Ludhiana, April 10
Everything is "fair" in elections. The liquor vends within the Municipal Corporation limits, which were to be removed after March 31, as was decided at a meeting of the Finance and Contracts Committee (FNCC) in February 2014, are still operational.

Eleven liquor vends fall in the MC limits. Of these, one is at Sherpur Chowk in Zone C, one in Chawni Mohalla and the remaining nine are in Zone B. Barring the liquor vend at Sherpur Chowk, which was on the national highway and was thus removed, and another at Dhandari Kalan, almost all other vends are operational.

One of the officials of the Municipal Corporation said at a meeting held last month, it was "strictly" decided no extension would be given to these vends and these will be closed after the stipulated time. "But, it is the election time now and due to political pressure, no decision has been taken on the closure of liquor vends. The political leaders cannot afford to annoy their voters during the elections," said the official.

Mayor's take
Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohlwaria said he had gone through the Excise policy, which clearly mentioned liquor vends on a national highway were not permitted. "We have removed two such vends, one from Sherpur Chowk and another from Dhandari. But for the others, there are no clear instructions. The liquor vend owners had approached us and asked us for giving them extension. We are reconsidering their cases and if law permits, they can be given extension. We will decided on their request within two or three days," the Mayor added.

Ludhiana, April 10
Yesterday's firing incident has laid bare the tall claims of the Police Department of tight security arrangements in the city ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The police have failed to arrest two truck union presidents and their 14 supporters for shooting at a youth during the opening of a tender at the District Food and Civil Supplies Office in Sarabha Nagar.

A day after the incident, Paramjeet Singh Dhillon, an aide of the victim, Jaspreet Singh of Mithapur in Jalandhar, who suffered a bullet shot in the left thigh, blamed the police for succumbing under political pressure.

Dhillon claimed the police was delaying action after registering a case against Pawandeep Singh, alias Pawani, Jagroop Singh and their 14 supporters.

He said besides being the president of the Machhiwara Truck Union, Jagroop Singh held the charge of circle president of the Youth Akali Dal (YAD). "Pawani is also affiliated with the ruling party. I have proofs to substantiate they are active members of the SAD," said Dhillon.

Dhillon also blamed the lax security arrangements at the office for the shooting incident.

The Police Department was aware of the opening of the tender. Still, no security personnel were deployed at the office. After the shooting incident, the police did not respond quickly, giving ample time to the accused to escape.

"The shooting incident proves these "political gundas" continue to carry weapons, giving two hoots to the orders of the Police Department on depositing firearms in view of the Lok Sabha elections," said Dhillon.

Last month, SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema had maintained no one in the YAD held any portfolio as yet and all posts were abolished following the orders of SAD supremo Sukhbir Badal.

On the other hand, the Sarabha Nagar SHO said raids were on to arrest the accused in the shooting case.

When asked about the political affiliation of Jagroop and Pawandeep, the SHO said nothing of that sort had come to his notice yet.

Ludhiana, April 10
Scrutiny and counting of votes in the Medical Council of India (MCI) elections have been postponed since 50 per cent members of the MCI in Punjab have not received ballots. The counting was scheduled for April 11.

The notice issued by returning officer, Dr Tejbir Singh, in this regard says some of the contestants and voters have stated that the process of elections might be compromised due to the ongoing parliamentary elections.

"The last date for receiving ballots was April 10 but it was declared a holiday in the UT in view of the Lok Sabha elections. Now, ballots received on April 10 and 11 up to 5pm will be separately put in sealed covers under the supervision of a committee. The next date for counting will be notified later on receiving instructions from the Government of India," said the returning officer.

Though the notice issued by the returning officer does not mention the elections of the MCI have been postponed since 50 per cent of the members have failed to receive their ballots, according to sources, this is the prime reason for the postponement of the MCI elections.

The MCI sends ballots through registered post to its members, who, after marking their preference, return these to the MCI for counting. One member of MCI will be elected from Punjab.

"This is a welcome step. It would not have been a fair election as ballots were not received by nearly 50 per cent doctors across the state," said Dr Manoj Sobti, state president of the Indian Medical Association.

Dr Parminder Singh Brar, one of the contestants, said he had even filed a writ petition in this regard in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the next hearing of in the case is scheduled for May.

