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Showers to delay wheat arrival by fortnight
Vinish Chaudhary is Expenditure Observer
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Ludhiana DMC Hospital launches hypertension chair and clinic
Manpreet’s assets grow by 68% in two years
All MLAs barring
one in his LS seat accompany Bajwa
Former MLA alleges kidnapping bid by Akalis
Bhattal asks CM if he is with BJP or INLD
Studies take a back seat, PPP chief’s son campaigns for
him
Factionalism to fore in roadshow for Sampla
Ropar Cong puts up united show at Ambika’s rally
Manpreet a Congress pawn, says CM
Manpreet seeks transfer of Bathinda SSP for ‘fair’ poll
Now BJP, Congress row over memorial to terrorism victims
Bhagat Singh’s nephew upset with Manpreet
Govt favoured Powercom CMD: Cong
BKU chief backs AAP manifesto for farmers
Captain must explain stand on
Bluestar: SAD
Employees' bid to take out procession foiled
Grant for teachers’ salaries released
Village threatens poll boycott over police ‘inaction’ in fraud case
Women set ‘belans’ rolling for drug-free poll
Sikh scholar Gurbhagat Singh passes away
Gurbhagat Singh. Tribune file photo
Man convicted for wife's murder
Ashutosh died a natural death, state police tells High Court
Minors held for murder
Dy Registrar booked for not joining poll duty
Poll officer: Heroin worth
Rs 340 cr seized
Two Congress workers booked
Cop held for extorting money from truck drivers
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Showers to delay wheat arrival by fortnight
Chandigarh, April 4 Officials in the state Agriculture Department say that reports from all over the state have indicated that the wheat crop in the fields is still green and yet to dry and ripen for harvesting. The wheat will start trickling in the mandis only around April 10 onwards, and the arrivals will begin in earnest only after Baisakhi (April 13). Till date, only 22 metric tonnes of wheat have arrived in Patiala district, which too have been bought by a private trader. The state is expecting a bumper wheat crop this year. The state’s wheat production is expected to be almost equal to last year’s wheat production — at 168 lakh metric tonnes (LMT). MS Sandhu, Director, Agriculture Department, said that of the 168 LMT of wheat produced in the state, around 120 LMT will arrive in the mandis for procurement by government agencies and private entities. “Though there have been instances of flattening/lodging and impact of hail storms on almost 68,000 hectares of area under wheat cultivation, it has not impacted the production. We also managed to control the yellow rust disease in time, and thus ensured that the wheat production was not affected,” he said, adding that this year the wheat arrival is late by almost a fortnight. Meanwhile, officials in the Food Corporation of India (FCI) say that in spite of a good harvest, the state will have no more storage issues for wheat. “The total wheat stocks in the state as on April 1 are 70 LMT. In April and May, almost 20 LMT of this wheat stock would be transferred to other wheat consuming states. We already have 160 LMT of storage space for wheat, with 20 LMT of additional space created for this marketing season alone. “For this year’s wheat arrivals of 120 LMT, the government agencies will procure 110 LMT of wheat , which can be stored in 90 LMT of space. The old wheat stocks have taken 50 LMT of space, and thus we are quite comfortable with the storage capacity this year,” said a senior official in FCI. This year’s yield *
The wheat will start trickling in the mandis only around April 10 onwards *
Till date, only 22 metric tonnes of wheat have arrived in Patiala district *
The state is expecting a bumper crop this year * The state's wheat production is expected to be almost equal to last year's wheat production at 168 LMT Delay forces parties to change poll strategy Patiala/Rajpura: The delay of the arrival of the wheat harvest in the mandis will mean that when election fever is at its peak, majority of the farmers will still be busy in the mandis or the fields. With the change in the farmers’ schedule, several candidates have started campaigning in the villages now. They will then shift to the cities in the last few days before the state goes to poll on April 30. “We have changed our strategy and started campaigning in the villages now since the farmers are not busy harvesting the wheat crop,” said a SAD worker. — Aman Sood
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Vinish Chaudhary is Expenditure Observer
Fazilka, April 4 According to the official communiqué, IRS officer Vinish Chaudhary would be available at Canal Rest House, Fazilka, to receive complaints and grievances. He will also keep a vigil on expenses to be incurred by the candidates on election campaign in the five assembly segments. Chaudhary also held a meeting with members of flying squad teams, statistic and video surveillance teams and assistant expenditure observers. — OC
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Ludhiana DMC Hospital launches hypertension chair and clinic
Ludhiana, April 4 The clinic and chair has been set up with the funds granted by Dr Mohinder P Sambhi, a Ludhiana-born physician and hypertension specialist. He is settled in Los Angeles, the US. Dr Sambhi is a Professor Emeritus at the School of Medicine, University of California. This chair has been established in DMCH through the Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation, which is being managed by ML Sarin, a senior advocate of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Through ML Sarin, Dr Sambhi has already donated for a chair in the Baba Farid University, Faridkot and for thalasemic children in Chandigarh. Dr Mohinder P Sambhi aims to help the patients of hypertension in the region. Sunil Kant Munjal, president, Managing Society, DMCH, said the hospital would raise awareness on hypertension among the masses. “The Chair and Clinic will hold regular public lectures, prepare brochures and pamphlets for the management of hypertension patients,” said
Munjal. Prem Kumar Gupta, secretary, DMCH, said, “The Chair and Clinic is being established under the research and development centre of
DMCH. The institute wants to conduct research in the field of hypertension.” Actor Anupam
Kher, who was in the city to stage a play “Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai”, was also present at the press conference.
