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Man arrested in US for ‘aiding’ terrorists pleads not guilty
Accused Balwinder Singh
Last three patients too exit PIMS
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27 re-employed PCS officers may get another term in Jan
Cong skips Jor Mela rally, SAD fails to draw crowd
Air Marshals walk down memory lane
NRIs felicitate meritorious
students in Khadoor Sahib
Nod for corridor likely in January
Stay on evacuation of traders
along Golden Temple plaza
HC notice to state on appointment of teachers
CMC employee held in admission scam
Makkar aide booked in attempt to murder case
7 stolen vehicles recovered; three arrested
Youth held for extortion from Punjabis in Malaysia
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Man arrested in US for ‘aiding’ terrorists pleads not guilty
Sacramento (California), December 21 A truck driver, Balwinder Singh, alias Jhajj, alias Possi, alias Baljit Singh, was taken into custody by the FBI and the Terrorist Task Force. In his statement through a translator in a US court, Balwinder said the charges “are all wrong.” He said his true name was Baljit Singh, and not Balwinder Singh, as reported by the US Attorney’s office. But prosecutors claimed he went by various names, and that there was evidence he had travelled to locations around the world in the past few years. They alleged he had provided material support to two terrorist groups in India and Pakistan. Balwinder said he had used medication in the past for depression, which was primarily the result of a drinking problem. He is facing six charges, including conspiracy of murder, kidnap and maim persons in a foreign country, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, false statement on immigration documents, use of immigration documents procured by fraud and unlawful production of an identification document. He was arrested on December 17, 2013, in Reno, Nevada. Balwinder allegedly sent most of the money to Gurjant Singh and Saroop Singh in India. According to the ‘Grand Jury Chargesheet’, Gurjant and Saroop of Punjab were co-conspirators and received wire transfers of the money from Balwinder, which was to be used to support acts of terrorism in India. Within the indictment document, the Grand Jury charges that Singh was recognised in 2012 by a person named Wadhawa Singh Babbar (Pakistan) as the leader of Babbar Khalsa International in the US. There is no evidence that Balwinder Singh was planning any attacks in the US. His trial is set for February 11. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
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Last three patients too exit PIMS
Jalandhar, December 21 The development forced the management to discharge all the three patients in the 450-bed hospital this evening. The patients were referred to other hospitals. PIMS Director-cum-Principal Dr Kulbir Kaur reportedly left for Patiala to take up the issue with Rural Development Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra, who is chairman of the PIMS Medical and Education Charitable Society. Rakhra said: "I have asked the directors of the society to take the matter seriously. The government is trying to resolve it at the earliest." Boycotting their term examinations, 150 MBBS students joined the striking doctors. The nursing staff, numbering 60, also suspended work since the management failed to release their salaries by December 20 as was promised. Dr SS Sidhu, a senior doctor, said the entire staff was on strike due to non-payment of their salaries for over six months. "We will organise a major protest march in the city on Monday in favour of our demands," he said. Sources said Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Santosh Chaudhary, during her visit to PIMS yesterday, had pulled up institute director-cum principal for not seeing her against the protocol. While Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has already hinted at handing over the institute to Fortis, the state Congress has warned the government against going ahead with the move.
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27 re-employed PCS officers may get another term in Jan
Chandigarh, December 21 Senior officials in the administration told The Tribune that a meeting of the committee was held yesterday, wherein it was decided that other than Bhupinder Singh and Satish Kumar Singla, who cannot be re-appointed for another term as they have attained 65 years of age, the names of three other re-employed PCS officers had been rejected by the committee. Sources, however, said that the recommendations of the committee were not final and that the Chief Minister would take a final call on it. The recommendations of the committee, rejecting the five officers for another extension in their re-employment, will be put up before Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal next week. “Last year, too, the committee had recommended that services of 10 of these PCS officers should not be extended. However, Badal granted these officers a term of six months and later extended it,” said a senior official. Though the extension in service of these officers has been necessitated because of an acute shortage of PCS officers in the state, there is a lot of resentment against the re-employment of these officers. Many of these officers are facing serious allegations of misconduct, but will continue to enjoy another term in office, having all magisterial powers and those of collectors and assistant collectors.
