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4 months on, a cloak of secrecy at Nurmahal dera
Kamal Sharma faced flak at BJP’s core committee meeting
Police brand entire village as hub of drug smugglers
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A novel initiative to wean youth away from drugs
Govt schools fail to cope with high enrolment
Post-poll debacle, Kashyap dissolves all BSP units
Row over Phoolka’s appointment as state convener
Govt charters plane to airlift assault victim to Burundi
18 DCs asked to explain absence
Muktsar de-addiction centre defunct for 3 yrs
Snag hits another unit of Ropar thermal plant
Power cuts back to haunt residents
SGPC flays PU move not to hold test in Punjabi
Markfed centre in charge replaced
Extension denied to PSPCL director
Moonak Dalits allege social boycott
Drivers can’t blame stray animals for mishaps, says HC
travel agents in soup
NRI's bag with Rs 1.5 lakh stolen
Robbers’ attack leaves 7 injured
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4 months on, a cloak of secrecy at Nurmahal dera
Ashutosh's family members have approached the courts.They want the body to be handed over to them for last rites at their native village of Lakhnaur in Bihar's Madhubani district. The dera authorities have kept Ashutosh's body in a freezer to ensure a "Himalayan-type environment" for him. Before starting the dera, Ashutosh was a follower of Satpal Maharaj, founder of Manav Uthhaan Sewa Samiti. When contacted, Satpal rubbished the dera officials' claim that Ashutosh was in samadhi. “Those guru’s who went into samadhi were not declared clinically dead by doctors,” he argued, adding that the dera authorities should hand over the body to the family. Ashutosh's son Dalip Jha has been claiming that his father was killed inside the dera. The Tribune team went to meet dera representatives today. It proved to be a herculean task. After a thorough frisking at various points, this correspondent and the lensman were allowed inside the dera. But the dera representatives said nobody was authorised to speak to the media. As the lensman began to click photographs, several sewadar’s pounced on The Tribune team. “You are surrounded by sewadars who can set you right within minutes,” they warned menacingly. The matter has been brought to the notice of the Nakodar police.
The case in court
Mum is the word
About the dera
About Ashutosh's past
Similar case
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Kamal Sharma faced flak at BJP’s core committee meeting
Joshi had resigned as Cabinet Minister following Arun Jaitley's defeat in Amritsar at the hands of Congress' Capt Amarinder Singh by a margin of more than one lakh votes. Sources said senior party leaders criticised state BJP chief Kamal Sharma after he presented a report on the party's performance in the Lok Sabha elections. "In his 20-minute presentation, Sharma blamed the SAD for the Jaitley's drubbing. However, his argument didn't go down well with a section leaders who confronted him. Cornered, Sharma offered to resign," the sources said. On Sharma's contention that there was widespread anti-incumbency, the BJP leaders pointed out that the party had won from Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur. "Were property tax and sand rates not an issue in these two constituencies," Sharma was asked. On Joshi's resignation, sources within the BJP said the core committee was not authorised to take up the matter. "It is the sole prerogative of the party's national president to accept or reject Joshi's resignation," they said. A BJP leader claimed that action against Sharma and Joshi was likely once the Union Government was firmly in the saddle. Meanwhile, confusion over Joshi's resignation persists. Sharma could not be contacted despite several attempts. Jaitley trailed by 36,957 votes from the Amritsar West Assembly segment where Sharma was in charge. He trailed by 18,726 votes in Joshi's Amritsar North Assembly segment.
