Bathinda, January 30
Postmortem report of the nilgai, recovered from the agricultural fields of Bandi village, has revealed no traces of shooting.

Stating this today, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Sanjeev Tiwari said an initial investigation into the complaint of nilgai poaching revealed that the wild animal did not die of bullet injuries but was killed by stray dogs.

“The physical examination of the injuries on the rescued nilgai which is undergoing treatment under the supervision of the Forest Department, too, revealed that the animal was injured by stray dogs and not by firearms,” Tiwari said.

He pointed out that contrary to the claims of the complainant, who raised a hue and cry against hunting of animals by some influential person, nothing of that sort had been found.

The injured nilgai, rescued by the residents of Bandi village, is undergoing treatment at the Bir Talab zoo.

The DFO revealed that as per the department officials’ reports, the complainant Gursewak Singh had a dispute with the person from whom he got around 70 acres of agriculture land on contract.

“Gursewak accused his land owner of hunting nilgai with firearms,” Tiwari added.

The complainant, despite making phone calls at the police helpline number 181, police control room 100 and informing the Forest Department about the hunting, reached a compromise with the owner of the land in the presence of the village panchayat and the policemen at the Sangat police station after a mutual agreement involving a considerable sum of money.

Gursewak had accused the land owner of giving 70 acres of land on contract but the actual area was a few acres less. The complainant regretted losses due to less land under which Rs 25 lakh was to be paid to the land owner. Though he paid 50 per cent amount — Rs 12.5 lakh — yet the latter refused to pay the rest of the amount and raised the issue of hunting of wild animals.

Tiwari said the investigation was still going on to reach the depth of the case and he was yet to reach any conclusion.

Gursewak, when contacted, claimed that he had not withdrawn his complaint. “I reached a compromise with the land owner only after a verbal duel with the land owner. I have recorded my statement before the police that some unidentified persons could be behind the shooting of the nilgai,” Gursewak said. He also accused the police and the Forest Department of not taking swift action on his complaint. 

Bathinda, January 30
A team of five students under the guidance of their teacher have made it their aim to help the paraplegics of the country and the world. Students of fourth semester at the Department of Automation and Robotic at the Gulzar Group of Institution, Khanna, Arshdeep Singh, Manisha Malhotra, Gurpreet Singh, Mohit Arora and Manish Pal have designed a wheelchair which is led by the tilt movement of the head of the person sitting on it.

“The wheelchair is guided by remote device which can easily be fitted and hidden inside a cap or a hat which has to be worn by the person sitting on the chair. Till now, the most advanced wheelchairs which are directed by a switch but this one is guided by the tilt of the paraplegic head of the person sitting on it. A forward tilt will take the wheelchair forward, a left tilt of the head will take it in the left direction and so on,” said Manisha.

The team, from the only college offering a course in automation and robotics in North India, wants to take their model to various competitions across the engineering colleges of the country. “We want to showcase this model at all the exhibitions and competitions and also garner positive and negative response and also constructive suggestions so that we can improve upon our creation and finally have a wheelchair which will help he paraplegic persons in moving around with ease and without anyone’s help,” said Arshdeep.

The basic model of the wheelchair weighs around 35 kgs right now and can bear upto 100 kgs of weight. “We are planning to modify the motor. After the modified motor is fitted into the wheelchair, it will be able to bear upto 150 kgs of burden,” said Manisha.

The students also added that if all goes well, they will apply for a patent. “We have spent only three months in making this wheelchair. We wish to spend a little more time working on it before applying for a patent. We aim to serve special people by offering them a cost-effective wheelchair which will make them independent,” said Gurpreet. 

Bathinda, January 30
Guest faculty lecturers burnt an effigy of the false promises made by the state government. The teachers, who have been sitting on dharna against the state government since January 21, assembled outside the Government Rajindra College and supported by the members of students’ union, raised slogans against the government.

Accusing the government of turning back on its promises, the guest faculty lecturers questioned the attitude of the state government towards the quality of the education at government degree colleges across the state.

They stated that despite the fact that in Rajindra College alone, 140 lecturers were being cancelled everyday due to the stir, the government was not moving any closer towards solving the impasse.

The lecturers stated that while the inflation was on the rise, they were still being given meagre salaries. They added that they were being burdened with lecturers and other college works quivalent to that given to the regular lecturers of the colleges.

The lecturers also stated that guest faculty lecturers of all the 52 government colleges of the state had been sitting on strike and boycotting classes for the past 10 days.

They added that the stir would continue and will be intensified if the government didn’t heed to their demands soon. 

Bathinda, January 30
Members of the District Congress Committee assembled at the party office here today and paid rich tributes to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, on his death anniversary.

Addressing the workers, president of the District Congress Committee (Urban) Sohan Lal Jhumba said Gandhi had led the country's freedom struggle from the front and never moved away from his goal. He said Gandhi also dedicated his life for the cause of the people and inspired others to do the same.