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Manpreet’s assets grow by 68% in two years
Chandigarh, April 4 Manpreet’s movable and immovable assets grew by 68 per cent in the last two years, as per the affidavit submitted by him with his nomination papers for the Bathinda parliamentary constituency. The PPP chief’s liabilities also grew by 58 per cent since 2012. He now has total assets worth Rs 42.11 crore, as compared to Rs 28.70 crore in the 2012 Assembly elections. Interestingly, his income tax return shows a negative trend. He filed a return of Rs 4.99 lakh in the 2012-13 financial year whereas he had shown a return of Rs 12.98 lakh in 2010-11. The tax return of his family income has also decreased to Rs 48.62 lakh from Rs 58.95 lakh. The number of vehicles with Manpreet has also decreased. He now has five vehicles against 11 in 2012. He owns a Tata Canter truck (model 2003), Honda CRV car (2005), Toyota Fortuner (2013) and two tractors. Missing from the list are a Willys Jeep, Ford card, Mahindra Jeep, Nissan Jonga and two motorcycles. In Amritsar, former Chief Minister and Congress candidate Captain Amarinder Singh was flanked by his wife Preneet Kaur, son Raninder Singh, daughter Jai Inder Kaur and other family members, Captain filed his papers before Deputy Commissioner-cum-DEO Ravi Bhagat here this afternoon. The major reason behind the surge in his immovable assets (see chart below) is the fact that he has shown his New Motibagh Palace in Patiala as a commercial building valued at Rs 71.30 crore, which is more than double as compared to its value of Rs 35 crore during the 2012 Assembly elections. Treading cautiously so as not to violate code of conduct, Captain kept the filing of his nomination papers a low-key affair, as he along with his family drove into the DC office in a couple of vehicles. They were accompanied by local Congress leaders like OP Soni, RL Bhatia, Prof Darbari Lal, Dr Rajkumar Verka and Sukh Sarkaria. Earlier, he also inaugurated his election office at the Court Road. Money meter Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president and sitting MP Partap Singh Bajwa filed his nomination from the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency today. The Congress leader led an impressive cavalcade of nearly 200 cars to the office of Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer Dr Abhinav Trikha here. The parliamentary seat has nine Vidhan Sabha seats, five of which are represented by Congress MLAs.
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All MLAs barring
one in his LS seat accompany Bajwa
Gurdaspur, April 4 The parliamentary seat has nine Vidhan Sabha seats, five of which are represented by Congress MLAs. The Congress leader led an impressive cavalcade of nearly 200 cars to the office of Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer. Following directives from the Election Commission, all vehicles except the one in which Bajwa and his wife Charanjit Kaur, who is Qadian MLA, were travelling were stopped at barricades set up by the district administration at various points in the city. The MP paid obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar before proceeding to
Gurdaspur.
