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Centre approves Rs
4.5 crore for Ferozepur war memorials
Wild animals give farmers sleepless nights in kandi belt
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CPI in a fix over pact with Congress
PSEB fined for delaying payment to firm
Unite for poll, Shahi Imam to minorities
State BJP chooses to keep cards close to its chest
Bajwa must re-contest seat, says Ashwani
BKU (Ekta) to boycott SAD-BJP candidates
AAP list by March 15
Supply code can help empower consumers
Crowds gather for BJP ‘chai’, not Modi ‘charcha’
Ahead of poll, police told to collect firearms
EC registers 20,000 new voters at special camps
Sangrur has 154 hypersensitive polling stations
Poll on mind, canal repair work put off
Association to oppose GM field trials
UPA Govt has failed on
economic front: BJP leader
Ignored, Malwa bachelors have resigned to their fate
British Sikh school head in job row
Train runs over school guard
Casual filing of cases draws High Court wrath
Man denied lottery money, gets HC relief
College girl abducted at gunpoint
Poacher killed in accidental fire, 3 held
Hearing impaired duped of
Rs 9 lakh by brothers, sister
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Centre approves Rs
4.5 crore for Ferozepur war memorials
Ferozepur, March 9 “A sum of Rs 13.12 lakh will be spent on the construction of toilets and Rs 94.11 lakh on the restoration of old Hussainiwala railway station near the memorial,” Pinki said, adding that Rs 18.81 lakh had been approved for signage on all important roads leading to the memorial. Besides the Hussainiwala memorial, the ministry had last week approved Rs 46.16 lakh for landscaping and lighting of Saragarhi Memorial. In addition to this, Rs 16.3 lakh and Rs 3.66 lakh has been approved for light and sound, and setting up of an information centre at the spot, respectively. “To beautify Saragarhi Memorial, which is reminder of one of the most daring feats in the history of military warfare, another feature wall will be constructed for Rs 62.39 lakh,” the legislator said. For the development of Harike Bird Sanctuary, Rs 76 lakh has been sanctioned, besides Rs 33 lakh for a deer park in Abohar. Pinki said Rs 18 lakh would be spent on the restoration of Anglo-Sikh War Memorial. Deputy Commissioner (DC) MS Narang said the state government had spent Rs 35 lakh for the development of a children’s park near the Hussainiwala memorial. “A team of architects had visited the site recently to chalk out a plan for beautifying and improving facilities,” the Deputy Commissioner added.
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Wild animals give farmers sleepless nights in kandi belt
Hoshiarpur, March 9 The pilot project that is a brainchild of Avinash Rai Khanna, senior BJP leader and member of Rajya Sabha from Hoshiarpur, was launched in Barapur village of Garhshankar sub-division last year, but failed to take off. Khanna had granted Rs 25 lakh from his discretionary funds for the project. Farmers with small landholdings in the Kandi belt that includes the Dhar area in Pathankot, Talwara, Mukerian, Dasuya, Mahilpur, Garhshankar and Balachaur in Hoshiarpur, Nangal and Ropar are the worst hit. Those affected have even formed Kandi Sangharsh Committee (KSC) to air their grievances. They have been organising a chain hunger strike in Talwara town, demanding the government erect a barbed wire around their fields. They claim the government should let them hunt wild boars instead of doling out subsidies. The farmers have erected makeshift watchtowers (machans) in their fields where they spend their nights keeping a lookout for wild animals. When spotted, they burst crackers or beat drums to shoo them away. Some even go to the extent of setting up traps. The Tribune team discovered several watchtowers erected in Kokowal, Mujari, Binewal, Khurani, Achalpur, Pandori-Bit, Pojewal, Chamuhi, Malot, Haler, Wari, Bhanbitar, Janauri, Mehngrowal and Jhungian villages. Affluent farmers, however, have managed to keep the animals at bay by erecting barbed fences and keeping a pack of dogs. Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife) Satnam Singh could not be contacted. KSC president Darshan Singh Mattoo lamented the government had failed to keep their promise even though they had been demanding protection of their crops for years. The population of wild boar, monkey, blue bull, sambar and stray cattle has gone up manifold in the area in the last decade. Amarjit Singh, sarpanch, Malot village, said the government should hem in the wild animals to prevent the damage to their crops. He said the heavy losses inflicted by the animals had forced several farmers to quit farming and look for other means to earn their livelihood. Demands
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CPI in a fix over pact with Congress
