17 per cent. The Punjab Government had even urged the Union Food Ministry to relax norms for higher moisture content and discoloured grains during paddy purchase. A team from the Union Food Ministry even visited various mandis of Punjab last week to assess the extent of damage caused to paddy in terms of discolouration and moisture. Raghbir Singh, who has been camping at the New Sirhind Mandi to sell his paddy, said that the rain would increase the moisture content and discolour the grains further. He said that he had prepared his fields to sow wheat but the whole process would have to be started afresh due to the rain. (With PTI inputs) At nature’s mercy
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Badal govt not paying MSP to paddy farmers: Bajwa
Jalandhar, October 31 Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a public meeting organised by the Punjab Youth Congress
(PYC) at Lyallpur Khalsa Senior Secondary School here on Thursday, Bajwa alleged that the Badal government was paying Rs 300 less than the MSP of Rs 1,345 per quintal and thereby embezzling Rs 4,000
crore. Claiming that farmers had not faced any problem during Congress rule in the state from 2002 to 2007, Bajwa claimed that Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia hadn't visited any mandi to know the difficulties being faced by farmers. Earlier, addressing the gathering at a public meeting on the concluding day of the 30-day-long Adhikar
Padyatra, Bajwa urged the Punjabis to vote in such a way in the coming Lok Sabha elections that a secular person becomes the PM as 25 per cent Indians belong to minority communities. Appreciating PYC chief Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary's 1000-km-long padyatra for spreading awareness among the people about the policies of the Congress-led UPA government, Bajwa said, "It is not easy to cover 1,000 km on foot." Indian Youth Congress
(IYC) president Rajeev Satav said, "BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi wants development of only one state Gujarat, whereas Congress wants the development of each and every state of the country." Former ministers Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, Amarjit Singh
Samra, Avtar Henry, Santokh Chaudhary, Brij Bhupinder Lally, Sardul Singh, Jai Kishan
Saini, Joginder Singh Mann and other Congress leaders including Raj Kumar Gupta, Jagbir
Brar, Rajinder Beri and Raman Bhalla were present on the occasion. Protest against property tax Sangrur: In protest against the imposition of property tax by the Badal government, Congressmen under the leadership of former Congress MLA from Sangrur Surinderpal Singh
Sibia, took out a march on Thursday here. The protesters, wearing black badges, demanded its immediate withdrawal as it would hit the poor, especially small shopkeepers and owners of small houses and vacant plots. — TNS
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Drug smuggling, distribution in state
Amritsar, October 31 Sources said that the departments have been directed to detect employees who have accumulated assets disproportionate to their income. A special campaign in collaboration with the BSF and the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) has been designed to conduct a two-tier analysis. First, the questioning the persons involved in smuggling activities, particularly in the Indo-Pak border zone. Secondly, to identify officials during whose tenure the culprits were booked under the NDPS Act, but got the benefit of doubt either as a result of the pilferage of the seized drugs or by obtaining a doctored laboratory test report. IG (Border Range) Ishwar Chandra Sharma said that the objective was to crack down on drug trafficking rackets from the supply chain to the distribution network. The focus was not only on heroin smuggling from across the border, but also on inter-state trafficking of poppy husk, precursor chemicals like ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine, exposing rackets of synthetic drugs like Ice, misuse of prescription drugs before these are circulated here or transported out of the state. "There is no iota of doubt that there are black sheep in different departments, including the police, who had made an unholy nexus with drug smugglers. We are now scrutinising even the non-commercial cases (low-quantity seizures) in which the accused managed to go scot-free," said Ishwar Chandra Sharma. "A zero-tolerance policy will be adopted towards government officials who have connived with drug smugglers and officials of the Chemical Examiner Laboratory. All field units have been instructed to take instant legal action in accordance with the law," he said. Among the recent instances where the connivance of government officials has come to the fore, the latest is that of SI Lalit Kumar, formerly posted as SHO, police station, Sadar Pathankot, in getting doctored drug sample reports through the Kharar laboratory. Recent cases
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Cops may hit a dead end as Kharar laboratory has no digital records