Under fire
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Police brand entire village as hub of drug smugglers
Daulewala (Moga), May 29 The village has gained notoriety as the drug capital of the state. More than 180 residents of the village, which has 420 households in total, have been convicted on the charge of drug trafficking so far. Around 200 others, including women, are languishing in jails facing trial in various courts. Around 500 cases of drugs smuggling have been registered against local residents in the past 10 years. The signboards put up in the village read: "This village is ill-reputed for drugs. All those people coming to this village are suspicious in the eyes of the police. This village is under the surveillance of secret cameras. The outsiders are advised not to make any relations with drug smugglers." People say by putting such boards the police authorities have branded all villagers as smugglers, which is not in good taste in a democratic country. The May 24 swoop down on the village by hundreds of cops, in which 14 persons, including one woman, were arrested by the police, has left the villagers terrified. At least, 10 criminal cases were registered against them under the NDPS Act at Kot-ise-Khan police station in the Dharamkot subdivision. For the past couple of weeks, at least one case is being registered against one or the other resident of this village almost everyday. On Wednesday, Harjinder Singh of this village was arrested by the police and 52 kg of poppy husk was seized from his possession. On Tuesday, Parkash Kaur was arrested and 35 gm of heroin was seized from her. When The Tribune tried to interact with some residents of this village, no one came forward to talk. Perhaps, they are afraid of the police, particularly, after the recent swoop down on smugglers. An old man said all residents of the village were not drug smugglers. Even many of the people arrested by the police over the past few days were innocent, he said. The putting up of signboards branding the entire village as the hub of drugs was disgraceful, he said. "Has anyone thought who will marry a daughter of this village after all this?" he said. The old man said he was against drugs and the police should curb the menace, but all people should not be branded as criminals.
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A novel initiative to wean youth away from drugs
Patiala, May 28 Around 700 such persons have been identified so far. The police will also keep tabs on drug de-addiction centres and take the help of local NGOs and senior citizens to promote the anti-drug campaign. "These young boys were habitual smack or opium addicts till a few months back. Regular monitoring by parents, teachers and some NGOs helped them give up the menace," said a senior police officer. Patiala SSP HS Mann said they would ask these youngsters to help others like them to quit drugs and hold yoga and fitness camps in association with the local police stations. "There can be no better example for this (giving up drugs) other than those who have themselves given it up," he said. "We are preparing a data of all such boys in the district, so that whatever help they need is made available to them," he said. Raman (23) was a regular consumer of smack. He managed to procure his daily dose by spending the entire daily wages he earned working as a carpenter. "Recently, drugs have become difficult to procure and the rates have also shot up. Unable to afford, I decided to approach some village elders and through meditation and medicinal help, I have been now off smack for the past four months," he said. The police were also trying to get information from these youngsters about drug suppliers operating in various areas. "To our astonishment, the drug lords are now targeting young boys in colleges and it is very important to break this supply chain," said an SHO. Over 70 persons were arrested under the NDPS Act over the past one week. "Our priority is to identify those who are into the drug trade and targeting the youngsters," Mann said.
The plan
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Govt schools fail to cope with high enrolment
The prescribed teacher-student ratio is 1: 30 for primary schools, 1: 35 for middle and 1:40 for upper schools. Moreover, with limited rooms, teachers are forced to take classes in the open. Last year, the department had sent a proposal for the construction of around 350 new rooms for students of Class VI to VIII in Patiala district alone. However, only 150 rooms were sanctioned. Moreover, around 200 rooms have been declared unsafe in primary and upper primary schools in the district. The government model schools in the district are: Government Senior Secondary School, Civil Lines, Government Senior Secondary School, Pheel Khana, Junior Model High School, Nabha, and Government Model School, Chunagra. These were set up under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan two years ago. The government is also struggling to meet the increased demand for English-medium schools. There are only 129 English-medium schools in the state, out of which 125 schools are government-aided schools and four are government schools. A teacher at Civil Lines School requesting anonymity said the strength of students in each section was 50. “We are helpless as we do not have adequate infrastructure,” she said. Another teacher from Pheel Khana School said the government should convert few more schools into model schools. District Education Officer (Secondary) Harinder Kaur said the government was trying its level best to improve the infrastructure at schools.
