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Debt conciliation boards need of hour: Gill
Suicide bid by another farmer in Mansa
Pak gurdwara panel to stick to original Nanakshahi Calendar
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No trace of prisoner ‘kidnapped’ by cops
ED probe into drug racket hits
roadblock
Govt refuses to clear Rs 1,796 crore atta-dal bill
Rusted barbed fence along border losing its strength
Farmers move to Rajasthan to sell wheat
Potable water a distant dream in Muktsar
Fazilka commuters left high and
dry
Harassed, woman constable wants SHO booked
Assault on
lawyer
Traders importing wheat from MP
‘Snooping’ on granddaughter
Posts lie vacant at employment office in Sangrur
Banda Bahadur museum
nowhere near completion
EC cautions Badal on funding remark
4 lakh wheat bags yet to be lifted in Moga district
Voter turnout declines in Lambi
Brick kiln workers block traffic
New York cabbie gets jail for rape
Punjab-born councillor becomes mayor in Britain
Patricide not heinous crime, rules court
Court summons case record
4 booked for kidnapping
4 booked under Excise Act
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Debt conciliation boards need of hour: Gill
Sir Chhotu Ram was one of the prominent pre-Partition politicians in Punjab. He was an ideologue of the Jat peasantry and a champion of its interests. Gill said the late Sir Chhotu Ram had helped in setting up boards at the tehsil level to relieve the farmers off the burden of debt and free them from the clutches of moneylenders. The boards having government officials in their ranks used to hold public hearings to provide debt-ridden farmers, moneylenders and others concerned an opportunity to explain their position. “Unreasonable interest charged on borrowed money was done away with and farmers were told to repay the loan in easy installments,” said Gill. The same model should be applied now in Punjab, he said. The moneylenders then used to charge high rate of interest on the loans advanced to farmers. Sir Chhotu Ram ensured that farmers’ household goods, their land and implements were not seized by the moneylenders or government agencies. There was no provision to send the farmers to jail in case of their failure to repay the loan, he said. But when reforms were introduced in the 1990s, the process was started to send farmers to jail, file cases against them and seize their sources of livelihood. “While crores of rupees borrowed by industrialists and rich traders are declared non-performing assets (NPAs) by banks but in case the money is borrowed by farmers, warrants are issued to arrest them,” said Gill. He said loans to farmers hit by vagaries of weather could easily be declared as NPAs. He said he had been told that no farmer could be arrested in Haryana as the government there had issued related orders. “Why cannot the Punjab Government take such steps when hundreds of farmers have ended their lives in the past decade or so,” asked Gill.
How it was handled in the past
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Suicide bid by another farmer in Mansa
Mansa, May 13 “Jagsir Singh bought a tractor in haste. Repenting the decision, he tried to return the tractor within 15 days of the purchase, but in vain. He then consumed poison,” said Jagmai Singh, a relative. Jagsir Singh is in a private hospital. Investigating officer Raghubir Singh said: “The farmer attempted suicide five days ago by consuming some pesticide. He is not in a condition to give any statement.” Dr Amritpal, who is treating Jagsir Singh, said his condition was critical.
