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ED’s chargesheet in drug
racket spares politicians
Punjabi University’s
deficit swells to Rs 157 crore
Mansa family claims child at Jalandhar’s Sangha Farm their son
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Parties question chief election office’s credibility
Factionalism casts shadow on Ghubaya's campaign in Abohar
State Social Welfare Board chairperson Vijay Laxmi Bhadoo addresses SAD nominee Sher Singh Ghubaya's meeting in a village. Tribune photo
Denied ticket, Chowdhary fumes
Khanna arrives to tumultuous welcome
Vinod Khanna with his wife Kavita Khanna at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Wednesday. Photo: Vishal Kumar
Amarinder, Jaitley in verbal duel over Operation Bluestar
Decision on Talwandi Sabo byelection soon
Chandumajra unrepentant about 'age' remark on Soni
Liquor, not books, is election office’s
top priority
LS poll: Govt denies leave to babus
Youths ‘forced’ into bonded labour in Saudi Arabia
Education Dept withdraws order on result date
School bus driver killed, students hurt
Will provide free treatment to drug addicts: SGPC
SC stays ban on liquor vends along highways
High Court decries pleas against ‘vulgar’ films
Delay in report on illegal mining irks HC
HC fines DPI for delay in complying with order
Police crack murder case; youth held
Army clerk held in Faridkot for spying
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ED’s chargesheet in drug
racket spares politicians
Patiala, March 26 The chargesheet identifies only seven more accused besides Bhola. However, investigations are on to identify over 50 more accused, including some politicians as alleged. The chargesheet in the Rs 6,000 crore synthetic drug racket highlights the illegal trade of money laundering and hawala network through which the druglord exchanged money in several countries. The chargesheet does not name any politician and is also surprisingly silent over the relations of Bhola with NRIs. The chargesheet, scanned by The Tribune, points towards a well-knit nexus of some money exchanging firms operating in Chandigarh and Punjab from where Bhola and another accused Anup Singh Kahlon allegedly transferred money. The ED has also named seven others including some NRIs, money exchangers and relatives of the accused in whose names properties were bought or who helped the drug dealers transfer money out of the country through hawala transactions. It highlights how accounts held by NRIs in the US, UK, Canada, London, Sharjah and other countries received or transferred money. The seven accused in the drug nexus have bought many properties in India and details have been attached,” reads an excerpt from the ED chargesheet filed by Gurnam Singh, Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement. Bhola’s counsel Satish Karkra said the ED was yet to provide complete details in the case and reveal over 55 other names alleged to be involved in this nexus. “The chargesheet concentrates only on Bhola and Anup Kahlon, but has many important links missing for which I have moved an application in the court,” he said. “As of now, no politician has been named and the ED officials have told the court that chargesheet against other accused would be filed soon after investigations are complete,” he added. The charges *
There was a well-knit nexus of money exchanging firms which helped Bhola and another accused Anup Singh Kahlon in transferring money to several countries *
Properties were bought in the name of seven more accused who helped drug dealers transfer money through hawala transactions *
Accounts held by NRIs in the US, UK, Canada, London, UAE and other countries had received or transferred money 'Important links missing' *
Bhola's counsel Satish Karkra said: "The chargesheet concentrates only on Bhola and Anup Kahlon, but has many important links missing for which I have moved an application in the court. As of now, no politician has been named and the ED officials have told the court that chargesheet against other accused would be filed soon.
