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SAD patronising drug trade, alleges Capt
Morning walk gets Amarinder, Jaitley together, for a while
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Jail officials take bribe, alleges arrested gangster
6 held for ‘freeing’ the criminal
Chandumajra holds meeting in gurdwara
BJP’s Salaria to contest as Independent
Former Mayor stays away from Preneet’s rally
PPCC president dares CM for debate on central funds
Kaka, Kiki, Kuku… nicknames catch leaders’ fancy
Jaitley to skip manifesto release
Corrupt netas in league with bureaucrats: Bains
SAD-BJP terrorising voters: Dharamvir
BJP’s Hoshiarpur unit stands united during Vijay Sampla’s roadshow
CPM-Punjab, CPI (ML) name candidates
Bhakra canal bridge collapses in Anandpur Sahib
Undertrial gives cops the slip in Fazilka
38 years on, justice eludes woman left by NRI husband
Executive’s failure triggers judicial activism, says former SC judge
Web of information on Punjab
Powerful bomb found in Fazilka village
Bomb found near rail track
Farmers ‘damaged’ canal valves to draw more water
Hailstorm, heavy rain lash Sriganganagar
Gang of highway robbers busted
Landlord’s son mows down farm workers, kills one
LPG cylinders missing; man, son held
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Sangrur, April 6 Members of both the groups allegedly threw chairs at each other. The rally was to be addressed by Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa. But on learning about the clash, he did not turn up. The police reportedly rounded up some youngsters, but later let off. Fearing further violence, people initially left the venue, but returned following an appeal by Punjab Wakf Board chairman Mohammad Izhar Alam. When contacted over the phone, Mohammad Izhar Alam confirmed that an altercation had taken place between two groups of youngsters, but he refuted reports of violence. Later addressing the rally, Alam appreciated Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD candidate Dhindsa for their contribution to the development of the constituency. Former ministers Chaudhary Abdul Gaffar and Nusrat Ikram Khan Bagga and SGPC member Jaipal Mandian were present. Unruly scenes
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SAD patronising drug trade, alleges Capt
Amritsar, April 6 Addressing a series of public meetings at Majitha and Attari assembly segments, Amarinder claimed that these details were mentioned in the charge-sheet filed by various investigating agencies in the Bhola drug case. Lashing out at BJP candidate Arun Jaitley for trying to "deviate" the issue by "solely blaming" the Central security agencies like the BSF for the drug problem in Punjab, the former Chief Minister said there might be lapse on the border, but what ailed Punjab were drugs manufactured in the state. He asked: "Is it possible to manufacture such drugs without the government patronage?" Capt Amarinder criticised Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for "betraying" the trust of the farmers. He said while Badal claimed himself to be a messiah of the farmers, he "never bothered" about their plight. He alleged Badal failed to provide eight-hour power supply to the farmers, besides failing to ensure timely procurement of their produce. Congress leaders Laali Majithia, Sawinder Singh Kathunangal, Tarsem Singh DC, Sukhdev Singh Shahbaazpuri and Ramanjit Singh Sikki were present. Earlier, several persons showed black flags to Capt while he was on his way to Abdal village in Majitha. They were protesting against the organiser of the rally who had allegedly duped them on the pretext of getting them jobs. Congress leader Laali Majithia blamed Bikram Majithia for the incident. He said he would complain to the EC against certain police officials who were helping the "fake protesters" block Amarinder's way.
Arun Jaitley to file papers today Arun Jaitley will be filing his nomination papers on Monday. It is for the first time he is contesting Lok Sabha election. He has been a Rajya Sabha MP for long.