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Pak gurdwara panel to stick to original Nanakshahi Calendar
Amritsar, May 13 Khalsa said a delegation of the Delhi Sikh
Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (DSGMC) had met the PSGPC representatives in Pakistan and had tried to convince
them to follow the amended calendar. However, the PSGPC told them that the SGPC didn’t keep them in the loop while switching over to the amended calendar despite the fact that they too observed four major ‘gupurabs’ in Pakistan. He said the PSGPC also told the DSGMC team that theirs was a low-key delegation and they could resolve the issue with them. The PSGPC demanded that a high-power SGPC delegation, as also the DSGMC team, should visit Pakistan where they would also call Sikh leaders from abroad at a conclave at Nankana Sahib to resolve the calendar issue. Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh
has hailed the move saying it was a good opportunity to evolve a consensus on the issue. He said the “SGPC and the Akal Takth should rise above the politics of Badals” and address the issue. PSGPC chief Sham Singh and its former president Bishen Singh could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
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No trace of prisoner ‘kidnapped’ by cops
Amritsar, May 13 Bikramjit was one of the four persons convicted for the murder of Akali leader Gurdial Singh Dhillon in Algo Kothi in Tarn Taran in 2002. He had almost completed his jail term. He was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital because of an orthopaedic problem. Dalbir Singh, his brother, said the High Court had summoned Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh, the Home Secretary, SS Mand, Counter- Intelligence AIG, posted at Ludhiana, Inspector Naurang Singh, ASI Gulshanbir both posted with the Counter- Intelligence, and murdered Akali leader's kin Budhiraj Singh, Naunihal Singh, Jaspreet Singh and Kulbir Singh, all residents of Algon Kothi. They had been asked to appear in court on May 19. Reliable sources in the Police Department said the SIT formed to crack the case on the basis of circumstantial evidence suspected that he had been killed. All the policemen allegedly involved in the crime had gone underground. Amandeep Singh and Lakhwinder Singh were arrested a day after Bikramjit's disappearance while ASI Gulshanbir surrendered before a court. The three claimed that Bikramjit had escaped from custody. Dalbir Singh argued that if this was true, his brother would have certainly contacted the family. Also, with his jail term coming to an end in a couple of months, there was no question of his fleeing from the hospital. The family contemplates a protest at Bhandari Bridge here tomorrow. Police Commissioner Aulalkh said he could not comment at this juncture. Laxmi Kanta Chawla, senior BJP leader, lashed out at the police functioning. "How can a common man feel safe in the city when police officials themselves are committing crime. Such cases of police brutality have hurt the image of the government," she added.
Looking back
Those summoned by court on May 19
Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh, Home Secretary, AIG (Counter-Intelligence) posted at Ludhiana, Inspector Naurang Singh, ASI Gulshanbir and murdered Akali leader's kin Budhiraj Singh, Naunihal Singh, Jaspreet Singh and Kulbir Singh, all residents of Algon Kothi village.
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ED probe into drug racket hits
roadblock
Chandigarh, May 13 The Enforcement Directorate, which is regularly apprising the court of the investigation, had informed the court that investigation had been halted with the Income Tax authorities refusing to share the data they seized from the premises of Gaba. The court has now issued summons to the Joint Commissioner of Income Tax and asked him to appear before the court on May 20. For the past two months, ED officials were asking the IT authorities to let them examine the documents seized during a search and seizure operation conducted on the premises of Chunni Lal Gaba earlier this year. Gaba, believes the ED, is a close associate of Damanvir Singh, son of Punjab Jails minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur. During his interrogation, Bhola had named Delhi-based synthetic drug supplier Varinder 'Raja', who is now in Patiala jail. He had said Damanvir had introduced Varinder "Raja" to Chunni Lal Gaba, who owns a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit in Baddi. Gaba was reportedly supplying pseudoephedrine (which is used to make ICE) to Raja, who in turn was supplying the synthetic drugs to his partners in Canada. The ED says it needs the documents seized by the IT Department to track the money trail in the illicit drug racket and to clearly establish the role of Gaba and Damanvir in the drug racket. Though the ED has issued summons to the duo twice, the duo has so far managed to avoid their questioning by the former. Once the ED establishes the money trail, it will have incriminating evidence to proceed against Gaba and Damanvir. The duo will be summoned only after the ED examines these documents.