"Whatever decision the government takes will be a judicious one," said Dr Brar.

Dr GS Grewal, member of the Punjab Medical Council, said it was mandatory to send ballots through registered posts but this time these were sent through ordinary post, which is against the norms. "Since the election procedure has been postponed, they are now hopeful of a fair election," said Dr Grewal.

Members seeking election from Punjab
Dr Bal Charanjit Singh Bhatia from Gurdaspur, Dr Gurmej Singh from Jalandhar, Dr Kulwant Singh from Ludhiana, Dr Parminder Singh from Khanna, Dr Rajesh Kumar from Bathinda, Dr Raman Kumar from Jalandhar and Dr Vijay Kumar from Patiala

Mohali, April 10
In a corruption case involving Ludhiana-based Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gurcharan Singh and one agent Budh Singh, charges have been framed by a Mohali court here today.

The court of Mohali Additional District and Sessions Judge Jaswinder Simar framed the charges against Gurcharan Singh and Budh Singh here today.

Notably, Gurcharan Singh, who was posted as the DSP in the Vigilance Bureau then, and Budh Singh were booked in a case of corruption by the Vigilance Bureau on September 10, 2012, and a case was registered in this regard at the Vigilance police station, Phase VIII, here. Gurcharan surrendered before a court in Mohali in October, 2012.

Gurcharan Singh had accepted a bribe of Rs 25 lakh to settle a case involving Motor Vehicle inspector Rakesh Kumar Gupta, who was also facing the charges of corruption and the investigations in the case were being conducted by Gurcharan Singh. As the case could not be settled, Gurcharan had paid half of the amount to Gupta while the rest amount of Rs 12.5 lakh was not paid to him (Gupta), following which Gupta had lodged a complaint against him.

Ludhiana, April 10
After scrutiny, 21 nomination papers have been cancelled while the papers of 23 candidates have been found valid. A total of 30 candidates had filed 44 nomination papers (some candidates had filed more than one nomination) till April 9. The scrutiny of the nominations was done in the office of the Returning Officer at the Mini-secretariat.

Rajat Aggarwal, District Electoral Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, said: "The nominations of seven candidates were cancelled. Of these four were filed by covering candidates. The remaining three included Rajinder Singh, Premjit Kaur and Manjeet Mahal. Rajinder Singh’s nomination papers were cancelled as his age was below the required age on the day of scrutiny. The nomination papers of Prem Jeet, who filed his papers yesterday, were incomplete. Neither did she fill in her form properly, nor deposited security. The papers of Manjeet Mahal of the Trinamool Congress were cancelled as his proposers were fewer than 10."

He said any candidate whose party was not registered in the state needed at least 10 proposers for contesting an election. The Trinamool Congress has not been registered in the state.

The total number of candidates in the fray for the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat will become known on April 12, the day for withdrawal of nominations. The candidates whose nomination papers have been found valid are Sukhwinder Singh Sekhon (CPI-M), Navjot Singh Mandair (BSP), Manpreet Singh Ayali (SAD), Ravneet Singh (Indian National Congress), Akshaybar Nath Mishra (Janta Dal United), HS Phoolka (AAP), Hari Ram Sahni (All-India Forward Bloc), Krishan Kumar Sharma (J&K National Panthers Party), Darshan Singh (Shiv Sena), Mohammad Naseem Ansari (New All-India Congress Party), Bittu (Republic Party of India-A) and Mohammad Maksood Ansari (Bahujan Mukti Morcha).

There are 11 Independent candidates whose nominations have been found valid. They are Simerjit Singh, Simarjit Singh, Kulwinder Pal Singh, Gurdip Singh Kahlon, Jaswinder Singh Bains, Jai Parkash Jain, Tarsem Singh, Navpreet Singh Bedi, Balwinder Singh, Raj Kumar Atwal and Rajiv Kumar Kalra.

Ludhiana, April 10
As many as 26 cases of violation of the Defacement of Property Act have come to light in Ludhiana district. Of these, 18 FIRs have been lodged against "unknown" persons, 14 under the Defacement of Property Act and four under and Railway Protection Act. In the remaining eight cases, letters have been issued to lodge FIRs.

