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Heat wave claims 4 lives in four days
Papers in abduction case against DGP tampered with: CBI
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71.6% re-polling in Nabha
CEO seeks report from Muktsar DC
Labourers protest poor lifting of wheat
Sarabjit’s sister hopes new govt will deliver justice
Dalits burn Ramdev’s effigy
Hard layer in sub-soil affecting yield
3 postmen held in passport scam
Akali sarpanch booked for ‘firing’ at rival
Punjabi cab driver in US guilty of rape
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Heat wave claims 4 lives in four days
Amritsar, May 3 Sources said all victims were beggars and remained unidentified. While one person was found dead at Sultanwind village, another beggar was found dead near the Majitha bypass road. Yet another body was found near the Chatiwind gate. The police said they would cremate the bodies after a post-mortem if nobody came to claim these. Heat wave continued unabated in the northern region as temperature in several areas remained above 40 degree Celsius. As per the Meteorological Department, the holy city witnessed the maximum temperature of 42 degree Celsius yesterday. The other parts of the state are also reeling under intense heat wave although certain areas witnessed thunderstorms last night. On Saturday, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Patiala recorded a maximum temperature of 42, 41, 41.9 and 41.5 degree Celsius, respectively, and a minimum of 21, 26, 25.5 and 24 degree Celsius, respectively. The Met Department sources said the temperatures would decline a couple of degrees in the next couple of days as there was a forecast of thunderstorm/ dustorm with light rain at certain places in Punjab in the next 24 hours. There was also possibility of thunder squalls with high velocity winds (exceeding 45km per hour) at isolated places during the next 48 hours. The temperatures would soar again after that. The weather would mainly remain dry in the state, they added. Meanwhile, there were reports of power outages at certain places in the state. Residents say power cuts in the severe heat have made their life miserable. They allege the power distribution infrastructure of the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) is tattered. The condition is such that even a mild storm leads to power cuts for hours, they allege. Rising toll *
Four bodies have been found from different areas in the region in the last couple of days *
Sources said the victims, all beggars, have died due to intense heat wave *
The police said they would cremate the bodies after a post-mortem Respite likely n Met Department sources said the temperatures would decline in the next couple of days due to thunderstorm with light rain at certain places in the next 24 hours. They, however, said the heat wave would resume after that and the weather would mainly remain dry in the state.
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Papers in abduction case against DGP tampered with: CBI
Chandigarh/Delhi, May 3 The allegation came during the cross-examination of businessman-cum-prime witness in the case Ashish Kumar. As the matter came up for resumed hearing before Delhi Special Judge AK Mendiratta, an application was filed on behalf of the prosecution by CBI's special public prosecutor YK Saxena. Taking up the application, Judge Mendiratta observed: “It is submitted that the certified copies of documents put to the witness during cross-examination on behalf of the accused appear to be tampered and necessary steps be taken as deemed fit and proper in the interest of justice”. Judge Mendiratta added: “Though certified copies of the public record are admissible under Section 74 of the Evidence Act and since serious allegations of tampering/forgery of documents already produced during cross examination have been made by special public prosecutor for CBI, it shall be appropriate in case copy of the application is supplied to the accused to file response.” The Judge also fixed May 15 as the next date of hearing “for reply and arguments on the application” after defence counsel submitted that the accused were outstation and involved in election duties. He added “some reasonable time” was required to obtain instructions and file reply to the application as “further cross-examination was also to continue in respect of aforesaid documents filed on record.” The court, on the previous date of hearing, had made it clear that the examination of Ashish Kumar was to be “carried on successive dates till conclusion”. Saini is accused of being involved in abduction and physical liquidation of three persons in 1994. Ashish Kumar has all along been saying his brother Vinod Kumar, brother-in-law Ashok Kumar and their driver Mukhtiar Singh were kidnapped and later eliminated; and the CBI found Saini and three other police officials directly responsible for their disappearance. After detailed investigation, the CBI filed a charge-sheet in the matter. The charges have already been framed; and Saini is out on bail. Ashish had earlier created a flutter in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by claiming Punjab's then vigilance chief Sumedh Singh Saini was out to eliminate him. Already, Justice Daya Chaudhary has quashed the warrants issued by a Ludhiana court against him and his mother Amar Kaur. Ashish’s family was chief financier to Saini motors, run by the divorced husband of Sumedh Singh Saini’s sister; and the Ludhiana case was an offshoot of their struggle for justice, Ashish Kumar has been asserting. Amar Kaur is virtually the complainant in the disappearance case against Saini. About the case *
The CBI allegation came during the cross-examination of a businessman-cum-
prime witness in the case, Ashish Kumar *
Ashish Kumar has all along been alleging that his brother Vinod Kumar, brother-in-law Ashok Kumar and their driver Mukhtiar Singh were kidnapped and later eliminated
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Patiala, May 3 The candidates from the main outfits in the Patiala parliamentary constituency, including Preneet Kaur (Congress), Deepinder Dhillon (SAD) and Dr Dharamvir Gandhi (AAP), visited Nabha today as the re-polling was underway. District Electoral Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti said in Dodha village, 447 of the 543 voters cast their vote whereas in another booth, 865 of the 1,290 voters exercised their right to franchise. — TNS
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CEO seeks report from Muktsar DC
Chandigarh, May 3 Sadhu Singh, AAP candidate from Faridkot, complained to the EC today. An 11-minute video has been uploaded on the AAP’s Facebook account. The video allegedly shows a few men interacting with villagers, asking them to cast their votes in favour of scale (takaddi) and get Rs 500 in return for each vote. The CEO said: “The charge is of serious nature. Since the video quality is not good, we will have to investigate the matter before taking any decision”. Sadhu Singh alleged the video clearly showed that when the SDM visited the spot to investigate the matter, the SAD leader concerned dialled a number and handed over his phone to the SDM with an intention to influence the authority.
