Ludhiana, June 21
Pramod Ban, 1995 batch IPS officer, has been appointed new Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana. He replaces RK Jaiswal, who assumed charge recently.

Ban is familiar with the city as he has served here as SP (City) from 2000 to 2002 and as Deputy Commissioner of Police in 2010. Before his transfer, he was serving as IG, Chief Minister’s Security.

He will join on Monday. Ban will be the sixth Commissioner of Police posted in the city in the last about a year.

Talking about his priorities, Ban said every type of crime would be dealt with strictly. “I have been given this important responsibility to serve in a big city. Being the Commissioner of Police, my top priority will be curbing crime in the city, so the residents feel safe. The haphazard traffic is again a major challenge for the residents. I will streamline the traffic in the city,” he said.

Pramod Ban hails from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. He has done BTech in Fibre Technology from Kanpur. He has served as DIG, Bathinda Range and Ferozepur Range.

The state government reshuffled eight IPS officers today.

Ludhiana, June 21
A woman died while her mother suffered serious injuries after an iron girder fell on them at the newly opened shopping mall at Old Sessions Court Chowk this evening.

According to information, Amarjit Kaur (60) and Pardeep Kaur (30), both residents of the Haibowal area, were taking out their scooter, which was parked on the premises of the mall, when the girder fell on them.

The girder was fixed on the fourth floor shuttering slab. They were rushed to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, where Pardeep Kaur succumbed to her injuries.

The mother-daughter duo had gone for shopping and were on their way back when the incident took place.

The police reached the spot. Sukhdeep Singh, Station House Officer, Division Number 8 police station, said: “We have started investigations into the matter and strict action will be taken against the construction company.”

Ludhiana, June 21
A man was murdered over a trivial dispute at Kabir Nagar in the Tibba road area here last night. The deceased has been identified as Rama Shankar (35), a resident of Kabir Nagar on the Tibba road. The police arrested suspect Shampal on the spot.

According to information, the victim was a factory worker and lived with his brother and nephew. Shampal was his neighbour.

Randhir Singh, Jodhewal Station House Officer, said Shampal scolded the deceased’s nephew last evening. When Rama Shankar returned from the factory, his nephew narrated the story to Rama Shankar.

When Rama Shankar went to Shampal’s house to discuss the matter, he attacked him. According to information, Shampal attacked him with a wooden stick and he suffered injuries on the head. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital where he the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

We have registered a case and arrested the suspect a few hours after the incident. We will get his remand and investigate the matter, the Station House Officer said.

Anti-Snatching Cell reached the spot and initiated investigation. The team arrested the two persons within 24 hours,” said ACP

The accused have been active for the past 4 years and were booked in 18 cases. They were released on bail this February. They are involved in around 40 cases of snatching. Both used to target morning walkers.

Ludhiana, June 21
A 25-year-old man was killed while two were injured in two accidents in the last 24 hours in the city. In the first incident, a motorcyclist was killed on South City Road after his bike skidded late last evening.

The deceased, identified as Jagjit Singh, was a resident of Barna Hara village.

According to information, the deceased used to work in a factory and was returning home from work when the accident occurred. When he reached near the Gate No. 8 of the PAU, his motorcycle skidded on a stretch under construction. The PAU SHO said the deceased suffered head injuries. He was rushed to the nearby hospital where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Ludhiana, June 21
A three-day photography exhibition on nature and culture is being organised at MS Randhawa Art Gallery in Punjabi Bhawan. More than 70 photographs are on display.

Photographers, including Ravinder Ravi and Guri Ludhianvi, have attempted to capture various aspects of Punjabi culture that are not seen regularly and their importance is undermined in everyday world.

Guri Ludhianvi said he clicked pictures that were both an expression of spontaneity and yet had a message. For example, the picture of a dog eating from a packet of chips may carry several connotations of change in the diet of even animals, let along humans. “As a photographer, one needs to look at things from a deeper perspective to find multiple meanings from that one frame,” he said.

Ravinder Ravi clicked several aspects of rural culture of Punjab trying to capture colours, the dusk and the dawn, the change that is sweeping across the state. While many pictures are about the culture, negative influences also feature in the exhibition. There is a picture of a man holding a bottle of liquor against the sun at the dusk, which depicts the extent of the grip the city is in.

According to them, it is the composition and the message that the picture conveys is more important rather than the equipment.

Ravinder Ravi has also clicked pictures of birds. “I love both nature and culture,” he said. 

Ludhiana, June 21
Members of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) held a meeting today. They said the clash between Sikhs at Akal Takht on June 6 was unfortunate. They held the SGPC responsible for it.

Jaswant Singh Mann, secretary general of the party, said every Sikh had the right to voice his opinion at Akal Takht. “A few groups are trying to suppress and nip voices for their own dominance, which is not right,” he added. He also lambasted the existence of a task force there. “How can they form a task force? There is no provision for such an armed task force under the Gurdwara Act 1925,” he said.