Grim scenario
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Post-poll debacle, Kashyap dissolves all BSP units
Jalandhar, May 29 Kashyap, who is also a Member of Rajya Sabha, announced that the state committee, zonal committees, district committees, Vidhan Sabha committees, sector committees and booth-level committees had been dissolved. After a stormy meeting held in the city, Kashyap said the announcement had been made following orders by the party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. In the meeting, some BSP workers blamed Kashyap for making Parkash Singh Jandali as the state president two years ago. They said the move led to party’s poor performance. Kashyap said the party’s performance would be analysed, after which the new body would be formed. Even though Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur seats were considered as the party’s stronghold, the BSP candidates could not save their security deposits. The party’s vote share has fallen to just 1.9 per cent as compared to 5.75 per cent in the last Parliamentary poll. Sukhwinder Kotli, Jalandhar candidate, managed to get only 4.5 per cent of the votes, while Hoshiarpur candidate Bhagwan Singh Chauhan got 4.2 per cent.
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Row over Phoolka’s appointment as state convener
When contacted, Phoolka said he had yet to decide on accepting the post. "I will first discuss the matter with all concerned, including the newly elected MPs,” he said. Phoolka, who contested the Ludhiana seat on the AAP ticket, lost the elections by a slender margin. Another leader Prof Manjit Singh said the party expected Kejriwal to tour Punjab and decide on the party’s organisational structure in the state. Himmat Singh Shergill, who contested from Anandpur Sahib, said he was not aware of Phoolka's appointment as convener. He said the party leadership in New Delhi was keen to appoint office-bearers in the state but that would be done after talking to all concerned and collecting information on the party activists who had worked hard during the Lok Sabha elections. Phoolka writes to Law Minister Prasad Ludhiana: Senior advocate and Aam Aadmi Party leader HS Phoolka, in an open letter to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, has demanded that the government should constitute a special investigating team (SIT) on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He said of the 241 riot cases, only four were re-opened and re-investigated by the CBI. In two of the cases, the CBI had filed a charge sheet in 2010. One of the cases was decided by the court in last year and five persons, including a former MLA, were convicted. The letter, said if the remaining 237 cases were reopened, it would result in more convictions.
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Govt charters plane to airlift assault victim to Burundi
He was brutally assaulted in Jalandhar in April 2012. The government has hired an air ambulance that will pick Yannick from the Patiala Civil Aviation Club and shift him to a medical and research centre in Burundi. Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti said the government had tied up with Air Ambulance International. "Its officials will inform us about the date and route soon," he said. "The government has hired a special chartered plane which is fully equipped to handle all medical cases. Transporting him to Burundi will cost us Rs 75 lakh. The government will also clear over Rs 1 crore dues of the hospital," he said. Though Yannick is on ventilator support, his condition is stable. He is unable to make any purposeful movement of upper and lower limbs even as his vitals, including blood pressure and pulse, are normal. He is only moving his eyeballs and is unable to receive any perception because of damage caused to his brain. Though Yannick's father had often expressed his desire to take Yannick back to Burundi, the latter was medically unfit to be shifted in the initial few months. The Punjab Government too had been dithering on the matter. Seven of the nine accused, who had attacked Yannick, have already been sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment. The remaining two accused are yet to be arrested. Nestor had expressed surprise at the quantum of punishment, saying: "I am not a judge who is aware of the law. But what should be the punishment for those who nearly killed a 23-year-old boy?” He had demanded capital punishment for the accused.