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Punjabi University’s
deficit swells to Rs 157 crore
Patiala, March 26 The huge deficit has once again exposed the claims of the university authorities of taking adequate steps to improve the financial situation of the university. The financial statement showed the income and expenditure estimates during the year at Rs 280 and Rs 437 crore respectively. The total budget of the university in 2013-14
was Rs 360 crore, Rs 290 crore in 2012-13 and Rs 264 crore in 2011-12. Punjabi University registrar Dr AS Chawla said the salary budget that was Rs 200 crore last year had gone up by around Rs 50 crore after DA instalments worth Rs 36 crore and other benefits were announced. He said till 15 years ago, the state government allocated 76 per cent of the total budget to the university as grant, but now it contributed only about 20 per cent. “There are only two sources of income for the university - government grant and tuition fee. Due to the hike in DA instalments and annual increments, there was an increase of about Rs 36 crore in salaries last year and it is estimated to increase by Rs 50 crore this year. Moreover, we have reached our saturation point as far as resources generation is concerned because we have sufficient number of departments and students as per our capability,” he said. He further said though they had yet to fill 27 vacant posts of teaching faculty, they would try to curtail their expenses. Dr Chawla claimed they had been able to restrict their non-salary budget to around Rs 62
crore, which is the same as last year. “We are trying to get the government’s support for running the constituent colleges in order to ease pressure on us,” he said. Set up with a view to provide easy access of colleges to the students from educationally backward districts of the state, the constituent colleges were established under a collaborative scheme of central and state governments. These have added to the financial woes of Punjabi University that has been given the task of running nine of these colleges. It runs constituent colleges at Ghudda, Sardulgarh (Mansa), Jaito, Dhilwan (Barnala), Moonak (Sangrur), Chunni Kalan (Fatehgarh Sahib), Ghanour, Mirapur and Mansa. The university is yet to receive an amount of Rs 25.5 crore from the state government for the past two years. The state government handed over these colleges to the university with an understanding that it would annually give Rs 1.5 crore per college to these universities. However, the government has not sanctioned any amount for these colleges for the past two years. How the university landed in this mess * Till 15 years ago, the state government allocated 76 per cent of the total budget to the university as grant, but now it contributes only about 20 per cent * The university has been given the task of running nine of constituent colleges * These were established under a collaborative scheme of central and state governments * The state was to annually give Rs 1.5 crore per college to the university * However, the government has not paid this money for the past two years. It amounts to Rs 25.5 crore
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Mansa family claims child at Jalandhar’s Sangha Farm their son
Bathinda, March 26 Mansa resident Umesh Kumar, a native of Mainpuri district in Uttar
Pradesh, approached Bathinda-based NGO Legal Empowerment and Awareness Forum (LEAF) for help. Forum president Sadhu Ram Kusla said Umesh’s son Surjit Singh, 16, had gone missing from home on January 9, 2014. The family lodged a complaint with the Mansa police which filed a
DDR. Umesh and his family migrated to Mansa 12 years ago. Umesh is a vegetable vendor. After reading a report on unchecked child labour at the Akali leader's farm that appeared in The Tribune on March 17, the LEAF president in Bathinda wrote to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. "This demand, carried in a section of the media, caught Umesh's attention who approached us,"
said Kusla. The LEAF members then approached the District Legal Services Authority in Bathinda which in turn sent the application to the Jalandhar authorities. The Jalandhar Labour Department, in its report to the State Labour Commissioner recently, had given a clean chit to the SAD leader. “The report gave a clean chit to the Sangha Farm owners. The raiding team stated that the children found at the farm were accompanied by their parents. The report did not point towards child trafficking. So we did not conduct any further raids at the farm", said Varun
Roojam, Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar. Sources said the Labour Department, before conducting the raid, approached the district task force for help. But owing to lack of coordination among various departments, it failed to get help on time. A raiding team has to be accompanied by the police, health and the district welfare officials. A member of the raiding team said they approached the Lambra police station but got no help, despite waiting for a response for two hours. Highly placed sources alleged the Labour Department was deliberately instructed to conduct a raid on Holi when most migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are not at work. Looking back at the violation * On March 17, The Tribune had carried a report on several children working at Sangha farms in violation of law abolishing child labour * It was alleged that these children had been kidnapped and brought to the farm by contractors from Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal * The report had quoted a contractor, Ram