He said the results of the SGPC elections were not satisfactory for the party, so they would be expanding the party. He added that the party was awaiting the Supreme Court’s verdict regarding the voting by Sehajdhari Sikhs in the SGPC elections in October.

“There are 33 crore Dalits, 22 crore Muslims, 2 crore Sikhs and 1 crore Christians. They should come together to counter Hindutva,” he alleged.

Talking about the AAP, he said: “It is a bubble that has burst. In Punjab, it is like an air balloon, which is not going to survive for long. It is not a political party, but a gathering of people, that is without an ideology or a policy,” he added.

He said the party would contest the Assembly byelections on Patiala, Talwandi Sabo seats, he said. “If the Dhuri elections take place, they will contest the elections from there,” he said.

Ludhiana, June 21
Learning about bogus exports, the United Cycle Parts and Manufacturers Association (UCPMA) has formed a six-member committee to look into 
the matter.

“We do not want the cycle industry to suffer just because of a few companies. We have formed a committee to look into the matter,” said Charanjit Singh Vishivkarma, president of the United Cycle Parts and Manufacturers Association.

Badisj Jindal, president of the Federation of Small Industries of India (FASII), who is one of the members of the committee formed by the United Cycle Parts and Manufacturers Association, said, “We will boycott the culprit. In case, nobody is found guilty during investigations, we will move court against the Income Tax department for harassing the industry and stopping 
the refunds.”

“We will go to Bihar, Nepal and Bhutan and probe the matter,” added Jindal.

The department should not hold back the refunds, demanded members of the UCPMA. “There is no bogus billing in the bicycle industry. The material has been physically dispatched through Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar borders,” said Gurmeet Singh Kular, general secretary, Bicycle Research and Development Organisation (BRADO), and President Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisation (FICO).

Cases of companies indulging in bogus exports to Nepal and Bhutan have come to light. The companies have sent consignments to Bihar, but on paper have shown the exports to Nepal and Bhutan. They have not even paid the taxes to the governments.

This way, they have caused losses to exchequers of Punjab and Bihar.

Ludhiana, June 21
Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann met fishery students who have been protesting on Ferozepur Road outside Gate No. 5 of GADVASU for the past 21 days.

Concerned about the safety of students, Mann visited the venue at 1.30 am. Local MLA Simarjit Singh Bains also met the students and assured them of raising the issue during the budget session. He advised the students not to block the road as it would inconvenience commuters. Bains told the students to protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

The students have spent Rs 6.5 lakh on the course and the Chief Minister is asking them to open shops in the fish market. Gulzar Singh Ranike, Minster for Animal Husbandry Dairy and Fisheries, humiliated the students. The Vice-Chancellor does not know how to deal with students,” said Simarjit Singh Bains. Satpal Gosain, former minister and senior BJP leader, also visited the spot and assured the students of taking up the matter Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of Home Affairs.

“I asked them to give me a memorandum. It will take four to five days. They have to call of the strike. I will also speak to Gulzar Singh Ranike and urge the state government to recruit them the students fishery officers,” said Satpal Gosain. 

Ludhiana, June 21
President of Shiromani Akali Dal, Delhi, Paramjit Singh Sarna said the Sikh body has taken permission for the restoration and building of Gurdwara Dera Sahib, the place of martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, Lahore. He said it was decided by Sikh congregation, and Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee after seeing the work of restoration work of Nankana Sahib.

He said that the some part of the Gurdwara ‘Shaheedi Asthaan’ (the place of martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev) will not be altered. He added that the Gurdwara will be built with the approval of Waqf Board in Pakistan.

Talking about the issue of separate Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committe in Haryana, he said that there should be different Sikh Gurdwra Parbandhak Committees for all the states, as these would empower Sikh politically also in the states. He alleged that by managing all the Gurdwaras in all the states, SGPC wants to empower itself, but weaken Sikhs in other states.

About the issue of Nanakshahi calendar, he said that if the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is not able to hold a Sikh congregation to take the final decision of the Nanakshahi calendar, a congregation would be held in Pakistan during the Gurpurab of Guru Nanak Devi in November and final call will be taken about the calendar. Till then the calendar followed prior to 2003 will be followed.

Chandigarh, June 21
Professor Bhupinder Singh Bhoop of University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), Panjab University, was bestowed upon with Stat-Ease QBD Performance Award-2014 on the basis of his outstanding contribution and extensive research work on novel and nano structured drug delivery systems using quality by design (QBD).

Besides a citation, the award carries a grant of Premier Academic Status to Prof Bhoop and his research group at Panjab University, Chandigarh, amounting to the complimentary provision of a perpetual license of the Design Expert® 9.0 software, five single-user annual licenses, and annual 10-seat network license for the purpose of academic research by his group, all worth the market price of US$ 7,095. This status has been conferred by Stat-Ease earlier only once to the founders’ alma mater, the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.