It’s criminals’ den: Cong Chandigarh: Sukhpal Khaira, PPCC spokesperson, alleged the Badal Cabinet was a den of criminals. Referring to Anil Joshi, he said: "It is not the first time that a minister is facing court cases." He said Bibi Jagir Kaur had been convicted for kidnap. Jathedar Tota Singh too had been convicted for misusing his official vehicle. — TNS Access denied
Role of minister’s son
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Govt refuses to clear Rs 1,796 crore atta-dal bill
Chandigarh, May 13 The state procurement agencies — Punsup, Markfed, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation and Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation — have together spent more than
Rs 2,000 crore on the scheme. Most of this money was raised by the corporations on their own by increasing the cash credit limit with several banks. The government has till date (since the scheme was started six years ago) released just
Rs 101 crore, besides releasing two instalments of Rs 100 crore each for buying wheat to these agencies. The agencies managed to realise another
Rs 134 crore through the sale of wheat (at Rs 4 per kg) and dal (at Rs 20 per kg) to the 15.4 lakh beneficiaries. Officials in the corporations say that since the banks are now demanding their money back which they raised by enhancing their cash credit limit on the government’s own pool of wheat stocks, the latter will have to clear the dues. It is because of the poor availability of finance that the beneficiaries have not got the monthly ration of dal under the scheme since January. However, even as this issue remains unresolved for now, the government re-launched the new Atta-Dal Scheme in December last year after the UPA Government came up with its Food Security Act, which guarantees wheat to the beneficiaries at
Rs 2 per kg. The Food and Civil Supplies Department, which will now single handedly run the scheme, has now sought a budgetary provision of
Rs 400 crore. While wheat will be distributed to 30 lakh families (as against 15.4 lakh families earlier), with each beneficiary getting six months of his supplies, dal, too, will now be supplied for three months together.
In financial mess
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Rusted barbed fence along border losing its strength
Chandigarh/Gurdaspur, May 13 The BSF, as such, has been making do with temporary repairs of the barbed wire, electricity equipment, floodlights and the poles. A visit by The Tribune team to border areas found that at some places, the poles holding intricate-yet-rusted barbed wire network or floodlights had been supported by welding iron angles at their base (see picture). The rusting has been more severe along riverine patches and near paddy fields, which are close to the 22-ft-wide “kutcha” patrolling track. “The high moisture content in the ground and in the air is mainly to be blamed for the damage,” said an official. He said electricity wires supplying power to floodlights too had worn out. “We have to somehow keep the system working. The frequent repairs have been costing us too much,” he said. The task to fence the Punjab frontier had been taken up following a Union Government decision in 1988. The aim was to check infiltration by terrorists from across the border. The task was completed in a record five years. Sources said the BSF had been trying to persuade the Union Home Ministry to clear a Rs 300 crore fencing replacement project, but to no avail. Their repeated efforts could only yield Rs 67 crore. With this amount, the force could only get repaired a 100-km stretch. BSF Inspector General (Punjab frontier) Ajay Kumar Tomar said, “The repair is being done wherever it is needed the most.”
Security at risk
Better system in WB Unlike the Punjab Frontier, which has phase-I aged fencing comprising barbed wire shield along a ‘kutcha’ road, the 4,096-km border from West Bengal to Tripura along Bangladesh has a phase-III fencing. It comprises improved facilities like a concrete base, metalled patrol roads and lateral roads for patrolling during rains.
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Farmers move to Rajasthan to sell wheat
Abohar, May 13 Stray cattle had also started damaging wheat stacks since no safety measures were taken by the authorities. The neighbouring Sriganganagar district is connected to the Abohar sub-division with plenty of link roads and there could be no check on transporting and selling wheat in Rajasthan, protesters said. For farmers
in a dozen villages, the grain yards in Rajasthan are nearer than Abohar, they added. Notably, the Rajasthan Government had offered Rs 150 as bonus for each quintal of wheat. The Punjab Government has not been able to take a similar step. The state is going to suffer losses in revenue, besides achieving targets for the purchase of wheat, sources said. Markfed district manager Jasbir Singh and area in charge Amarjit Singh Brar also faced protest when they visited Panjkosi this afternoon. They told farmers that intermittent rains had increased moisture
in wheat stacks and so, it might take more time to ensure complete lifting of the produce. The labour union rejected the officials' plea and blamed them for the situation since 16 lakh bags of wheat were yet to be lifted from more than 40 grain yards. Notably, the Arhtia Association had earlier held a protest at the truck union office here, blaming the contractors for poor lifting and unloading arrangements.