The brutal attack April 21, 2012: A group of nine students attacks Burundi national Yannick Nihangaza, a student of Lovely University, Jalandhar April 22: The police book the youths and nab two of them June 23: The police file a challan against the accused. Seven accused are on the run July 6: Five more accused arrested October 24, 2013: Seven sentenced to 10-year RI Yannick’s state of health
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Will mitigate farmers’ woes, says Harsimrat
Amritsar, May 29 Her husband, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, too was in the city. But he didn’t accompany her to the Golden Temple. Talking to mediapersons after paying obeisance at the shrine, Harsimrat said it was wrong to say that the SAD-BJP had not fared well in the Lok Sabha elections. “We have got one seat more than the previous Lok Sabha elections,” she said, while refusing to comment on the blame game between SAD and BJP leaders over the alliance’s poll performance. Asked if the SAD would be able to get justice for the 1984 riot victims, Harsimrat seemed non-committal. "It is with the Almighty’s blessings that I have become a minister. I will work under the gidance of the the supreme being,"she said. On agenda as Food Processing Industries Minister, she said: “My priorities are clear. A lot of foodgrain is being wasted. Diversification coupled with food processing is the need of the hour. Besides adding value to farm produce, we should ensure the consumer gets the same at a reasonable cost.” On Jaitley’s defeat, she said it was an opportunity that Amritsar had lost. She said she had met Jaitley recently and the latter had assured her that he would remain in touch with Amritsar, keep his house in the city and work for the city's development. State ministers Bikram Singh Majithia, Gulzar Singh Ranike, former MPs Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur and other leaders accompanied her to the Golden Temple. She was honoured with a ‘siropa’ and a shawl by SGPC executive member Rajinder Singh Mehta. At the Durgiana Mandir, Harsimrat was accorded a traditional welcome by the temple's managing committee general secretary, Ramesh Sharma. Harsimrat paid homage to the martyrs at the Jallianwala Bagh and offered prayers at Ram Tirath Temple.
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Will simplify property tax, not abolish it, says Joshi
Jalandhar May 29 On BJP leader Arun Jaitley's commitment of abolishing property tax while ampaigning from the Amritsar seat, Joshi said: "It doesn't make sense if property tax is abolished. In that case, another tax will be imposed. We will just make the tax public friendly. Special committees have been formed to ascertain flaws in the tax structure. It is however likely that certain sections will be exempted." Joshi, who was in the city today to hold a meeting with Municipal Corporation officials, said he would resolve problems of the safai karamchari unions regarding the implementation of the solid waste management scheme. On the rejection of his resignation by the party high command, Joshi said: "When I am working, there is no scope of any confusion over my resignation."
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18 DCs asked to explain absence
Chandigarh, May 29 In a communication, the officers have been asked to explain why disciplinary action should not be initiated against them under the All-India Services (Conduct) Rules,1968. It refers to a circular dated August 10, 1998, and another dated May 21, 2014, directing the officers to remain in office from 9 am to 5 pm on all working days and to refrain from functioning from their camp offices. The deputy commissioners of Amritsar, Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Mansa, SAS Nagar, Pathankot, Patiala, Tarn Taran, Moga, Ludhiana, Sangrur and Ferozepur have been asked to explain their absence from work. Some officers expressed their displeasure with the government orders. "The government wants to shift the blame for the poll losses to the officers. It is the leaders who frame policies and the officers simply implement the orders," said an officer. "Handling files is only a small part of the administrative work. Meeting people in the field helps us get a better perspective on their problems," said another officer.
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Muktsar de-addiction centre defunct for 3 yrs
Muktsar, May 29 The 10-bed centre on the ground floor was established to cure drug addicts of the district but the hospital authorities are yet to make it functional. Sources in the Civil Hospital said it was running fine till the psychiatrist posted there was transferred. Thereafter, no permanent arrangement was made and so it remained locked, they said. Though some assistant staff has been deployed here, it doesn’t serve the purpose as the post of psychiatrist is lying vacant. The subordinate staff is not capable to administer treatment to addicts. In the past, some makeshift arrangements were made but that too did not last long. A woman doctor was posted but she too was transferred to
her previous place of posting within a few days. A counsellor of the health department, who goes to villages to persuade people denounce drugs, said, “Had the government provided a psychiatrist for the de-addiction centre here, a number of addicts would have changed by now. But the government is giving a step-motherly treatment to the health sector in Muktsar.” Dr Gulshan Rai, Civil Surgeon, Muktsar, said, “We regularly inform the higher-ups about the shortage
of doctors. Even though the government is appointing doctors, the post of
psychiatrist is lying vacant and the de-addiction centre is not functional.” He said, “As of now, we are running a de-addiction centre at the Civil Hospital in Malout. There we admit seven to eight addicts on an average in a month and the number of visitors to the OPD is also above normal.” Meanwhile, in the ongoing drive against drugs, though the police daily claims to have nabbed drug addicts and smugglers, yet it has not so far taken any of them to the de-addiction centre at the Malout Civil Hospital. “In the recent past, no drug addict was brought by the police to our de-addiction centre at the Malout Civil Hospital,” said Dr Gulshan Rai, Civil Surgeon, Muktsar.