Chander, admitting that he was facing a case for kidnapping two children, Mithilesh and Surjit at the Saharsa district court in Bihar About Sangha Farm * It is sprawled over 8,000 acres * The Sanghas run an empire sprawled over 15 farm centres * They have a fleet of 145 tractors and a chain of cold stores * They cultivate land owned by 400 farmers in
Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Nawashahar and Ludhiana districts, most of whom
are NRIs
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Parties question chief election office’s credibility
Chandigarh, March 26
Congress MLA Laal Singh was yesterday issued a notice for violating the poll code by organising a rally at his residence in Patiala. Congress leaders allege that while no action has been taken against the Akalis for "free distribution of liquor" at rally at Ghanaur in Patiala, despite pictures appearing in The Tribune, Laal Singh has been issued a notice though no formal complaint has been made against him. Former CM Capt Amarinder Singh said he did not expect fair elections. “The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), VK Singh, is ignoring complaints against the Akalis. There was no public meeting or rally at Laal Singh’s house yesterday. Officers in the election office are blind to the distribution of liquor at public rallies but are going beyond their brief in issuing notices to Congress leaders,” he said. He said he would take up the matter with the Election Commission (EC). VK Singh said he was unbiased. “The EC has stopped the distribution of ration on the basis of blue cards. Other complaints have also been dealt with on merit. In a few cases, reports have been returned to the government for a comprehensive inquiry. The notice in the Patiala case was filed by the DC,” he said. Two-tier redressal system Under fire for “sham” inquiries into complaints sent to the EC and referred to it, SS Channy, principal secretary, Home, said he had decided on a two- tier system of complaint redressal. “An inquiry officer will be appointed in each case, keeping in view the seniority of the officer against whom a complaint is made. He will then approach the complainant and, if need be, seek additional documents to support the complaint. "After he files his report, another officer will go through it, vet it and send it back to the Home Department,” Channy said.
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Factionalism casts shadow on Ghubaya's campaign in Abohar
Abohar, March 26 Liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda, claiming to be the SAD halqa in charge, had yesterday organised a meeting of his supporters here and released Ghubaya's tour schedule. The meeting, however, was not attended by SAD circle presidents and BJP leaders. Doda's efforts to dominate the campaign was reportedly objected to by senior BJP functionaries, who claimed that state Social Welfare Board chairperson and former president of Punjab BJP Mahila Morcha Vijay Laxmi Bhadoo was the halqa in charge. Workers said she had lost the last Vidhan Sabha elections badly as Doda had contested as an Independent and marked a major division in the BJP as well as SAD ranks. As Ghubaya was today accompanied by Vijay Laxmi, former BJP legislator Ram Kumar Goyal and state secretary Sandeep Rinwa on his tour, Doda did not join him and sarpanches and panches having allegiance to his faction too were absent. This resulted in cancellation of meetings in some villages and response in other villages too was poor, sources said. The BJP leaders virtually "hijacked" the programme that was scripted by Doda group "to sideline" them. SAD circle president Gurbanta Singh was present at Ghubaya's meetings today. Notably on March 21, a day before scheduled allotment of liquor vends in the region, Sukhbir Singh Badal had addressed first election meeting in the sub division at a resort on city bypass. Shiv Lal Doda shared the dais with Sukhbir but none of the senior BJP leaders was invited to the meeting. Sukhbir also visited Doda's farm house in a village and addressed his followers for five minutes.
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Denied ticket, Chowdhary fumes
Hoshiarpur, March 26 Terming the party's decision as "unfortunate", Chowdhary made it clear that being a loyal soldier of the Congress, she would not go against the party. Talking to The Tribune, She said: "I am astonished to see how the party has dumped its minister". Sources said Hoshiarpur was all set to witness an interesting poll battle as both the main contestants - Mohinder Singh Kaypee of the Congress and Vijay Sampla of the BJP, were "outsiders". Both the candidates were from Jalandhar and did not have much political base in Hoshiarpur. Also, with factionalism in both the parties, the contest was likely to be evenly poised, they said.