Acting smart, candidates of the leading parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Communist Party of India (M), have written to the Election Commission that their "opponents" were pasting banners on properties to "defame" them and they had not done any such violations. The banners, on basis of which action has been taken by the authorities under the Defacement of Property Act, do not bear the name of its publisher or printer.

One of the senior officials of the Municipal Corporation said though the civic body had started removing the posters/banners after the code of conduct was implemented and regular warnings were given to parties, many candidates and their supporters continued with the violations. "Taking serious note of the violations, letters were sent to the authorities to lodge FIRs against the violators. But the candidates or the parties disown such posters and claim these were pasted or hung by their opponents to malign their reputation," said the official.

A retired IAS officer said FIRs were registered against "unknown" persons instill fear of law among candidates and their supporters during elections. "If convicted, a person can be prosecuted. But investigations against unknown persons remain inconclusive and hardly any action is taken," he added.

Publishers/printers under the scanner
The Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Rajat Aggarwal has said the printers and publishers were under the scanner. "Our teams will raid the publishers and printers and those who do not mention their identity on posters, will be booked. We will register FIRs against erring printers," said Aggarwal.

Ludhiana, April 10
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate HS Phoolka today lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Police, Sanjeev Kalra, alleging that a man claiming to be SSP (rural), Ludhiana, called him up on his cell phone with “intentions of harming his reputation.”

Phoolka claimed that when he was campaigning at Jagraon yesterday, he received a call on his mobile number from a person, who identified himself as BK Singh, SSP (rural), Ludhiana.

“The man told me that his son had lost his luggage at the Mumbai Railway Station and required money urgently,” stated Phoolka in his complaint.

Phoolka further claimed, “On humanitarian grounds, I asked my friend in Mumbai to help the caller’s son. However, the caller insisted on immediate delivery of Rs 65,000 to me in Ludhiana. I told the caller that I was in a village and not in the city. Upon this, he insisted that I give him somebody’s number to whom he could deliver the money.”

“I asked my friend in Mumbai, Manjeet Singh, to help the young boy. I forwarded the message sent by BK Singh to Manjeet. When my friend rang up the number, the phone was busy and the service provider’s message was in Gujarati. Manjeet told me that the number did not belong to a person in Maharashtra but instead Gujarat,” alleged Phoolka.

“Manjeet called up the number again and told the boy that he was coming to the Mumbai Central Station. The boy stated that he was not at the station and gave a different location,” claimed the AAP candidate.

Phoolka said he later called up BK Singh. “The man’s number was busy and the service provider’s message was also in a different language. When he took the call, he said he was at the DIG office at Lakkar Wala Pul.”

Phookla said he got suspicious and rang up DSP Dakha. “DSP Dakha told me that there was no such person as BK Singh, SSP (rural) in Ludhiana.”

“The fact that the person was keen to deliver Rs 65,000 to me was a plot to trap me and then claim that I received the money through hawala. This clearly points towards misrepresentation, cheating, impersonation and forgery, intending to harm my reputation,” said Phoolka.

Meanwhile, DCP Harsh Bansal said the police are investigating.

Khanna April 10
The Chamar Maha Sabha had decided to oppose the Congress candidate from Fatehgarh Sahib, Sadhu Singh Dharmsot.

During a press conference here today, sabha president Paramjit Singh Kainth said, “The Scheduled Castes constitute 36 per cent votes in Fatehgarh Sahib constituency of which, nearly 30 per cent votes belong to the Ravidas community.”

He alleged that Dharmsot had ‘failed’ to raise the issue of Scheduled Castes in the Assembly though he was a three-time MLA.

“The Congress has overlooked the masses in the distribution of tickets,” he alleged.

He said all Sabha members would ‘boycott’ Dharmot by all means. “The sabha will support those candidates who raise the issues of Scheduled Castes and undertake work for their upliftment.”

the issue
Though he is a three-time MLA, Sadhu Singh Dharmsot, has ‘failed’ to raise the issue of Scheduled Castes in the Assembly. The sabha will support those candidates who raise the issues of Scheduled Castes.

Ludhiana, April 10
The Marxist Communist Party of India (MCPI) has urged the masses to defeat both the Congress-led UPA and the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

While extending support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the party urged the people to work for strengthening genuine Left and democratic forces.