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Former MLA alleges kidnapping bid by Akalis
Muktsar, April 4 Speaking over the phone, Pardhan, who is now with the SAD, alleged, "Some youngsters, including Sunny Dhillon, brother of SAD leader Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, and president of local truck union Lakhi Kingra, came to my shop on three cars. Sunny first demanded the proceedings register of Dharam Sabha but I refused as he is not its member.” — TNS
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Bhattal asks CM if he is with BJP or INLD
Sangrur, April 4 Bhattal said while the SAD had an alliance with the BJP in Punjab, it was working against the BJP candidates in Haryana to ensure the victory of the INLD candidates. She was addressing a rally in favour of Congress candidate from Sangrur Vijay Inder Singla here. Most Congress MLAs from the constituency were conspicuous by their absence. Bhattal said the Lok Sabha poll was a fight between secular and communal forces and the people would reject the latter. On AAP candidate Bhagwant Mann, she said the people preferred serious contestants such as
Singla.
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Studies take a back seat, PPP chief’s son campaigns for
him
Muktsar, April 4 Arjun (20) had come to India on March 16 on his spring break and was scheduled to leave for the US on April 13. Sources said apart from having good public speaking skills, he was a bright student and held a scholarship in the university. During the assembly elections in 2012 too, Arjun had canvassed for his father and other PPP candidates. At that time, he was studying in school and had to leave before the polling day (as schools in the US are very strict about allowing leave). Those who have listened to his speech said Arjun might be too young to start a political career but the way he conveys his message to people is really appreciable and it does not look like a youngster is addressing them. He speaks in chaste Punjabi and starts his speech by greeting everyone with “Sat Sri Akal”. Nowadays, he visits about 15 villages in Bhucho and Bathinda rural assembly segments to garner support for his father. “We get a lot of phone calls from other assembly constituencies to send Arjun there for canvassing as he has mastered the art of canvassing. People love to listen to him and a lot of youngsters are connecting with us,” said Manpreet’s brother-in-law Jaijeet Singh Johal. He said, “Arjun has also campaigned in Bareta, Budhlada, Sardulgarh areas. He has developed an image of a star campaigner and has thus been entrusted with the task of holding 400 public meetings in villages and 135 meetings in urban areas of Bathinda parliamentary constituency.” He confirmed that Arjun had postponed the third semester of his ongoing studies, saying, “He has set a goal to make his father win this time and for that, he has overlooked his studies.” Arjun, being a US citizen by birth, does not have the right to vote in India. Arjun to campaign for Bajwa too PPP chief Manpreet Badal’s son Arjun Badal (in pic) will go to Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency to canvass for PCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa on April 6 and 7. “The popularity of Arjun can be gauged from the fact that he is going to another constituency and to canvass for Partap Singh Bajwa. Arjun and Vikram Bajwa (Partap Bajwa’s son) are friends and he will canvass there for two days,” said Jaijeet Singh Johal, Manpreet’s brother-in-law.
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Factionalism to fore in roadshow for Sampla
Hoshiarpur, April 4 Notably, the road show started from outside the district BJP office at Shastri Market but when party workers reached there, the door was locked. Moreover, office-bearers of the BJP district unit and the local unit were not present in the roadshow. Talwar said, "Modi is the only choice for Prime Minister in the party as there is no other who can compete with him in governance and leadership skills. Sampla is his representative in Hoshiarpur and its the responsibility of every BJP worker to ensure his victory.”
