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Drug issue rocks House, Cong stages walk out
Cong trashes Budget, alleges figures fudged
Waive fee of SC students: Panel
Punjabi University changes course at ‘eleventh hour’
Hoax calls fan fear among Punjabis stuck in Iraq
Irregularities galore at PTU: Cong MLAs
Brigadier foils bid to ‘grab’ his plot
Parents bury their comatose child
Rein in colleges on fee, says MP
Water-borne diseases on the rise
Restoration of gold work begins at Golden Temple; to take 2 months
BKU plans stir against Bill to protect property
Injured Akali leader dead
Hemkunt Sahib yatra on despite bad weather
Top cops plying vehicles without insurance cover
US-Sikhs seek official docs on use of ethnic slurs
High Court sends notice to Harsimrat on poll petition
Recruitment of PSHRC staff
PCS officer among 3 get 5-year jail
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assembly in session
chandigarh, July 18 Education Minister Daljee Singh Cheema moved the resolution which was agreed to by all members present in the House. The House felt that the quality of education in government schools was being adversely affected due to the Centre’s decision of not failing students till class VIII. The resolution came on a day when media reports said the Geeta Bhukkal committee of education ministers had recommended that the non-detention policy of the Centre should be discontinued. The policy was the brainchild of former Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal. The state government had been objecting to the policy since its inception after the enactment of the Right to Education Act, 2009. Former state Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka, who was part of the Bhukkal Committee, had also called for scrapping the policy as “it directly affected the standard of education in government schools vis a vis private schools. The Assembly had witnessed angry scenes yesterday over the issue with Akali MLAs having a spat with each other over whether education was a centre or a state subject. The viewpoint of the Education Minister prevailed as he had furnished copies of the Constitution stating education was a concurrent subject. The discussion on the issue began with the starting of the Question Hour as the pending issues of yesterday’s session were taken up first. Cheema explained that a resolution should be passed to ask the Centre to change the policy. Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal permitted the presentation of the resolution, saying that the media reports claimed that the Bhukkal Committee had also recommended the same. He had yesterday termed the issue a serious matter saying it was ironic that the students of government schools were being promoted to next class without examinations while those in private schools were getting better prepared for the highly competitive higher education system by taking several examinations in an academic year. Unanimous decision
Day’s highlights Ministers quarrel over turn to speak Akali ministers Tota Singh and Sharanjit Singh Dhillon had a face-off today when both wanted to respond to the issue of protecting the riparian rights of Punjab. As Congress MLA Lal Singh reminded the House how former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had taken the Opposition along while terminating the river water rights with Haryana, both Dhillion and Tota Singh got up together to respond. In their eagerness, both shouted at each other to sit down. As the House burst into laughter, Dhillon made his comments, which were followed by Tota Singh's, who recalled how he was against giving the river waters to Haryana and Rajasthan and called for amending the law and reconsidering water sharing between the two states. VAT refund delay hits industry: Kalia BJP Jalandhar Central MLA Manorajan Kalia, while praising the Budget, also brought to the fore how industry in Punjab was suffering not just because of regional discrepancies where neighbouring hill states got tax concessions but also because of a delay in release of VAT refunds by the state government. Highlighting the issue of insect-infested mid-day meals being served in schools, he said the work should be handed over to parent teacher associations. He also highlighted that the amount reserved for each patient under the cancer fund was less and suggested that the money should be given directly to patients so that they could get treatment from wherever they want. He also demanded that Jalandhar be included in the list of "safe cities" to be developed by the government.