He also praised the freedom fighters for leading the freedom struggle on the path of “ahimsa” and showing to the world that a war can be won without violence. Jhumba further added that apart from leading the freedom struggle, Gandhi also set an example for the others that one could lead a simple life with high thinking.

Also present at the programme were Yash Bansal, Vijay Goyal, Lala Jeet Mal, Manjit Kaur, Rupinder Bindra, Suresh Bansal, Prakash Chand, Mahinder Kaur and others. 

Bathinda, January 30
“The absence of films tackling serious issues has put a question mark on the actors' skills,” said singer-turned-actor Roshan Prince. He was in the city for the promotion for his upcoming film, ‘Kirpaan’. Also present with him were actresses Gurleen Chopra and Samiksha Singh.

“Almost all the actors in the Punjabi film industry are doing comedy films one after the other because only these are being produced. The absence of new ideas and new concepts is eating into our talent since the actors don’t get to showcase their versatility. In the absence of constant change in the work profile, the mind becomes stagnant and talent stops growing,” he said.

“Ever since the comic caper ‘Carry on Jatta’ did well at the box office, producers have turned wary of trying their hands at other genres. We can’t really blame the producers of being afraid since the audience does not give much attention to serious films as it gives to comedy films. In fact, the films which tackle serious issues are the ones which are a real reflection of society, past and present,” he further added.

“In fact, most of the films that I have done in the past and have signed are comedy films. But doing a serious film like ‘Kirpaan’ has made me realise the importance of such films. Kirpaan is based on the story of Beeru who is like any other guy next door but his life takes a turn due to a change in circumstances. Bringing back the “Kirpaan” to India from a foreign land is what drives his life thereafter,” he said.

Prince also said while working in the film, he grew as an actor. “When we do comedy films, they lead to catharsis. While the cast of the film feels relieved after working in the comedy film, such films also help the audience forget their daily grind and leads to catharsis. On the other hand, the serious films make one think and are thought-provoking. We become better human beings when we question what’s happening around us and when we strive to change something we don’t like,” Prince said. 

Bathinda, January 30
After numerous incidents of snatchings in the city, now unscrupulous elements have started resorting to robberies which seem to have created panic among the city residents. Notwithstanding the intensified police patrolling and setting up of check points in the city, theft cases and robberies are being reported continuously.

Rani Devi, a resident of Ajit Road, complained that a youth, around 22 years of age, parked his motorcycle near her and put a knife to her neck. The accused then asked her to surrender her gold necklace. Rani suddenly raised an alarm and the accused fled from the spot.

The police officials investigating the matter said that in view of the rising criminal activities, the residents, especially the elderly, should remain alert while basking in sunshine or sitting outside their respective houses.

The police have registered a case under Sections 382, 506 and 511 of the IPC at the Civil Lines police station on the complaint of Rani.

Another resident, Naval Kishore of New Shakti Nagar, reported that two boys with their faces covered entered his house and took away Rs 7,000 and two mobile phones. The complainant said that the accused confined him in the house before decamping with the money and the mobile phones.

The police have registered a case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC at Kotwali police station.

In a similar incident of theft in nearby Maur Mandi, a resident Mahant Ramesh Muni complained that Rinku of Maur Mandi scaled the boundary wall of a religious dera and escaped with Rs 2,150 in cash. The police said that the thief has been identified by the complainant who will be arrested soon. A case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC has been registered in this connection against Rinku at the Maur police station.

Amritsar, January 30
The role of Tarn Taran police officials and arms licenses branches of Amritsar and Tarn Taran came under scanner following a fraud case registered with the Civil Lines police here today.

The police booked Sukhjinder Singh, a resident of Tole Nangal village falling under the Rajasansi police station in the Amritsar rural police area, for allegedly getting prepared arms license from Tarn Taran district on the basis of false documents by showing his residence there.

As per information, a couple of criminal cases were registered against him at the Rajasansi police station and as per rules he could not be issued an arms license. He used illegal means to procure the same.

In 2008, he showed himself as a resident of Tarn Taran and got an arms license for his revolver prepared. Later, he transferred it to Amritsar, said Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa, SHO, Civil Lines police station.

—A preliminary probe raised an eyebrow over the role of the arms licensing branches of Tarn Taran and Amritsar as well.

Police officials said the license could not be issued without the involvement of staff members of the arms licensing branches. The role of the officials of the police station concerned in Tarn Taran also came under scanner as it was their responsibility to confirm the credentials of the applicant.

“All persons whose names would be figured during the probe will be examined," said Randhawa.

Earlier, the Police Department had found around 433 arm licenses issued from Amritsar fake after a racket was busted by the Patiala police in 2012. The probe later led to the exposure of around 123 fake licenses that were issued through the Amritsar branch.

The police have lodged a complaint with the Civil Lines police station while a few staff members of the arms licensing branch were suspended over their suspected role later on.

WHAT POLICE SAY

Police officials said the licence could not be issued without the involvement of staff members of the arms licensing branches. The role of the officials of the police station concerned in Tarn Taran also came under the scanner as it was their responsibility to confirm the credentials of the applicant.

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