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Labourers protest poor lifting of wheat
Baghapurana (Moga), May 3 They alleged the procurement agencies had reduced their wages in order to make up for the lesser amount of food grains being packed in each bag. “The high moisture content in the grain led to a reduction of 400 to 800 grams packed in each bag. Why should we have to bear the losses,” the labourers said. Madan Lal Dhamaka, secretary of the Punjab Anaaj Mandi Mazdoor Union, said, “We get Rs 9.90 for each bag. Out of this, about Rs 3 to Rs 4 are spent on cleaning and purchasing diesel that runs the fans used for drying the grains. So we can’t afford a cut in our wages.” He said the labourers also loaded the bags onto the trucks and trolleys, besides, guarding the wheat at night. Later, the local arhtiyas also staged a protest and blocked the highway and demanded speedy lifting of the food grains. Amarjit Singh Rajeana, president of the local arhtiya union, said they empathised with the labourers. After Additional Deputy Commissioner Ajmer Singh, the local magistrate and the DSP assured the protesters, the dharna was lifted. They promised that the wheat would be lifted within 72 hours of the purchase. They also said if the procurement agencies failed to lift the food grains within the stipulated time period, labourers wouldn’t face cuts in their wages.
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Sarabjit’s sister hopes new govt will deliver justice
Amritsar, May 3 Talking to The Tribune, Dalbir said, “We are not aware about the court proceedings into Sarabjit’s murder trial in Pakistan. Neither were our statements recorded nor were we taken into confidence. We have hope from the new Prime Minister that he will take up our case and the truth will finally come out.” She said the way Pakistani agencies and jail officials conspired to eliminate Sarabjit, stringent action should be taken against all those guilty of killing her brother. “The real face of Pakistan must be exposed. The UPA government didn’t bother to bring back Sarabjit from Pakistan despite various opportunities and it was its biggest failure. I saw Priyanka Gandhi shedding tears while remembering her father recently. I wish she had also seen the tears in the eyes of those whose fathers are languishing in Pakistani jails,” she said in a choked voice. Dalbir reiterated her resolve to fight for the Indians who were incarcerated in jails of different countries. She also demanded that Pakistan must hand them over Sarabjit's diary in which he used to pen his daily experiences inside the prison. "I will not rest till his killers are punished," she said. On Sarabjit’s first death anniversary, Dalbir said they had organised an ‘Akhand Path’ last month and its ‘bhog’ ceremony took place on April 2. She said they wished to raise Sarabjit’s memorial at his native village Bhikhiwind in Tarn Taran within a year. “We have demanded that land should be allotted to us near our residence for the purpose. I along with our MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha will soon be meeting Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.” She said the memorial would comprise Sarabjit’s statue at the centre of a park, besides two rooms which would showcase all his belongings, besides newspaper clippings about his life and the time he spent in Pakistani prisons. She also revealed that Sarabjit, in a letter written to her on February 20, 1993, wished to open a school for orphan children. “We intend to open the school at Bhikhiwind and are looking for land. Some philanthropists have already promised us aid,” she said. Dalbir said Sarabjit’s daughter Swapandeep recently donated Rs 1 lakh to a charitable organisation running a school for differently abled children in Jalandhar to mark his first death anniversary. Talking about Sarabjit’s family, Dalbir said while his elder daughter had taken up a government job, the younger one had got a gas agency. “We have started the construction of the showroom for the gas agency while we are looking for a suitable place for the godown,” she added.
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Dalits burn Ramdev’s effigy
Sangrur, May 3 They burnt an effigy of Baba Ramdev on the road opposite Bhagwan Valmiki Sarovar here. The protesters demanded Baba Ramdev’s arrest, failing which, they said they would intensify the stir. Abohar: Activists of the Dalit community today held a protest at Bhagwan Balmiki chowk here. They burnt an effigy of the yoga guru. They lambasted Ramdev for his alleged indecent remarks against the community.