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Khanna arrives to tumultuous welcome
Gurdaspur, March 26 Paying obeisance at the Golden Temple and the Durgiana Temple, he drove in an open rath (a Tata vehicle) to Pathankot. Partap Bajwa, who is contesting the seat for the second time in a row, dubbed Khanna as a “paratrooper dropped by the BJP from Mumbai." He said the people had "rejected" him in the last elections as they preferred a local leader. Khanna retaliated, saying that from 1998 to 2009, he had served the constituency by building bridges on the Ravi, the Beas and the Ujh rivers. “Bajwa, who was unwilling to contest from Gurdaspur, should remember the work I have done for my constituents. He is behaving like that the Greek mythological creature who flew too close to the sun and got its wings singed,” he said. Bajwa, in a statement, said: “The people will reject regressive forces.... Khanna is a part of the despotic thought process that poses a grave danger to the social fabric of the country.” To this, Khanna, three-time MP from Gurdaspur, retorted: “I want to ask Bajwa about the number of projects he has brought to the constituency during his five-year tenure and the number of jobs he has created for the youth. I would like to remind him of the number of projects I brought to the area during my 11-year term as MP (1998 to 2009).” He said there was documentary evidence to prove that Bajwa had splurged 70 per cent of his MPLAD funds on his wife’s assembly seat of Qadian. ‘Bajwa neglected constituency’ Amritsar: Vinod Khanna on Wednesday accused his Congress rival Partap Singh Bajwa of neglecting the constituency. Talking to mediapersons here, he said: “He didn’t fulfill any of the promises made to the voters," he alleged. He said Bajwa’s five-year tenure “has gone waste” and the constituency has trailed by 15 years in terms of development. On the contrary, he claimed that Gurdaspur made a rapid progress during his tenure as an MP from 1998 to 2009. “My works in the constituency speaks for me. The people there have a great affection for me.” On Bajwa terming him an “outsider”, Khanna said he had turned victorious from the constituency three times in a row. On his absence from the constituency, he said he had been unwell and could not travel. On his poll agenda, he said they would seek voteson the development plank. He said he would take everybody along, including Swaran Salaria, who was in the race for the party ticket. — TNS "The people will reject regressive forces.... Khanna is a part of the despotic thought process that poses a grave danger to the social fabric of the country." Partap Singh Bajwa, sitting MP "I want to ask Partap Bajwa about the number of projects he has brought to the constituency and the number of jobs he has created for the youth of the constituency." Vinod Khanna, former MP
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Amarinder, Jaitley in verbal duel over Operation Bluestar
Amritsar, March 26 In his "Campaign Diary" on the Facebook, Jaitley said: "A reluctant Captain obeyed the diktats of his party president to contest elections from Amritsar, notwithstanding the fact that his party president represents the legacy of those culpable for Operation Bluestar." Jaitley said his opposition to terrorism was well known. " If Capt Amarinder Singh had chosen to read my articles on terrorism, he would not have asked me questions on my stand on honouring terrorism or terrorists. Obviously, I am opposed to it," he wrote. The senior BJP leader took on the Congress for fielding "tainted" leaders like Pawan Bansal and Ashok Chavan. "The Congress has fielded against me a candidate who has been charge-sheeted. The chargesheet against him is pending in Ludhiana," her said. Capt hit back at Jaitley for "proclaiming himself an opponent of terrorism." He reiterated that Jaitley was trying to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. "If Jaitley is so aggressively opposed to terrorism, how come he banks on the support of the people who have built a memorial to Operation Bluestar," he asked. On Congress giving the ticket to " tainted" netas, Amarinder said: "If you can project a tainted leader like Narendra Modi, who presided over the massacre of hundreds of people in Gujarat, as PM, what moral right do you have to question the Congress for fielding Bansal or Chavan." On the case pending against him in a Ludhiana court, he said it was a "case of political vendetta." Capt insulting Amritsar residents: Majithia Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Wednesday accused former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh of "insulting the people of Majha," especially of Amritsar, by not showing up even a week after the
Bikram Singh Majithia
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Decision on Talwandi Sabo byelection soon
Chandigarh, March 26 The CEO said Secretary, Vidhan Sabha, had telephonically informed that notification was not issued and the matter was referred to the Advocate-General office for a legal opinion on some technical points. Rs
80 lakh seized
The CEO said till date Rs 80 lakh, approximately 40 lakh each, by flying squads and static surveillance teams had been intercepted and all the cases had been referred to the I-T Department. Complaint on security
Replying a query, the CEO said the Principal Secretary (Home) had been asked to enquire a complaint regarding providing police personnel to non-entitled persons in Muktsar district. Counting at dist Hqs
He said directions had been issued to Deputy Commissioners for making arrangements for counting at the district headquarters only.
