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Chinks in SAD, BJP; separate functions held for Ghubaya
Govt policy of poll sops comes under HC scanner
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Cong disciplinary panel in tight spot
SAD likely to get MoS berth in Modi Govt
SAD leader hits out at PPCC chief
Anti-Bajwa sentiment rages as top leaders discuss rout
Hemkunt Sahib pilgrimage begins today
Strike by ‘108’ staff paralyses health ‘lifeline’
MCI on PIMS tour to decide on medical seats
Stick-wielding women out to end drug menace
Corridors of power near Golden Temple
Sarna flays SGPC chief
over Pak visit
All those named in drug racket must quit: MLA Sidhu
Visitor centre opens at Virasat-e-Khalsa
Rs 34-cr infra projects hanging fire in Patiala
Relief to Khaira in case lodged under SC Act
Industrialists oppose changes in VAT Act
Villagers left high and dry
as school project shelved
Denied post-matric scholarship, SC/BC
students move court
Hoshiarpur students awarded in US
Man gets 17-year jail in UK for attack on Namdhari sect chief
Garamendi, Meehan to head US-Sikh Caucus
HC wants ‘secret’ disposal of bodies in Bathinda probed
List norms to hire rights panel staff, govt told
Jail official ‘tortures’ inmate, booked
86 drug peddlers held in Amritsar
4 held in blind murder case
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Chinks in SAD, BJP; separate functions held for Ghubaya
Abohar, May 23 Interestingly, all of them feigned ignorance about the other functions when questioned by media. There was no common audience too. Balluana SAD MLA Gurtej Singh Ghuriana organised yet another reception at his residence, other prominent leaders skipped it. Notably, Ghubaya had trailed behind Congress candidate and Congress Legislative Party Leader Sunil Jakhar in Abohar and Balluana segments by more than 5,000 votes each. Most of the top alliance leaders were not able to ensure lead for Ghubaya in their respective village/ward. Meanwhile, the Consumer Movement in a memorandum given to Sher Singh Ghubaya reminded him of the projects that the railways had to dump since he was not associated with the functions scheduled for laying of the foundation stones in February this year. Consumers body chairman Satpal Khariwal urged the SAD MP to get Rs 4 crore released, for which the Punjab PWD Chief Engineer had given an undertaking to the Railways to raise a light iron over-bridge to connect half of the city populace residing in Nai Abadi and other residential colonies on the other side of the railway station. Khariwal said the state government as well as the railways had given a clearance for the over-bridge for two wheelers and under-bridge through the Bhawani Cotton Mills crossing that remains closed 28 times daily, esulting in inconvenience to thousands of people. Ghubaya assured that he would deal the projects on a priority basis. Notably, Ghubaya had faced outrage during his election campaign for not visiting the town even once after he was elected MP in 2009.
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Govt policy of poll sops comes under HC scanner
Chandigarh, May 23 The directions came after the High Court took note of a peculiar case where the demolition of four unauthorised shops in Ludhiana was ordered in February 2012 by the Secretary, Department of Local Government. But the Bench was informed that Dugri village, where unauthorised shops had been constructed, had been regularised in view of the government policy dated August 21, 2013. The case led the High Court to dig deep into the issue. As the petition filed by former municipal councillor Gurdeep Kaur against the demolition orders came up for hearing before Justice Gupta, counsel for the State of Punjab submitted that “Punjab Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2013” was enacted by the state legislature for providing succour to the occupants of unauthorised colonies in the state. The Act was notified on April 12, 2013, and a policy was framed under it by the State Government to provide basic facilities to the residents of unauthorised colonies and for “compounding offences committed as a result of creation of unauthorised colonies and erection of buildings thereon”. Responding to a query on the objective of “such a policy”, the state counsel referred to a notification dated August 21, 2013, which said the Government of Punjab had, for bringing “unauthorised colonies under the umbrella of planning framework and