Mohali, October 31 Laboratory sources said bundles of documents were stored without cataloguing in the absence of any computer records. The laboratory maintains only manual copies of the reports, sources said. An investigator said several reports of previous years were not available. "The records are not methodically maintained, which complicate the problems of the investigating team," said the investigator on the condition of anonymity. Laboratory Director Dr Rakesh Kashyap admitted the records were not being kept systematically in the laboratory. "We had asked the District Informatic Centre, Mohali, to prepare a software to maintain their records. The proposal is pending", said Dr Kashyap. Dr Kashyap has claimed he was unaware about his subordinates' actions. "As per our office procedure, the reports of chemical analysis of drugs are signed by assistant chemical examiners. There have been written orders that for every negative report, the information has to be given to me. But I was never informed for any negative report," said Dr Kashyap. Dr Kashyap, whose too faces police inquiries, said that he was innocent and was ready to join any investigation. Four lab employees -- Dr Rajwinder Pal Singh, assistant chemical examiner (medical), RK Mishra, junior assistant, Lekh Raj, medical lab technician and Darshan Singh, a class IV employee -- were booked for tampering with chemical reports of seized drugs and labeled these as 'failed samples' or having 'low percentage' of a drug in their reports for hefty sums. Darshan Singh has been arrested while the rest are at large. The vigilance team has been examining the lab records of at least six years. Dr Rajwinder Singh had been on leave from October 11. He was in the laboratory on October 23 while Lekh Raj attended his office on October 26 and Darshan Singh was transferred from the laboratory four months ago. Sample figures on the rise Sources said the inflow of samples has increased manifold over the years. In 2011, there were 6,084 NDPS samples. The number reached 12,640 in 2012. This year, the figure is 11,000 till August-end
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Retd Army officer wins claim to service benefits at 80
Chandigarh, October 31 Before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Gurdev Singh told Justice MMS Bedi that had he served the Indian Army from December 1951 to December 1972, including the emergency period from 1962 to 1968. In 1987, he was appointed lecturer in college cadre. But, he was not allowed to complete his probation period on the ground that he had not furnished the record of his antecedents and verification by the police department. As a result, he was not allowed to draw annual increment due to him in November 1989. Justice Bedi asserted: “The petitioner appears to have not furnished the required service documents that is service book, medical fitness report, character antecedents report by the Vigilance Department, annual confidential reports, oath of allegiance and marital status. “As per the written submissions by the respondents, the petitioner superannuated from government service on December 31, 1992. The government, keeping in view his retirement, granted sanction for completion of probation period. He has also been allowed due annual increments and accruing arrears. The principal of Government College, Dudhike, has been directed to expedite the arrears…. He said it was directed that in case any arrears on account of petitioner having completed the probation period were due, the same would be released within a month. Justice Bedi said, “I have also considered the claim of the respondents that at the time of joining military service, the petitioner, not possessing academic qualification prescribed for lecturer i.e. MA, would not be entitled to the benefit of military service rendered by him, which includes the emergency period. “The stand of the respondents in denying benefit of military service and emergency period as per rules is illegal and misconceived. This petition is allowed and it is directed that the petitioner will furnish details of his military service by supplying authenticated documents to DPI (Colleges) within a month. In case of petitioner doing so, he will be granted all the military service benefits, including the benefits of emergency period from 1962 to 1968 as per rules,” the court added. The case
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Quashing of Jain’s appointment a setback for ruling SAD
Moga, October 31 Elected on the Congress ticket in the 2012 assembly elections, Jain had quit the party and sought a re-election on the SAD ticket, which he had won. The High Court has set aside his appointment on the grounds that proper procedure and technicalities were overlooked while rewarding him for joining the ruling party. Jain was earlier convicted in a fake passport case whereas a few other cases are pending against him. The state government had, through its counsel, tried its best to defend Jain’s appointment even as he had tendered his resignation, which was not accepted by the government till the final decision of the court. Had the government accepted his resignation, it could have been a face-saving for the government. Former MLA and Congress leader Vijay Sathi, who lost the bypoll to Jain, has said the High Court decision was rap on the knuckles for the state government, which had “flouted” norms while making the appointment. Fake passport case