Post of psychatrist lying vacant
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Clash over panchayat land
Abohar, May 29 Sources said that the local managing committee of a religious place had planned to use the panchayat land adjacent to the complex for visitors but the same has been reportedly "allotted" to a member of another community. As the "allottees" started putting up walls to use the land for commercial purpose, the other faction objected to it strongly. The persons claiming allotment then announced that they would raise a religious structure there, following which two pictures of deities were installed and rituals were initiated. This triggered tension and the warring factions reportedly started attacking each other with bricks and stones. The clash lasted for
more than half an hour, locals said. There was no confirmation over validity of allotment by the village panchayat. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jagdish Bishnoi, Naib Tehsildar Neeraj Sharma along with other policemen reached the village and controlled the situation. The administration has stalled construction work and fixed a meeting on Saturday to resolve the dispute. Till then heavy police force will remain deployed there to avert another clash.
5 held for hurting religious sentiments Muktsar: The Kotbhai police on Thursday booked five people on the charge of hurting religious sentiments after some Dalits blocked traffic on the Muktsar-Doda-Bathinda highway for more than two hours at Doda village. The protesters alleged that some persons had uprooted a symbol of their religion on a piece of land offered by the village panchayat. Those arrested are father-son duo Pritam Singh and Vakil Singh, brothers Angrej Singh and Gurmel Singh and Gurdeep Singh.
— TNS
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Snag hits another unit of Ropar thermal plant
The plant has six units with a generation capacity of 210 MW each. Three units have been hit by a snag in the last nine days. The sources said the ongoing agitation of the PSEB Engineers Association had delayed the repair of the units. The maintenance engineers had resorted to
work to rule. Earlier, unit no. 1 was tripped on May 21 due to a fault in its air free heater. The engineers took
two days to repair the fault as they had refused to work overtime. RP Singh, Deputy Chief Engineer (Operation), said the repair of unit no. 5 was almost complete and it would be made functional soon. The repair of unit no. 6 would take few days, he added.
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Power cuts back to haunt residents
Patiala, May 29 Senior PSPCL officials confirmed unscheduled power cuts were being imposed in residential areas in certain parts, although the power schedule did not show any cuts on any category of consumers. Sources said there had been complaints of frequent power snags for past three days from Patiala, Amritsar and Ludhiana. Officials said the PSPCL and state government’s failure to end the coal supply row with Panem was one of the major reasons for power shortage in the state.
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SGPC flays PU move not to hold test in Punjabi
Amritsar, May 29 SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar, in his letter to Ansari, has dubbed the PU move as unfortunate. He said it had put the fate of thousands of students in balance as they had been studying in Punjabi. He said it was not appropriate that a university that had agreed to promote local languages was giving priority to English language. He accused the varsity authorities of being biased against Punjabi at a time when its Law Department held the entrance test in English, Hindi and Punjabi. He urged the Vice-President to look into the matter so that the students of Punjabi didn’t have to face any disappointment. Meanwhile, in another development, Makkar condemned a recent incident in which ‘birs’ of Guru Granth Sahib were being transported in a container. He said it was a sacrilegious act.