to provide basic facilities to the residents”, notified a policy vide notification dated June 26, 2013, for compounding of offences. But individual plot owners, colonisers and Punjab Colonisers’ Association raised issues hovering around implementation and charges prescribed for regularisation of plots and compounding of offences. The government then constituted a committee comprising ministers Bikramjit Singh Majithia, Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Anil Joshi and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Parkash to review the policy in view of the issue. The committee deliberated the matter in “larger public interest and decided to reframe the policy so as to make it simple and understandable”. The Punjab Governor then notified the new policy for compounding and regularisation of the colonies, plots and building in the colonies in the state. “Though the petitioner is satisfied with the decision taken by the corporation to compound/regularise unauthorised constructions raised by her, it is not clear to this court as to how many colonies and construction thereon had been regularised in the State of Punjab pursuant to the policy,” Justice Gupta observed while directing the filing of an affidavit in this regard. About the case
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Cong disciplinary panel in tight spot
Chandigarh, May 23 For their part, Sodhi and Dhillon have sought action against the PPCC disciplinary committee chairman, GK Chatrath, himself for “indulging in indiscipline by highlighting party’s internal matter in the media”. “He cannot issue a show-cause notice to us as neither a meeting of the committee was held nor any complaint was lodged against us. This notice has been issued by him at the behest of PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa. As he has tried to tarnish the image of a three-time MLA like me, I have lodged a complaint with the party high command,” said Sodhi, MLA from Gurharsahai. Chatrath had claimed on Thursday that the committee had “definite information that both the leaders had not visited their constituencies during the Lok Sabha elections”. He also objected to their challenging Bajwa’s authority”. “Chatrath is a senior leader and should not have indulged in such irresponsible vilification campaign at Bajwa’s behest. He held a press conference along with Bajwa’s brother Fateh Jung, thus flouting all norms of decency and decorum. I had jointly addressed public rallies in Guruharsahai constituency along with Sunil Jakhar. He should have at least verified the facts from Jakhar,” Sodhi has written in his letter to the high command. Dhillon, MLA from Barnala, asserted that he did not even acknowledge the notice. “The notice is not valid. How can he single out two of us when over 20 MLAs had sought change in leadership in the state after the party debacle in the Lok Sabha elections?” he said. Terming the issuance of the show-cause notices as “un-warranted action”, Bhag Singh, a member of the PPCC disciplinary committee, said, “I disassociate myself from the notices as no meeting was convened either to discuss the issue or to take any action at any stage against the MLAs.” Another member of the disciplinary committee, Gurkanwal Kaur, said she too had nothing to do with the notices. "Neither any meeting was held nor the issue came up for discussion at any point of time," she said.
Capt takes on Bajwa over notice to MLAs
Referring to the notices issued by PPCC disciplinary committee chief GK Chatrath, Amarinder said these were “desperate attempts by some leaders to hold on to their positions”. “Instead of adhering to the popular sentiment and going in for introspection, the PPCC leadership is trying to act in an autocratic manner. In which world is the disciplinary committee chief living? He appears to be taking diktats from those to whom he owes his position,” he said. “Why is Bajwa sticking to his chair? Whenever he is reminded about the Congress convention of leaving a post in the aftermath of any poll debacle, he takes refuge behind the disciplinary panel,” he warned. In another development, over 60 leaders, including MLAs, have questioned the panel move. Chatrath hits back Disciplinary panel chief GK Chatrath said Capt Amarinder Singh had no authority to challenge the notices issued to the MLAs. "Why didn't Amarinder resign when the PPCC under him won only two Lok Sabha seats (Jalandhar and Patiala) in 2004?” he said.