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Ropar Cong puts up united show at Ambika’s rally
Ropar, April 4 They, however, avoided interaction with each other. Senior Congress leader Ramesh Dutt Sharma and former Anandpur Sahib MLA Rana KP Singh and several other local Congress leaders have been opposing Saini, terming him an outsider since his appointment on December 27. Due to this infighting, the Congress had to cancel its protest against the drug racket at Ropar in February and a political conference at Hola Mohalla. Ambika Soni, who addressed public meetings at Majri Thekedaran, Ghanola, Shampura, Taparian Khurd and Akbarpur, lashed out at the SAD-BJP combine as well as her rival SAD candidate Prem Singh Chandumajra. “I had sanctioned huge funds for the development of Punjab, especially at Anandpur Sahib, Talwandi Sabo and Khatkar Kalan, during my tenure as Union Tourism and Culture Minister but the state government failed to make proper use of these funds,” she said. “On the contrary, sand mafia flourished in the state during the SAD-BJP regime,” she added. When asked about Baba Ramdev’s remark that she had learnt Italian to please UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, she said the yoga guru had taken her to his ashram and wanted it to be declared as a tourist destination. "He even tried to meet Sonia Gandhi many times. Now, it did not look nice that he speaks in such a manner," she added. Sharing the dais *
Former minister Ramesh Dutt Sharma, former district party presidents Sukhwinder Singh Whisky and Amarjit Singh Saini, who have been opposing the appointment of new district president Harbhag Singh Saini, shared the dais for the first time *
They, however, avoided any interaction with each other
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Manpreet a Congress pawn, says CM
Bathinda, April 4 He said though he had been warned that Manpreet was working hand in glove with the Congress, he had refused to believe it. He said the SAD had honoured Manpreet and senior leaders like Surjit Singh Barnala with high posts, but they chosen to be ungrateful and were now fighting for political survival. He appealed to the people to vote for the SAD so that the development works initiated by the government could be executed in time. "With the NDA Government at the Centre, the funds crunch being faced on account of the step-motherly attitude of the UPA Government will be a thing of the past," he promised the people. Sukhbir Badal , SAD president and Deputy CM in a jibe at the Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, said the latter had miserably failed to revive the fortunes of his party in areas where he had been asked to take charge. "The joke doing the rounds is that whenever Rahul addresses the people for five minutes, the Congress ends up losing 10 lakh votes," he said. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, targeting her brother-in-law and rival Manpreet, said the cat was finally out of the bag. "You cannot run with the hare and hunt with the hounds," she remarked. She said this was yet another betrayal by Manpreet ever since he quit the SAD in 2010. "Now that he has adopted the Congress symbol, what stops him from declaring himself as a Congress leader ? He has disowned the PPP through his actions and the party is likely to disintegrate in the next few days," she observed. She said the people had the right to know whether Manpreet also subscribed to the Congress brand of politics. "They also want to know whether he stands by the policies and programmes of the Congress whose 10-year rule has not only led to inflation and unbridled corruption, but also resulted in discrimination against Punjab," she said. She said Manpreet had long been maintaining that he would remain equi-distant from the SAD and the Congress. "It is now clear that he was eyeing the CM's chair when he rebelled against the SAD," she alleged. At the end of her speech, she turned emotional and thanked the people for their love and affection for her. She appealed them to vote for her so that she won with an even bigger margin. Others present on the occasion were JS Sekhon, BS Ramoowalia, AS Lakhowal, Hans Raj Hans, AS Sidhu and Jeet Mohinder
Sidhu. Manpreet bashing Though I had been warned that Manpreet was working hand in glove with the Congress, I refused to believe it. The SAD had honoured Manpreet Badal and senior leaders like Surjit Singh Barnala with high posts. But they have chosen to be ungrateful and are now fighting for political
survival —
Parkash Singh Badal, cm
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Manpreet seeks transfer of Bathinda SSP for ‘fair’ poll
Bathinda, April 4 "It was also owing to the cheap tactics adopted by my opponents who have fielded my namesake from Bathinda," he explained. To a query, he said he would follow the Congress whip in the Lok Sabha. Claiming that the Bathinda poll result would be a game-changer, he accused SAD-BJP leaders of arrogance. Manpreet alleged that the Akalis were threatening voters and demanded the transfer of the IG (Counter-Intelligence), Jatinder Jain, and the Bathinda SSP, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. He urged the Election Commission to appoint an IPS officer for "fair elections" in Bathinda. Manpreet said: " if voted to power, I will strive to end the culture of putting constables on route duty. They stand there in the sun and fog for hours. This has to stop." Manpreet's aged father Gurdas Badal said he was disturbed at the falling standards of electioneering. " Earlier it was all about issues. Now it is about money and threats," he said. Serious allegations *
Manpreet alleged that the Akalis were threatening voters and demanded the transfer of the IG (Counter-Intelligence), Jatinder Jain, and the Bathinda SSP, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar *
He urged the Election Commission to appoint an IPS officer for "fair elections" in Bathinda *
Manpreet's aged father Gurdas Badal said he was disturbed at the falling standards of electioneering.