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Chandumajra unrepentant about 'age' remark on Soni
Ropar, March 26 Chandumajra, while addressing a rally at Kharar yesterday, had said: Former minister Ramesh Dutt Sharma said Chandumajra was known for his offensive language. He said it seemed he did not respect women. "Chandumajra should remember that he has already suffered defeat at the hands of two women, Patiala MP Preneet Kaur and former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal," he said. Former Anandpur Sahib legislator KP Rana asked Chandumajra as to how he viewed the CM, who was in his eighties.
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Liquor, not books, is election office’s
top priority
Chandigarh, March 26 The CEO’s office received immediate sanction from the Chief Election Commission
(CEC), Delhi, for the auction of liquor vends, but it has not bothered to send a communication seeking permission for the distribution of books under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan
(SSA). This means that will not get textbooks till the election code of conduct is in force till May 16. “Going by the huge amount of money involved in the liquor trade, we sought immediate permission from the
CEC,” the CEO, VK Singh, said. He, though, confirmed that permission for the distribution of textbooks was yet to be sought from the
Centre. Punjab Excise Department officials sought the auction of liquor vends on the grounds that “against the total revenue of Rs 3,950 crore during 2013-14, a revenue of ~4,700 crores is expected during 2014-15. This means an increase of ~750 crore”. Besides, the department received ~267 crore on the account of application money alone. Bhupinder
Sandhu, an independent poll observer from Patiala, said: “The government was bothered about the money involved in the auction of more than 5,400 vends for country-made liquor and 2,500 vends for the
IMFL. The auction involved huge money. But how could the state ignore nearly 37 lakh students in 19,550-odd government schools. Imagine going to school without books for one-and-a-half months.” The CEO, meanwhile, said his office had got permission for the purchase of weapons for the police to maintain law and order in the state. “The development is a manifestation of the fact that the sound of bullets and not the spirit of letters run the affairs of the state,” a retired college principal said.
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LS poll: Govt denies leave to babus
Muktsar, March 26 As per a circular issued by the Special Secretary (Personnel) to the officers, the latter have been told that no fresh leave would be sanctioned, be it casual, privilege, LTC or child care. The leave would be granted only in those circumstances which are unavoidable like any ailment or occurrence of any unfortunate incident in family. The circular states a large number of officers were expected to be sent to other states as election observers and the remaining would be given additional charge in their absence. The officers will have to do protocol duties, maintain law and order during the election period. The references of the Election Commission of India and Chief Electoral Officer have also to be disposed off immediately. Sources said another possible reason for the decision was to stop bureaucrats from serving their political masters in any manner by availing leave.
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Youths ‘forced’ into bonded labour in Saudi Arabia
Hoshiarpur, March 26 The case came to light when two among them —Janmeet Singh of Jalandhar and Jagjeet Singh of Hoshiarpur — called this correspondent today. They said the youths had been hired to collect garbage. They are paid poorly and are on the verge of starvation. The international driving licences provided by the travel agent were declared fake by the Saudi Arabia Transportation Department and torn. The company has seized their passports, they said, adding that the demand for full salary or return to India is met with backlash to send them back leads to huge amounts be demanded from them for their release. The company reportedly told the youths that they had been hired for three years and would have to work whether or not they like it. Janmeet said the company directed all youths to work as per its wish even if they were not paid. Last year, the 38 youths from Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar districts had paid about Rs 1 lakh each to the travel agent for sending them to Saudi Arabia. They were promised that they would be hired as drivers with a monthly salary of 1200 riyal (Rs 1.92 lakh). “We are being made to work as cleaners and paid 300 riyal (Rs 4,800) per month. This amount does not suffice for food. We all are starving,” Janmeet said, adding that they had been cheated. “The agent took money to employ us as drivers but they handed us over to a garbage-collection company, Twak Baldia.” Jagjeet, whose mother had a brain stroke recently, said: “They (company’s management) have seized our passports. If we ask for the travel documents, the company seeks 8000 riyal (Rs 12.8 lakh) and justifies their demand on the grounds that it paid for us. The company claims that an agreement in this regard was got signed with the agents.” The youths plead with the Indian Government to take up the matter and get them released soon. Their ordeal *
38 Punjabi youths sent as drivers to Saudi Arabia by a Jalandhar-based travel agent have allegedly been forced into bonded labour *
The youths say they have been tricked into collecting garbage. They are paid poorly and are on the verge of starvation *
The international driving licences provided by the travel agent were declared fake by the Saudi Arabia Transportation Department and torn *
The garbage-collecting company seeks 8000 riyal (Rs 12.8 lakh) to release them Travel agents sold my son: mother The mother of one of the 38 youths, who were tricked, appealed to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to save her son. “My son was married 15 months prior to leaving for Saudi Arabia in November,” said Sukhwinder
Kaur, the mother of Hoshiarpur youth Jagjit Singh. “The agents don’t pay heed to our pleas. They sold my son to the Saudi Arabian company. He is starving there.” Her son was promised the job of a driver, but “he’s collecting garbage there”. “We had borrowed money from relatives to send him to Saudi Arabia. Now, Jagjit wants more money to return. What should we do? It is the end of the world for us,” Sukhwinder added.