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SAD likely to get MoS berth in Modi Govt
Chandigarh, May 23 The BJP is unlikely to offer a full-fledged ministry to one of its oldest political allies. Sources say the SAD nominee will most likely be made a minister of state with independent charge. Initially, the SAD leadership was hoping to get one post of Cabinet minister and one of minister of state in the new government. However, with the party winning just four out of ten seats it contested in Punjab, the “failure” of SAD to secure a win for Arun Jaitley in Amritsar; and the BJP itself having too many of its own men to accommodate in the Cabinet, the SAD is likely to get one seat in the Union Cabinet as of now. Party insiders say that a decision on the party nominee to be inducted in the Cabinet will be taken on Sunday. The dilemma before the party is to chose the party’s representative in the Cabinet. Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal is the frontrunner among the four Akali MPs. What gives her an edge is that she is young and well-qualified, fitting the criteria that most people believe Modi will use to decide on his Cabinet colleagues. But, speculation is rife that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal could choose from among the party old-timers to represent the party. The reason, say SAD leaders, is the party has come under fire for promoting family. The names of an Akali Rajya Sabha MP and a newly elected MP are also doing the rounds. Prospects dimmed
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SAD leader hits out at PPCC chief
Chandigarh, May 23 In a statement issued here, the SAD leader said it was surprising that Bajwa was levelling allegations against Majithia when “he himself has a shady past”. Bajwa had demanded that after Jails Minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Majithia should quit due to his alleged involvement in the drug racket. Grewal claimed all these allegations had been dismissed by several courts. — TNS
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Anti-Bajwa sentiment rages as top leaders discuss rout
New Delhi, May 23 Hosted by former Law Minister and Rajya Sabha member from Punjab Ashwani Kumar, the gathering saw the attendance of former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Congress Legislature Party leader in Punjab Sunil Jakhar and former three-term Patiala MP Peneet Kaur. The meeting was also attended by sitting and former MLAs and leaders from 14 districts of the state. While Amarinder said there was no reason why Congress could not resurrect in the state, Ashwani Kumar said, "The purpose of this informal discussion was to discuss way forward from this crisis and apprise the high command of the feeling of senior Congress leaders who have all called for tough decisions.” Everyone agreed it was unprecedented that despite such a strong anti Akali-BJP sentiment, the Congress failed to emerge as an alternative and ceded space to the
AAP.
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Hemkunt Sahib pilgrimage begins today
Amritsar, May 23 Gurdwara Rishikesh Sahib manager Darshan Singh told The Tribune that Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat would flag off the first batch of pilgrims at Gobind Ghat tomorrow. They will reach the holy shrine the next day. Nearly 5,000 pilgrims are expected in the first batch. “The jatha of pilgrims has already left Rishikesh after the bhog ceremony of an akhand path organised to mark the occasion. It will reach Gobind Ghat this evening (Friday) and resume the journey tomorrow,” Singh said. He claimed that all arrangements regarding lodging of pilgrims, langar facility and medical aid were in place at Gurdwara Rishikesh, Sri Nagar, Joshi Math, Gobind Ghat and Gobind Dham. The inns that were damaged in the flashfloods last year have been repaired, Singh said, adding that though the main bridge connecting the holy shrine was under construction, an alternative bridge had been raised to facilitate the pilgrimage. “The damaged bridges near Gurdwara Gobind Dham have been repaired.” “A year after the disaster, things are back to the normal as pilgrims are turning up in large numbers. In all, nine pilgrims from Katani Kalan village of Ludhiana reached here on bicycles and one of them is 73 years old,” the gurdwara manager said. To ensure safety of the pilgrims, the Uttarakhand Government has made it mandatory for them to get biometric registration done. The pilgrims can get registered at Rishikesh gurdwara and a bus stand, besides at Sri Nagar Gurdwara and Gurdwara Joshi Math. The pilgrims will be issued registration cards that will be required to proceed further. Under the registration process, pilgrims’s names, addresses and contact numbers, among other details, will be