Chandigarh, March 9 “This issue was discussed at the CPI central committee meeting, which concluded in Delhi today. The national secretary will take the final call, probably within next 48 hours,” said Bant Singh, party’s state secretary. The Congress has sealed an election pact with the Sanjha Morcha, headed by People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) president Manpreet Badal. The CPI and other Left parties are also part of the Morcha. While Manpreet would be contesting against sitting MP and his sister-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal from Bathinda constituency, the Congress is likely to offer the Faridkot (reserved) seat to the CPI. The CPI state executive had earlier opposed the alliance with the Congress. It would again be meeting on March 12 and may take the final call on that day. Sources said the CPI was divided on the issue. While one faction was of the view that the pact was a must to defeat the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, the other opined that the tie-up could prove “suicidal seeing the anti-Congress wave across the country, the sources said. In other parts of the country, the CPI would be part of the third front and fight against the Congress. Sources said the Congress was holding back its announcement of candidates for the remaining seats in the state due to this reason. Of the 13 seats, the Congress has announced candidates for only four constituencies. Left in a dilemma
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PSEB fined for delaying payment to firm
Chandigarh, March 9 Taking up the case, the High Court has not only rapped the Board for gratuitously dragging the matter, but has also imposed a cost of Rs 20,000. “We are of the view that the appellant, PSEB, has unnecessarily dragged the matter, making the payment of the respondent almost illusionary keeping in mind the real value of money,” Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Arun Palli asserted. The organisation, later rechristened as Malerkotla Power Supply Company, was initially generating its own power by installing diesel generating sets. After an increase in demand, the company started purchasing power in bulk from the Punjab State Electricity Board. On the expiry of 20-year period, the Board exercised its option to purchase the undertaking by issuing a notice in January 1976. The company’s ordeal began soon on the issue of evaluating the assets and liabilities. A communication dated February 21, 1977, was sent to the company mentioning Rs 30 lakh as the tentative purchase price, including 20 per cent solatium due to compulsory purchase. The communication also made it clear that the amount from the company was more than the purchase price. The Board handed over token amount of Rs 100. In June 1986, the arbitrators determined that Rs 5,63,044 was payable by the company to the Board. The controversy still continued over the determination of purchase price. The company argued that the amount payable to the Board was assessed at a much lesser value. As such, the Board failed to “wipe out the amount payable as purchase price”. It then tried to reduce the purchase price. The parties then agreed to refer the matter to retired Delhi High Court Judge Justice Fauja Singh Gill, but later filed objections to the report. A Single Judge, hearing the matter, then proceeded to decide the case on merits; and vide impugned judgement dated December 6, 2011, determined the balance amount payable as Rs 26,51,092. The Bench concluded determination of net amount payable as Rs 26,51,092 could not be faulted with. Dismissing the appeal, the Bench added: “There cannot be an indefinite litigation and that too on a simple issue of the purchase price payable to the company…. The grant of simple interest at the rate of 10.5 per cent per annum is the least which is to be expected and that interest has to be payable till the date of actual payment”.
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Unite for poll, Shahi Imam to minorities
Ludhiana, March 9 In a letter to all regional and national Muslim parties, he has called upon the president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other community leaders to come together at a single platform to empower the minorities. Emphasising on unity, the Shahi Imam said his party would take all possible steps to bring the community leaders together irrespective of their political affiliation. To achieve the objective, an all-party meeting may soon be held in Delhi, he said. Habib-ur-Rehman said they would join hands with democratic and nationalist parties to fight against communal and divisive forces. “Members of the Muslim community are not much concerned as to which leader comes to power. But their concern lies in security, education, equal opportunities, employment avenues and other facilities, which will remain elusive for the minorities till their leaders remain stuck in personal ambitions,” the Shahi Imam said.