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Morning walk gets Amarinder, Jaitley together, for a while
Amritsar, April 6 The heavyweights shook hands and posed for a photograph. The meeting lasted a couple of minutes. The two leaders were on the same walkway. The BJP leaders accompanying Jaitley at first tried to avoid Amarinder. But former Mayor Sunil Dutti and Local bodies Minister Anil Joshi persuaded Jaitley against it. The Congress and BJP supporters initially raised slogans in support of their parties, but were calmed down by their leaders. But the bonhomie between the two leaders did not last long. They fired salvos at each other's party soon after shaking hands. Jaitley said the Congress was making desperate attempts to secure a decent tally in the elections. Amarinder lashed out at the SAD-BJP Government for ruining Punjab. Later, in an informal talk with mediapersons at a popular tea stall, Amarinder said: "It was nice to meet our guest from Delhi. It is not an India-China war. We are fighting elections. We must be civil to each other." The two leaders were at Company Bagh to meet city residents as a part of their election campaign. Amarinder mentioned about his brief meeting with Jaitley on his Facebook page. The latter chose not to refer to it in his 'Campaign Dairy'. Amarinder wrote: "Just returned from a morning walk across the picturesque Company Bagh.The spontaneous response of the morning walkers and the youths playing there was overwhelmingly heartening. Also came across Mr Arun Jaitley. We exchanged courtesies. Was a nice feeling and a good start for a Sunday." While Jaitley reached out to the sportspersons, meeting members of the Lawn Tennis Association and the Badminton Association, Amarinder met a cross-section of people, including doctors, teachers, traders, students and sweepers. Close encounter at Company Bagh
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Jail officials take bribe, alleges arrested gangster
Patiala, April 6 A police team from Banur, headed by Station House Officer (SHO) Bikramjit Brar, claimed to have arrested Raja along with his six accomplices. They also seized four pistols, a revolver and three vehicles. Raja and his gang had murdered Rajesh, the owner of Raghav Jewellers, another jeweller Darshan Singh and his wife Paramjit Kaur in their house on July 4, 2006, and Jaswant Rai in July 2005. Rajiv has over 15 criminal cases registered against him in various police stations of the state. Brar said, “His arrest is important as he had planned serious strikes in the next few days.” Sources confirmed that Raja had revealed during his interrogation how the jail staff members took bribes to provide various facilities inside the jail. “The jail officials sometimes charged criminals Rs 60,000 to get them parole and Rs 20,000 to shift them to another jail,” Rajiv told the police. The police are now thinking of writing to senior authorities in the Home Department to initiate a probe into the allegations. Additional Director General of Police (DGP) Raj Pal Meena said he would look into the matter. “But the charge that jail officials charged money for parole is difficult to believe as such criminals can hardly get parole without verification at the highest level. Anyhow, we will order a probe into the matter,” he said. Later, HS Mann, Patiala SSP, said Raja had planned to rob three jewelers, including Kalyan Jewellers, in Chandigarh. “He escaped on March 10 and in this short time span, robbed several people of lakhs of rupees. He had even arranged for some girls to trap jewellers, who are his favourite targets,” Mann said. Raja, along with his accomplices, was first arrested on July 25, 2006. In January, 2009, he escaped from police custody at the Barnala bus stand after injuring two policemen. He then formed a gang and started committing robberies. They also committed a sensational robbery at a prominent jewellery store in Panchkula, but was again arrested in April 2013. Rajiv Raja of Taj Ganj, Ludhiana, his paramour Pooja, alias Neeru Sharma, from Haibowal Kalan, are among four persons, who have been sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment on the charge of murdering Darshan Singh (45) and his wife in their house
opposite Sahara Hospital, Civil Lines. His crimes
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6 held for ‘freeing’ the criminal
Bathinda, April 6 Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurpreet Bhullar said two cars, a Honda City and a Maruti Swift, a carbine stolen from a policeman, three .32 bore pistols, a .32 bore revolver and 13 cartridges of .32 bore were seized from the accused. Among the arrested accused are: Randhir Singh Rana (32), a kabaddi player and financier of Bajakhana, Kulwinder Singh (24) of Burj Jawahar Singhwala village in Moga, Gurcharan Singh Gori (20) of Nehianwala village, also a kabaddi player, Mandeep
Singh (25), a car dealer, and Ramanpreet Singh, a Class XII student from Baterla in Chandigarh. Randhir Singh Rana is already involved in several heinous crimes and is facing five cases in Moga, Tarn Taran, Amritsar and Maur. Bhullar said Rajeev escaped when he was being taken for a court hearing in Patiala. The two head constables and a constable escorting him were later suspended. The three policemen were taking Rajiv to the court in his SUV (sports utility vehicle) instead of travelling on the department vehicle or a bus. On March 18, the police had arrested Jagjiwan Singh (33), a kabaddi player of Moga, Gurbhai Singh (58) of Nehianwala
village, Baljinder Singh (24), another kabaddi player, Jaswinder Singh (24), Lakhvir Singh (21) and Gurdeep Singh (24), all of them are
residents of Bajakhana in Faridkot.
How they helped Rajiv escape
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Chandigarh, April 6 With the leaders being asked to either cooperate with the party's choice of candidates or quit, these dissidents appear to have finally fallen in line. Sources in the SAD said over the past week, party president Sukhbir Singh Badal and patron-cum-Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal made this point clear to all disgruntled leaders. As Sukhbir is known for being a straight-talker and is learnt to have clearly spelt out the options to the Akalis who were denied the ticket, the Chief Minister reportedly used his persuasive powers to appease the dissidents. “There is no dissent in the Akali Dal. All leaders are working together to ensure we win with a high margin. Ours being a disciplined unit, no one is working against the party’s choice of candidates. Though some leaders were disillusioned at not getting the ticket, we clearly told them that winnability and personal credibility are the only factors on which candidates were chosen," Sukhbir told The Tribune. It is learnt that Ferozepur Akali candidate Sher Singh Ghubaya was facing dissidence by Vardev Singh Mann, son of former Akali MP from Ferozepur Zora Singh Mann, and from MLA Sukhpal Singh Nanu. In fact, the latter even led a delegation to the party high command to explain his candidature. Both these leaders are now toeing the party line. In Faridkot, Ajit Singh Shant, who had reportedly left the Congress and joined the Akali Dal last year "on the assurance of being given the party ticket", too, has reportedly gone silent after initially raising a banner of revolt against Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, who has been re-nominated by the Akali Dal. The only dissenting voice in the Akali Dal unit of this constituency is that of Sheetal Singh, son-in-law of Gurdev Singh Badal, who is reportedly trying to flex his muscles and make the party leadership take note of his concerns. Sources said efforts were on to "cajole" him too. The Akali strategy of appeasement and threat seems to have worked, at least for now.