recorded. The Sri Hemkunt Sahib Trust management is hopeful that a large number of pilgrims will pay obeisance at the holy shrine like previous years. Nearly 7 lakh pilgrims undertake the pilgrimage between June and September every year. Last year, nearly 1 lakh pilgrims had visited Hemkunt Sahib prior to June 16 flashfloods and another 14,000 after the pilgrimage resumed in September. Hundreds of people were killed in the flashfloods, following which the pilgrimage to Sri Hemkunt Sahib was discontinued. It resumed on September 22, but the response was muted. Sarna flays SGPC chief over Pak visit Amritsar: Former DSGMC chief Paramjit Singh Sarna has hit out against SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar over the latter’s claims on his return from Pakistan. In a statement released here on Friday, Sarna took a jibe at Makkar wondering as to whether all issues confronting the Sikh community would be resolved if the PSGPC changed the date of Gurpurb. He also mocked at him for seeking land for the construction of an inn for facilitating the stay of pilgrims at Gurdwara Dehra Sahib in Lahore. He asked the SGPC as to why they didn’t do it when the management of Pakistan gurdwaras was with them for the past many years. — TNS Kulmohan nominated to Patna Sahib panel Amritsar: The DSGMC has nominated Kulmohan Singh a member of the Takht Sri Patna Sahib Management Committee, replacing Bhajan Singh Walia who was declared ‘tankhaiya’ (guilty of religious misconduct) by Takht Jathedar Giani Iqbal Singh. As per a release issued here on Friday, the DSGMC executive unanimously decided to name Kulmohan Singh in the Takht Sri Patna Sahib Management Committee. — TNS
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Strike by ‘108’ staff paralyses health ‘lifeline’
Jalandhar, May 23 The strike was called after one of the cluster leaders of Ziqitza Health Care (ZHL), the company operating the ambulance service in the state, had assaulted one of the technicians in Ferozepur over salary. He is admitted to a private hospital and is struggling for life. At present, more than 240 ‘108’ ambulances are operating in the state and nearly 1,200 employees, including drivers and paramedics, are working. Vikram Saini, vice-president of the ‘108’ Employees’ Association, alleged that the staff was a harried lot as their salary was not commensurate with the long working hours. He alleged that employees were not on the ZHL rolls. Instead, Saini said, the company had further allocated the service contcrat signed with the Punjab Government in 2011 to IKYA and Global Services, Mumbai-based companies. Jitendra Sharma, regional head of ZHL’s Punjab arm, accepted that the contract was allocated to the Mumbai-based companies and the employees were facing difficulty over the timely disbursal salary. Following this, the employees were put on the ZHL rolls in April, Sharma claimed. Saini said the employees met Health Minister Sunil Kumar Jyani only to be “threatened” by him of gettting fired from the job if the health service was not resumed. Jyani slammed the staff for going on strike without giving a prior notice. “They will be fired if they do not resume operations. They are deployed on an emergency service and their action has put many lives in danger,” he said, adding that ceasing an emergency service was a crime and they could be tried in court.
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MCI on PIMS tour to decide on medical seats
Jalandhar, May 23 Last year, the MCI had denied the PIMS permission to admit students for the MBBS course as the institute did not have the requisite infrastructure. On account of this, the PIMS suffered a loss of about Rs 5 crore. This year, too, there were speculations that the PIMS would miss the bus as most of the medical colleges in the state are through with the annual MCI inspection. But with the MCI team arriving today, the college authorities are hopeful of getting the nod as they claim to have met the requirements. “With all the administrative and logistics arrangements in place, the authorities are hopeful to get the much-needed permission on time. The MCI should lift the ban and allow the college to contribute to the region’s development in the field of medicine,” PIMS director-cum-principal Dr Kulbir Kaur said. She claimed that the institute was equipped with the state-of-the-art infrastructure that made it the best medical college in the Doaba region. On its first day of the tour, the three-member team checked all departments with regard to their staff headcount and equipment. Besides, they visited the surgical and the operation theaters. The team took views of the patients under treatment in several departments. To check the financial health of the institute, the team scrutinised its accounts of the past few years.