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Education Dept withdraws order on result date
Abohar, March 26 The letter had caused a lot of resentment among teachers. The heads of schools have now been told to evaluate answer sheets for the non-board classes by March 31. The results will, however, be announced in the presence of parent-teacher committees in the schools on April 7. The results will have little meaning as teachers have to promote all the students of elementary classes to the next class, the Shiksha Sudhar Samiti (SSS) said. SSS patrons Capt (retd) SK Dutta and Ajinder Singh said a mechanism should be developed to discipline and educate students instead of blindly following the recommendations under the Right to Education Act.
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School bus driver killed, students hurt
Abohar, March 26 Station House Officer (SHO) Vikram Sharma said motre than 10 students were injured. All of them kids were taken to the Civil Hospital in Sriganganagar. Six children were discharged and the condition of the remaining children was stable, doctors said. In another incident, Romy of Srikaranpur and Happy of Kundal village were injured as the car in which they were travelling overturned after crashing with a truck near Burajmuhar terminal, 5 km from here, today. The victims said truck headlights led to the mishap. — OC
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Will provide free treatment to drug addicts: SGPC
Fatgehgarh Sahib, March 26 SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar today said members of the Dharam Prachar Committee that was a running a campaign against drugs was holding a survey to identify the drug addicts in the state. He said the identified youths would then be admitted to the SGPC-run hospitals.—TNS
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SC stays ban on liquor vends along highways
New Delhi, March 26 A Bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam also issued notice to the PIL petitioners in the High Court, Arrive Safe Society of Haryana and others, the National Highway Authority (NHAI) and the Haryana Government, seeking their response to the petition filed by Punjab through standing counsel Jagjit Singh Chhabra. The High Court had passed an order on July 30, 2013 asking Punjab and Haryana to remove liquor shops along the national highways. Punjab framed a fresh excise policy and began the process for the allotment of liquor vends along the state highways and service lanes of both the national and state highways. Subsequently, the High Court passed another order on March 18, 2014, banning such shops on both the highways as well as service lanes and asked Punjab to amend its excise policy accordingly. Appearing for Punjab, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi said it would be difficult for the state to abandon the proposed allotments for 2014-15 as the process was almost complete. Also, the state stood to lose huge revenue of Rs 750 crore by such a change. The SC asked the respondents to file their replies within two weeks. The gist of the matter *
The Punjab and Haryana High Court had banned liquor vends along the highways, both national and state, as well as the service lanes in Punjab n* An apex court Bench issues notice to the petitioners, Arrive Safe Society of Haryana and others, the National Highway Authority and the Haryana Government *
Appearing for Punjab, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi says it will be difficult for the state to abandon the proposed allotments for 2014-15 as the process is almost complete *
The state stands to lose huge revenue of ~750 crore by such a change, Rohatgi says.