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State BJP chooses to keep cards close to its chest
Amritsar, March 9 Uncertainty looms large over the candidature of three-time sitting MP Navjot Singh Sidhu for the Amritsar seat. Sidhu has already made it clear that he will contest from Amritsar alone. The MP was absent at Narendra Modi's Jagraon rally on February 23. The names of former minister Baldev Raj Chawla and state BJP vice-president Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina are doing the rounds for the Amritsar seat. Sidhu's bete noire, Chhina may get the ticket as he is the Sikh face of the party in the constituency with 64 per cent Sikh voters. Also, the fact that he gets along well with the SAD leadership may work to his favour. But there are reports of some party leaders opposing his candidature. Earlier, Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma's name was also doing the rounds, but he has said he doesn't want to contest the General Election. In Gurdaspur, the BJP has to choose between MP Vinod Khanna and Swaran Salaria. Khanna lost the Gurdaspur seat to PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa by a thin margin in 2009. Voters were apparently peeved with Khanna for his long absence from the constituency. Bajwa cashed in on the fact that he was "local". This time, Salaria is playing the "local" card. He hails from Chouhana village in Pathankot district which is part of the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat. There were reports that the party may ask Khanna to contest from Amritsar. But the veteran film actor has stood firm on contesting from Gurdaspur, a seat he has represented in the Lok Sabha thrice. The name of former minister Master Mohan Lal is also doing the rounds for the Gurdaspur seat. For the Hoshiarpur seat, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Prakash and senior party leader Vijay Sampla are in the race for the party ticket. Amritsar seat Claimants: Navjot Sidhu, Baldev Raj Chawla and Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina Gurdaspur seat Claimants: Vinod Khanna, Swaran Salaria and former minister Master Mohan Lal Hoshiarpur Seat Claimants: Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Prakash and Vijay Sampla
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Bajwa must re-contest seat, says Ashwani
Gurdaspur, March 9 Ashwani Kumar, who has joined a group of powerful Congress leaders, argued that if the sitting MP did not seek a re-election, it would send a negative message to the party rank and file and may hurt the party’s chances in the Lok Sabha elections. The Rajya Sabha MP, who hails from Gurdaspur, addressing a press conference at his residence here, questioned the PPCC president’s decision not to contest the seat. He said: “When all state Congress presidents are being given the party ticket, why is Bajwa shying away from re-contesting his seat. If the general himself runs away from the battleground, the cadres are bound to be demoralised. “Bajwa’s contention that if he chooses to contest the seat he may not get enough time to campaign elsewhere in the state does not hold water. If Sonia Gandhi, being the Congress president, can do so, why not Bajwa?”.Ashwani Kumar said the Congress needed to field strong candidates on all seats across the country. “Irrespective of whom the BJP fields from Gurdaspur, Bajwa is Congress’ best bet for the seat,” he claimed.
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BKU (Ekta) to boycott SAD-BJP candidates
Moga, March 9 Sukhdev Singh Kokri, general secretary of the farmers' organisation, today led a protest against the government. The farmers have been on an indefinite dharna in Moga and Muktsar since March 3. “The SAD-BJP candidates in our villages would be greeted with black flags,” Kokri said. He further claimed the farmers would intensify their stir if the government did not concede to their demands. “The SAD-BJP government has failed to protect the rights of the poor and marginal farmers,” Kokri added. The union activists have been at loggerheads with the state government for the past couple of years on various issues, including granting five-marla plots to landless labourers and enhancing compensation to kin of debt-ridden farmers who committed suicide. They have also been demanding that farm loans be waived.
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AAP list by March 15
Amritsar: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will declare its candidates for all 13 constituencies in Punjab by March 15, said Harinder Singh, AAP state screening committee member, at a press meet here. He claimed a survey by senior party leaders had indicated that the party could get 18 per cent of the total votes polled in the elections.