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Stick-wielding women out to end drug menace
Moga, May 23 So far, more than 100 women have joined hands to fight the drug menace. They create awareness about the ill-effects of intoxicants during the day and patrol village streets to keep a hawk’s eye on drug peddlers during night. The women have the backing of the panchayat and police. After completing their household chores, they gather at a place and then inspect vulnerable points where drug deals could take place. They have informed a couple of suspected cases to the local authorities in the past few days. Recently, the women forced a liquor contractor to shift his vend away from the residential localities. Now, the vend operates from a tent erected along a national highway. “Our campaign has reduced the sale of drugs in the village in the past couple of weeks. In the days to come, the village will be free of drugs,” Preeto (60) said. SAD’s Dharamkot MLA Jathedar Tota Singh praised women’s fight against drugs. “I had launched a campaign a couple of years ago, asking people to constitute village committees against the sale of intoxicants,” he claimed “In my Assembly constituency, more than 75 villages have constituted such committees that have facilitated the arrest of many drug smugglers,” he added. 50 drug smugglers held After the declaration of Lok Sabha election results, the Moga police intensified their drive against drug smuggling. The police have arrested 50 drug smugglers. Addict found dead The police on Thursday recovered a body from the banks of a canal at Bilaspur village. The deceased, Baljinder Singh, was said to be high on drugs when his motorcycle hit a tree.
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Corridors of power near Golden Temple
Chandigarh, May 23 For the purpose, a 66-KV station is being set up. The government proposes to spend Rs 32.4 crore on it. For preserving the Golden Temple’s environs, the SGPC and the authorities concerned have already adopted a slew of measures, including the deployment of electric four-wheelers. As a petition on the preservation of Golden Temple came up for hearing recently, the Punjab and Haryana High Court was informed that the electric four-wheelers had been deployed to ferry devotees from Fawara Chowk to the Golden Temple. The High Court was also apprised of District Transport Officer’s notification, banning the plying of 15-year-old vehicles in the vicinity of the Golden Temple. The plying of heavy vehicles, too, has been restricted. Their entry has been banned from 8 am to 8 pm The SGPC had earlier suggested that the area around the Golden Temple should be declared a no-vehicle zone. It told the High Court that the entry of heavy vehicles should be banned inside the walled city. The suggestion came during the hearing of a petition for ensuring the Golden Temple does not lose its sheen to pollution. In its reply, the SGPC made it clear that it proposed to give subsidy on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for “gurdwara langar” to reduce the use of wood. The SGPC recommended a ban on auto-rickshaws run on diesel, kerosene and petrol, and operated in the area. As an alternative, it suggested the use of CNG- or battery-operated rickshaws. It also recommended installation of smoke-control devices at the cremation grounds and factories in the city.
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Sarna flays SGPC chief
over Pak visit
Amritsar, May 23 In a statement released here today, Sarna took a jibe at Makkar wondering as to whether all the issues confronting the Sikh community would be resolved if the PSGPC changed the date of a ‘gurpurb’.
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All those named in drug racket must quit: MLA Sidhu
Amritsar, May 23 Talking to The Tribune here today, Dr Sidhu said, “I am not naming anyone, but I feel all those whose names have cropped up in the drug racket should quit irrespective of the political party.” She said there was already a lot of anti-incumbency against the state government, which was evident from the fact that over 50% of the total votes cast in the recent polls were against the SAD-BJP regime.
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Visitor centre opens at Virasat-e-Khalsa
Anandpur Sahib, May 23 Built at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore, the centre comprises a ticket widow and a waiting hall with facilities for drinking water and toilets. After the inauguration of the first part of the museum, thousands of people visiting here would be inconvenienced in the absence of drinking water facility and washrooms near the ticket window. The problem was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister, who sanctioned funds for the project. Dr Karamjit Singh Sra, chief executive officer, Anandpur Sahib Foundation, said the work on the second part of Virasat-e-Khalsa was going on smoothly and four of the 70 galleries would be opened for visitors very soon. The work on the second part, costing Rs 71 crore, was started last year. The Virasat-e-Khlasa was opened in November 2011. In the first phase, the Sikh history till the installation of Guru Granth Sahib was displayed. In the second phase, the history from the installation of Guru Granth Sahib till the present day will be exhibited.