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Drug issue rocks House, Cong stages walk out
Chandigarh, July 18 The Congress also alleged that the government had failed to untilise central grant worth Rs 2,100 crore allocated for the cleaning of rivers. "Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had moved a resolution to express its gratitude to then Union Water Resources Minister Jairam Ramesh for making a huge allocation of Rs 2,200 crore for the purpose. But despite that the state government failed to get the job done," said Congress Legislature Party Leader Sunil Jakhar, showing a copy of the September 30, 2010 resolution. The House witnessed an uproar the moment Jakhar stood up and demanded a detailed discussion on the drug issue. "The government should immediately come out with a White Paper, exposing people who are behind the thriving trade, besides explaining the measures taken by the government against the persons whose names figured during the probe into the drug racket," said Jakhar, expressing his dissatisfaction over a reply by Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jiyani, who he said had only talked about de-addiction. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal urged the Speaker to give time to the government till Monday to enable it to come out with a detailed reply on the issue. "The government is making sincere efforts to deal with the matter," he said. Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal said he could not allow any discussion on the subject in the Question Hour as he had already given an extension to the government. Atwal, however, assured the visibly irked Congress MLAs that they would get a detailed reply in two days. Following this, Congress MLAs led by Jakhar, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Tarlochan Singh Soondh and Randip Nabha, marched towards the well of the House and raised slogans against the government. Rana Sodhi said: "The menace has reached alarming levels. The youth of Punjab are getting devastated." Charges fly thick and fast The Akali-BJP government should explain the measures taken by it against the persons whose names figured during the probe into the drug
racket. The government is making sincere efforts to deal with the drug menace. We need time till Monday to be able to come out with a detailed reply on the
matter.
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Cong trashes Budget, alleges figures fudged
Chandigarh, July 18 Initiating a debate on the Budget proposals, former state Finance Minister and Sanaur MLA Lal Singh said the proposals presented by Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa were the "worst ever". "All records in the Budget proposals for the year 2013-14 and now 2014-15 are fudged. There is nothing good in the Budget, except the photographs and the central government welfare schemes under which the state will get some money," he alleged. He claimed that the biggest indicator of the rot in the state economy was itsburgeoning public debt, which is expected to rise to Rs 1.13 lakh crore by the end of this fiscal. It had accumulated in the past seven years of the Akali rule, he alleged. In March 2007, the public debt was Rs 51,155 crore and since then it has increased by Rs 61,800 crore. "It is because of this high debt that the state will have to borrow another Rs 14,199 crore. Debt servicing alone will take away Rs 11,496 crore, including Rs 8,380 crore as interest payments. If we take out the committed liabilities from the revenue receipts (which include payment of wages, pensions, interest payments and subsidies - which account for 78 per cent of revenue), only Rs 2,700 crore was left for development," he said, adding that the debt of Rs 67,806 crore on various boards and corporations, too, had not been included in the debt burden. Pointing to the treasury benches, he said: "You have pushed Punjab in a debt trap and no one can take the state out of this mess." Lal Singh also pointed out that the revenue and fiscal deficit had increased manifold since the Akali-BJP government had come to power. "Only 10.35 per cent of the revenue was left available as capital expenditure. "The projections on capital expenditure in the budget estimates are always high, but when the revised estimates come, the capital expenditure available is very low," he said. He pointed out that the government was being extravagant on buying a new helicopter for Chief Minister, retaining the one on hire; having a huge team of advisers and chief parliamentary secretaries et al, although it had no money to buy tablets for schoolchildren, bicycles for girl students or to pay the unemployment allowance to youth. The Congress MLA also said over 18,770 industrial units in the state had closed down and 3,500 rice shellers were distressed because of stringent FCI specifications of milled rice. The government should take up these issues with the Centre. He also mocked the government over its power surplus claims. Virsa Singh Valtoha, Khemkaran MLA, and Bibi Jagir Kaur, Bhulath MLA, praised the Budget, saying it was growth-oriented and aimed at fiscal consolidation. Later, Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh alleged since the Badal family was diversifying its assets in other businesses, the Akali government had lost all interest in agriculture, which was reflected in the Budget proposals. The charge
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Waive fee of SC students: Panel
Chandigarh, July 18 Vice-Chairman of the commission Dr Raj Kumar Verka said these students did not have the resources to pay their fees. During his recent visits to some colleges, he found that many students did not have money to pay their hostel mess bills, he said. Verka, who enjoys quasi-judicial powers and status of a Union Minister of State, held a court in the UT Guest House today where he heard issues concerning members of reserved categories. He summoned Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal and other bureaucrats concerned with the issue and other SC welfare schemes. Verka also asked the state government to file a review petition in the High Court in connection with an earlier order on the issue. He said the order upheld the view of the college managements that they would not be able to run the institution with reduced funds. It seemed the state government did not contest the case properly. It should have filed a review petition in the case, he said. Verka directed Deputy Commissioner Mohd Tayyab and Faridkot SSP Sukhdev Kahlon to form special teams for tracing around 25 persons who had gone missing from Fardikot. Most of them belonged to Dalit families. He passed the directive after hearing woes of missing persons’ relatives. Nachhattar Singh, president of the All India Tapriwasi Vimukt Jatis Association, led the group of Dalit families. They have been staging a dharna in Faridkot for over a month now, demanding prompt police action in tracing their missing children and other relatives. Implement the 85th amendment Verka also asked the Chief Secretary to ensure implementation of the 85th Amendment of the Constitution that provided for benefits to the reserved categories. Nineteen states had already implemented it, he said. Directive to varsity He also directed the authorities of Punjabi University, Patiala, to maintain post-wise roster system. He directed the university authorities to promote Harpal Singh to the post of Deputy Registrar and file the implementation report in seven days. Harpal, who met Verka along with a delegation of Dalit employees, alleged the university was delaying their promotions and not filling the posts meant for those belonging to reserved categories.