He said the party had received 15 applications for the Amritsar parliamentary seat so far. Once candidates for all the seats were announced, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal would kick off the campaign, perhaps with a roadshow in the state. A section of advocates have extended support to AAP. —TNS
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Shiv Sena names 3 candidates
Phagwara: The Shiv Sena, Punjab, has announced names of three candidates. Ravi Dutt will contest from Hoshiarpur, Jagan Nath Bajwa from Jalandhar and Satnam Singh Satta from Khadoor Sahib, said Sena's state president Sanjiv Dhanauli and senior vice-president Rajesh Palta. The party has decided to contest six Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. Names for the Ludhiana, Anandpur Sahib and Gurdaspur seats will be announced soon. — OC Kin of Indira assassin in fray Hoshiarpur: The SAD (Amritsar) candidate from Hoshiarpur, Shamsher Singh Maloya, began campaigning here on Sunday. Talking to mediapersons, he said he wanted to save Punjab from the “misrule” of the Badal family. Maloya is a former Chief Judicial Magistrate. He is the elder brother of Beant Singh, Indira Gandhi assassin. Maloya said India was a nation of diversities and a secular outlook was a must, if India was to flourish. Jaswant Singh Mann, SAD (A) candidate for the Anandpur Sahib constituency, visited Garhshankar areas. — OC Rein in pharma companies: NGO Faridkot: An NGO, Bhai Kanayaiya Cancer Roko Sewa Society, has begun approaching prospective candidates and their parties, demanding that they undertake a pledge to stop the exploitation of patients by pharma companies and mention the issue in their manifestoes. Gurpreet Singh, president of the society, said there was no system in place to ensure the MRP printed on medicines was appropriate. For example, the manufacturing cost of a drug could be Rs 10 but the MRP, printed on every medicine strip or bottle, could be 10 times the actual price. Kultar Singh, senior vice-president of the society, said Slidenafil, was being sold at Rs 216 whereas its wholesale price was Rs 33. — TNS
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Supply code can help empower consumers
Chandigarh, March 9 The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission has specified critical distribution parameters to provide efficient, reliable and safe system of power supply through its regulations provided in the supply code, said Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal, former vice-chairman of the Punjab Small Industry Export Corporation. He said as 99.9 per cent power consumers were not aware of the supply code, they never sought compensation in case the PSPCL defaulted in replacing a burnt meter within five days of submitting the application, releasing a new connection within 30 days and repairing overhead line breakdowns in six hours in urban area and 12 hours in rural areas. He said because of this ignorance, consumers failed to get efficient services from the PSPCL. Grewal said he had started a campaign in rural areas to make people aware of the supply code. He said for a delay in repairing an overhead line, the PSPCL was liable to pay Rs 50 to the affected consumer in cities while the fine was more in rural areas. "There is a provision for compensation for each deficiency in service on the part of the PSPCL," he said. Grewal said there were 65 lakh power consumers in the state. He said the PSPCL had received up to 2,500 applications for compensation in a year against “hundreds of complaints daily”. He said he would meet chairman of the commission tomorrow to seek an independent mechanism to enlist the complaints, verify facts and announce compensation for the affected consumers. Lack of awareness
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Crowds gather for BJP ‘chai’, not Modi ‘charcha’
Hoshiarpur, March 9 The programme was organised at three places simultaneously- at the local Valmiki chowk, Chohal and in Hariana town. A large pandal was raised at Valmiki Chowk and LED screens stalled to beam the programme that was inaugurated by Tikshan Sud, adviser to Chief Minister. Sud claimed that Modi alone had the ability to lead the country. “India needs a leader who has a clear vision for development and who has a clean, honest image. Only Modi has all these qualities. So we should work together to make him PM,” he said. Members of the party’s women wing occupied most of the front rows. With an impressive turnout in the beginning, BJP leaders seemed in a cheerful mood. But all that changed, as the crowd vanished soon after tea and samosas were served. Soon the pandal wore a deserted look with only a few chairs occupied. The people opted to walk out even as Modi’s programme was being beamed on the giant LED screens. The show ended with slogans of “Bharat mata ki jai” and “Zindabad Narendra Modi and “Zindabad Tikshan Sud” by some party loyalists who remained seated alongside Sud till the end of the programme.