Labourers’ woes
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Potable water a distant dream in Muktsar
This historic town of 40 “muktas” (liberated ones), having great religious importance, possesses two waterworks, including a newly inaugurated one, but water supply pipes are mixed with sewerage and so, a majority of the population (1.2 lakh residents) is forced to use and drink contaminated water. Even the authorities concerned now say that they have little resources to provide potable water to residents. Sources in the water supply and sanitation department said most of the water supply pipes had rusted and needed immediate replacement, but as the points of leakage remain unknown, mixing of sewage water with clean water could not be stopped. The sewerage system too remains choked most of the time, which increases the problems of residents and officials of the
water supply and sanitation department. Residents say the condition of “potable” water was the worst here and they had been getting a supply of contaminated water for many years. Besides the old areas of the town, the situation is similar in recently developed areas too. Whenever it rains, the next day residents get
brown-coloured water supply. A majority of residents lift underground water for daily usage, though that too is reportedly unfit for human consumption because of being saline. Experts say the poor quality of water is also a key reason behind diseases such as cancer. Before the General Election, when Parkash Singh Badal had held his sangat darshan programmes here, people had raised this issue prominently. Many had even said that they had no other demand besides permanent solution to this problem as it was affecting their health. Though a survey was ordered by the Chief Minister, it is proposed to come up in the developing areas. When contacted, Amrik Singh, Executive Engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Muktsar town, said, “The problem has arisen due to sem
(waterlogging) and shora (efflorescence), which are causing rust to the pipes. Even the pipes installed by consumers to get connection from the main line are of poor quality. The usage of electrical motors to lift the water directly from main pipe also causes problem.” He added, “In some parts, the old decayed pipes have been changed. The remaining decayed pipes would also be changed soon. We are also appealing to the residents, before giving them new connections, to use pipes of good quality and to install non-returning valves too.” The number of reverse-osmosis water treatment plants installed by the municipal council is
less, which is unable to cater to the needs of the entire population.
Reasons for contaminated water
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Fazilka commuters left high and
dry
Earlier, hundreds of commuters led by Arhtia Association president Pramil Kalani had stopped trains, questioning railway officials' "wisdom" in not allowing the stoppage of the train in
Abohar. The tri-weekly fully air-conditioned train attracted 108 commuters in the inaugural run. After three months, the Railways proposed to convert it into an ordinary passenger train, arguing that its occupancy was just 18 per cent. The occupancy gradually improved when the Railways agreed to allow its halt at
Abohar. As the Udyan Abha Toofan Mail train was suspended due to fog in extreme winter, the occupancy of the Sarai Rohilla train shot up to 98 per cent. Since the departure time was fixed at 11 pm on both ends and it covered a distance of 380 km in seven hours, the train emerged as one of the most preferred trains for Abohar and
Fazilka-based commuters. During state Railway Minister KH Muniyappa's visit here on July 17, 2012, Kataria and Congress Legislative Party Leader Sunil Jakhar had urged him to run Sarai Rohilla train on a daily basis, besides adding sleeper coaches and general seating coaches to benefit commuters. The demands were accepted. However, the decision was implemented only when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened. Sources in the Railways said that the halt at Abohar was provisionally sanctioned till June 30 and a proposal to extend the same had not been forwarded. Consumers Movement chairman Satpal
Khariwal, Railway Passengers Association (North Zone) secretary Hanuman Dass
Goyal, Pal Sabha secretary Devinder Pal, Arhtia Association president Pramil
Kalani, Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee’s former member Madan Lal Bhalotia and Aam Aadmi Party regional secretary Ashok Garg threatened that the Railways were inviting protests by the move. Veteran politician and Pondicherry Lt Governor Virendra Kataria had struggled hard to get more halts sanctioned but the Railways had given a big jolt to commuters in Fazilka district, they said. They said that it appeared that some top officials in the Railways had conspired to favour a strong lobby of road transporters since their Delhi-bound buses were not running to full capacity due to the Sarai Rohilla train.