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Rs 34-cr infra projects hanging fire in Patiala
Patiala, May 23 The biggest of these projects, 335 Type-V quarters, have been delayed by over two years. Moreover, the condition of the quarters has deteriorated with no one to maintain these. Under the scheme, projects worth Rs 54 crore were started in 2009. Surplus land of various departments was transferred to PUDA and the aim was to generate additional financial resources. The PUDA further assigned the projects to PWD. The PWD began constructing the Sub Divisional Office of PWD, PWD Rest House, Rajpura Colony School, 5 Type-I quarters, 10 Type-II quarters, 32 Type-III quarters, 40 Type-IV quarters, 335 Type-V quarters near Government Mohindra College and some blocks of Type-IV quarters. The completed projects include the PWD Sub-Divisional Office worth Rs 1.20 crore, Rajpura Colony School worth Rs 6.75 crore and Type-I, Type-II and Type-III quarters. One of the contractors on condition of anonymity said while the projects have been delayed, the cost of the building material has become threefold. “Had we received payments on time, the projects would have been completed by now. What’s worse is that we have still not been paid for the completed projects,” he added. However, PWD Xen Rajiv Berry said, “I believe we will complete all the projects within the coming three months.”
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Relief to Khaira in case lodged under SC Act
Chandigarh, May 23 Justice Mehinder Singh Sullar also issued notice to the State of Punjab and Bholath MLA Bibi Jagir Kaur. Seeking the quashing of the FIR registered on January 27, 2012, at Bholath police station in Kapurthala district, Khaira and others alleged that the criminal proceedings were “manifestly actuated with political malafide”. Describing himself as a “harsh critic” of the SAD-BJP government, Khaira claimed he continued to embarrass the government and the “rulers” by bringing scams and wrongdoings of the government in the public domain.
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Industrialists oppose changes in VAT Act
Anandpur Sahib, May 23 Built at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore, the centre comprises a ticket widow and a waiting hall with facilities of drinking water and washrooms. After the inauguration of the first part of the museum, thousands of people visiting here used to feel inconvenience in the absence of drinking water facility and washrooms near the ticket window. The problem was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister, who sanctioned funds for the project. Dr Karamjit Singh Sra, chief executive officer, Anandpur Sahib Foundation, said the work on the second part of Virasat-e-Khalsa was going on smoothly and four of the 70 galleries would be opened for visitors very soon. The work on the second part, costing Rs 71 crore, was started last year. In the first phase of Virasat-e-Khlasa opened in November 2011, the Sikh history till the installation of Guru Granth Sahib is displayed. In the second phase, the history from the installation of Guru Granth Sahib till the present day will be exhibited. Sra said the four galleries to be opened initially will house the exhibits regarding installation of Guru Granth Sahib, history of Banda Singh Bahadur and the struggle of the Sikhs to protect their identity.
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Villagers left high and dry
as school project shelved
Abohar, May 23 He had announced that the construction of the “state-of-the-art” school under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode would be completed within six months and it would be open for admissions for the 2012-13 academic session. A majority of the populace of the village is of farm workers. The village panchayat lacked no enthusiasm in sparing eight acres of prime/fertile land for the project, hoping this would usher in a new era in the social environment of the village. “After a long wait, the village panchayat has leased out the land for agricultural purposes to raise revenue for pending development projects as not even a brick was added to the foundation stone,” sarpanch Gurmeet Kaur Grewal said. Villagers said some miscreants had damaged the foundation stone and turned the pillar into pieces, which projected the anguish of residents over the neglect in development in their area. Official sources said the project had been dropped and the reasons had not been made open to public.