Told to fall in line or quit
Ferozepur: Akali candidate Sher Singh Ghubaya faced dissidence by Vardev Singh Mann (son of former MP Zora Singh Mann) and MLA Sukhpal Singh Nanu
Faridkot:
Ajit Singh Shant, who switched over from the Congress to the SAD last year, raised a banner of revolt against sitting MP Paramjit Kaur Gulshan Khadoor Sahib: All leaders of the Majithia group were told to follow the party diktat when sitting MP Rattan Singh Ajnala was replaced with Ranjit Singh Brahmpura
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Chandumajra holds meeting in gurdwara
Ropar, April 6 While local Nihangs of Tarna Dal declared their support to Chandumajra, several Congress and PPP workers joined the SAD on the occasion. Chandumajra sent a press note along with pictures of the gurdwara hall. Chandumajra reached the village around 3.30 pm. He allegedly addressed a gathering in the hall of gurdwara Shaheedganj Baba Jujhar Singh (Beerwala gurdwara) where he was welcomed by local party leaders, including zila parishad member Jujhar Singh, Bhalian block samiti member Karamjit Kaur Bhalian, GP Singh, Harpreet Singh Basant and Bant Singh Kalaran. The Akali Dal candidate also interacted with the media. Hailing the Nihangs for their support, Chandumajra said it would "boost his campaign" against the Congress. Returning Officer PK Agrawal said he had not received any complaint or information about the meeting. Not the first time The Congress had earlier accused the SAD of violating the poll code by holding a political conference at Hola Mohalla. On Sunday, PS Chandumajra, party nominee from Anandpur Sahib, attached with his press note his picture clicked inside Shaheedganj Baba Jujhar Singh Gurdwara Hall where he reportedly addressed a gathering.
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BJP’s Salaria to contest as Independent
Gurdaspur, April 6 Salaria said he had been nurturing the constituency for the last five years. He said: “I have nothing against the party. My fight is against Vinod Khanna who has always termed me as an outsider despite the fact that my ancestral house is in Chohani village in the constituency.” Sources said the leader had funded the SAD to the tune of Rs 50 lakh through his firm Trig Security Agency. They said Salaria had the support of yoga guru Baba
Ramdev, but despite the latter’s recommendation, he lost out to filmstar and former Union Minister Vinod Khanna for the party ticket. The sources said BJP leader Arun Jaitley had played a key role in Khanna’s nomination. They said if Salaria filed his papers against the official party candidate, he might have to resign from all party posts and face disqualification.
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Former Mayor stays away from Preneet’s rally
Patiala, April 6 Amarinder, who arrived almost an hour late, drove straight to the rally venue. He alleged that the Badals and their associates were minting money from drugs, liquor and quarries. “Both Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Majithia are busy minting money through illegal means,” he alleged. He accused the Akalis of neglecting Patiala. Preneet Kaur will file her nomination papers for the Patiala constituency tomorrow. Akali candidate Deepinder Dhillon too will file his papers tomorrow. Amarinder slammed the Akalis for their “misrule” and for using the state machinery to “arm-twist” voters. “Narendra Modi as Gujarat CM could not protect his people in the state. How then can we believe he will protect the countrymen,” asked Amarinder. Congress MLA Brahm Mohindra was conspicuous by his absence. He has had differences with Amarinder for the past many years. When contacted, he said as the rally was meant for voters of Patiala (City), he did not attend it. He is MLA from Patiala-Rural. Sanaur MLA Laal Singh and Rajpura MLA Hardyal Kambhoj attended the rally. During his visit to Patiala a few days ago, Amarinder had claimed that all disgruntled leaders from Patiala would support Preneet. But more than 12 former councillors loyal to former Mayor Vishnu Sharma stayed away from the rally today. Sources said one of Amarinder’s aides was trying to win over these leaders who had refused to campaign “till their issues are sorted out”. Vishnu Sharma told The Tribune: “We will remain in the Congress but will not work for the Congress candidate. She has caused enough damage to us these past many years.”