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Now BJP, Congress row over memorial to terrorism victims
Amritsar, April 4 Talking to the mediapersons here today, Congress candidate Capt Amarinder Singh said he favoured a memorial to 35,000 persons killed during the dark days of terrorism. He questioned BJP candidate Arun Jaitley's “silence over the killing of 35,000 innocent Hindus during militancy in Punjab”. He said it seemed that Jaitley was afraid to annoy Akali leaders. To a question on the SGPC honouring assassins of Indira Gandhi and Beant Singh, he said he wanted to know Jaitley’s stand on the issue. “The BJP and Jaitley owe an answer to the people since the BJP is a partner of the Akali Dal which controls the SGPC," he maintained. He accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of double standards. Badal, he said, had got a building raised in memory of Operation Bluestar but was “opposed to raising one for the victims of terrorism”. At a press conference here this evening, Jaitley asked Amarinder as to why he had not raised a memorial to those killed during miltancy during his tenure as Chief Minister. “We have made one in the shape of Khanna Smarak in Amritsar,” he said. Avtar Singh Makkar, SGPC chief, refused to comment on the matter. Senior SAD leader Daljeet Singh Cheema said the Congress had in the past created a divide in Punjab which had caused a huge loss to the state and " it is again conspiring to incite communal passions for narrow political gains”. On property tax
Amarinder said that the property tax imposed by the Punjab Government was unjustified and uncalled for and must be withdrawn forthwith. He said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had recently rejected Punjab’s request for further overdraft. Taking a dig at SAD leaders's claim that if elected, Jaitley would get a prominent position in the NDA Government and this would benefit the people of Punjab, he said: “The financial system works according to a set procedure. They probably think that Jaitley will get them a money printing machine to bail them out.”
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Bhagat Singh’s nephew upset with Manpreet
Ludhiana, April 4 Addressing a press conference here today, he said contrary to Manpreet's claim, the PPP central committee had not approved the move."In fact, the central committee never met and I was not even consulted." Sandhu said Manpreet had publicly pledged never to align with the Congress or the BJP in any manner. He said he had also betrayed the Left parties, that were part of the third front. Sandhu appealed to Manpreet to "retract" and not betray the PPP ideals and the people's trust in the party. He said Manpreet had asked him to campaign for him in Bathinda, but he had refused to do so. "We wanted to merge with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). We took a pledge in the name of the martyrs. We can't go back on our position," said
Sandhu.
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Govt favoured Powercom CMD: Cong
Chandigarh, April 4 Through the notification, the SAD-BJP Government had raised the retirement age of the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Powercom and other officers, considered close to the Chief Minister, from 62 to 65. Khaira claimed that this had been done in violation of the poll code. The Power Department is held by the CM. Khaira alleged that KD Chaudhri, Powercom chief, had violated rules by allowing Akali MLAs and halqa chiefs (constituency heads) to distribute 65,000 tube well power connections/demand notices among farmers. This . he alleged, was done to influence the beneficiaries to vote in favour of the
SAD-BJP alliance.
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BKU chief backs AAP manifesto for farmers
Chandigarh, April 4 Behru, who has been fighting a case in the apex court to get the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee implemented, said he was happy that AAP had promised to implement these recommendations. On the AAP promise to address various issues such as suicide by farmers, healthcare in rural areas, regulations on genetically modified crops, crop insurance, MSP for 25 crops, credit and insurance facilities, Behru said these issues had been bothering the farmers for long. He said AAP favoured a decentralised rural economy with a prosperous agricultural sector to ensure long-term food, energy, and ecological security. Behru said that it was encouraging that AAP also stood for devolution of powers to gram sabhas to take decisions regarding development. Behru said in Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur, his organisation would vote against the BJP-SAD candidates because of the "shabby treatment" given by the BJP Government to Punjabi farmers in Gujarat. In other constituencies, a decision would be taken soon. Farmers’ leader Kanwal Preet Pannu said his organisation backed AAP manifesto but would not support any party in the elections.
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Captain must explain stand on
Bluestar: SAD
Amritsar, April 4 “It has become necessary for the people to know Captain’s stand because he has shocked everyone by his painful defence of Indira Gandhi’s White Paper on Operation Bluestar. Can you condemn Bluestar and praise the White Paper that justifies it,” he asked. He said the White Paper justified the demolition of Akal Takht and the atrocities committed during the Army assault. "The paper puts the entire blame for this tragedy on the Sikh community and even paints them as separatists,” said Bains. Bains said Amarinder could not seek the blessings of Darbar Sahib and at the same time justify the demolition of Akal Takht . Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia said Congress leaders for in the fray “owing to compulsions”. Hitting out at Amarinder, he said: “I believe in development and the people of my constituency know this very well. I do not issue threats like you (Captain).” Majithia said the Akali leaders and workers would not bow to his "fake threats".