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Denied post-matric scholarship, SC/BC
students move court
Faridkot, May 23 To get the benefit of the scheme, some of them have moved court and consumer disputes redressal forum in Faridkot. This scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was started in July 2010 with the objective of providing financial assistance to the SC/BC students studying at the post-matriculation or post-secondary level to enable them to complete their education. As per rule, no college can charge any tuition fee from an SC/BC student, whose parents’ income from all sources does not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh per annum. However, in their complaint to the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in Faridkot, the students alleged that private medical colleges were denying them the benefit of the scholarship scheme by charging them over Rs 5 lakh as tuition fee. A student of a private dental college in Faridkot alleged that though she was eligible under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme, in the last two years, she had been forced to pay Rs 5.7 lakh as tuition fee. The dental college authorities said the case of the student was sent to the District Research and Medical Education (DRME), Punjab, the sanctioning authority, for approval. The student alleged that her poor father had been forced to take a loan from a bank to pay off her fees after the college authorities threatened to expel her for non-payment of tuition fee. Gurmeet Singh, district welfare officer, Faridkot, said there was no ambiguity about the rule of not charging fee from the SC/BC students in every medical college. “In January 2013, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences informed all medical and dental colleges in Punjab that no tuition fee will be charged from SC/BC students”, he said. Prithi Chand, director, SC/BC Welfare, Punjab, said there was no shortage of money to fund the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme in the state. In 2012-13, the department disbursed over Rs 178 crore under this scholarship scheme and in the year 2013-14, the department released 185 crore. The demand for the current financial year is Rs 300 crore, said Prithi Chand. “Though the department is liberal in allotting this scholarship online, there are complaints about the implementation of this scheme in some private medical colleges,” said the director, SC/BC Department, Punjab. It is funded jointly by the Centre and the state government. About the scheme
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Hoshiarpur students awarded in US
Hoshiarpur, May 23 The competition, which was held from April 24 to April 27 at the University of Texas, USA, had judges from Briggs & Stratton Corporation for engine and from Honda and Polaris for other specifications of the vehicles. Built at a cost of Rs 35 lakh, the vehicle weighs 235 kg, has a 10 BHP engine and is a 305 CC car. At a torque of 14.50 Nm, the vehicle has wheels of Carlisle and Maxxis make. It has a mileage of 15 km/litre. Those who designed the car are Captain Abhinav Sharma, Aakaash Bose, Ankit Girdher, Paras Bhardwaj, Navdeep Dimri, Gurbir Singh Benipal, Kartik Dogra, Abhishek Choudhary, Parminder Singh, Sameer Gupta and Hitesh Sharma. Dr Jujhar Singh and Ashwani Kumar were the faculty advisors for this competition.
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Man gets 17-year jail in UK for attack on Namdhari sect chief
Chandigarh, May 23 Harjit Singh Toor (27), hailing from from Wood's Close, Oadby (Leicestershire), was found guilty of attempted murder after a six-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court. The court heard that Toor in August 2013 entered the gurdwara, where about 300 worshippers had gathered for morning prayers, walked down the aisle towards Uday Singh, removed his shawl and swung at the 56-year-old victim, hitting him on the head and wrist with an axe. The attack had left a large number of followers across the world shocked. "The attack was pre-meditated and you had armed yourself with a weapon," Justice Wilkie said while sentencing Toor. "Fortunately the intervention of others prevented you from inflicting serious long-term harm on Uday Singh," Justice Wilkie added. Detective Inspector Martin Smalley, who led the Leicestershire Police investigation, said after the hearing: "This incident was witnessed by a large congregation taking part in their early morning prayers." Toor admitted to have launched the attack on Singh but denied the attempted murder charge. He had, during the trial, accused Uday Singh of sexually abusing him when he was aged eight in India about 20 years ago and contended that the attack was a revenge act. Singh denied Toor's charges. "This was a vicious assassination attempt on a defenceless man during a religious ceremony in front of a full congregation," senior district crown prosecutor Lawrence "To plan and execute an attack like this in a place of worship is simply abhorrent," he added. (With PTI inputs) Bhaini Sahib rejoices Ludhiana: The followers of the Namdhari sect have welcomed the verdict of the UK court. The sleepy town of Bhaini Sahib, the sect's highest centre of worship, located near the city, bursted into celebration soon after it was learnt that Harjit Singh Toor was convicted for 17 years in the attack case. Lakhvir Singh, official spokesperson of the Namdhari Darbar, while lauding the verdict, said what Toor did was unfortunate. "Now, the UK police should investigate further and find out the mastermind behind the attack," he said. Surinder Singh Namdhari, Darbar vice-president, said, "We thank the UK Government for the speedy trial."