A criminal case under IPC sections 419 and 471 was registered against Jain for making a fake passport in New Delhi in 1988. He was convicted but left on probation. Jain remained in jail for several months after he became the MLA for the first time in 2007 under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, a case registered against him three decades back. Stamp duty evasion
While he was in judicial custody, another case against him and four members of his family was registered on charges of evasion of stamp duty for flouting the norms of the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) under the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995. The case was still pending in a Moga court but the additional chief administrator of the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA), a subsidiary of PUDA, recently moved an application before the court demanding suspension of legal proceedings against him and his family. He cited a notification on new policy for compounding/regularisation of unauthorised colonies and plots/buildings under the provisions of the Punjab Laws (Special Provisions) Act 2013. Under this scheme, Jain deposited 25 per cent of the compounding fee, which amounts to Rs 2.25 lakh before GLADA vide a bank draft. Political career
The 68-year-old legislator prides himself on being a “down-to-earth” person, not a career politician, and boasts of his experience in politics from the grassroots level. After completing his high school, he started his own business of a drugs manufacturing chemical industry. He shutdown the industry and off late entered into the real estate business. He entered into politics in the mid nineties. In 1994, he joined the Congress and was made Chairman of the Moga Improvement Trust. When the Akalis came to power in 1997, he joined the BJP. The government extended his tenure as Chairman of the Improvement Trust for another term. In 2003, Jain contested the local body elections as an independent candidate. He won the election and joined the Congress to be elected as president of the Moga Municipal Council. In the 2007 assembly elections, he got the Congress ticket and won the poll by defeating Akali heavyweight Jathedar Tota Singh. He repeated his win in the 2012 poll.
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Badal reaches out to Cong MLAs
Chandigarh, October 31 Everyone patiently heard Badal’s speech that was laden with witty remarks. “We politicians should never fight. We need to learn a lesson or two from IAS officers. They stick together and always come to each other’s rescue. I remember, when I suspended a Deputy Commissioner (DC), seven DCs came to his support. While, we on the other hand, are hell bent on belittling each other,” said Badal. “What did Capt Amarinder Singh achieve by implicating me and my family in several cases? We went to jail and had to appear in court several times. Now, Capt Amarinder too is doing the rounds of courts in several cases. I have nothing against him,” he said. Badal also remarked that politicians had become too cautious and were even afraid of talking to each other. He said he was proud of the fact that his daughter had married a family with Congress background. Clarifying on the statement he made about Bajwa, he said, “When I said there was Akali blood running in the veins of Partap Singh Bajwa, it was not to belittle him.” Addressing Bajwa’s wife, he said he used to stay with Bajwa’s family long ago and used to relish the “mah-de-daal” especially prepared for him. Inviting Ajit Inder Mofar to join the Shiromani Akali Dal, Badal said, “I have also stayed with you several times in Mofar village.” In the end when Badal claimed he had never implicated anyone in a case, Congress MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa alleged that his father had been booked at the behest of the
Badals.
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Dy CM: Steps to be taken to reduce road accidents
Chandigarh, October 31 "Hoardings of all political parties and several other advertisement hoardings were the biggest hurdles in the smooth vehicular flow all over the state. Signs are also being installed for proper guiding. Major projects, including underpasses, are currently underway", the Deputy Chief Minister said. Sukhbir was responding to Congress MLA Charanjit Singh Channi’s motion to draw the government's attention towards the "increase" in accidents due to "improper implementation" of traffic rules. He assured the House that the "priority" of his government is to take certain measures in the next two years so that the accident rate could be brought down drastically. He said special programmes would be organised on August 16 and January 26 to honour people who help accident victims.
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Radical Sikhs seek another memorial
Amritsar, October 31 Leaders of Damdami Taksal, Dal Khalsa and SAD (Panch Pardani) made this demand before Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh while paying tributes to Indira’s assassin Beant Singh at the Golden Temple Complex on his 29th death anniversary. The gathering urged the SGPC to construct the memorial in memory of all three - Beant Singh, Satwant Singh and Kehar Sing - at the Golden Temple Complex in “any shape and at any place”. A resolution to this effect was also adopted on the occasion.