Prof Bhoop has earned till date more than 215 publications, 10 books, 4 patents and technology transfers of two marketed nano-based drug delivery products for serving the ailing patients. He has duly trained several hundreds of industrial scientists on QBD under his guidance through onsite training seminars and workshops via conferences, an unparalleled feat to the credit of any academic scientist.

Quality by Design (QBD) is buzzword in pharma industry today. It is a new science and risk-based approach for developing pharmaceutical formulations leading to comprehensive understanding of the product(s) and process to avoid quality crisis in the final product. 

Chandigarh, June 21
The entrance test for MPhil and PhD in the subjects of Public Administration, Sociology, Social Work and Police Administration at Panjab University(PU), Chandigarh will be conducted in the medium of English, Hindi and Punjabi. The entrance test will be held on July 27.

PU had earlier invited applications for the M.Phil and Ph.D in the faculties of arts, business management and commerce, design and fine arts, engineering, languages, law and science.

The prospectus and application form is still available on the PU Website i.e. http://phdadmissions.puchd.ac.in .

The last date for submission of online application to generate the bank challan is July 5, 2014 and last date for submission of fee is July 8. The admissions would be based on entrance test, which would be conducted on July 27. The Last date for submission of the fee details and uploading of photograph, signature with the rest of the information on the website is July 10.

Ludhiana, June 21
A special team consisting of Home Secretary Sameer Kumar and IG (Litigation) BK Uppal today visited de-addiction centres at the Civil Hospital, Red Cross and Central Jail.

Both of them had a word with patients. They even counselled them.

Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal and Civil Surgeon Dr Subhash Batta highlighted the initiatives taken by the Administration and the Health Department. Sameer Kumar said the government was making efforts to rid the state of the drug menace. He said 150 government hospitals were providing free de-addiction medicines.

Helpline launched

A helpline has been launched for the counselling of drug addicts. Addicts or their family members can call up on the number. For getting experts’ advice, one can call up at 0161-2724923. 

An official of the district administration talks to a beggar in Ludhiana. Tribune Photo: Himanshu Mahajan

Ludhiana, June 21
The district administration with the help of non-profit organisations today sent 62 beggars to shelter home.

Some of them were shifted to the night shelter of the Municipal Corporation while the others were admitted to the drug de-addiction centre. Two were handed over to the police. Twenty beggars were sent to the Civil Hospital for treatment.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (D) Isha Kalia today took a round of the city to spot beggars. If a beggar wants to do a skill development course, the administration will bear the expenses.

Khanna, June 21
Khanna police have arrested seven persons of an inter-state gang and recovered more than 8 quintals of poppy husk and 2.5 kg opium from their possession. SSP Khanna Harsh Kumar Bansal said special teams of CIA arrested seven persons including Jagpal Singh, a resident of Machiwara, Prabhsharan Singh, also a resident of Machiwara, Ram Saroop, a resident of Dallewal village, Hoshiarpur, Gurpal Singh, a resident of Hoshiarpur and Balbir Singh, a resident of Tuto Mjara village, Hoshiarpur, during raids. 

During search about 18 bags of poppy husk weighing about 8.20 quintal and opium 2.5 kg was recovered from their possession. 

Jagraon, June 21
The drive initiated by the Jagraon police against the street crime achieved a huge success when the police arrested three alleged members of snatchers’ gang. The accused arrested by the police has been identified as Naveen Kumar, a resident of Ajit Nagar Moga, Sonu Yadav, a resident of Nanak Nagri Moga and Om Parkash alias Oma, a resident of Hariyewal village, in Moga district.

The police have seized a motorcycle from the accused which was allegedly used by the accused during the snatching incidents. Besides this, the police have also recovered some gold ornaments allegedly snatched by the accused and 10 gram drug powder from them.

“Following this, a police team lead by ASI Shashpal Singh set up a police post near Ramghar Bhullar village and nabbed three youths. During the preliminary questioning, the accused have confessed of carrying out 18 incidents of snatching and loot in Jagraon and Moga areas”, said SSP Brar.

According to police, all the three accused are drug addicts. The police have registered a case against all the three accused youths under various acts at Jagraon Sadar Police Station.

Later on, the police produced all the accused before a local court which sent them to two days of police remand. “The accused have confessed of several snatching incidents in Jagraon and Moga. Some more revelations are expected from the accused during the further interrogation”, added SSP Brar.

To tackle the snatching incidents, the local police had recently formed an eagle squad. Earlier, the police had arrested two other youths allegedly involved in several snatching incidents in Jagraon area. of five alleged members of snatchers’ gang by the police during last some days, the residents of Jagraon specially the women who were on the target of snatchers’ gang have heaved a sigh of relief.

SSP Ravcharan Singh Brar said the police drive against the street crime would continue till the crimes like snatching come to an end.