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Punjabi University changes course at ‘eleventh hour’
Patiala, July 18 The university had already begun admissions to the BTech course this year that was popular with several students. Now the applicants have been informed that the course has been changed from this academic session of 2014-15. The sudden decision of the university has come as a rude shock to the students. Moreover, the students, who are currently pursuing the four-year course, are also in a dilemma as to what would be the status of their course. Now, the Centre for Advanced Media Studies (CAMS) of the university will not be able to start the avant-garde five-year BTech-MBA integrated course in TV and Film Production. Sources said this new five-year course was supposed to be flexible so that there would be two exit points available to the students. The students could either leave after completing four years in order to get the four-year BTech degree in TV, Film Production and Media Technology or study for five years to get double degrees-BTech in TV, Film Production and Media Technology and BTech-MBA in TV and Film Production. A student requesting anonymity said, “If any changes were to be made, the university should not have advertised the course? I wanted to pursue a professional course so I decided to apply for BTech. However, I am in a fix now as the course has been reduced to BA (Hons) and I have not applied for any other professi-onal course.” Sources said the course had been rolled back since the University Grants Commission pulled up the university authorities for running the four-year undergraduate programme without getting permission. Director of CAMS, Dr Gurmeet Singh Mann said the students already pursuing the course would be provided BTech degrees. He refused to elaborate on the matter. In a state of dilemma
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Hoax calls fan fear among Punjabis stuck in Iraq
Jalandhar, July 18 They were told by the officials on phone to continue working in Iraq as they would not be able to get that much salary (around $400) in India, they further alleged. When contacted by The Tribune, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied making any such calls and said the Indians stuck in Iraq should entertain only those calls that were made from the numbers mentioned by the ministry in its public domain. “Embassy officials visited our company on June 10 and asked us to either choose between going back to India or to wait for our salary due for the past three months. When informed that we would like to go back home, they assured to send us back within six days. But now they have told us that they are unable to help us as the company has refused to send us back,” said Navdeep Singh, who hails from Adampur. He said he came to Iraq on a one-month tourist visa. The company officials persuaded him to sign a two-year contract by saying that they would get his visa extended. “They even deducted $400 from our salaries three months ago, but did not get my visa extended. Since the company is in possession of my passport, I was not aware that I was working here without the visa extension,” said Gaurav of Nawanshahr. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Sayed Akbaruddin said no such calls were made to any of the Indians stuck in Iraq by the Indian Embassy officials. He has also appealed to the Indians stuck in Iraq to entertain only those calls that were made from the numbers mentioned in the public domain by the ministry. “In case, they receive suspicious calls like that, they should contact the Indian Embassy in Baghdad immediately with the call details,” said Akbaruddin. The Ministry had intensified efforts to rescue Indians stuck in Iraq, he said.