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Ahead of poll, police told to collect firearms
Patiala, March 9 In a state that has a fascination for weapons, the police face the tedious task of urging electorates, especially villagers, to deposit their firearms with them for the smooth conduct of the elections. As per information, not more than 10 per cent of the licensed weapons have been deposited so far. “We have asked the Station House Officers (SHOs) concerned to ensure that all firearms are deposited in a fortnight,” Patiala Deputy Commissioner (DC) GK Singh said. Sources said following bitter rivalry in villages where political factionalism is at its peak, there are chances of the elections turning bloody. So the state government does not want to take any chance. During the 2012 Vidhan Sabha elections, the state Election Commission had ordered that firearms be deposited with the police stations concerned. With “malkhanas” (official stores in police stations) filled to capacity, the police will depend on private arms depots for storing weapons. The police have directed the private arms dealers to charge minimum rates from the licensed weapon holders. In addition to their routine work, the police personnel have been asked to visit the houses of firearms licensees to urge them to deposit the weapons at the earliest. And the list of firearms licensees is long. In all, there are 3 lakh firearms licensees in the state. Getting to the breakdown of the figure, in Ludhiana, there are 28,708 licensed weapons holders, while in Bathinda and Gurdaspur, there are 36,352 and 35,944 registered weapon holders, respectively. While Sangrur has more than 15,000 weapons, Patiala has more than 25,000 weapons. Majority of the licences have been issued to villagers. A police officer confirmed that it would impossible to get all to deposit their weapons as villagers fear clashes during elections. “The SHOs have been asked to collect maximum weapons from their respective areas. If the police are able to collect 80 per cent of the weapons, several bloody clashes will be avoided,” he said. With the political atmosphere already charged up due to the recent political allegations in the run-up to the elections, a fear psychosis prevails among villagers. And bitter infighting in political parties adds to fear. “It is not Congress versus SAD, but every party has more than two factions and this makes it more dangerous,” said a senior leader, who does not want his supporters to part with their weapons. Love for arms
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EC registers 20,000 new voters at special camps
Chandigarh, March 9 Confirming the tentative figure, Chief Electoral Officer VK Singh said the response was appreciable, though the exact number of voters was yet to be calculated. “Merely possessing a voter identity card does not make people eligible to vote. They must ensure their names are there on the voter list, which is mandatory,” he said. Tanu Kashyap, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar Deputy Commissioner, said, “The district has 1,494 polling stations and the average voter registration per booth was eight.” Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner DS Mangat said the exercise at all the 771 polling booths in the district was carried out smoothly. Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Raminder Singh said new voters can register themselves with the Election Commission till April 9, which is also the last date for filing nomination papers. This category of last-moment voters, however, may not be able to cast their franchise as registration with the central data pool required around 10 days. “About two lakh fresh voters are likely to be added till the last day. We are appealing that those interesting in casting their ballot should preferably register themselves by March 30,” he said.
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Sangrur has 154 hypersensitive polling stations
Sangrur, March 9 Comprising nine assembly segments in Sangrur and Barnala districts, there are 888 polling stations in the segment. Of these, 285 stations are sensitive, 154 hypersensitive while the remaining 449 are in normal category. There is no hypersensitive station in Sangrur and Dhuri assembly segments while Malerkotla has five. The maximum hypersensitive stations (36) are in Sunam segment, followed by 30 in Bhadaur (Barnala), 27 in Lehra, 24 in Dirba, 18 in Barnala and 14 in Mehal Kalan segment (Barnala district). Of the 285 sensitive stations, the maximum 49 are in Sangrur assembly segment, followed by 39 each in Sunam and Malerkotla segments, 36 in Dirba, 35 in Barnala, 27 in Dhuri, 21 each in Mehal Kalan and Lehra and 18 in Bhadaur. Senior Superintendent of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said one or two extra personnel would be deployed at the hypersensitive and sensitive stations. He said this would be in addition to the deployment of paramilitary forces in the state by the Election Commission.