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Employees' bid to take out procession foiled
Fazilka, April 4 On the call given by the All Employees Coordination Committee, Punjab, the local employees unions had decided to organise a demonstration to express resentment against the state government for not accepting their long-pending demands. About 100 activists of the committee gathered at Pratap Bagh, from there they were to proceed to the bus stand to bring out the procession and burn an effigy of the state government. After knowing about the protest, about two dozen police personnel led by Fazilka Deputy Superintendent of Police Manjit Singh rushed to Pratap Bagh and persuaded the protesters to suspend their agitation. However, the employees sat on a dharna and burnt the effigy there. The dharna was led by Convener of the Committee Balbir Singh Kathgarh. Union leader Shakti Singh said the manner in which the police tried to suppress their agitation was “uncalled for”. He alleged that a large number of committee members could not make it to the dharna site, following heavy police arrangements. Kathgarh said the government had failed to pay their salaries for months due to a grim fiscal scenario. “We will bring our agitation to the village level, which will be followed by a state-level protest rally to be held in Bathinda on April 18,” said Kathgarh. Sadar police station Station House Officer, Fazilka, Baljinder Singh, said the motive to stop them from bringing out a procession was to maintain law and order in view of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.
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Grant for teachers’ salaries released
Bathinda, April 4 The teachers had staged a protest outside the treasury office in Bathinda on March 31 and April 1 against the delay in the payment of their salaries. In a memorandum of demands, the teachers had threatened that if the salaries for the past three months were not paid soon, they would boycott the election duty. The teachers are scheduled to attend an election rehearsal on April 6. The Education Department today put up a notice announcing that the grant to the tune of Rs 12.66 crore had been released for payment of salaries for February to the teachers of 139 government schools in the district. Although the drawing and disbursing powers (DD) given to the school in charges and principals lapsed on March 31, the education department has extended the time period till Saturday and a letter will soon be released announcing the extension for three months. District Education Officer (Secondary Education), Harkanwaljeet Kaur, said, “The DD powers have been extended to the teachers for a week and soon the same will be extended for three months. As for the salaries pending for other months, the department will do its best to release the salaries as soon as it can.”
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Village threatens poll boycott over police ‘inaction’ in fraud case
Hoshiarpur, April 4 Village sarpanch Amandeep Kaur, panchayat members and former sarpanch Gurvinder Singh told the media here today that the inquiry into the case was pending and police were shielding the accused. Gurvinder said a loan agent, Mohinder Singh Mann, had lured Tilak Raj and his son Balwinder Singh into availing Rs 15-lakh loan from Uco Bank against their land. The father-son duo gave Mann seven signed blank cheques each. After a few days, Balwinder went to the bank’s branch in Garhdiwala to inquire about the status of the loan application. He was surprised to learn that the loan was sanctioned on February 13 and the amount was credited in his account in a Dasuya bank. When Balwinder went to the Dasuya bank, he learnt that the amount was withdrawn by Kuljeet Kaur using the blank cheques signed by
Balwinder.