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Bajwas’ land deals rock Assembly
Chandigarh, October 31 As the ruling party members, led by Khemkaran MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha, raised a hue and cry over Bajwa and his MLA wife Charanjit Kaur allegedly having land deals in Chandigarh’s periphery, the Opposition benches seemed to maintain a stoic silence. The land deals by the PPCC president in Chandigarh’s periphery had come to light following accusations by Akali MLA and Chief Parliamentary Secretary NK Sharma a few days ago. The Tribune had also carried a series of stories on these land deals, the transfer of panchayat land in the names of the leader and his family members, how a company floated by the Bajwas with a capital of just Rs 1 lakh had allegedly bought land worth crores; and the undervaluation of the registration of the sale deeds. Other than Qadian MLA Charanjit Kaur, who immediately got up to speak in her and her husband’s defence, and even exhorted her party MLAs to object to what she called “baseless allegations, aimed at creating sensationalism”, none of her party MLAs came to her rescue. This even as Valtoha and Revenue Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia continued to level allegations against the duo. As the Qadian MLA walked up to the CLP leader, Sunil Jakhar, and urged him to speak, the latter finally got up and said serious allegations had been levelled against the party leader, but these were still accusations. “I would like the Chief Minister to order an independent probe as these are still nothing more than allegations. The Justice Kuldip Singh panel can be revived, and not only to inquire into the land deals by state Congress president, but also by all other politicians,” he said. Just as he finished making his statement, Majithia got up and asked Jakhar not to support the PPCC president on the issue. The only concession that Charanjit Kaur got was from her party colleague Rana Gurmit Sodhi who requested the Speaker to allow her to respond to the allegations. Charanjit Kaur, by then, had got into a fiery mood and accused Majithia of falsely implicating her and her family by “creating sensationalism”. She then charged at Majithia saying he had a hand in every pie and accused him of being involved in illegal mining of sand and gravel, taking over and controlling the entire cable network and some media houses in Punjab. Later, Chief Minster Parkash Singh Badal said the government was not in a hurry to institute an inquiry. “Reports have been appearing in the media for the past many weeks regarding politicians’ involvement in usurping panchayat land. We will get contents of these reports verified. If need be, an inquiry will be ordered,” he said.
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...but unity show over waterlogging
Chandigarh, October 31 The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and endorsed by Leader of the Opposition Sunil Jakhar and other members of the House. However, before passing the resolution, there was a fervent debate on the issue. While Jakhar and Congress MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring hit out at Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, Badal blamed the Centre for allegedly discriminating against states like Punjab even on serious issues like waterlogging. While Jakhar alleged thee was large-scale corruption in the Irrigation Department, Warring said Sekhon failed to visit Muktsar, the district affected worst by waterlogging, even once. Opening the debate, Badal said he had been working hard for a permanent solution to the problem. The Chief Minister said crops on about 2 lakh hectares had been damaged in waterlogged Muktsar, Lambi, Gidderbaha and Abohar divisions alone. “Though waterlogging caused immense damage, the Centre has failed to raise compensation for crop damage. At present, it is just Rs 3,500 per acre, which is tantamount to a joke for the victims,” he said. Besides other factors, Badal blamed seepage from the Rajasthan canal and the Sirhind feeder for the problem. Jakhar said waterlogging persisted because of “poor planning” and “shoddy execution” of the drainage network. “The laying of the drainage system should be insulated from political influence. Corruption in the irrigation department is also responsible for its recurrence,” he said. Supporting the resolution, Jakhar said the Congress MLAs were prepared to go to any length to seek a solution to the crisis. Warring, who belongs to Muktsar, said a vast area was flooded this year in his home district as the drains “were not cleaned”. “These were cleaned only on paper. While a major portion of the funds for waterlogging were spent in the Chief Minister’s Lambi constituency, his constituency (Gidderbaha) was ignored. In the absence of grants, panchayats were unable to operate pumps to drain out flood water,” he said. He alleged that even proper ration was not given to people displaced after the inundation of their houses. Karan Brar, another Congress MLA from Muktsar, urged Badal to rope in national or international-level experts for laying the drainage system in areas affected by waterlogging. She said panchayats should also be involved in the laying of drains as these local bodies understood their areas well. “The existing drains are hardly planned as these run like snakes. Land is lower than sewerage lines at several places, which leading to flooding,” she said.