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Cong skips Jor Mela rally, SAD fails to draw crowd
Chamkaur Sahib, December 21 SAD general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra said efforts were afoot to secure the release of Sikh detainees who were in jail despite completion of their term. Targeting the Congress, he alleged the opposition party was left without any issues following the large-scale development in Punjab. Among other SAD leaders who addressed spoke were Ropar MLA Daljit Singh Cheema and former MLAs Satwant Kaur and Ujagar Singh Wadali. The SAD (1920) and the BSP also marked their presence with respective rallies. The mela is held every year to commemorate the martyrdom of Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, the two elder Sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh who sacrificed their life fighting the Mughals. Lakhs of devotees paid obeisance at various gurdwaras in the town and langar was organised at several points along the road leading to the town.
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Air Marshals walk down memory lane
Kapurthala, December 21 While Air Marshal Gill is posted as AOC-in-C at Air Force Training Command in Bangalore, Air Marshal Rai is Senior Air Staff Officer of Central Air Command in Allahabad. Together, they toured the campus, went to their classrooms, took a round of the library and prep rooms, and had lunch with cadets in the mess. In the afternoon, they played volleyball and football. A visibly excited Air Marshal Rai said: "I was so thrilled to visit my school after 41 years that I flew the plane from Allahabad to Chandigarh along with Flying Officer Akrit Mohan, who too is an alumnus of the school." Reminiscing the old days, Air Marshal Gill said: "I was very fond of the school's red blazer. I was just an average and enjoyed life to the hilt. But when in the prep room, I was focused on realising my dream of flying a fighter plane." Among others, who attended the meet, were Maj Gen (retd) IP Singh, Rajesh Panwar, Deputy Chief Director, Fire Department, New Delhi, Col GS Dhaliwal, Col GS Cheema and his cousin Col MS Cheema, former headmaster of the school, Sqn Ldr (retd) SP Singh, Brig Naveen Goel and Rajpal Sandhu, Commandant, 7th Battalion, PAP.
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NRIs felicitate meritorious
students in Khadoor Sahib
Tarn Taran, December 21 The students were given cash prizes ranging between Rs 10,000 and Rs 21,000. Thind donated $1,000 to the Nishan-e-Sikhi Trust, Khadoor Sahib. Players of the hockey academy were also honoured and assured financial aid. Baba Sewa Singh and the school management thanked the
NRIs.
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Nod for corridor likely in January
New Delhi, December 21 "I am going to move the Cabinet for approval for this (Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata) corridor soon. I hope to take the approval by January first week," Sharma said at the 86th annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) held here. The structural and financing arrangements required to operationalise the project have been tied up with the Japanese government coming in as a strong partner. — PTI
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Stay on evacuation of traders
along Golden Temple plaza
Amritsar, December 21 The SGPC had issued them a notice on November 21 asking them to vacate their shops to pave the way for beautification work under the Golden Temple entrance plaza project within a month. The shopkeepers had been urging the SGPC not to evacuate them without making an alternative arrangement for their rehabilitation. The SGPC had told them that the project was being monitored by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and that they could do nothing in the matter. Subsequently, the traders moved a local court against their
evacuation
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HC notice to state on appointment of teachers
Chandigarh, December 21 Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa issued the notice for March 22 on a writ petition filed by Harvinder Singh and 15 other SC (Ramdasia and other) category candidates. The petitioners claimed they were entitled to be appointed as 100 posts were lying vacant. Elaborating, they had contended that the posts could not be filled due to non-availability of eligible candidates from certain reserved categories in response to an advertisement by the Punjab Government Education department on May 7, 2011, for filling 3,442 posts. The petitioners’ counsel argued 116 candidates from SC (R&O) category were available as per provisional merit list; and they could be appointed against the vacant posts. The counsel also referred to Section 4(5) of the “Punjab Scheduled Caste and Backward Classes (Reservations for Services), Act, 2006”, which provides that “50 per cent of the vacancies of the quota reserved for scheduled castes in direct recruitment shall be offered to Balmikis and Mazhbi Sikhs, if available, as a first preference from amongst the scheduled castes”. The counsel, therefore, pleaded that the petitioners have rightful claim over 100 vacant posts, and the respondent-State Government was liable to be directed to issue appointment letters to 100 candidates of the SC (Ramdasia and other) category from the merit list/waiting list. Notice to Education Dept on plea by TGTs
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice to the Punjab Education Department on a writ petition filed by 107 TGT teachers and clerks of model schools. They were seeking salaries and grade pay on par with their counterparts in Adarsh Schools. Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa issued the notice to the department for March 22 on a writ petition filed by Harpreet Singh and others. The petitioners’ counsel submitted that in response to an advertisement issued in January, 2010, inviting applications for filling posts of TGT teachers and clerks in four Adarsh schools and 21 model schools, they submitted applications and were appointed on merit. But the Rashtriya Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan Authority appointed the selected candidates in Adarsh Schools or model schools on its sole discretion. Many of the petitioners, appointed in model schools, were higher on merit than their counterparts in Adarsh Schools.