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Garamendi, Meehan to head US-Sikh Caucus
Washington, May 23 They would replace the current co-chairs, Congresswoman Judy Chu and Congressman David Valadao, who were instrumental in forming the first American Sikh Congressional Caucus a year ago. “It is an honour to be selected as co-chair of the bipartisan American Sikh Caucus. I am proud to take this next step in my work with Sikh-Americans to defend civil rights, fight discrimination, and educate Members of Congress and the public about the community,” said Garamendi. “I commend the community on their industriousness and entrepreneurship. I also want to thank them for their democratic civic engagement - for speaking up for their rights and beliefs,” she said.— PTI
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HC wants ‘secret’ disposal of bodies in Bathinda probed
Chandigarh, May 23 The directions by Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Arun Palli came on a petition filed in public interest by Bathinda-based Noujawan Welfare Society. The petitioner-society had alleged in its legal notice dated December 28, 2013, that the doctors at the Bathinda Civil Hospital allowed NGO “Sahara Jan Sewa” to cremate at least 30 bodies without post-mortem examination from 2007-10. The NGO would deposit unclaimed bodies with the hospital mortuary. The bodies were then allowed to be shifted for cremation without conducting post-mortem examination. Even the police was not
intimated. As such, the police could not carry out investigations in such cases. The alleged practice came to light on June 4, 2010. The case
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List norms to hire rights panel staff, govt told
Chandigarh, May 23 The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Arun Palli asserted that it had on November 27, 2013, directed Punjab Government departments to explore the possibility of utilising services of more than 100 employees working for last several years in the commission, either on contract basis, or as outsourced employees. As such, the state government would now produce the draft rules when finalised so that complications did not arise in future. The order came on an application filed by existing employees. They were complaining that despite an order dated November 27, 2013, and specific provisions in the draft rules prepared by the commission, the Punjab Home Department was objecting to the absorption of existing employees. The Home Department was, rather, side-tracking the High Court directions. It was insisting that steps for absorption of existing employees would be taken by the commission subsequent to notification of recruitment rules in terms of instructions that may be issued by the state government. The counsel for the employees, HC
Arora, submitted such employees would be left high and dry, and may lose their jobs, in case provision was not made in the recruitment rules for their absorption.
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Jail official ‘tortures’ inmate, booked
Sangrur, May 23 The prisoner, Ramanpreet Singh, is undergoing life imprisonment in a murder case. The accused was booked under Sections 323, 324 and 500 of the IPC. The case was registered on a Punjab and Haryana High Court’s direction that came on a petition filed by Balwinder Kaur, mother of Ramanpreet. She is a native of Amritsar. Bhatti has refuted the allegation.
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86 drug peddlers held in Amritsar
Amritsar, May 23 The police said the big fish were still out of their reach due to their alleged political clout. Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh said during interrogation, they would try to determine the source from where the narcotics were procurred. Jalandhar: The police today nabbed seven drug peddlers in four different cases under the NDPS Act. They also recovered 45 gm smack, 50 intoxicant injections, 100 gm intoxicant powder, 1.5 gm heroin. Since the police initiated the campaign against drugs on May 20, the city police have registered as many as 31 cases under the NDPS Act and have also apprehended 35 drug peddlers. Muktsar: The Muktsar police today claimed to have caught 23 drug smugglers in the last 48 hours from across the district. As many as 24 cases have been registered. They have seized 70 kg poppy husk, 1,500 intoxicant tablets and 17 gm smack from their possession.
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4 held in blind murder case
Sangrur, May 23 Major Singh (34) of Barnala had been murdered on the intervening night of May 16 and May 17 by the accused. Later, they confessed to have thrown his body along with his Scoda car in the Kotla branch canal near Bugra village (Longowal). Those arrested are Jaswant Singh, Sewak Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Sandeep Singh. Their accomplice Buta Singh is still absconding. — TNS
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