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210 pvt buses ‘forced’ to ferry supporters today
Bathinda, October 31 About 70 buses each from Bathinda, Muktsar and Mansa have been roped in by the respective District Transport Officials (DTO) to answer the Chautalas' call for help for the rally. This will mean that over 200 bus routes will be without their services tomorrow causing harassment to commuters ahead of the Diwali weekend. The transporters said that they were forcibly paid between Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 as payment for tomorrow's diesel consumption. "We were called and handed over the money depending on the tour and the size of the bus. We had no option but to give in even though the amount doesn't cover our expenditure," complained a transporter from Mansa. Another transporter from Bathinda said it was common to get private buses in this manner for a political rally in the state, but it hurt more when they have been summoned for duty in a neighbouring state. The DTOs of the three districts ducked media queries by remaining incommunicado. "The old friendship between the Badals and Chautalas is costing us dear. We have no option but to yield or we would be challaned on one pretext or another," said a transporter. The transporters have been given route maps in Hindi. Bathinda transporters will reach Dabwali and pick up rally supporters on the way to Kuruk-shetra while Mansa buses will go via Rori town in
Haryana.
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Girls bag top three spots in PCS exam
Patiala, October 31 While Ravjot Grewal topped the state scoring 65.89 per cent, Kamaljot Kaur (65.31%) and Navreet Kaur Sekhon (64.21%) stood second and third, respectively. All three belong to general category. The PPSC had advertised 160 posts for different categories in which 30 posts were of PCS Executive Branch, 20 posts of DSP, 30 of Excise & Taxation Officer, nine of Tehsildars, 25 of Food Supply and Consumer Affairs Officers, 28 of BDPOs, 11 of ARs and seven of Employment Generation and Training Officers. In the ex-servicemen category, Manjit Singh Cheema bagged the first place (60.84%), Amarinder Singh Tiwana and Harpreet Singh Dhillon stood second and third with 59.24 per cent and 56.93 per cent, respectively. In the freedom fighter category, Daizy Khosla bagged the first place with 55.3 per cent, Amanjot Kaur was second with 53.43 per cent and Vaishali 52.63 per cent. Among sportspersons, Jashandeep Singh Gill topped the merit list with 56.34 per cent followed by Ismat Vijay Singh (53.14%) and Harpreet Singh Sidhu (52.63%). In the physically handicapped (orthopaedically handicapped) category, Amrinder Singh (55.64%) bagged the first place, Amandeep Kaur was placed second (53.59%) and Ruchi Aggarwal was third with 51.54 per cent. In physically handicapped (visually impaired) category, Kulpreet Singh bagged the first place with 52.63 percent, Yog Raj (52.61%) stood second and Amandeep Garg stood third with 46.86 per cent. In SC (others category), Shubhdeep Kaur (59.6%) stood first followed by Arshdeep Singh 56.989 %) and Damanpreet Kaur (56.983%). In SC (ex-servicemen Punjab), Balbir Raj Singh (50%), Harbhajan Singh (48.92%) and Karambir Mahla (47.85%) were the top three. In SC (lineal descendant of ex-servicemen) group, Rupinder Kaur (50.32%) and Tajeshwar Singh (49.23%) cleared the exam. In B/M lineal descendant of ex-servicemen, Narinder Singh has cleared the exam with 41.7 per cent.
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Trio abducted in Hong Kong to arrive today
Khanna/Samrala, October 31 Sources said a police team from Khanna had also left for the Delhi airport. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, refused to comment on the matter but revealed the three would be questioned once they reach Khanna tomorrow. The other two abductees are Satwinder Singh Mavi, a bank manager in Chandigarh, and Gurinder Singh Gill, an advocate from Landran. Meanwhile, sources said Hong Kong resident Simranjit Singh, who was arrested in the case, had links with the drug mafia. Simranjit was arrested after he collected Rs 5 lakh ransom from Khera’s family in the state. The money has been recovered. After Simranjit was arrested and the Hong Kong Police swung into action, the victims were released. Sources said the Hong Kong Police had reportedly arrested five persons involved in the abduction.