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CMC employee held in admission scam
Ludhiana, December 21 Sub-Inspector Narinder Singh of the Muzaffarnagar police, said: “We have discussed the matter with CMC principal SM Bhatti. Though his involvement was not found, we are investigating the matter.” Last year, the Muzaffarnagar police had claimed to have busted a gang involved in offering MBBS seats at CMC. The gang had allegedly duped eight students of Rs 1.6 crore. The police had registered a case against six persons, including Bhatti and Valentine. The other accused are Vivek Vishnoi, Pardeep Kumar, Subodh Mondal and Anup Prasad. Narinder Singh said Anup was arrested in December last year while raids were on to arrest the remaining accused. Talking to The Tribune, Bhatti said: “Our admission process is foolproof. The officers of the Muzaffarnagar police took my statement. I have told them that I deal with academics only and have no role to play in the admission process.” About the racket *
Valentine, additional account officer, was allegedly a member of a gang involved in offering MBBS seats at CMC *
The gang had “duped” eight students of Rs 1.6 cr * CMC principal SM Bhatti is also named in the FIR
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Makkar aide booked in attempt to murder case
Ludhiana, December 21 The arrest came a day after a quarrel between two groups over taking control of the management of a gurdwara here. Three other persons, including Talwinder Singh, Gurbinder Singh and a woman, were also booked. Shunty and his accomplices allegedly attacked two persons, Gurwinder Singh Rimpa and Raju, of the rival group with swords. Rimpa is a senior office-bearer of the gurdwara management committee as well as Shunty's neighbour. — TNS
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7 stolen vehicles recovered; three arrested
Muktsar, December 21 SSP Muktsar Surjit Singh said Manpreet Singh of Mallan village and Amritpal Singh of Sukhna Ablu village were nabbed for travelling in a car without registration number. On a search, the police seized poppy husk from them. Their interrogation led to the recovery of vehicles, he said. — TNS
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Youth held for extortion from Punjabis in Malaysia
Jalandhar, December 21 The police arrested Harpreet Singh (25) on an FIR lodged by Gurpreet and Monika, a couple from Ajit Nagar. They alleged Rs 25 lakh ransom was taken from their family around 40 days back. A similar FIR is also lodged against the accused in Mohali. The police had been keeping tabs on the accused and upon his return, arrested him from Jalandhar. On November 18, Mohali-based Mandeep Singh (24) had to jump from the fourth floor of a building in Malaysia to escape from Harpreet’s alleged confinement. The victim had fractured both his feet. He filed a complaint against Harpreet in Jalandhar around two weeks ago. His family was yet to transfer the money to Harpreet. The accused’s father runs a marble business at Nawanshahr while his mother is a social worker. SHO Sukhdev Singh confirmed the arrest.
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Indian-American Sikh Balwinder Singh, who was arrested from his home in Nevada on Wednesday night for allegedly providing material support to terrorist groups in Punjab, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, including conspiracy to kidnap, murder and maim persons in a foreign country.
Working of the Punjab Institute of Medical sciences (PIMS) came to a complete halt today with MBBS students and nursing staff joining the striking employees.
After a gap of four decades, two Air Marshals, Paramjit Singh Gill and Ramesh
Rai, who shared fond memories during their student days at Sainik School,
Kapurthala, got together at the Old Boys' Meet on campus.
A group of NRIs from San Jose Gurdwara Sabha, US, today visited Baba Gurmukh Singh Uttam Singh Senior Secondary School, Khadoor Sahib, and felicitated 20 meritorious students. Among the NRIs were Inderjit Singh
Thind, Kulwant Singh Nijjar, Hardev Singh Takkhar, Bhupinder Singh Dhillon, Sarabjit Singh
Swadhi, Sukhdev Singh Baniwal and Upkar Singh Sangha.