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Irregularities galore at PTU: Cong MLAs
Jalandhar, July 18 Congress Legislature Party Leader Sunil Jakhar and Ludhiana MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu have sought an inquiry into the alleged financial bungling by a Vidhan Sabha committee or the CBI. They have also sought a complete financial audit of PTU. They asked why the consultants had not been removed till date despite a September 2012 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard. The MLAs pointed out that the Principal Secretary, Finance, had ordered in September last year that the financial audit be conducted, but it had not been done. It is learnt that PTU has not submitted audit report to the government for the past five years. The Congress leaders have also reportedly asked as to why how six C&F agents had been appointed at a cost of Rs 10.50 lakh per month without following any procedure. The university authorities are said to have paid more than Rs 10 crore to the agents till now. JK Anand of the Anti-Corruption Cell alleged: "Recently the VC gave a contract of Rs 40 crore to his friend/ classmate without any tender/advertisement for marketing and getting students in 15 private colleges at an additional fee of Rs 40,000. Charging higher fee then suggested by the state committee is against rules."
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Brigadier foils bid to ‘grab’ his plot
Chandigarh, July 18 Thereafter unravelled a sordid tale of impersonation by unscrupulous persons, using fake documents and conniving with officials to grab vacant properties. "I got a shock when Jagdeep told me that my plot has already been sold and someone had paid the advance money of Rs 30 lakh,” Brig Heer said. "It was Friday and I was told that the sale deed would be registered on Monday. It was a huge challenge and race against time to save my property." "When Jagdeep contacted the records office in PUDA, came another shock that the file of my plot was missing and someone had applied for a no objection certificate using fake documents," he alleged. Brig Heer said that while using the elevator at the PUDA office Jagdeep overheard a conversation among three persons, one of whom said: “Aaj Nawab da kam kar ditta." Keeping the persons under surveillance, he called up the police. The suspected persons along with the fake documents were apprehended and taken to the Phase 8 police station. "As the police personnel were processing the case, the SHO got a call from a woman and thereafter the suspects changed their tone. One of them even admonished the SHO," Brig Heer said. All of them were let off without any action. The suspected persons claimed that they know Nawab Singh, who was in India and had authorised them to sell his plot. It was only after Brig Heer sent pictures of his passport and driving licence on WhatsApp that the claims were rebutted. Brig Heer then registered online complaints with the Punjab Government's NRI Cell as well as the Prime Minister's Office and the Home Ministry. "I also called up Western Army Commander Lt Gen Philip Campose to help me out. A staff officer called up the Chief Minister's office following which the SSP was asked to register a case," Brig Nawab said. The former Army officer reached Mohali on July 9. "The police arrested Mohinder Singh, a carpenter, who had impersonated me. He appeared to be a small fly in the whole scam," the Brigadier said. Even a bank account was opened using fake documents. He met the SSP and the ADGP (Crime) and insisted on registering an FIR against those named in the sale deed — Gurdip Singh, Harjinder Singh, Aman, all of Mohali, and Karan Singh of Canada. "I met Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia this morning who called up the SSP asking him to take appropriate action at the earliest without succumbing to any pressure," he added. Majithia orders probe Chandigarh: Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia, while responding to a query by Mohali MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday, said a probe had been ordered into alleged attempt to grab the property of Canada-based NRI Brigadier Nawab Singh Heer. Sidhu had alleged that a gang of land grabbers had been active in the area.
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Parents bury their comatose child
Jalandhar, July 18 He even confirmed that although, the chances of his survival were very low, he was not clinically dead when discharged from the hospital. “We told his father that it would take at least three days to ascertain if he could be revived and that it would cost him a lot,” said Dr Mishra. He said the parents then took away their child. When asked him if he took his son to Civil Hospital to confirm his death, Sunny said there was no need of confirmation, since his child was not breathing. Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav could not be contacted.