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PPCC president dares CM for debate on central funds
Gurdaspur, April 6 He claimed that assistance from the Centre had been more than adequate and it was the state government had even failed to utilise it. Bajwa was addressing party workers at Dinanagar, Gurdaspur and Pathankot. These form part of the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency. “The CM is a habitual liar. He has been repeatedly misguiding the people of the state, claiming that the UPA Government has discriminated against Punjab and that the situation will change once the NDA comes to power," he said. The sitting Gurdaspur MP claimed that the data available on schemes like MNREGA, Indira Awas Yojana, Swaran Jayanti Swai Rozgar Yojana, National Rural Livelihood Mission and National Social Assistance Programme contradicted the CM's "false" propaganda. Referring to the schemes under which the allocations had remained unutilised owing to the “inept attitude of the Punjab Government,” he said a sum of Rs 65 crore released by the Centre under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (2012-13) had remained unspent. Last year too a sum of Rs 90 crore had remained unutilised. Similarly, the total amount under Indira Gandhi Matritva Yojana, for two years ending 2012-13, had remained unutilised. A sum of Rs 62.65 crore for housing had also remained unutilised. In the irrigation sector, Rs 11.33 crore on 11 schemes could not be utilised (till March 31, 2013). As a result, the Centre had stopped the release of another Rs 221.85 crore, he said.
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Kaka, Kiki, Kuku… nicknames catch leaders’ fancy
Muktsar, April 6 While some of them have preferred these catchy, easy to remember nicknames to get familiar with the public, others got these in a usual manner. Former Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Jagmeet Brar is 'Lally' to some of his close friends and family members. Similarly, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal is called Kakaji by his partymen. He is also addressed as 'Boss' by his friends, especially by the Youth Akali Dal leaders. Kaka seems to be the most famous nickname among politicians as Nabha MLA Randeep Singh also adds Kaka with his name. Similarly, Congress MLA from Khanna Gurkirat Singh Kotli is known as 'Kaka'. Former MLA from Faridkot Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon is known as Kiki. Former Muktsar MLA Bhai Harnirpal Singh is mostly called Kuku. Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh's son Raninder Singh is known as Tikku. SAD's candidate from Jalandhar parliamentary constituency Pawan Kumar is known as Teenu. BJP leader from Ferozepur Sukhpal Singh's nickname is Nannu. Former Chief Minister Beant Singh's grandson and Congress candidate from Ludhiana parliamentary constituency Ravneet Singh is widely known as Bittu. Akali MLA from Ajnala Amarpal Singh is known as Bony. Former SAD minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh's son Jasjit Singh is known as Bunny. Chief Minister's younger brother Gurdas Badal is known as Das. A majority of people call him 'Das ji', due to his old age. Capt Amarinder Singh is known as Yuvi in his friend circle. A senior Congress leader informed that former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal's nickname is Rajji. SAD's Muktsar constituency in charge Kanwarjit Singh is mostly known as Rozy and Gidderbaha constituency in charge Hardeep Singh Dhillon as Dimpy. Sitting Congress MLA from Gidderbaha Amarinder Singh is famous as Raja. Former Kotkapura MLA Ripjit Singh Brar's nick name is Rimpa. Congress MLA from Ferozepur city Parminder Singh is known as Pinki. Former Talwandi Sabo MLA Jeet Mohinder Sidhu is known as Pebby. Sitting SAD MP from Bathinda, ‘Badal Bahu’, Harsimrat Kaur Badal is addressed by her party workers as 'Biba' or 'Bibaji'. Some more prominent politicians known by their nicknames are Charanjit Singh 'Channi', Simarjeet Bains 'Simar', Manpreet Ayali 'Mani', Sher Singh Ghubaya 'Shera', Harminder Singh 'Jassi', Sukhwinder Singh 'Danny', Jasbir Singh 'Dimpa', Joginder Singh 'Jindu', Anumit Singh Sodhi 'Hira', Barjinder Brar 'Makhan Brar', Bharat Bhushan 'Ashu', Vardev Mann 'Noni', Rajinder 'Deepa', Satwinderjit Singh 'Manta', Jaswinder Singh 'Rocky' and Shiv Lal Doda
'Sholly'. Some for village names Some politicians have preferred to add their village's name as their surname. AMong them are Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Gulzar Singh Ranike, Ranjit Singh Talwandi, Ranjit Singh Brahampura, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Surjit Singh Barnala, Sikander Singh Maluka, Darshan Singh Kotfatta, Sukhdarshan Singh Marar and many others. Some politicians say they had started adding their villages' names as their surnames so that the prevailing caste system did not mar their political career.
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Jaitley to skip manifesto release
Amritsar, April 6 Facing a tough battle against Congress heavyweight Capt Amarinder Singh, he has decided not to leave the constituency even for a day. The BJP's manifesto function in New Delhi is expected to be attended by all senior leaders. Jaitley said the BJP's alliance with the TDP in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana would prove fruitful. "The alliance with the TDP will send a strong signal that the BJP is almost certain to form the next government at the Centre. And this will further give an impetus to the party's election campaign," he claimed. Jaitley said the people's response at the rallies was encouraging. On SAD's support to the INLD in Haryana, Jaitley said: "This is not the first time that the SAD has supported the Chautalas. Earlier, when we had supported Bansi Lal, the SAD was with the Chautalas.”