State general secretary of the MCPI, Kuldeep Singh, said, “The 10-year rule of the UPA at the Centre has pushed the country towards deep recession, high inflation, rising unemployment and fake scarcity of essential commodities. Besides, several major scams involving top functionaries of the ruling UPA have rocked the nation.”

“The policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, pursued by the Union government have benefited only the corporate sector, big business and landlords while a vast section of society has suffered. The gap between the rich and poor has further widened.”

Launching an attack on the BJP and its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the MCPI said, “The party with its radical agenda of ‘Hindutva’, was known for its communal stand. This will pose a grave threat to the secular fibre of the country.” — OC

Ludhiana, April 10
A circle-level convention on neo-liberal policies, their impact on BSNL, communal harmony and 10-point demand charter of Central Trade Unions was held at Punjabi Bhawan today.

More than 300 comrades from across the state attended the convention. A large number of retired employees were also in attendance.

Balbir Singh, circle secretary, BSNL Employee Union Punjab, said, “The need for such conventions was felt at a meeting of BSNLEU at Rajkot in Gujarat.”

Union member RL Moudgil called upon the participants to oppose the policies of national parties which were ruining the masses.

Vijay Mishra, president, CITU, Punjab, discussed the beginning of neo-liberal policies.

“Even after 23 years, nothing has been changed in India. While the rich are becoming richer, the poor are becoming poorer,” he added.

Ludhiana, April 10
Dayanand Medical College Hospital (DMCH) begins the celebration of its golden jubilee year, as it adds another feather to its achievements. The newborn unit of the hospital has been awarded with level-III accreditation by National Neonatology Forum (NNF), which is the highest level of accreditation for newborn facilities. NNF is a central body that assesses various newborn care units in India.

Principal Dr Daljit Singh said DMCH is the only institute in North India and the second only to Manipal Medical College, Manglore, to have received this recognition. The newborn unit at DMCH is a state-of-art neonatal unit which is well equipped with latest technology and expertise of trained neonatologist Dr Kamal Arora, DM Neonatology from AIIMS, New Delhi.

The Neonatal division, Department of Pediatrics, DMCH, recently organised a one-day advanced course workshop on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a gentler mode of ventilation for newborn babies. The scientific sessions included talks on varied topics by eminent faculty from AIIMS (New Delhi), PGIMER (Chandigarh) and Dr HS Bains and Dr Kamal Arora from DMCH (Ludhiana), who shared their invaluable experiences and latest advancements in the role of CPAP in newborn babies.

Ludhiana, April 10
Actress and anchor Mandira Bedi was in the city today to launch her collection of sarees. She said she is launching her sarees in association with Tara Jewellers in Ludhiana as the first place to start with. She said she has been meeting with women of Ludhiana, who are very fashion conscious, she said. So she has started her launch campaign here ahead of even Delhi, she said. She said she always loves coming to Punjab and it feels great to be here, she added.

She said she has been getting offers for joining political parties and start campaigns for the parties. "But campaigning is not my territory," she said. She is not even campaigning for Gul Panag, even though she is a good friend, she said. She added that she would never join politics.

Although she doesn't want to join politics, but she makes it a point to vote, and thus appeals to every citizen to vote as it is our right and responsibility, she said.

Vikram Raizada from Tara Jewellers said that an exhibition would be organised at their showroom to showcase their jewellery collection along with elegant sarees by Mandira Bedi. 

Ludhiana, April 10
The five-day pulse polio drive concluded here today. As many as 1,579 teams were constituted for the drive, including 99 mobile teams and 67 transit teams. On Day 5, the teams visited nearly 1,35,054 houses and a total of 62,688 children were vaccinated.

Over a period of five days, the teams covered 7,97,499 houses while a total of 3,76,323 children were vaccinated.

The drive focused on the children of migrant workers living in the district.

The teams covered all brick-kilns, labour colonies, factories, huts and slum areas to administer polio drops to the children.

Though the country had been declared a polio-free nation, Punjab is still vulnerable due to its proximity with Pakistan, one of the biggest polio reservoirs in the world.

The polio virus from Pakistan had affected at least five countries in the past 23 months, and has become a threat to other countries.