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High Court decries pleas against ‘vulgar’ films
Chandigarh, March 26 The High Court also made it clear that it was tough to apply brakes on technology; and an expert body was in place to look into issues such as vulgarity. A Division Bench also permitted a petition filed by an advocate to be dismissed as withdrawn. He had sought stay on the release of movie “Grand Masti” by projecting the big picture of vulgarity. Taking up the petition, Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Arun Palli asserted: “We are of the view that it has been more a case of over enthusiasm of a young advocate, who is a petitioner in the present petition. “It should dawn on the people that it is difficult to control technology and the sensitivity of the persons will vary. That is the reason that there is an expert body to look into all these matters and it is not really for the courts to act as the appellate authorities to scrutinise, but of course in appropriate cases it may interfere. “We are observing so because it is a tendency even to file petitions before the subordinate courts seeking injunction on the anvil of release of films which is an undesirable position”. The Bench added: “The promos and the trailers were in fact certified as U/A. Thus we fail to appreciate why the petitioner went on YouTube especially to look at the promos/trailers of the film when he felt that these were offensive”. In his petition, Chadha claimed he found the contents of the film against public policy and spirit of the Cinematograph Act 1952, while watching its trailer on the internet with his family. Elaborating, Chadha said the film was full of “nude scenes, vulgarity and dialogue with dual meaning”. Going into the technicalities, Chadha said the Central Film Certification Board issued “A” certificate, indicating that the movie was restricted to ‘adults’ category. Chadha added he was knocking the doors of the High Court for revoking the certification issued by CBFC and other directions which the High Court deems fit in the present set of circumstances. The film also had scenes degrading and denigrating women. “The film, if released, would give an immoral massage to the young generation,” the petitioner added.
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Delay in report on illegal mining irks HC
Chandigarh, March 26 The High Court, on the previous date of hearing, had directed the SIT to file of an interim report on illegal mining; and had also directed deputy commissioners concerned and mining officers to file an affidavit as to where illegal mining was taking place. The directions came after the Punjab Government informed the Bench that several FIRs had been registered on the matter. The developments took place during the resumed hearing of a public interest litigation seeking directions to the government and the Centre to put on auction mining areas with environmental clearance in a transparent and time-bound manner to curb illegal mining in the state. The High Court had earlier taken a serious view of apparent indifferent attitude adopted by the SIT constituted by the Punjab Government to look into illegal mining in the state. The High Court had also asked the state counsel to seek instructions and specify the government’s stand on the issue. The court had observed in the open court that the SIT had failed to reach at any conclusion in the matter. It had also rapped the Punjab Police on its knuckles for its failure to act against those involved in illegal mining. The court had further expressed its dissatisfaction over the SIT report. Stating that nothing significant was in the report, the court had asserted: “The SIT report does not highlight the names of persons such as bureaucrats, politicians and police officers indulged in the menace”. The Bench had further sought details of FIRs registered against particular persons. The proceedings *
The HC also questioned the SIT on its intention to expose the mining mafia *
It, on a previous date of hearing, had directed the SIT to file of an interim report on illegal mining *
The court had also directed deputy commissioners concerned and mining officers to file an affidavit as to where illegal mining was taking place *
Earlier, the HC had taken a serious view of the apparent indifferent attitude adopted by the SIT constituted by the state.
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HC fines DPI for delay in complying with order
Chandigarh, March 26 Justice Mahesh Grover also set a week’s deadline for him to comply with the directions to issue appointment letters to 36 petitioners, if found eligible as Physical Education Demonstrator. The order had made it clear that the necessary action was required to be taken within a month and notional consequential benefits were also to be granted to them within three months from the receipt of the order. The rap on the knuckles came after Justice Grover took serious note of the fact that Garg had not complied with judgment dated May 7, 2013. As the respondents failed to issue appointment letter within the stipulated period of time, a contempt petition was filed against Garg and notice was issued to him on December 12, 2013. As the matter came up for resumed hearing, law officer for the state government sought additional time for complying with judgment dated May 7, 2013. Taking umbrage at the attitude of the respondent, Justice Mahesh Grover observed that attitude of the respondent was one of defiance and imposed costs on him while adjourning the hearing for April 4. Case details *
HC took serious note of the fact that DPI (Schools) Kamal Garg had not complied with a judgment dated May 7, 2013 *
The court had set a week's deadline for him to comply with the directions to issue appointment letters to 36 petitioners.