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No Modi wave in state: Bittu
Mullanpur Dakha
(Ludhiana), April 6 Talking to the media here, he said: “Local issues will dominate these elections. Modi wave is simply non-existent in Punjab.” On the Fatehgarh Sahib MP Sukhdev Singh Libra’s return to the SAD, Bittu said Libra should have retired gracefully. “Libra was never a Congress man at heart. Yet the party treated him with due respect. It was time for him to make way for younger leaders in the party.” He said Libra would soon realise his “folly”. The Akali leadership had welcomed him at this juncture, but would "ignore" him later. Describing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a “failed idea”, Bittu claimed that AAP lost its moral ground as well as political standing after its national convener Arvind Kejriwal quit as Delhi Chief Minister.
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AAP may eat into Cong votes in Gurdaspur
Gurdaspur, April 6 The visit is being planned by senior Supreme Court advocate and party candidate from Ludhiana HS Phoolka. A party rally will be held at PUDA Colony on Friday, preparations for which are being monitored by AAP candidate Sucha Singh Chhotepur.The latter will be filing his nomination papers tomorrow. Chhotepur has had a headstart and has already visited each of the nine Vidhan Sabha seats that comprise this constituency. "The delay by the BJP and the Congress in naming their candidates has helped me. By the time these parties had named their nominees, I had already held rallies and road shows in all nine seats," said Chhotepur. Observers expect AAP to bag a major chunk of Congress votes in the predominantly urban seats of Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Batala where property tax and the spiralling prices of sand and gravel are the main issues. "In the rural seats of Bhoa, Sujanpur, Dinanagar, Qadian, Fatehgarh Churian and Dera Baba Nanak, Chhotepur is expected to cut into the vote share of the SAD-BJP alliance. Having been an SGPC member from 1980 to 1997, Chhotepur has a good standing among the villagers. "The fact that he garnered 16,000 votes while contesting as an Independent from the Qadian seat in the last assembly elections speaks volumes of his popularity," said Inderbir Singh, executive member of AAP's Gurdaspur unit. Another factor working in favour of Chhotepur is the support extended to him by the president of the Punjab Rajput Mahasabha, Davinder Darshi. "The community has about 2 lakh votes in Bhoa, Pathankot, Sujanpur and Dinanagar. Most of these votes this time will be going to APP because of Darshi," claimed a Congress leader. During the enrolment drive last month, more than 1.20 lakh voters had registered themselves as AAP members. A popular figure
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Corrupt netas in league with bureaucrats: Bains
Ludhiana, April 6 He claimed that being an associate member of the SAD, he knew how the land mafia and the sand mafia operated in the state. "I rejected SAD's offers for a portfolio because I didn't want to become a part of the corrupt system," said Bains. On drugs, he said those making money from the drug trade were often seen campaigning against drugs. He said the CM should have marked a CBI inquiry into druglord Bhola's accusations against certain leaders. Rather than treating the poor as "beggars" and offering them subsidised wheat, they must be provided employment, Bains said, indirectly attacking the government's Atta-Dal Scheme for the poor sections. He said rather than gaining publicity by inviting big corporates, economic upliftment was possible by providing proper facilities to the existing industry. "This will help the industry sustain and generate employment," he contended. He alleged that owing to the nexus between politicians and the bureaucrats, benefits could not reach the poor. "Technical education to the poor should be free of cost. Educational institutions must make a provision for loans to poor students," he said. He advocated a retirement age for politicians. "Politicians must retire at 65 and allow the young blood to come forward," he said. To another query, he said the Ludhiana City Centre was caught in a battle between the Congress and SAD and should have been completed long back. Basic amenities, such as good roads, was the need of the hour and not a downtown, he said. He blamed the government for the mushrooming illegal colonies and for ignoring education and health. " Political parties play to the tunes of corporate houses as they fund the campaigns. The parties bend the rules in their favour. This spells doom for the poor," he added.
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SAD-BJP terrorising voters: Dharamvir
Patiala, April 6 "I have toured over 250 villages and observed a feeling of fear among villagers. The people are scared they will be victimised if they openly back AAP," he told mediapersons. He said the problem of drinking water had become so acute that small farmers and traders in villages had to beg for water. "While rich farmers have sunk submersible pumps in their houses, small farmers have pooled in to sink submersibles. Ttheaders and artisans have no choice but to beg for water. The water tank at Daun Kalan has been disconnected. These water tanks in Punjab are controlled by the village sarpanch. The village has a Congress panchayat," he pointed out. This problem has arisen ever since the water tanks were outsourced to the panchayats," he added. Claiming the situation was no different in villages with Akali sarpanches, he said the problem had arisen ever since the water tanks were outsourced to village panchayats. — TNS
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BJP’s Hoshiarpur unit stands united during Vijay Sampla’s roadshow
Hoshiarpur, April 6 Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna and Chief Minister’s adviser Tikshan Sud,
leaders of the two factions, were by Sampla’s side to boost his campaign. He
is pitted against Congress’ Mohinder Singh Kaypee, among others. The roadshow was Sampla’s first major public appearance in the city and campaign managers ensured that it was a hit by ensuring the presence of Khanna and Sud. Sampla led the roadshow in an open utility vehicle along with his supporters. Sud and Khanna were in the same vehicle and both waved to people. The party workers raised slogans in favour of Sampla and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The roadshow went through various markets, residential and commercial areas of the city. It sent out a message that party’s district unit was united. Both Khanna and Sud are considered political rivals. They have been avoiding each other’s photographs on hoardings.
