Bathinda, February 25
A 65-year-old woman was hacked to death by her husband (68) in Puhla village. The blood-smeared body of the elderly woman was found lying at her house by some villagers who informed the police. The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital for the postmortem examination yesterday.

The deceased has been identified as Jasmel Kaur Sheelo. She was residing with her husband, Balwinder Singh, in the village for over two decades.

The couple had no children ever since their marriage but the deceased had adopted her nephew who left the house around a decade ago.

The SHO, Nathana, who is also the investigating officer in the case, said the bone of contention between the couple was the issue of leaving the property to the woman’s nephew after their death. The move was opposed by the husband and they had been fighting over the issue for a long time.

Though the couple were poor yet they had a small house and less than half-acre of agricultural land in the village. The husband worked as a helping hand at farms and construction sites.

Sources said that the accused was also upset as his wife was suffering from tuberculosis and used to get irritated all the time over her daily chores.

“The woman informed her sister who is married in the same village to the elder brother of her (victim’s) husband about his (accused) intentions just a few days ago. The relatives brokered a compromise between the couple but the woman kept insisting that her husband would kill her,” the SHO said.

He pointed out that the woman was battered to death with a sharp-edged weapon and she had four deep injuries around her neck and other body parts. The police said that the preliminary investigations do not rule out the possibility of the husband executing the murder under influence of liquor.

A case under Section 302 of the Indian penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the accused who is yet to be arrested. A case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Buta Singh, the woman’s cousin residing in Khemuana village.

Bathinda, February 25
Member of Parliament Bathinda Harsimrat Kaur Badal today distributed blue cards to the Atta-Dal Scheme beneficiaries in Amarpura Basti.

Addressing the people, Harsimrat said the Congress-led UPA government had fuelled the inflation in the country wherein diesel and petrol prices have skyrocketed beyond limits. She added that the blue card holders will also get annual treatment up to Rs 30,000 free of charge at the government health facilities.

She said there is a Shagun scheme to help the parents of poor girls. Also, under the Mai Bhago Scheme, free bicycles were being provided to the girl students to ensure that their studies do not suffer due to the distance of school from home.

The MP also laid the foundation stone of development works at Goniana, Nathana, Lehra Mohabbat, Rampura, Balianwali, Mandi Kalan, Chauke and Maur and distributed blue cards to the beneficiaries.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla, media advisor to Deputy CM, Harjinder Sidhu, DC KK Yadav, SSP Gurpreet Bhullar and others were also present on the occasion.

Bathinda, February 25
The students of Giani Zail Singh Punjab Technical University Campus, Bathinda, participated in a national-level cultural festival “Euphoria-2014” held at Government Medical College, Chandigarh, and did well.

Out of 18 teams from various colleges, GZS-PTU students’ Vakhre Punjabi Malwai Giddha Group won the second position in folk dance by perfoming Malwai giddha. The team was led by Gurdeep Singh Rehal of B.Tech. (Textile).

The GZS students also performed well at Antaragni, a national-level cultural festival at IIT Kanpur. The GZS students won the first position in folk dance in bhangra led by Paras Bansal, a student of mechanical engineering. Purvashi Grover and Akash won the second position in duet singing competition while Jasveen Sidhu won the second prize in the photography competition.

Bathinda, February 25
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal will lay the foundation stone of 3o7 apartments project on Power House Road on February 26.

An ambitious project of the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA), it has 157 2BHK apartments and 150 3BHK apartments. Fifty four per cent apartments are reserved for the general category, 15 per cent for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 10 per cent for the NRIs, four per cent for defence personnel, two per cent each for legal heirs of defence personnel killed during duty, freedom fighters, sports persons and gallantry award winners.

Five per cent has been reserved for riot or terrorism victims, three per cent for the disabled and one per cent for the 100 per cent disabled soldiers of Punjab.

Rs 4 lakh earnest money is to be paid for the 2BHK apartment and Rs 6 lakh is payable for the 3 BHK apartments.

Bathinda, February 25
A few former students of Government Rajindra College today created a ruckus on the college premises when they entered into arguments with other students. Sensing that the outsiders had entered the college, the college authorities called in the police personnel to handle the situation.

“A little before noon, we got to know that two groups of boys had entered into heated arguments and a scuffle. We thought that the outsiders had entered the college premises and were creating ruckus. We called the police to handle the situation and to look into the matter. Later, we got to know that the boys were the former students of the college and ran before the police arrived on the campus,” said principal of the college, Vijay Kumar Goyal.