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Markfed centre in charge replaced
Abohar, May 29 Well-placed sources said Additional Deputy Commissioner Charandev Singh Mann, who negotiated with the representatives of the labour
Union and the arhtia association for ending their agitation, had reportedly blamed Amarjit Singh Brar for the situation. The complaints about malpractices in releasing packing material for wheat, lifting and unloading process, were found
to be true. The state government had promised to ensure lifting of wheat bags
within 48 hours and payment in three days but both arrangements had collapsed as
Markfed was authorised to handle most of the purchase centres. A large number of wheat stacks got damaged due to rain and the grain became unfit for consumption. More than six lakh bags were exposed to sunshine and rain for many days.
Why so
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Extension denied to PSPCL director
Patiala, May 29 In a letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the PSEB Engineers' Association has welcomed the government move. "We welcome the decision and demand that no CMD/Director be given extension over 62 years in age and against the clause of the tripartite agreement," reads the letter sent by association general secretary Sanjeev Sood. While one post of the director has already fallen vacant, two others are scheduled to fall vacant in the coming weeks. The state government has, however, not yet initiated any process for filling these posts. The delay has raised many eyebrows as the paddy season is drawing close. Surinder Pall and SC Arora were appointed the PSPCL Director (Commercial) and the Director (Finance), respectively, for one year in 2010. Their terms were later extended up to June 3, 2014, or till 62 years of age, whichever is earlier. "While the tenure of GS Chhabra ended earlier this month, the terms of Surinder Pall and SC Arora will expire on June 3. As per the extension orders: "In no case the incumbent will continue in service after attaining the age of 62 years." Sources said the file for extension or new recruitment against these posts was already pending with the Chief Minister office and a decision was likely to be taken in a few days. "The file has been sent from our side," an official said. As per clause 45 (b) of the Articles of Association, the selection procedure is to be initiated within three months before the end of tenure of any director and a selection committee should be set up for the purpose. The committee will recommend two names for each post. Clause 45(e) says any person appointed as the director shall be eligible for reappointment after the expiry of the period, if the selection committee feels that it will be in the interest of the company.
Others to retire soon
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15 teachers get state award
New Delhi, May 29 The award is recognised by the Punjab Government as the State Education Award and is sponsored by Mohinder Singh Syngle Education and Research Society. The award consists of Rs 1 lakh, a certificate of excellence and a robe of honour. Union Minster for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, Punjab Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka, former MP Tarlochan Singh and INLD MLA from Haryana Abhey Singh Chautala were present.
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Moonak Dalits allege social boycott
Baopur (Sangrur), May 29 Dalit leader and Baopur village panchayat member Krishan Singh apprised Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission member Dalip Singh Pandhi of their situation here today. Pandhi had come to the village to hear grievances of the Dalits after getting information about their boycott by upper-caste people. Krishan Singh told Pandhi that the upper-caste people had been boycotting them socially since May 15 as this year they had decided to cultivate 26 acres of panchayat land reserved for the Scheduled Castes. Earlier, upper-caste people used to cultivate this land by getting it on contract through auction in the names of Dalits, he said. On May 16, Khanauri SHO called both sides to the police station where they reached a compromise, but the upper-caste people did not implement the same and continued with their social boycott, Dalits said. Pandhi assured them of justice.
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Drivers can’t blame stray animals for mishaps, says HC
Chandigarh, May 29 The ruling came on a bunch of two appeals filed by Harmesh Kumar and other appellants. Both the appeals were filed against the dismissal of petitions, claiming compensation for injuries suffered in a motor accident involving a three-wheeler and a car. The accident took place on December 1, 2009, but daily diary report in the matter was recorded two days later. It was stated that the parties were talking about a compromise and, therefore, did not want investigation to be carried out. A week later another statement was given before the police by one of the claimants. He maintained that the drivers of both the vehicles could not prevent the accident, since stray cattle crossed the road. Both the drivers applied brakes but could not avoid the collision. The court took the statements recorded in DDR to constitute an estoppel against the claimants and dismissed the petitions. Estoppel is a bar preventing one from making an allegation or a denial that contradicts what has been previously stated as the truth. Taking up the matter, Justice Kannan asserted: “If a person who had originally given a statement that there was no negligence between the two drivers, but later resiled from the same and sought prosecution of the case, looking for determination of the negligent act of the driver, a mere statement recorded by the police cannot be taken as sufficient for the tribunal. “It has to examine the nature of the evidence and the circumstances under which he seeks to resile the statement. A statement can bind a person who makes it, but it cannot bind any other person who is not a privy.