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CPM-Punjab, CPI (ML) name candidates
Jalandhar, April 6 Announcing this here today, CPM’s Punjab secretary Mangat Ram Pasla named six candidates from the state. From Amritsar, the alliance has finalised Rattan Singh Randhawa whereas Gurnam Singh Daud and Darshan Nahar have been given the ticket from Khadoor Sahib and Jalandhar. From the Bathinda, Sangrur and Gurdaspur seats, Bhagwant Singh Samaon, Gurpreet Singh Rureke and Gurmit Singh Bakhtpur, respectively, have been announced as the candidates. Condemning the CPI for supporting Manpreet Badal, Congress-PPP joint president, in Bathinda, Pasla alleged that the PPP was in favour of Neo-liberalisation and privatisation, which was contrary to the Left ideology.
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Modi rallies in Bathinda, Amritsar Dhindsa, Bhagwant, Singla get notices BSP candidate in piquant situation ‘Belan Brigade’
holds roadshow
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Bhakra canal bridge collapses in Anandpur Sahib
Ropar, April 6 The construction of the bridge that began in December 2012 was almost complete. The builders were to do load-testing soon. The bridge collapsed around 5 pm and no casualty was reported. A similar bridge had collapsed in Ropar on May 30, 2011. The state government had decided to build two such bridges in Anandpur Sahib on Naina Devi Road at a cost of 8.23 crore. Gurjant Singh, the project engineer of the construction firm, said the bridge was being built according to the drawings approved by the PWD. He further said it was too soon to comment on the reason behind its collapse.
Deeply flawed
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Undertrial gives cops the slip in Fazilka
Fazilka, April 6 Sucha Singh, Superintendent, Sub-Jail, Fazilka, in an FIR registered with the Fazilka city police said Kuwant was brought out of the barracks to be produced before the judge on Saturday. The accused then gave the policemen, who were busy overseeing the construction at the jail, a slip. “Police teams have been constituted to nab him. So far, we have been unable to track the fugitive,” said Sucha Singh. No action has been taken against the errant policemen.
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38 years on, justice eludes woman left by NRI husband
Hoshairpur, April 6 "The zeal to contest is still alive. I will continue to fight for my daughter's rights," Bakhshish told the media here on Thursday. Her husband Pakhar Singh, a truck driver, had left her in 1962 because she had given birth to a girl. The daughter, Kuldeep
Kaur, is now 52 years old. She has not married to take care of her mother and help her in the legal battle. The accused was arrested on March 31 from the Amritsar airport. He had landed at Amritsar from Canada. The airport authorities had a notice for his arrest.
Kuldeep said her father never returned after leaving her mother. “For years, we thought that he had gone missing or died or been jailed during his tour to Maharashtra or to the southern states,” she said. "In 1980, we learnt from his relative that he had gone to Canada in 1972. He had mentioned in the passport that he was unmarried. He had also married Mohinder Kaur in 1970 and had taken her along with him to Canada". Later, Bakhshish filed a case for maintenance in the lower court. The court awarded maintenance of Rs 1,000 each to both mother and daughter, but Pakhar never paid the amount. He appealed against the court order, following which maintenance to Bakhshish was revoked and that of daughter's was decreased to Rs 500. "We challenged the order till the Supreme Court decided to give maintenance to my mother as well," Bakhshish said. "We had no money but the zeal to contest did not die. We traveled to Chandigarh from Jalandhar on foot several times for court hearings. The case was contested in the Supreme Court as well and the court ordered payment of maintenance and attachment of his 8 acres," the mother said. Then they filed another criminal complaint in 2008 under Sections 494, 406, 420 and 120-B of the IPC against Pakhar and his second wife, as he had married without divorcing
Bakhshish. "Years went by, but he never returned. The court declared him a proclaimed offender on January 16, 2012, but he kept on threatening us that nothing would happen to him," Bakhshish said. "The legal battle will not end till we get justice and till my father is convicted and penalised for his wrongdoings," Kuldeep added.