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Rein in colleges on fee, says MP
Mastuana Sahib (Sangrur), July 18 He interacted with the students, staff and the principal of the local Akal Degree College, situated on Sangrur-Barnala road. He was told that the students of BA-I were being charged Rs 12,300 for the session, while SD College, Barnala, was charging Rs 9,000. The students told Mann that Government Ranbir College, Sangrur, was charging only Rs 4,300 for the session. The college authorities said of the Rs 12,300, they paid Rs 8,200 to Punjabi University. Mann also said he would meet the Managing Director (MD) of PRTC so that a student bus pass could be used on all private and government buses. Mann said the state government should remit the fee of Scheduled Caste students in the colleges. Earlier, students and activists of Punjab Students Union gave a memorandum to Mann, demanding the cancellation of a case against a few students for allegedly “attacking” the employees of bus transporters at Bahadurpur village, near here.
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Water-borne diseases on the rise
Hoshiarpur, July 18 One of them was confirmed to be afflicted with cholera. Their condition was stable, said doctors. The development has exposed the unhygienic living conditions and contamination of water in slum areas on the outskirts of the city. The patients are Bajrangi (4), Nadini (3), Sachin (8) and Gursimran (3). Although their parents said that the children were suffering from diarrhea, a doctor attending to them said the blood samples of all the patients had been sent to a laboratory to confirm the same. Dr Surjit Singh, CMO, however, confirmed that four patients suffering from diarrohea were admitted to the hospital. “We have sent special teams to the area to take samples and chlorinate water. We have also deputed staff to educate the people in this regard. I have issued an advisory on the matter,” he added.
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Restoration of gold work begins at Golden Temple; to take 2 months
Amritsar, July 18 Though the restoration of art work had finished last month the restoration of gold work took some time to take off as the gold paint required for it was not available. Sources said it was a special gold paint manufactured by a European firm. It is 22 carat gold and 10 gm of this paint costs around Rs 1 lakh. The gold work inside the shrine has suffered damage with the passage of time as also due to rising pollution. It has witnessed flaking as well as tarnishing at various spots. Besides, the gold work has also been painted with other colours in few areas apparently during a ‘sewa’ performed in the past. The gold work is primarily on the roof and the arches of the holy shrine. The experts engaged in the work are also doing documentation alongside the restoration work. They could be seen photographing and videographing the entire process. Incidentally, the documentation work was also done prior to the start of the restoration work last year. Sources said the restoration of gold work on the first floor of the Golden Temple is expected to take around a couple of months. The gold work had already undergone the cleaning process during the initial phase of restoration. The effort initiated by the SGPC by roping in experts has infused a fresh lease of life into the wall paintings which have regained their pristine grandeur. The wall paintings on the first floor involved the most intricate work and it took the team almost six months to restore it. There was considerable flaking in some areas and subsequently artists were engaged to “reconstruct” the lost part of the wall paintings, while taking a clue from the existing pattern. The restoration work was preceded by compilation of a detailed damage assessment report in which the entire wall paintings were documented. It took the experts around a couple of months in preparing this report before they could finally embark on the project in December last year. Significantly, this is the first time ever that the restoration work on the interiors of the shrine is being done. The gold-plating and the artwork inside the Golden Temple was done during the era of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The interiors of Sri Harmandar Sahib boast of rare architecture comprising ‘mohrakashi’, ‘tukri’ and ‘gach’ work. Earlier, the gold plates on the outer walls of the shrine were first replaced in 1999 after a gap of 170 years. The SGPC entrusted the task of regilding the domes and upper portion to UK-based Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha in February, 1995, and its completion coincided with the tercentenary celebrations of foundation of Khalsa Panth in 1999. Bold endeavour
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BKU plans stir against Bill to protect property
Moga, July 18 A decision in this regard was taken at a state executive meeting of the BKU that was held under the leadership of its President Joginder Singh Ugrahan at Machike village in the Moga district on Friday. Terming the legal provision as a “black chapter” in the history of the state, BKU general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokri said the union would also talk to the leaders of likeminded trade unions and other organisations to chalk out a plan for the statewide agitation against the SAD-BJP government against the Bill.