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Women set ‘belans’ rolling for drug-free poll
Hoshiarpur, April 4 She said: “A ‘belan’ is the symbol of a woman’s strength. Women will have to start using this ‘weapon’ to ward off social evils.” Sharma, an architect by profession, said the Belan Brigade was a brainchild of non-government organisations (NGO) Navkiran Women’s Welfare Association and Mattra Sathi Jagriti Manch to help women solve their problems. “Drugs and liquor consumption is a problem in almost every family in Punjab. We want to associate with other NGOs and activists to reach out to affected families and fight the menace,” Sharma said. — OC
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Sikh scholar Gurbhagat Singh passes away
Patiala, April 4 Dr Gurbhagat Singh was working on a translation of Guru Granth Sahib in English and had almost completed 75 per cent of the work. Recalling Dr Gurbhagat Singh’s achievements, his student Dr Sarabjinder Singh, who is currently serving as the Head of Guru Granth Sahab Studies Department, Punjabi University, said he had never seen anyone more committed to his work than Dr Gurbhagat Singh. He said the late professor’s translation of the Guru Granth Sahib would help spread the Sikh teachings in every nook and corner of the world. “Even after his retirement, he would reach the university library at 8 am and will continue to work till 2.30 pm. He would then return to the library at 4.30 pm and work till 10 pm,” he said. Dr Sarabjinder Singh said Dr Gurbhagat Singh was sympathetic towards the Sikh rebellion, but was pained to see it turn the activists become terrorists. “He believed that people round the world should know more about Sikh history and the sacrifices made by the Sikh gurus,” said Prof Sarabjinder. Meanwhile, the students and faculty of Government Mohindra College paid condolences on the demise of its alumnus Dr Gurbhagat Singh. College principal Dr Sukhbir Singh Thind said Dr Gurbhagat Singh was one of the state’s most celebrated authors with an illustrious literary career spanning several decades. Renowned writer Gurmukh Singh dies Patiala: Renowned writer Prof Gurmukh Singh passed away at Government Rajindra Hospital yesterday. He is survived by his wife Parminder Kaur and daughter Prabhjot Kaur. Family members, relatives and educationists paid floral tributes to the departed soul. He was cremated at Tripri cremation ground today. After serving in the Punjab Languages Department for 28 years, he retired as an Assistant Director in October 2002. He had written dozens of books on varied subjects.
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Man convicted for wife's murder
Abohar, April 4 Sant Ram's wife Meera was found dead on June 26, 2012, at Chak 2MLD village. Her parents alleged that she had been strangled but lab analysis of viscera indicated that she had died after consuming of a poisonous substance.
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Ashutosh died a natural death, state police tells High Court
Chandigarh, April 4 In its report submitted before the High Court, the police added Maharaj was clinically dead and his former driver Puran Singh had levelled false allegations. As such, his petition was required to be dismissed. Taking a note of the report, the High court fixed May 27 as the next date of hearing. The High Court had, on the previous date of hearing, asked Punjab Advocate-General to clarify the state’s stand on the issue of initiating inquest proceedings in case of Ashutosh Maharaja’s mysterious death. The High Court had directed Advocate-General Ashok Aggarwal to file the state government’s reply on the need for carrying out inquest proceedings. The purpose behind preparing an inquest report under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is to look into, and draw up, a report on the apparent cause of the death. The inquest report describes, among other things, wounds as may be found on the body. In case injuries are found, it also states the manner in which the wounds were inflicted, and the weapon or instrument used for inflicting such wounds. The directions came on a petition filed by Ashutosh Maharaj’s former driver Puran Singh for a CBI probe into the spiritual guru’s death. The petition was filed less than a month after Justice MMS Bedi of the High Court made it clear to Puran Singh that he could approach the police station concerned for remedy, if he felt Ashutosh Maharaj had died an unnatural death. Puran Singh’s latest petition is based on the grounds that the police authorities refused to intervene even after he approached them. Puran Singh has all along been contending that Ashutosh Maharaj was clinically dead as per the status report of state government and the certificate of doctors. He was hale and hearty and his alleged sudden death due to cardiac arrest raised suspicion. The postmortem was imperative so that “the real cause of his death may come to light”. Puran Singh had also filed a habeas corpus petition for Ashutosh Maharaj’s release. In his order, Justice Bedi had asserted: “From the report of the doctors, it is apparently clear that the alleged detainee at the time of presentation of the petition was clinically dead.” Case file *
The police said Ashutosh Maharaj was clinically dead and his former driver Puran Singh had levelled false allegations *
Puran Singh's latest petition was based on the grounds that the police authorities refused to intervene even after he approached them on the mysterious death of the godman.
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Minors held for murder
Abohar, April 4 The victim was found stabbed last Friday night on Kandhwala road. Sandeep Kaur succumbed to her injuries in the local Civil Hospital the next morning. Investigations found that Sandeep Kaur (25) of Kala Nangal (Gurdaspur) was deserted by her Bathinda-based husband. Accused Devinder had allegedly developed relations with her when she was residing here in a rented room. To get rid of her, he and his friend Dheera Singh allegedly stabbed her. The minor boys have been sent to a juvenile house in
Ludhiana.