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Police crack murder case; youth held
Muktsar, March 26 The police said a patrolling team had found the body of an 80-year-old man lying in a pool of blood on March 13. During the investigations, the police had identified the deceased as Gurdev Singh of Boparai Khurd village in Ludhiana district. "On the complaint of the deceased's brother and on the basis of evidences, the accused was identified as Harjinder Singh of Moga district," said Muktsar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surjit Singh. The SSP said the accused was arrested today during a raid at his house. "During the interrogation, Harjinder admitted to have killed his grandfather, whom he had brought there on his motorcycle. He said he had fired bullets from his licenced revolver, which he later deposited to an armoury shop in Moga," said the SSP. Harjinder committed the crime as his grandfather often scolded him for his anti-social activities. The case *
An 80-year-old man was found lying in a pool of blood on March 13 near the Muktsar-Kotkapura highway *
The deceased, Gurdev Singh of Ludhiana district, was shot to death by his grandson Harjinder Singh of Moga district *
Harjinder committed the crime as his grandfather often scolded him for his anti-social activities.
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Army clerk held in Faridkot for spying
Amritsar, March 26 Lovedeep Singh (26), a resident of Park Avenue, Kotkapura Road, Faridkot, has allegedly been in touch with the ISI for the past over a year. Manmohan Singh, Additional Inspector-General (AIG), Counter Intelligence, said the police teams seized photographs of restricted areas, Army manuals and a handmade sketch of military installations from him. The accused had been under surveillance for a long time. Lovedeep was arrested from Canal Bridges, Faridkot bypass Road following a tip-off. A case under the Official Secrets Act has been registered against him. The AIG said as per preliminary investigation, Lovedeep was lured into working for the ISI around 18 months ago. He was offered a handsome reward. “So far, Lovedeep has informed the ISI about the movements of the Army units in Faridkot, Ferozepur and Fazilka sectors. He has also passed on information on the construction of new bunkers on the border,” said Manmohan Singh. Sources said of all the spies arrested so far, Lovedeep has passed on the most sensitive information to the ISI. They said Lovedeep, being a clerk, had access to vital information and sent the information through fax or email. The SSOC as of now have discovered that he was paid Rs 80,000 through Western Union money transfer. Sources said, “Lovedeep also had a fake bank account at Punjab National Bank in the name of Gurcharan Singh.” They said he might have been paid through
Hawala. His crimes *
Lovedeep was lured into working for the ISI around 18 months ago * He has informed the ISI about the movements of the Army units in Faridkot, Ferozepur and Fazilka sectors *
He has also sent information on the construction of new bunkers on the border
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A family from Mansa today claimed that their lost son is among the many children working at the farm of Gurdev Kaur
Sangha, SAD leader from Jalandhar.
Factionalism which dots the ruling alliance partners SAD and the BJP here since the last Vidhan Sabha elections cast a shadow on SAD nominee Sher Singh Ghubaya's campaign tour to Abohar segment villages today. Ghubaya had to struggle to get a party ticket for another term.
Gurdaspur, March 26
In all, 38 Punjabi youths sent as drivers to Saudi Arabia by a
Jalandhar-based travel agent have allegedly been forced into bonded labour.
The Congress says that most complaints against the SAD have been turned down while Congress workers are being charged with violation of poll code, even when there is no formal complaint against them. In the past two weeks, the chief election office has dismissed complaints against Akalis on the distribution of grain under the Atta-Dal Scheme, on the distribution of bicycles under Mai Bhago Scheme.
announcement of his candidature. In a statement, he said: "Everyone knows about your absenteeism and inaccessibility, but please extend this holy city the courtesy of paying it a visit," he said. The Akali leader said he was amused at Capt Amarinder's statement that he would show him (Majithia) who the real boss was. He said Amarinder was yet to come out of his "Maharaja mindset", pointing out that the people were the real bosses. — TNS
"The Congress has given the ticket to a 72-year-old woman who has never contested an election." Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was present at the rally, had dissociated himself from the remark, saying it was not a personal fight and such language should not be used.