The timeline
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Harassed, woman constable wants SHO booked
Mansa, May 13 Having lost faith in the Mansa police and under pressure to reach a compromise with her tormentor, she has now approached the Women's Commission at Chandigarh, demanding an inquiry by an independent agency. Accusing then Budhlada Sadar SHO Manjit Singh, now posted at Rama Mandi in Bathinda, of harassing her for almost two years, the victim had first lodged a complaint with the Mansa police in February 2013 and had also approached the Mansa Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). Again in June 2013, she complained to then Bathinda DIG Amar Singh Chahal, but in vain. The policewoman says the police has been trying to give her a bad name. Four days ago, the Bhikhi police received a complaint from a woman, Banso Kaur, accusing the woman constable of taking bribe of Rs 30,000. Speaking to The Tribune, she said: “Manjit Singh has been sexually harassing me, threatening that I could lose my job if I protested. When I complained against him, he warned me of dire consequences. I am fighting against heavy odds with none supporting me.” Senior Superintendent of Police Bikrampal Singh Bhatti refused to comment. Asked why no FIR had been registered against the SHO, he said: “We are investigating the matter.”
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Assault on
lawyer
Amritsar, May 13
The BJP too staged a counter-protest in Joshi's support outside his residence. Congress workers gathered in front of Trillium Mall. They were addressed by party leaders. They walked towards Joshi’s residence but were stopped by the police that had raised
barricades. The Congress workers, who did not want a confrontation, then courted arrest. They were let off after a couple of hours. Sarkaria said the police had assured them that those involved in attacking Mahajan would be held within three days. He said they had warned the police that if this was not done, the Congress would step up its stir. Joshi, amid heavy police deployment, addressed BJP protesters despite a non-bailable warrant against him at that time. He was granted bail in the afternoon. Joshi said he had nothing to do with the attack on Mahajan and that Gorsi and Mahajan had "fabricated charges against him in the past too", causing him immense mental harassment. He said they had even dragged women members of his family to court. He termed the charges levelled against him as "baseless."
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Traders importing wheat from MP
Faridkot, May 13 Many traders in Kotkapura and Faridkot have brought a huge quantity of wheat from MP and are selling it in the local market at Rs 2,600-Rs 3,100 per quintal while the farmers in Punjab face problems in selling wheat even at the minimum support price of Rs 1,400. Varinder Pannu, Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Faridkot, said the import of wheat from any other state was taxable if brought for the purpose of trading. In Punjab, farmers who grow wheat organically are selling it at Rs 2,800-Rs 3,000 per quintal. Rain adds to woes Gurdaspur: Hundreds of farmers of Dera Baba Nanak subdivision are peeved at the tardy lifting of stocks by Markfed, Pungrain and Punjab Agro Corporation at the Dharamkot Randhawa grain market. The agencies are slow in procuring the stocks and whatever stocks have been purchased are lying in the open, say farmers. “About 2 lakh quintals of wheat is lying in the open. In the last two weeks, spells of rain have damaged the stocks. With the moisture content increasing substantially, the agencies are now not procuring the stocks. We are suffering for no fault of ours," said a farmer. Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has demanded a probe into slow lifting despite the government having hired a contractor for the job. — Ravi Dhaliwal
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‘Snooping’ on granddaughter
A provision under the Act makes only the polling officers accountable for allowing outsiders inside the voting area. But it will be difficult to ignore the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) which holds a person who “voluntarily interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise of the electoral right” guilty. Additional CEO Supreet Gulati is learnt to have recommended sending a notice to the Chief Minister on the “official noting”, for having violated the poll code. A senior officer said: “Section 128 of the Act categorically puts the blame on the poll observer, polling officer and his assistants.” The provision clearly provides: “Every officer, clerk, agent or other person who performs any duty in connection with the recording or counting of votes at an election shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of voting and shall not (except for some purpose authorised by or under any law) communicate to any person any information calculated to violate such secrecy.” Under the Act, a guilty official can be imprisoned for a term which may extend to three months or can be fined. “At the same time, Section 171-C of the
IPC, which has been incorporated in the Act, says that the guilty person may be sent to one year’s imprisonment. Additional Chief Electoral Officer Raminder Singh said they had sought legal advice and a decision would be taken later.