ASI Balwinder Singh of the bus stand police station stated that he was called by the college principal but the boys had left the college by the time police reached the premises. This was not for the first time that the college has witnessed a fight between groups of boys, whether former students or outsiders. In January last year, the police had caught outsiders who had entered into a fight on the campus.

Security has always been an issue in the college. The problem at hand for the college authorities was that the campus has several entry points-main gate, gate opening to both the hockey stadium and the college premises, a gate at the parking lot and another one near the boys hostel.

Agreeing that the security cover at the college needed to be tightened, the principal said, “We have instructed the security personnel of the college to keep the gate leading to the hockey stadium and open it only when some tournament is held either at the stadium or in the college.”

When pointed out that the security guards sitting at the main gate seldom checked the identity cards of those entering the college, he said, “We have directed them not to allow anyone who doesn’t carry the identity card of the college. Sometimes, we also conduct surprise checks to see if there’s anyone without an identity card of the college. We will soon change the security agency whose services we have been taking all these years. The security system at the college needs to be tightened.”

Bathinda, February 25
Irked over the Punjab government’s move of violating the agreement with the PSEB Engineers’ Association over the issue of extension given to Chief Managing Directors of the power companies, the PSEB Engineers’ Association will hold a candle light protest march in Bathinda on February 26.

In a press statement issued here today, the association president Baldev Singh Sran and general secretary Sanjeev Sood stated that all the engineers from the SDOs to the chief engineers of the PSPCL West Zone comprising Bathinda, Mansa, Moga, Faridkot, Ferozpur, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Fazilka districts, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant Bathinda and Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant Lehra Mohabbat will participate in the protest march.

Starting from the Teachers’ Home, the engineers will cover areas of Hanuman Chowk, Fire Brigade Chowk, Dhobi Bazaar, Sadbhawna Chowk, Hospital Bazaar, Gole Diggi and culminate at Fire Bridgade Chowk.

Sran said the engineers are agitating against the Punjab government for granting enhancement of upper age limit of the CMDs of Power Companies from 62 to 65 years, common cadre and grant of initial pay to newly recruited assistant engineers.

He added that as per the agreement, if any change in age, qualification or experience etc of the CMD or directors is proposed by any party, it would be out only with mutual understanding. The Punjab government unilaterally carried out extension in the age of the CMDs in a hush-hush manner on February 7, which was last day of expiry of the PSPCL’s incumbent CMD KD Chaudhri’s term.

Sran reiterated association’s resolve that organisations and systems are much more important than individuals and well laid procedures and systems should not be altered. “This is the game plan of the bureaucracy to sideline professionals in the power sector. Such proposals are direct attack on the professionalism,” he said. Engineers said the government’s move was a sheer betrayal of the trust that the association had placed at a time of signing of the Tripartite Agreement. — TNS

Bathinda, February 25
Irked with the fact that the Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, gave the meeting with the deputation of the Unaided Staff of Aided Schools Front, Punjab, the union today announced that it would stage a state-level rally in Bathinda on February 27.

A member of the union, Jagnam Singh, who was a part of the deputation which attended the meeting in Chandigarh today, said, “Neither the CM was present at the meeting and nor was Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka present. Some senior officials, who are part of the CM’s staff and the DPI (secondary) Kamal Garg were present during the meeting.”

“They expressed government’s helplessness in doing anything about our ‘implementation of basic pay’ demand; they said the schools committees were responsible for it. Since the meeting went in vain, we have decided to hold a state-level rally in Bathinda on February 27,” he added.

He stated that during the rally, the members of the union would visit the villages of the district and distribute anti-government posters.

It is noteworthy that the union had planned to stage a protest at the Narendra Modis’ rally in Jagraon but had stopped it after they were promised a panel meeting in the presence of the CM. 

Bathinda, February 25
A two-day book exhibition, organised by the District Education Office (Secondary) under the aegis of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA), began at Teachers’ Home today. The exhibition was inaugurated by District Education Officer (Secondary) Harkanwaljeet Kaur.

Talking about the exhibition, Harkanwaljeet Kaur, who is also the district project officer of RMSA, said the exhibition aimed at enhancing the skill and knowledge base of the teachers and upgrade the standard of education being imparted to students in the government schools.

She said the exhibition brought together some of the most renowned publishing houses of the state on a single platform and gave the principals the option to choose books that would help in the overall development of students.

Encouraging the school principals to buy books on different topics and focus on all categories, the DEO said apart from the information contained in books in syllabus, books on literature and other subjects will also make them think.