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Poll on mind, canal repair work put off
Abohar, March 9 The canal system starts from the Harike barrage at
Sultanpur, a few kilometres from the confluence of the Sutlej and the Beas in Punjab. It consists of the Rajasthan feeder canal (167 km in Punjab and Haryana and the remaining 37 km in
Rajasthan) and 445 km of the Rajasthan main canal. The Indira Gandhi canal passes through seven districts of
Rajasthan: Barmer, Bikaner, Churu, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Hanumangarh and
Sriganganagar. The two states had initially decided to suspend water supply to
Ferozepur, Fazilka, Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts for 40 days beginning April 8. But various farmers' organisations opposed such a move. The governments in the two states yielded as they feared it could become an election
issue. Diagreeing with the decision of Rajasthan Irrigation Department Chief Engineer (CE) Birdhi
Chand, officers of the water regulation wing say that the headworks need to be repaired immediately. “Who will face the public ire if the gates of the Maseetwala and Birdhwal headworks collapse?” they ask. The problem was to be discussed at a meeting of the water regulation advisory committee on Thursday, but the meeting could not be held because of the election code. Punjab has no funds for repairing its canal system, say sources. Rajasthan needs to pay the annual canal maintenance bill to Punjab before March 31. Populist measure
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Association to oppose GM field trials
Faridkot, March 9 At one such meeting in Faridkot, Neha Saigal, senior campaigner of Greenpeace, India, said there was a high possibility that the GM field trials would contaminate our seed and food supply. The trials will be held this kharif season. In doing so, Environment Minister Veerappa Moily has shed the precautionary approach that his predecessors, Jayanti Natarajan and Jairam Ramesh, had taken. She said there was scientific evidence that GM crops had an adverse impact on human health, biodiversity and farm livelihood. She said the Technical Expert Committee and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, appointed by the Supreme Court, had strongly recommended that GM crops shouldn’t be released. The panels had also suggested that the field trials of GM crops shouldn’t be conducted until there was a robust regulatory system that could properly assess all the risks associated with these crops. Umendra Dutt of Kheti Virasat Mission, said, “The only GM crop, Bt cotton, has shown that only multinational seed companies benefit from these crops. Veerappa Moily seems to have done these companies a great favour.” He further pointed to the doubling of share prices of some multinational seed companies within two months of Moily taking over as the Union Environment Minister. Various farmer unions, including Bharatiya Kisan Morcha, and political parties like AAP and PMK had condemned the move. Neha said Kerala and Tamil Nadu had decided not to permit the field trials of GM crops.
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UPA Govt has failed on
economic front: BJP leader
Pathankot, March
9 “The Centre has fared poorly on the economic front, foreign policy and internal security. Corruption has become the byword for the Congress-led regime,” he said during an “Intellectuals Meet” organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) district unit here today. Those present included Ashwani Sharma, Pathankot MLA; Sanjay
Kapoor, national co-convenor of the BJP’s Chartered Accountants (CA) cell; and Anil
Vasudeva, former chairperson of the Pathankot Improvement Trust. Doctors,
CAs, lawyers, engineers, industrialists, teachers, and principals of colleges and schools of Pathankot district attended the meet. Earlier, Sharma listed out development projects, including the construction of a government college, a District Administrative Complex
(DAC) and a sports stadium, being carried out in Pathankot.