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Hard layer in sub-soil affecting yield
Chandigarh, May 3 At a depth of six inch from the soil surface, a hard layer has developed that has been limiting the seepage of water, nutrients, rooting process of plants and other natural processes. Worried over the development, the state government has initiated measures to break the hard pan with the help of chiselers. “The strata of arable land have turned hard. The sub-surface has become impervious. The problem has been compounded with the introduction of L-type rotavators, an implement used to plough the land. This implement ploughs the arable land finely up to 6 inches deep, but hardens the sub-surface below that,” said KS Pannu, Secretary, Agriculture. The hard pan hampered the flourishing of the root system of crops with deep roots, affecting their productivity. “This hard pan phenomenon has also affected the crop diversification campaign”, said an agricultural expert. “With the breaking of the hard plate, the yield of various crops is expected to go up by 10 to 20 per cent per acre in the state where 105 lakh acres of land is cultivated,” said Pannu. Only C-type rotavators would be allowed in the fields. There would be no more subsidies on L-type rotavators henceforth, he added. “We are motivating the farmers to use sub-soil chiseler during the next two months to cover maximum area before the beginning of the kharif season. Multipurpose cooperative societies would be helped to procure chiseler units and provide the same to farmers. This sub-soiler goes deep into the soil up to 2 feet and breaks the hard pan horizontally as well as vertically,” said Suresh Kumar, Financial Commissioner (Development). The sub-soil chiselers will have to be used for the next three years. The problem *
At a depth of 6 inch from the soil surface, a hard layer has developed *
It has been limiting the seepage of water, nutrients, rooting process of plants and other natural processes *
The problem has been compounded with the use of L-type rotavators for ploughing fields *
This implement ploughs the arable land finely up to 6 inches deep, but hardens the sub-surface below that
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3 postmen held in passport scam
Jalandhar, May 3 The four arrested in the case today include agent Makhan Singh of Jadla village and postmen Surinderpal of Mubarakpur village, Indresh Kumar of Malpur Arka and Dev Raj of Jadla village. The police also recovered one fake passport from Makhan Singh. An FIR in the case had been registered at Nawanshahr Sadar police station on March 29. The names of the four accused surfaced during the interrogation of Head Constable Tirath Ram, who had been arrested and suspended on April 5 for allegedly conniving with Jalandhar-based agents for endorsing reports on fake address. The agents, Raj Kumar, Ashwini Kumar and Ramesh Kumar of Gandhi Nagar in Jalandhar, have already been arrested. Nawanshahr Deputy Superintendent of Police Sarabjit Singh said the agents had already delivered 66 fake passports to residents in Delhi. He said teams had been sent to the National Capital to nab these passport-holders on the basis of their photographs. The racket came to the notice of the passport office after 10 copies of passports came undelivered on February 28 as the persons were not found to be living at Jadla village addresses, for which the office even had clear police verification reports. It was on March 11 that the department sought the SSP’s verification on the matter. The DSP said the agents had probably picked addresses from voter lists available on the EC’s website.
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Akali sarpanch booked for ‘firing’ at rival
Batala (Gurdaspur), May 3 The injured has been identified as Gurwinder Singh, nephew of a former sarpanch, Angrej Singh. Angrej Singh alleged that the reason behind the attack was his family’s support to the Congress. He alleged that in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, his family was coerced to join the Akali Dal, an offer that he rejected. He alleged that on April 30, sarpanch Harbajan Singh, owing allegiance to the Akali Dal, and his supporters forced his servant to cast his vote in support of the SAD. Angrej Singh claimed today morning when Gurwinder was going to Wadala Banger grain market to sell his yield, he was allegedly waylaid by Harbhajan, his son Sukhwinder and nephew Jagdeep and mercilessly beaten up with sharp-edged weapons. When Angrej and his family got to know about the attack, they took off for Wadala Banger. But they too were allegedly stopped outside the village by Harbajan and his supporters and attacked. When Angrej and his family showed some resistance, Harbajan allegedly fired from his pistol. Angrej’s another nephew, Paramjeet Singh, was hit in his stomach and was rushed to the Batala Civil Hospital. He was later shifted to Amritsar. Batala SSP Harjinder Sandhu said Harbajan Singh had been booked under Section 307 of the
IPC.
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Punjabi cab driver in US guilty of rape
New York, May 3 Gurmeet Singh, 42, will be sentenced on May 12 after the jurors at his trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday found him guilty of raping and kidnapping. The jurors cleared him of the charges of robbery and assault as well as the on the count of predatory sexual assault. The victim, a non-profit employee, recounted in court her trauma of being held at knife point during the 2011 assault. — PTI
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Labourers and arhtiyas at grain markets today protested the poor lifting of wheat in the Baghapurana sub-division of the district. This led to a disruption in wheat procurement. They said a large quantity of wheat bags had been lying in the markets for over a week.
A year after her brother, Sarabjit Singh, was brutally murdered at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail, Dalbir Kaur has her fingers crossed on whether the new Indian regime would deliver justice to the family by pressuring Pakistan to bring the guilty to book.
Talking to The Tribune, Dalbir said, “We are not aware about the court proceedings into Sarabjit’s murder trial in Pakistan. Neither were our statements recorded nor were we taken into confidence. We have hope from the new Prime Minister that he will take up our case and the truth will finally come out.”
Chandigarh, May 3
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DGP Sumedh Singh Saini is accused of abducting and killing three persons in 1994