Their ordeal
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Executive’s failure triggers judicial activism, says former SC judge
Faridkot, April 6 “If legislature and executive, two wings of the Constitution, do their job properly, there is no question of judiciary taking cognisance of public-centric issues,” Justice Singhvi said while addressing a seminar on “Judicial Activism vis-ŕ-vis Judicial Restraint” at Baba Farid Law College here on Saturday. “The judiciary cannot remain a mere bystander or a spectator, but it must become an active participant in the judicial process, ready to use the law in the service of social justice through a pro-active approach,” he said. In the past 60 years, Justice Singhvi said the executive machinery failed the basic aim of the Constitution. “A pliable civil service influenced by the political class has strained the authority of governance,” he said. Justice Singhvi is known for his notable judgments in the 2G spectrum case, Niira Radia tapes and land acquisition matters, besides limiting the use of red beacons atop vehicles and declaring homosexuality an offence. “If the executive performed its duty properly, there was lesser litigation in the country. As the executive has overwhelmingly identified itself with stratified sections of the privileged few, it remained comparatively insensitive to the problems of weaker sections,” he rued. There is no word such as “officers” in our Constitution, ascribing to the executive. “But these ‘jan sevaks’ have become our masters, he said. The judicial activism is to narrow down this gap between the executive and the people,” he said. Expressing concern about the failure of governments in the basic aims of the Constitution, Justice Singhvi said the judiciary tried its best to uphold the constitutional values and spirit, but more needed to be required. While defining judicial activism, he said: “Judicial activism is the use of judicial power to articulate and enforce what is legal and beneficial to society. In other words, it the active role played by the judiciary in promoting justice while not overstepping the limitations prescribed by Constitution.”
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Web of information on Punjab
Ludhiana, April 6 The Punjab Digital Library has a whopping 3 million pages of old and new writings. Nine million pages have been
digitised till date and 10,000 pages are being digitised everyday. The mammoth project was started by Davinder Pal Singh and his associates in 2003. They did not realise at that time that they had started an endless exercise. A 15th century Sanskrit document has been digitised. One of the oldest manuscripts of Guru Granth Sahib
dated 1653 is now available in a digital format. Some rare books on Punjab are being re-discovered and digitised for online access. One of these is an 1844 book by Emily Eden, titled 'Portraits of Princes and People of India'. It includes a portrait of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Another little-known book is by Prince Waldmer of Prussia (in 1850) written in the German language. The library's head office is at Mohali. The digitisation work is underway at the Punjabi Sahit Akademi, Ludhiana, and the Punjab State Archives Department with Ludhiana-based researcher Anurag Singh is playing a key role. "The efforts are paying off. The response on the webpage is increasing gradually. It is now visited by more than 10,000 serious readers every month. We get insightful comments on the social media," says Anurag Singh. "More such pages are being identified. People approach us almost everyday to share old documents and texts lying with them," he adds. Online access
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Powerful bomb found in Fazilka village
Fazilka, April 6 The Army reached the scene to defuse the bomb and cordoned off the area. It is believed the Pakistan Air Force dropped the bomb during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. Since the bomb was rusty, it could not be identified.
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Bomb found near rail track
Abohar, April 6 The police have said shepherds spotted the bomb about 10 to 12 ft from the rail track that is used for goods trains carrying coal for the super thermal power plant, about 110 km from here. As they informed the police, the message was forwarded to the Army authorities immediately. A team from Suratgarh military station inspected the site and covered the bomb with sand bags. Another team will arrive tomorrow to diffuse the bomb, sources said. It is believed that the bomb might have not exploded during the annual exercise that the Army had taken in the field range in the surrounding area. It could also be a part of junk material, sources added.
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Farmers ‘damaged’ canal valves to draw more water
Abohar, April 6 The Punjab Irrigation Department had last year replaced the valves during renovation. Ferozepur Executive Engineer Sukhbir Singh and his Sriganganagar counterpart Bhawani Shanker assisted the team. Rajasthan Kisan Sangharsh Samiti spokesperson Subhash Sehgal told the team that farmers had opposed re-installing the valves as these were allegedly damaged by politically influential Punjab farmers, who had installed tube-wells on both sides of the canal on Rajasthan land. The ruling alliance government in Punjab had foiled a move to remove the “illegally” installed tube-wells, he said. The farmers here allegedly damaged the valves to draw more water through tube-wells at the cost of Rajasthan farmers, resulting in the loss of water in transit. Sometimes discharge at Harike headworks was recorded at 2,500 cusecs, but 1,700 cusecs reached Shivpur headworks in Sriganganagar. The farmers said leakage of water through valves had led to waterlogging. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has ignored a letter sent by his Rajasthan counterpart Vasundhra Raje in this connection. Notably Gang canal’s renovation in the first phase had cost Rajasthan Rs 466 crore. About Rs 100 crore is given to Punjab for annual maintenance.
Anamoly to fore
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Hailstorm, heavy rain lash Sriganganagar
Abohar, April 6 All meetings and mass contact programmes of Lok Sabha candidates were cancelled. Locals said most of the markets were closed due to Sunday. Roadside tea stalls and dhabas had to be closed owing to heavy rain that flooded main markets, besides residential colonies. The region had last month suffered heavy loss of property and crops due to incessant rain and hailstorm. The administration was yet to finalise the survey on losses as officials were busy in finalising arrangements for polls slated for April 17.