“During the pulse polio drive, we kept a strict vigil on pilgrims going to Pakistan. We ensured that every child going to the neighbouring country was administered polio drops before leaving the country. This was done to ensure that the virus did not spread,” said Dr Sanjeev Hans, District Immunization Officer.

Ludhiana, April 10
Twelve more candidates filed their nominations the District Bar Association (DBA), today.

Harjot Singh filed the nomination papers for the post of president before Returning Officer Sharwan Sehgal. For the post of secretary, Gurpreet Singh Arora and Rajesh Rai filed their nominations. Gurdeep Singh Salh, sitting vice president and Girish Anmol Sood filed their papers for the post of vice president.

For the post of finance secretary, Amit Rai and Himanshu Walia filed their nomination papers. Kamal Jaitika and Ravinder Singh Rawat filed their nomination papers for the post of joint secretary.

For executive members, Hempal Singh Nandpur, Lokesh Batta and Ranjit Singh Sibia filed their nomination papers. — OC

Ludhiana, April 10
The parents’ association along with the student's parents of Sacred Heart Higher Secondary Convent School, Jamalpur and Sacred Heart Convent School, Bhattian, submitted a memorandum to district administration to intervene in the matter of fee hike. Meanwhile, student's parents continue the protest outside both the schools here today.

The parents staged protest from 7am to 9 am outside the Sacred Heart Higher Secondary Convent School, Jamalpur.

Lal Singh, a parent said, "A number of parents staged protest outside the school in the morning. The police officials from police station Jamalpur visited and asked us to meet the Assistant Commissioner of Police. Then we visited at mini secretariat and submitted a memorandum to ADC Baldev Singh.

Parents of students of Sacred Heart Convent School, Bhattian, also visited mini secretariat and submitted the memorandum to district administration.

Rajinder Ghai, president of Parents’ association said, "The private schools have been flouting the rules of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The school managements have been running commercial activates by selling the books and uniforms. The private school managements do not discuss with the parents before increasing the fee. We demanded from district administration to implement the guidelines of Right to Education Act and CBSE at private schools.

Another parent said, "The school managements should ask from the parents before the fee hike. The school managements can announce to collect the fund or fee any time. The district administration should intervene to sort out the issue".

Doraha, April 10
Kimsy Sood of M.Com Ist Semester of Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, topped Panjab University by securing 541 marks out of 800.

Dr. Narinder Sidhu, principal, Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, shared that the result of M.Com first semester was 100 per cent. A total of 25 students secured first division.

Head of the Post Graduate Department of Commerce Prof Gursharanjit Singh said, Kimsy has ever been a very studious child and we had pinned high hopes on her. She planned her studies systematically and was very clear about the concepts and the approach she undertook to climb the ladder of success.

Kimsy, who is on the top of the world expressed, it is a dream come true for me. I always wanted to do something exceptional so that my parents, my teachers and my college should feel proud of me. As I have scored well I would now make all the more efforts to maintain my position in next semester as well.

President of the college management committee, Roop Brar, general secretary Harpratap Brar, Director Jaswant Singh Gill and principal Dr Narinder Singh Sidhu congratulated Kimsy, her parents and the staff for putting in their best possible efforts and bringing laurels to the institution and entire area.

Ludhiana, April 10
Thieves made an unsuccessful bid to break open an automated teller machine (ATM) of Punjab National Bank (PNB) at Bahadurke Road, near Salem Tabri area, today.

The bank manager, Surinderpal Grover, said the thieves entered the ATM booth through a hole in the roof. “Before entering the premises, the thieves cut the wire of the close circuit television (CCTV) camera installed inside,” added Grover.

“Our machine was not damaged and cash was not stolen. A rope, iron rod and other construction tools used by the thieves to break open the ATM machine were found from the spot. The police are investigating,” he said.

The incident came to light when a resident visited the ATM to withdraw cash. He raised an alarm and immediately called up the bank’s helpline number.

Upon receiving information, the bank staff reached the spot and reported the matter to the police.

The police have registered a case against unidentified persons for theft.

modus operandi
Before entering the premises, the thieves cut the wire of the close circuit television (CCTV) camera installed inside.

A rope, iron rod and other construction tools used by the thieves to break open the ATM machine were found from the spot.