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Ignored, Malwa bachelors have resigned to their fate
Bathinda, March 9 The second oldest among five brothers, he keeps himself busy with work to stop feeling lonely. Only the youngest of the brothers has been married. Jagmeet (not his real name) and his brothers are not the only ones in the village, who are single. Incidentally, it is also the ancestral village of former Congress Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. The problem is not just limited to this village, but spread over almost all the villages in Malwa belt. “Over 50 per cent of the families in the villages here have men who are unmarried,” Jagmeet claims. They had a difficult time finding a bride since they had small landholdings, while the skewed sex ratio only made the problem worse, he said. Moreover, they do not figure in any government scheme or policy. Many social or non-government organisations organise mass weddings for the poor or special communities but no such effort has been made for them. Even the political parties have ignored them. Jagmeet’s brother, requesting anonymity, said, “My great grandfather had 50 acres but over generations the land got divided and now each of us have only two acres. We could just get our youngest brother married.” Supporting a sheepish smile, he further said, “We are the butt of jokes in the society. No one seems to care about us.” Another such village is Phul near Rampura that has over a hundred bachelors. One such bachelor Gurmeet Singh (name changed) said those who got married to girls from poor families in Bihar or West Bengal too have not been spared by the society. They were often criticised for buying a wife. “A friend of mine in Sardulgarh in Mansa got married with one such girl. Though the wife got her share in the property, the marriage remained controversial,” he said. Vir Devinder Singh, ex-chairman of Rama Mandi said, “In Phulokheri village, where the Bathinda refinery has come up, the bachelors were allotted a separate well so they stay away from the married women in the village. The well is called “Charreyan wala Khu.” Harnek Singh, a senior leader of the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) and a native of Badal village, said, “There is a stark contrast between Capt Amarinder’s village and that of Parkash Singh Badal. People do not have any problem in finding a match here.” Grim scenario
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British Sikh school head in job row
London, March 9 Balwant Bains claimed he was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement preventing him from making his concerns public and that he was “bullied and intimidated” in the months before he left Saltley School in Birmingham in November 2013. Bains claimed the governing body wanted to scrap sex education classes and allow only “halal” food at the specialist state-funded science school, the Sunday Times reported. The controversy at Saltley, which has about 950 predominantly Muslim pupils aged 11-16, is the latest involving claims about governors seeking to impose a greater emphasis on Islamic teaching and beliefs in secular schools. Last week Ofsted, the UK schools inspectorate, conducted an emergency inspection at Park View Academy, a neighbouring school, after claims that non-Muslim staff members were being sidelined by a predominantly Muslim leadership. The management at Park View is believed to have been considering plans to take over other schools in the area. The Sunday Times had revealed last week that Birmingham city council was investigating an apparent plot by Muslim fundamentalists to destabilise and take over state schools in the north of England. — PTI
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Train runs over school guard
Abohar, March 9 The victim, Jagjit Singh, of Dangarkhera village was under depression due to prolonged illness, his wife Rajinder Kaur reportedly told the Government Railway Police (GRP). Singh had left the house in the morning without telling anyone, she said. The Government Railway Police (GRP) shifted the body to the local Civil Hospital for the post-mortem examination. — OC
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Casual filing of cases draws High Court wrath
Chandigarh, March 9 Refusing to allow a petitioner to withdraw the petition, Justice Rajiv Narain Raina also arrested: “Cases are not expected to be filed casually before this Court without reflection and due thought paid before taking the final call to approach the High Court or not.” The judgment is significant as the counsel more often than not prefer to withdraw the petitions instead of having them dismissed on merits after sensing the disinclination of the Courts to pass favourable orders. The ruling came on a petition filed by Bhupinder Singh against Balwant Singh and other respondents after Moga District Judge clubbed three suits to be heard by one court and directed the parties to appear before the transferee court. Before clubbing the suits, the District Judge went through the judicial files and found it appropriate to have the matter tried and disposed of by one court to avoid conflict of decisions. Taking up the matter, Justice Raina asserted: “The District Judge,
Moga, by his order dated December 10, 2013, has averted such disaster and is correct in reasoning that they deserve to be clubbed. This revision petition has been filed for separation of cases and the order of the District Judge,
Moga, has been castigated as one which is illegal and passed with material irregularity. “No litigant has a right to get his case heard by a particular court.”