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Dy Registrar booked for not joining poll duty
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 4 Goyal has been booked under Section 134 of the People’s Representation Act. He was among a six-member team that was to assist Assistant Returning Officer for accepting nomination papers of probable candidates for Fatehgarh Sahib (Reserved) Lok Sabha constituency. Deputy Commissioner Arun Sekhri, in his recommendation to Senior Superintendent of Police Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, had stated that Goyal had proceeded on leave without getting prior sanction. He claimed Goyal had been verbally demanding exemption from election duty but was refused the same. He said the official later applied for medical leave citing ill-health. Goyal claimed he had submitted documents informing his department and the election officials about his ill-health.
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Poll officer: Heroin worth
Rs 340 cr seized
Chandigarh, April 4 Additional Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) B Purushartha today said 68.35-kg heroin worth more than Rs 340 crore had been seized. The catch included 12,693-kg poppy husk worth Rs 2.53 crore; 109.82-kg opium worth Rs 50 lakh; and 1,540-gm smack worth Rs 10.78 lakh. The Additional CEO said, “The authorities seized 23.76-kg dry powder worth Rs 6.65 lakh, 2,582 bottles of addictive syrup worth Rs 1.8 lakh, and 2,205-gm charas worth Rs 3.85 lakh. Illicit liquor (distilled) worth more than Rs 1 crore was seized, besides seizing illicit country-made liquor worth more than Rs 52 lakh worth and ‘lahan’ ( a variable of liquor) worth Rs 41.66 lakh. The seizures totaled more than Rs 2 crore.” The Punjab Police had, in November 2013, claimed to have seized 348-kg heroin and more than 2 lakh kg of poppy husk worth more than Rs 1,740 crore in the first 10 months of last year. The police also seized 1,333 kg of intoxicant powder and nearly 62,000 injections. The seizure of heroin has seen an increase of three-and-a-half times from 2011. In all, 101-kg heroin was seized in in 2011 and 279 kg in 2012. A Principal Secretary, requesting anonymity, said: “The seizure figures during elections when the state and Central agencies are keeping a close watch are very high. The catch indicates that busting of drug cartels last year and arresting key accused did not have desired impact in curbing the menace”.
New postings
Adappa Karthik has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Gurdaspur; VK Sharma as ADC, Amritsar; Vinay Bublani as ADC, Tarn Taran; Parminder Pal Singh as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Phagwara; and Amandeep Singh Bhatti as SDM, Patti.
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Two Congress workers booked
Ferozepur, April 4 The duo were spotted doing that by an Election Commission team recoding a video of the rally last Wednesday. The police said they were trying to identify the accused, following which strict action would be taken. — OC
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Cop held for extorting money from truck drivers
Sangrur, April 4 Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Sangrur, Mandeep Singh Sidhu today said a case had been registered at the city police station in Sangrur today under Sections 384 and 506 of the IPC against Pritpal. He said the Sub-Inspector was now temporarily posted at Ludhiana. The SSP said Pritpal had been arrested for extorting money from the truck drivers, saying that he was a Station House Officer. A sum of Rs 4,000 had been recovered from his possession, he added.
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Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) today launched Dr Mohinder P Sambhi Hypertension Chair and Clinic.
PPP chief Manpreet Badal’s son Arjun Badal has planned to postpone the third semester of his Bachelor’s Degree in the New York University. He would instead campaign for his father who is fighting a high-pitched political battle as Congress-PPP joint candidate against his sister-in-law and sitting Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Arjun (20) had come to India on March 16 on his spring break and was scheduled to leave for the US on April 13.
Factionalism in the local BJP unit came to the fore today when a roadshow in support of BJP candidate Vijay Sampla was organised by MP Avinash Rai Khanna's faction here. The road show was flagged off by the political secretary of MP Avinash Rai
Khanna, Sanjiv Talwar, and most of Khanna's supporters participated in the show while those from the Tikshan faction remained absent.
Manpreet Badal, PPP chief, had all along been a Congress pawn and this had been exposed now, said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal while addressing a rally at Maur Mandi today. He was referring to Manpreet contesting on the Congress symbol (hand).
Abhey Singh Sandhu, nephew of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and central committee member of the Punjab People's Party (PPP) has expressed anguish at Manpreet Badal contesting the Bathinda seat on the Congress symbol (hand) instead that of the PPP (kite).
The plan of employees’ unions to take out a procession against the state government was foiled by the police today.
Patiala, April 4