What’s the matter
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Posts lie vacant at employment office in Sangrur
Sangrur, May 13 The post of Statistical Assistant is significant as he ensures furnishing of quarterly returns of the employees by employers of private and public sector organisations to the District Employment Office. If any employer doesn’t submit quarterly return about details of his employees, a notice is served to the employer. If the employer doesn’t respond to the notice, then the District Employment Office files a challan in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate. Besides these posts, five posts of clerk, a post of peon and a post of chowkidar have also been lying vacant in the office for a long time. Therefore, out of the total 14 posts, nine posts have been lying vacant. Sources said the duty of chowkidar was being
taken from peons on alternative days as the office had important records pertaining to unemployed youths. At present, about 9,500 unemployed youths are registered with this office. Sources said if the situation (shortage of staff) continued in the employment offices in districts throughout the state, the significance of these offices would be lost among public.
The irony
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Banda Bahadur museum
nowhere near completion
Sirhind, May 13 Spread over 12 acres near the historic Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, the multi-storey museum was to be constructed for
Rs 7 crore. Once completed, the museum would depict the life and achievements of the Sikh General, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. The building’s construction has not moved beyond the third floor. And there has been no construction for the past couple of months. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar during the Shaheedi Jor Mela in December 2013 had claimed that the construction for the first phase would be completed by this year’s Sirhind Fateh Diwas. Sikh devotees drew a parallel between Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Memorial Museum and Chappar Chiri Memorial near Mohali. Both museums were announced together, but Chappar Chiri was inaugurated in 2012 whereas Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Memorial Museum is in limbo. Makkar could not be contacted in spite of repeated attempts. SGPC executive engineer Manpreet Singh said the first phase was near completion. “The roof of the central dome will be laid soon. As the work is of the critical nature, it is going on a slow pace. The work will be over by December,” he said. In limbo
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EC cautions Badal on funding remark
New Delhi, May 13 “The Commission has considered the reply carefully and has not found it satisfactory and is of the view that Badal has violated the Model Code of Conduct. Now, therefore, the commission hereby advises him to be careful in future,” the EC said. Acting on a complaint of a Punjab Congress leader, the EC had issued a show cause notice to Badal. The panel referred to his April 12 speech in Jalandhar in which he reportedly said that "crores are spent on campaigning, though we show less in expenditure details....Give quietly, don't give openly”. The commission reminded Badal of Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which prescribes that every candidate shall either by himself or by his election agent keep a separate and correct account of all expenditure in connection with the election incurred or authorised by him. — PTI
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4 lakh wheat bags yet to be lifted in Moga district
Moga, May 13 Commission agents in the Moga, Nihalsinghwala and Baghapurana sub-divisions said they had never seen such mismanagement by the procurement agencies. Thousands of bags were also lying at the markets in Kishanpura, Lohgarh and its adjoining villages in the Dharamkot subdivision. Insiders revealed that contractors and officials of procurement agencies were deliberately going slow on lifting the stocks. There was tension between labourers hired by the commission agents and those by transporters over the distribution of work and the remuneration paid to them for extra work. IK Negi, DGM, Food Corporation of India, said that foodgrain should ideally be lifted within 48 hours of procurement for proper storage.
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Voter turnout declines in Lambi
Muktsar, May 13 The segment witnessed 81.47 per cent turnout in the last general elections in 2009. Lambi this time saw 77.55 per cent turnout even as the election authorities had undertaken an extensive awareness campaign to increase the voting percentage. Data available at the Chief Electoral Office website revealed that the voting percentage of men remained 77.74 per cent while that of women 77.34 per cent. The same was 81.91 per cent and 81.01 per cent in 2009, respectively. In the 2012 Assembly elections, the segment recorded 87.3 per cent voter turnout. Prominent persons who failed to cast their votes from this segment include Manpreet Badal’s wife Vinu Badal and some
relatives of the ruling Badal family. — TNS
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New York cabbie gets jail for rape
New York, May 13 The victim (29), in a letter to the state Supreme Court at Brooklyn in New York, said: “You may have bound, gagged and blindfolded me, but I’m the one who’s speaking now. You will be serving time.” The victim, a non-profit employee, testified in court proceedings that she hailed a yellow cab in Williamsburg after a Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for “fifth of May”), a Mexican-American holiday party in May 2011, dozed off and came to when the defendant was on top of her. “(She) woke up to her worst nightmare,” the prosecutor, Linda Weinman, was quoted as saying in her closing argument.