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travel agents in soup
Hoshiarpur, May 29 After the work could not be done, Manmohan asked Balvir to return his money. The accused promised to give him a piece of land but failed to keep that promise too. After an inquiry by the economic offences wing of the police, a case has been registered against the accused under Section 420 and 406 of the IPC. In another case, Baldev Singh of Makha village alleged that Jaspal Singh of Kapurthala and Sukhdev Singh of Ema Mangat had duped him of Rs 14,17,000 on the pretext of sending him to Canada. It was probed by the economic offences wing and a case has been registered against the accused by the Mukerian police. Five of travel agency booked in Abohar Abohar: The police have booked five persons of a 'travel agency' near the bus stand in Abohar for fraud. They are Deepak Kumar of Verka (Amritsar) and his associates Harjinder Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, Major Singh and Kashmir Singh. Gurdial Singh, Tarsem Singh, Jaspal Singh, Inder Singh, Dilbagh Singh, Karamjit Singh and Ravinder Singh alleged in their complaints that they were lured by an advertisement published in a vernacular newspaper offering assistance in getting visa issued. When they visited the office, receptionist Pooja introduced them to Deepak, who claimed to be the managing director of the company. They were allegedly told to pay Rs 50,000 each as the initial deposit. However, the documents issued by the company were later found to be fake. The accused kept their mobile phones on the "switched off" mode and refused to refund the amount when approached in person. — OC Lured by ad Seven persons in Abohar said they were lured by an an advertisement (offering assistance in getting visa issued) published in a vernacular newspaper
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2,031 drug peddlers held
Though the Punjab Police has been criticised for targeting petty peddlers, they have resolved to not bow under any political pressure. Apart from conducting raids in the state, they have also sent teams to Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The drugs are reportedly supplied from these states. Additional Director General of Police Hardip Dhillon said, “No politician has so far interfered with the drive. We hope to end drug trafficking soon.” Dhillon, who has been supervising the anti-drug drive, further said consumers were in fact the victims and needed to be rehabilitated. Director General of Police Sumedh Saini said the biggest task was to choke the drug supply at the miniscule level. “Our past experience tells us that not only is it important to catch the big drug traders, but also seize all the drugs. We have identified all the supply routes and are busy plugging them by raiding other states,” said Saini. Dhillon said apart from seizing hard drugs like heroin and smack, they were focussing on the addictive “Chitta” (powdered mixture of sedative prescription drugs). “The drive is showing results. It is difficult to find ‘chitta’ in the market now,” added
Dhillon.
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NRI's bag with Rs 1.5 lakh stolen
Hoshiarpur, May 29 When he came back and was about to sit in his car, a man told him that fuel was leaking from his car. The driver of the car and he began to check but couldn't find any leakage. Hardyal told the police that when he sat in the car, he found that his bag
was missing. He said his bag contained Rs 1.5 lakh, $ 7,000 and two Canadian passports was missing. A case has been registered.
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Robbers’ attack leaves 7 injured
Faridkot, May 29 The robbers first entered Beant Singh’s house at Baggeana village and attacked him and his family. Beant Singh and his son were admitted to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital while his wife Gurmail Kaur, who was severely injured, was referred to Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana. The robbers took away cash and gold ornaments from the house. The robbers later attacked some people at Kot Sukhia village and looted gold and cash from them. A case has been registered. — TNS
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Nurmahal (Jalandhar), May 29
Amritsar, May 29
Patiala, May 29
Patiala, May 29
Ropar, May 29
Chandigarh, May 29