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Man denied lottery money, gets HC relief
Chandigarh, March 9 But when the draw brought a windfall, he realised much to his dismay that the lottery ticket had been torn to pieces by his children. Putting the pieces of his life, and lottery, together did not help much as the lottery department accepted his claim as genuine, but refused to release the prize money of Rs 5 lakh as the ticket was torn. His tale of woes has, however, turned out to be a rag-to-riches story with the Punjab and Haryana High Court coming to his rescue. Appearing before the Bench through his counsel Gurdial Singh, he told the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul that he had purchased Punjab State Baisakhi Bumper ticket for Rs 100 in his daughter Isha Saini’s name from Bhanot Enterprises in Ludhiana’s SC Market through its agent Surjeet Singh. The petitioner received a phone call from the agent that the ticket he had purchased has won a prize of Rs 5 lakh. He then approached the department concerned for getting the prize money by surrendering the ticket. To substantiate his claim, Gurdial Singh filed an affidavit stating that the ticket was torn by his children but he had collected the pieces together before getting it laminated. His request for a verification of the ticket was turned down vide order dated June 6, 2013, on the ground that the ticket was torn and the claim could not be honoured in view of a clause in the Lottery Rules of 1998. Challenging the order before the High Court, Gurdial Singh argued that the rules categorically said the Director might get the ticket verified from the printing press or forensic science laboratory in case of a doubt. The respondents, on the other hand, argued that the clause was incorporated to avoid mischief by miscreants “who may join two or more different tickets to form a complete winning number”. Taking up the matter, the Bench asserted: “It is not a case where the ticket is incapable of verification or that there is any other claimant to the ticket. In fact, it is conceded that no other claim has been lodged qua this ticket and commission has also been paid to the agent who sold the ticket. “If the ticket is genuine, we see no reason why merely because it is torn the payment should be denied to the beneficiary, there being no dispute or any other claim arising from the same ticket. “Thus, the action in rejecting the claim of the petitioner cannot be justified and is set aside with a direction to make over the payment to the petitioner subject to the precaution of furnishing an indemnity bond for restitution in case it is found at any later stage that there is any other genuine claimant or any other infirmity is found”.
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College girl abducted at gunpoint
Ferozepur, March 9 The police have booked 10 persons, including the primary suspect, Mander Singh, on the basis of the statement of the victim’s father. Sources said the girl was studying in a local college. Besides Mander Singh, his family members Pinder Kaur, Satnam Singh, Bhajan Singh, Gurpreet Kaur, Baldev Singh, Sukhwinder Kaur and Jeet Singh have also been booked. No arrests have been made so far. Preliminary investigations suggest that the girl may have been abducted because of an old rivalry between the two families. But the police are also working on other theories. A police official said the girl would be traced shortly.
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Poacher killed in accidental fire, 3 held
Ropar, March 9 The Nalagarh police have registered a case against Sarbjit Singh Sekhon (71), Karan Singh, his father Harbir Singh, all residents of Sector 33, Chandigarh, Jaswinder Singh of Barhi village, Ropar, and Dev Kumar of Palasi village. A jeep, a double-barrel gun and a rifle were also seized. Sekhon, Jagjit and Dev Kumar have been arrested. The police said while poaching Sekhon, a retired merchant navy officer, was driving the jeep while Jagjit and Jaswinder were holding search lights. Harbir and Karan were holding the rifle and double-barrel gun, respectively. On spotting a wild boar, Sekhon sped up the jeep when the rifle in the hands of Harbir went off hitting Jaswiner Singh on the face. The victim died on the spot. Locals alleged Sekhon was a habitual poacher who visited the area frequently with Dev.
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Hearing impaired duped of
Rs 9 lakh by brothers, sister
Gurdaspur, March 9 The three accused — Tarsem Singh, Anoop Singh, Anokh Singh — of Shahpur Khurd village in this district have been arrested, while their sister Jasbir
Kaur, who is also an accused, is on the run. She is married in Bhoon village. The complainant, Harbans Singh, alleged that he had purchased 2.5 acres from Makhan Singh, who is deaf and dumb, for Rs 30
lakh. Since the land had been mortgaged with a local bank, Harbans paid Rs 15 lakh to the bank to get the land released and paid the remaining amount to Makhan through
cheque. The payment was made in the Gurdaspur branch of a nationalised bank. The four accused allegedly hatched a conspiracy to dupe their brother and forcibly took his thumb impression on a cheque for Rs 9
lakh. The accused did not withdraw money from the bank’s Gurdaspur branch, but from the Amritsar branch. When Makhan learnt about the fraud, he approached Harbans who, in turn, complained to the police. The police, after inquiring into the matter, asked the Deputy District Attorney
(DDA) for legal opinion. The Deputy District Attorney (DDA) wrote in his finding: “In my opinion, from the facts and circumstances of the case, prima facie a cognisable offence under Sections 344, 365, 420 and 120 of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) is made out against all four accused.” The police have booked the accused under Sections 344 (wrongful confinement for more than 10 days), 365 (kidnapping), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy involving more than four people) of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC). Cheated by kin
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Hoshiarpur, March 9
Chandigarh, March 9