— IANS
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Punjab-born councillor becomes mayor in Britain
London, May 13 The outgoing mayor, councillor Val Clare, cast her vote to elect Athwal to be the civic leader of the 51-seat authority, after the borough council was split with 25 votes for both Kewal Singh Athwal and the Labour Party’s councillor Frank Phillips, who represents Ilkeston. Athwal is the first mayor from an ethnic minority group to hold the position. Athwal runs women’s fashion accessories business based in Long Eaton town in British Derbyshire. Born to a Sikh family in Jalandhar, Athwal moved to Britain in 1961.
— IANS Know the mayor
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Patricide not heinous crime, rules court
Chandigarh, May 13 “He had not eliminated any person in society at large. Having been aggrieved by injustice committed to him, it appears that he had reacted violently and committed his father’s murder. “If at all, the convict was a contract killer or he had cultivated the nature of eliminating the persons in society just to achieve his personal ends, of course the release of such a person would have a direct impact on society. The rehabilitation measures would also become futile,” Justice Jeyapaul asserted. Referring to the Punjab Jail Manual of 1996, Justice M Jeyapaul added that father’s murder had not been defined as a heinous crime in the manual. In his petition, Gurmail Singh through counsel Vijay K Jindal had earlier challenged the denial of his premature release. Jindal contended that the petitioner had already completed 10 years and 28 days of actual imprisonment. Turning down his plea, the competent authority observed that the petitioner murdered his father out of greed. As such, the crime was heinous in nature. Besides, premature release on the basis of mercy would send a wrong signal. Setting aside the impugned order, Justice Jeyapaul directed the competent authority to pass an order on premature release plea “in light of the observations made by this court within two months, failing which the petitioner shall be released on execution bond to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sangrur”.
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Apros’
selection
Chandigarh, May 13 A Division Bench of Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu asked the state to spell out the number of vacant posts. It was also asked to file an affidavit on the grant of five additional marks to the APROs, whose services were terminated. The marks were granted on the grounds of clearing middle and matriculation examinations from schools in rural areas. The court had set aside the selection on the grounds that there was no criterion of granting five additional marks, when the advertisement was issued in September 2009.
— TNS
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4 booked for kidnapping
Tarn Taran, May 13 He alleged that Harjit Singh, who was luring his daughter to marry him, had connived with others to abduct her. The accused are Harjit Singh, Hansa Singh of Fatehpur Badesa village and Sammi and Sabba of the Rayya township.
Complaint: The girl’s father alleged that Harjit Singh, who was luring his daughter to marry him, had connived with others to abduct her
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Former Union Minister MS Gill today claimed that the forming of a committee by the state government to deal with farm suicides, mostly triggered by debt, would not serve any purpose.
Speaking to The Tribune on phone from New Delhi, Gill said the problem could only be addressed by setting up debt conciliation boards at the district or sub-division level, as was done on the advice of Sir Chhotu Ram in the 1930s.
The barbed wire fence along the border with Pakistan in Punjab, one of the world's largest counter-infiltration infrastructure, has rusted over the years.
Also a shield against smuggling of narcotics from across the border, the wire’s standard 20-year life had expired about five years ago. The fencing covers an area of about 450 km, of the total 553-km international border on the Punjab frontier. The rest is covered by rivers.
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Memorial Museum, the foundation stone of which was laid by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during the tercentenary celebrations of Sirhind Fateh Diwas in 2010, is yet to see the light of the day.
Spread over 12 acres near the historic Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, the multi-storey museum was to be constructed for
Rs 7 crore.
March of the faithful
Chandigarh, May 13
How can a common man feel safe when police officials themselves are committing crime. Such cases of police brutality have hurt the image of the state
government. — Laxmi Kanta Chawla, BJP leader
Bikramjit Singh was convicted for the murder of Akali leader Gurdial Singh Dhillon
The rust has also taken a toll on most of the floodlights and poles supporting them, each located at a distance of 100 metres. The weakening defence mechanism notwithstanding, almost nothing has been done to carry out the required repairs. The reason: Paucity of funds with the BSF.
Muktsar, May 13
Abohar, May 13
Chandigarh, May 13