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Injured Akali leader dead
Moga, July 18 He was shot at from a close range during morning walk while going towards Guru Nanak College grounds at Moga on July 8. Two motorcycle-borne youths reportedly shot at him. He was rushed to the district hospital in a critical condition from where he was referred to the DMC. He had received a bullet injury on the right side of his chest. A surgery was performed on him to remove the bullet from his body, but he could not be saved. The body of the deceased leader was brought to his residence and cremated in the afternoon. The “antim ardas” for the departed soul will be performed on July 27. A confidant of local legislator Joginder Pal Jain, Gill was an influential local leader of his times. He remained the Chairman of the Moga Market Committee and the Moga Improvement Trust during the Congress governments. Meanwhile, the local police were yet to find any clue to the attackers. The investigations suggest that it could be a case of contract killing perpetrated by someone known to the Gill family. Gurdeep Gill reportedly had a couple of property disputes with some of his relatives and outsiders and that could be one of the reasons behind the attack.
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Hemkunt Sahib yatra on despite bad weather
Amritsar, July 18 Gurdwara Rishikesh Manager Darshan Singh said the Met Department had predicted that the area would receive 250 mm rainfall on these two days and the pilgrims were cautioned about it. However, they continued to undertake the yatra, he said. He said the roads leading to the shrine were okay as of now. Around 2.5 lakh pilgrims had visited Hemkunt Sahib this year, though the number was less as compared to the last year, he added. The water level in the rivers was more this time due to increased melting of glaciers, as a result of which the bridge meant for ponies at Gobind Ghat had been damaged. However, the one meant for pilgrims travelling on foot was in good condition.
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Top cops plying vehicles without insurance cover
Jalandhar, July 18 Sections 146 and 196 of Motor Vehicle Act make it mandatory to have an insurance cover for plying any vehicle on the road. Any violation of these provisions attracts challan. According to information procured by this correspondent under the Right to Information Act, the official vehicle of ADGP (Traffic) Dinkar Gupta, who is also the chief of Punjab Police traffic wing, does not have the mandatory insurance cover. Dinkar Gupta is also the ADGP, Security (Law & Order). His official vehicle is an Innova car (PB65 V 7636). Two Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) in the security wing, Sanjeev Kalra and Khubi Ram, also ply Innova vehicles without insurance. Two AIGs (Security), Paramjit Singh who plies a Xylo vehicle (PB65V 2428- Xylo ) and Jaipal Singh who plies a Scorpio (PB 11 Y 2394- Scorpio), also don't have insurance cover for their vehicles. DSPs of the security wing, Piara Singh who plies a Tata Sumo (PB 13 Q 6818) and Tajinder Singh who also plies a Tata Sumo (PB 11 AE 2363), are also flouting traffic norms by using official vehicles without any insurance cover. ADGP, Security (Law & Order), Dinkar Gupta couldn't be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts. A senior Punjab police official (requesting anonymity) said there might be hundreds of official police vehicles sans insurance cover. Nobody could dare to challan these vehicles as these belonged to top police officials. "At district level, there are several official vehicles of police officers having no insurance cover, but traffic enforcement agency cannot challan them," he said. Prominent violators Dinkar Gupta, ADGP, Security (Law & Order) & ADGP Traffic; Sanjeev Kalra, IGP, Security; Khubi Ram, IGP Security II; Paramjit Singh, AIG, Security; Jaipal Singh, AIG Security; Piara Singh, DSP, Security; Tejinder Singh, DSP Security
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US-Sikhs seek official docs on use of ethnic slurs
Washington, July 18 The Sikh Coalition filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeking all emails since the September 11, 2001 attacks by officials of the FBI and the National Security Agency that contain anti-Sikh epithets. “As Americans, we expect law enforcement officials to behave like adults,” said Amardeep Singh, Programme Director of the Sikh Coalition. The move follows after recent news reports suggested that the NSA and the FBI officials may have used the ethnic slur “raghead” in surveillance programmes targeting American-Muslims. “The Sikh Coalition will not tolerate the use of racial or religious slurs by people who are supposed to protect us. We therefore demand a full accounting of the NSA and the FBI emails to determine the extent to which agency employees are combating bigotry, not promoting it,” Singh said. The Coalition alleged since the 9/11 attacks, Sikh Americans have repeatedly endured violence and bigotry because of their religiously-mandated turbans. In August 2012, a gunman with known ties to neo-Nazi groups attacked a Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six worshippers and wounding several others, including a local law-enforcement officer. In the months after the massacre, a Sikh business owner was shot and injured in Port Orange, Florida; a Sikh octogenarian was beaten with a steel rod in Fresno, California; and a Sikh professor was assaulted in New York City. Given the persistence of hate violence against Sikh Americans, and after a lengthy campaign by the Sikh Coalition, civil rights groups, and numerous members of Congress, the FBI finally agreed in 2013 to begin tracking hate crimes against Sikhs, it said. —PTI