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Regularisation drive: 2,057 applications filed in Ropar
Ropar, October 31 Of these, 165 applications were filed by colonisers while 1,892 filed by property owners. Ropar Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Agrawal said 694 applications were filed in Chamkaur Sahib subdivision, 1,087 in Ropar, 44 in Anandpur Sahib subdivision and 125 in Nangal subdivision. — TNS
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Plan panel okays upgrade of Rajindra Hospital
Patiala, October 31 Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, informed Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur that the proposal had been accepted and was cleared by the Ministry of Finance. Preneet said, “The Planning Commission has supported the proposal for the phase III of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) for upgrading 38 medical colleges, including Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. The Ministry will soon get the formal approval of the Union Cabinet in the matter.” In January 2013, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had proposed that the Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital be revamped at a total cost of Rs 150 crore in phase III of the PMSSY in the 12th Plan. The minister said the hospital would soon be able to provide advanced tertiary level healthcare in the area. Welcoming the decision, Dr KD Singh, Principal of the college, said it would be a boost for the hospital, which is one of the premier institutes in the area and catered to thousands of needy patients.
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Cyber cell to probe videos on
jailed criminal’s Facebook
wall
Jalandhar, October 31 The clips reportedly show jail inmates assaulting other prisoners on the jail premises. These were reportedly uploaded on Sukha's Facebook wall at a time when he was in prison. GS
Aulakh, jail superintendent, in a letter to DIG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, chief of the Cyber Crime Cell, has asked him for a probe in this regard. Video clips "Jimmy alias Pita
kaand" and "Rocky kaand" show jail inmates assaulting fellow prisoners in the jail. These have been uploaded on the wall of Facebook account
"Sukha Kahlon sharp shooter". "Stern action will be taken against any guilty jail employee," said
Aulakh. DIG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said that the case would be investigated after receiving a formal complaint from the Kapurthala jail superintendent.
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Trucking firm told to pay Rs 900 cr in accident case
Sacramento (USA), Oct 31 The damages were announced last Monday (October 28) for a 13-year-old girl who watched three members of her family burn to death in a fiery crash on a Southern California freeway four years ago. Kylie Asam was 9 when she and her 11-year-old brother, Blaine, managed to escape from their family's mangled SUV after it struck and got caught under a big rig parked on the shoulder of Interstate 210 nearly four years ago. They saw their parents and older brother get burned alive after the vehicle they were trapped in caught fire. The verdict included $8.75 million the jury awarded to Blaine, who committed suicide on his mother's birthday, before the trial began. That money will go to Kylie as her brother's successor-in-interest, but all of the award will be placed in a trust until she is 18. A jury deliberated for about three days before finding last Friday that the truck driver, Rudolph Ortiz, was negligent for parking on the side of the freeway in the early morning darkness without leaving on any light or emergency reflector. Ortiz and his employer, Watsonville-based Bhandal Bros. Trucking, were found jointly liable.
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Three held for blackmail
Sangrur, October 31 The accused have been identified as farmer-cum-wine contractor Amrik Singh Biloo of Kohrian village, Jasvir Singh alias Jassa, a rich farmer from Kohrian village near Dirba and a local woman Jasvir Kaur alias Jassi. The police said another accused, Jasvir Kaur’s sister Gurpreet Kaur of Sunam, was yet to be arrested. The police said the accused would dress up as police officials before catching the victims with the women. Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu said a case under the Arms Act was registered against the accused on the complaint of a local resident around two days ago. The complainant had alleged that two unidentified persons posing as policemen had threatened to defame him when he was with a couple of women in the city. The accused then took Rs 25,000, a driving licence and two ATM cards from the complainant, he alleged. The SSP said the complainant’s belongings had been recovered.
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