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Family files suit against police
Sacramento (California), April 6 Two police officers were involved in the shootout. The family says he was killed for no reason. Their attorney filed the suit today and released statements of 17 witnesses.
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Gang of highway robbers busted
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 6 Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said Karanjit Singh alias Karni, a resident of Karnal in Haryana, arrested at Mandi Gobindgarh in February 16, had confessed that he along with Lovejit Singh of Talwara village in Fatehgarh Sahib would rob vehicles at gunpoint. He had revealed that Jatinder Singh of Dadhheri village and Gursharan Singh of Talwara were also involved in the crime. Karni had confessed to have robbed a Swift Dzire in Panipat in November last year. The car was found on the Patiala- Sirhind road. It had met with an accident. The car was driven by Karni's elder brother Charanjit Singh, the SSP said. The accused had confessed to have robbed a car in Landran on January 17. The car was used by Karni and Lovejit to kidnap a girl, the SSP said. He said the police had recovered two countrymade pistols and three cartridges from the accused.
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Landlord’s son mows down farm workers, kills one
Abohar, April 6 A large number of farm workers, led by Sarpanch Ram Kumar and Khet Mazdoor Union senior leaders Gulzar Singh, Wazir Chand and Rishi Pal, thronged the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital when doctors were conducting a postmortem. The protesters alleged Akhil Neol had thrashed farm worker Sohan Lal yesterday for reporting late on duty. In the evening, when Sohan Lal along with his relatives and friends were going to lodge a complaint with Akhil's father Kamaljit Neol, Akhil mowed down the protesters with his car. Sohan Lal's nephew Anant Kumar was crushed to death, while Dalip Kumar was critically injured. Akhil then sped away in his vehicle. Dalip was shifted to the hospital. Khet Mazdoor Union said workers were unsafe in the area since the landlords had become brash. Recently, a Jalandhar-based NGO had rescued over 35 daily wage earners being forced to work as bonded labour by landlords.
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LPG cylinders missing; man, son held
Abohar, April 6 A complainant in the case, Chuni Lal, had in February said the officials of the Civil Supplies Department had seized illegally stored 38 filled and five empty LPG cylinders during a raid at Lalgarh Jattan near Sriganganagar eight years ago and handed over the cylinders to Surinder Aggarwal and his son Dhiraj for safe custody. The serial numbers of the cylinders were mentioned in the case file, but these could not be produced in court during the hearing. Lal alleged that the father-son duo had misappropriated the cylinders to mar the judicial process. Surinder has blamed the complainant for the lapse. Scores of traders protested today over the arrests. They dispersed after Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Pyara Singh and Station House Officer (SHO) Gulab Singh assured the protesters that a fair investigation would be conducted.
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Two groups of SAD workers today clashed during an election rally in Malerkotla.
Notwithstanding the war of words, BJP candidate Arun Jaitley and his Congress rival Capt Amarinder Singh exchanged pleasantries as they ran into each other during their morning walk at Company Bagh here today.
Patiala, April 6
Bathinda, April 6
Even as the controversy over SAD political conference at Hola Mohalla is yet to settle down, the party candidate from Anandpur Sahib Prem Singh Chandumajra allegedly violated the code of conduct by holding an election meeting at a gurdwara in Chaunta village near here today.
The first election rally addressed by Capt Amarinder Singh in support of his wife Preneet Kaur today revealed the deep fissures within the local Congress. Disgruntled party leaders stayed away from the rally.
Simarjit Singh Bains, contesting as an Independent from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency, today said the nexus between corrupt politicians and bureaucrats must be broken if change was to be brought about. He was answering questions by Mahasabha Ludhiana, an NGO.
Setting aside differences, leaders of the BJP’s faction-ridden district unit were present during party’s Hoshiarpur nominee Vijay Sampla’s roadshow here yesterday.
Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna and Chief Minister’s adviser
Tikshan Sud, leaders of the two factions, were by Sampla’s side to
boost his campaign.
A Bhakra canal bridge on Naina Devi Road at Lamlehri village in Anandpur Sahib collapsed today. The bridge was under construction and its 70-metre-long slab of steel structure was cast merely 10 days ago.
The 38 years of legal battle for justice has not drained Bakhshish Kaur (74), who was deserted by her NRI husband after giving birth to a girl, and her daughter Kuldeep
Kaur.
Heavy rain preceded by hailstorm lashed Suratgarh and Srivijaynagar segments of border district Sriganganagar in Rajasthan today evening.
All meetings and mass contact programmes of Lok Sabha candidates were cancelled.
Locals said most of the markets were closed due to Sunday.
A landlord’s son in Khatwan village of Balluana segment allegedly ran over a few protesting farm workers yesterday evening. Anant Kumar died on the spot, while his cousin Daleep Kumar was critically injured.