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High Court sends notice to Harsimrat on poll petition
Chandigarh, July 18 In his petition, Navjot Singh of Dabwali Dhab in Muktsar district has argued that the election was liable to be set aside for committing corrupt practices during the elections. She was also liable to be disqualified under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, he said. Describing himself as a voter, he added: “PTC News and Fastway Cable TV Network ran an election campaign for the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP candidates in general, and Harsimrat Kaur Badal in particular.” “Right from the day of filing the nomination papers, the returned candidate-respondent was projected as a messiah for the Bathinda parliamentary constituency…. The programmes and even news were specially designed and telecast to further her election prospects,” he said. She “got” election advertisements issued on TV channels “using the sacred religious symbols of the Sikh religion”. The “symbol” of national flag was also used for securing votes. She even appealed to the electors of the Bathinda constituency to vote for her on the ground of her religion. “These election advertisements were continuously aired/telecast on TV channels, including PTC News, many times a day from April 7 to April 28 for about 21 days…. The SAD issued all these election advertisements with the consent of the returned candidate-respondent and thus she committed corrupt practice,” the petition read. Quoting examples, the petitioner said he saw advertisement “kare kamm lok bhalai de Akali-BJP sarkar”. The pictures of the Golden Temple and distribution of “kadah parshad” were shown in the advertisement. Nihang Singhs holding the Nishan Sahib and displaying the martial art of gatka were also shown in that advertisement. As such, the respondent used religious symbols to appeal to the Sikh voters, he argued. She also spent crores on her election campaign, which was beyond the limit prescribed by law. In all, six petitions have been filed by voters seeking directions to set aside the elections of not just Harsimrat Kaur Badal, but also that of Vinod Khanna, Sher Singh Ghubaya, Vijay Sampla, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura and Prem Singh Chandumajra on allegations of indulging in corrupt practices. The allegations
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Recruitment of PSHRC staff
Chandigarh, July 18 The directions came during the resumed hearing of a petition filed in public interest by Dinesh Chadha. He was seeking directions to the State of Punjab to notify rules for recruitment of staff in the Punjab State Human Rights Commission. Taking up the matter, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Ajay Tewari expressed its disapproval of the State Government’s conduct as it could not finalise the recruitment rules despite several opportunities. The High Court, vide its order dated May 21 had, in fact, directed the Punjab Government to produce the draft rules so as to obviate complications on protection of interest of existing employees, hired on contractual or out-sourcing basis. As the case came up for hearing, the Punjab Government requested for four-month adjournment for finalising the recruitment rules.
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PCS officer among 3 get 5-year jail
Faridkot, July 18 At the time of committing the offence, in June 2004, Ram Singh, Garshankar SDM, was posted in Faridkot as tehsildar. The other two convicted are Baljinder Singh, a patwari, and Amarjit Singh, a former sarpanch. Tarsem Singh, a rickshaw-puller, is the complainant in this case. When the police had not taken any action on his complaint, Tarsem filed the complaint in a local court against three revenue officials, two police officials and a sarpanch. Tarsem Singh had alleged that at the insistence of a sarpanch in the village, the revenue and police officials burnt down the houses of 13 poor Dalit families in Tehna village to evacuate government land. This land had been in the possession of the victim families for a long time and they had built their houses on the land after forming a society. During the trial, three of the accused died. Among the remaining four accused, the court acquitted DSP Darshan Singh, who is posted in Gidderbaha at present.
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Chandigarh, July 18
Chandigarh, July 18
Jalandhar, July 18
Hoshiarpur, July 18
