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bathinda central cooperative bank scam
Rain gods keep residents waiting
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Costlier veggies burden common man’s budget
Cong gets ready for MCB polls
Gang of thieves busted, 3 arrested
Judicial inquiry ordered against CT Group
Man commits suicide
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bathinda central cooperative bank scam Action comes with immediate orders after interim report submitted by 3-member committee Gurdeep Singh Mann Tribune News Service
Bathinda, September 14 The issue of bogus entries was brought into the notice of Assistant Registrar (AR) of the Cooperative Societies, Bathinda, Kuldeep Kumar two months ago, who alerted the senior functionaries and got an investigation done. Initial investigations found Assistant Manager Manjinder Singh guilty and he was placed under suspension. After the interim report submitted by the department’s investigating team last week, now, an application has also been moved for a formal registration of case against the assistant manager. The team submitted the interim report after scrutinising the bank records comprised of vouchers, person/loan ledger, day book and cash books of the bank. The team, including senior manager Gurdeep Singh and two assistant managers Baljinder Singh and Opinderjit Singh, found usurping of Rs 1.34 crore by Manjinder Singh and sought more time to complete the process of examining the record. The officials said the amount of fraud may remain stable or increase to a great extent after the completion of enquiry. “The amount may remain Rs 1.34 crore or cross Rs 3 to 5 crore mark, we can’t say anything at this stage”, said the department officials. “Since Manjinder remain deployed in the same branch for the last over six years he learnt the minutiae about bank and started manipulating records to make fast bucks,” said a senior officer of the department. The officials said he made fictitious entries and pocketed money to the tune of few thousands to many lakhs per entry. He has maneuvered in such a manner that it becomes quite an intricate task to ascertain the manner of manipulation. “The initial reports suggest that he has made a large number of bogus entries during his stint as an assistant manager in the branch. Despite the yearly audit, routine checking and matching the records, he managed to commit fraud,” the officials said. Revealing the modus operandi, officials said the computeried actual record was not produced by the accused to checking authorities over one pretext or the other but he would show the log books and registers, in which all the entries used to match with each other. It seems that the examining team may take another one month to reach any conclusions after going through the entire bank record, comprised of bank vouchers, log books, ledgers and computer accounts, the officials said. Upset over the revelations the senior most officials of the Cooperative Department ordered immediate reshuffling of the bank officials. “All the bank officials, deployed in 39 branches of the Bathinda district, who have completed a term of three years are now transferred to other branches in view of the fraud done by Manjinder,” said another senior officer. With nearly 25 bogus entries detected so far, similar number of arbitration cases has been lodged in the office of the AR, Kuldeep Kumar. “The bogus entry cases with less than Rs 5 lakh are heard by an inspector-level officer and I will hear the cases between Rs 5 to Rs 15 lakh,” said AR Kuldeep Kumar.
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Rain gods keep residents waiting
Bathinda, September 14 The city residents woke up to an exceptionally hot and humid morning on Sunday. But the weather changed for the better by the noon when the clouds suddenly covered the sky and it began to blow cool. This was followed by a strong dust storm which lasted for several minutes. A slight drizzle was witnessed for a few seconds. The weather returned to being sunny again by 4 pm. As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the region is expected to experience partly cloudy sky over the next six days. The forecast released by the IMD which also stated that while the maximum temperature will hover around 34 degree Celsius, the minimum temperature will be recorded around 24 degree Celsius over the week. |
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Costlier veggies burden common man’s budget
The cauliflower is of Rs 60 per kg while beans, onion and potatoes crossed Rs 30. Similarly, ginger, and peas are for Rs 130 per kg. Consumers in general are worried a lot over the rising inflation and had now many had forgotten the word ‘saving’. “We go happy after getting all the necessary eatables. Just a fear remain in our mind about the vegetables going more costlier everyday what would be the future of our children if we continue to expend on basic need that is food. Everything is getting costlier, including the education. We are left with no other option, said, a lower-middle class housewife Bimla devi. Budget of common man has suffered a jerk only in the last few months making difficult for them to manage. The rising prices are not letting down and thus consumers having no other option are looking towards the government that projected a dream of good days coming soon. A number of commonly used vegetables had gone up in prices whereas some others had witnessed no change in their prices. Amandeep Kaur, a middle-aged woman, was hit hard her economic home-budget with no hope of inflation to go down. Numerous consumers like her are worrying and facing difficulty to manage the household. “Commonly used vegetables have now gone out of reach of common man. The prices of pulses and cereals are already crossed the limits. Tomatoes are still Rs 50 while onion has witnessed downfall to Rs 35 from Rs 50 last week. Vegetables and fruits are going out of reach of common man. Teh government should take necessary steps to check the rising prices or the income of people should be raised.” she says. Cauliflower cost Rs 60 per kg while peas are Rs 120 per kg. Arbee is for Rs 40 and capsicum price about Rs 80. |
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Cheerleaders add spice to traditional game of kabaddi
Bathinda, September 14 The cheerleader girls are fair and blonde and dance in groups of four on a stage. Their mission is not to support the team, but to excite the audience sitting in the stands. Dressed in flashy clothes and adorning pom poms,
these cheerleaders add a whole new flavour to the game. Kabaddi lover Balkar Singh (50) said, "Cheerleading is irrelevant and completely demeaning." "I don't like the concept as it objectifies the dancers and does not add any value to the sport as such," says Dilraj Singh, a kabaddi fan. On the other hand, there are some who are at ease with the new addition and show their support for it. "Sometimes, if the game is dull, dance and music help you relax and make you concentrate on the game," says one of the players in the WKL. As kabaddi is a traditional game mostly played in rural areas of the state for the last many years, the WKL is changing the trend and the sport is now becoming glamorous. A concept that was first started in the United States, the trend is slowly spreading to other parts of the world. In India, it was first seen during the Indian Premier League (IPL). |
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Cong gets ready for MCB polls
Bathinda, September 14 He asked the former congress councillors and other workers to keep a tab on the issues being faced by the residents of their wards and others as well and also asked them to prepare an agenda for the MCB elections. Directing the workers, he stated that the residents of
the city were fed up with the callous attitude of the MCB towards their problems. Despite the fact that the state government had forced the residents to pay high property tax and electricity, water and sewerage bills revised as per the hiked rates and yet they were not being given the facilities. Jassi also added that it was high time that the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janta Party leaders answered the questions being raised by the residents of Badthinda, the so-called VIP constituency of Punjab. He said that one could imagine the state of affairs in other cities, if Bathinda, whose member of Parliament is a Badal bahu and also a union cabinet minister, has so many civic amenity woes to narrate. Jassi, who had recently fought the assembly bypolls from the Talwandi Sabo segment and lost to SAD candidate Jeetmohinder Singh Sidhu, also took the opportunity to drive home the point that the Punjab government had now realised that the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre did far more for the state than the BJP-led NDA government was doing now. “All the promises of the state getting truck-loads of funds have been dashed by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who minced no words in stating that the financial crisis in Punjab was a state matter and that the Centre could do nothing more than giving suggestions to the state government on how to get out of the problem,” said Jassi. He further added that going by the signals being given out by the BJP-led Central government, it was clear that the
SAD-BJP coalition in Punjab was on the brink of collapse. He stated that the BJP leaders were also now asking for more representation in the municipal corporation elections in the state and that was a pointer to the fact that the BJP is not satisfied with the role that its leaders
are playing in the state politics. |
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Gang of thieves busted, 3 arrested
Bathinda, September 14 Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said on September 13, a the CIA staff got secret information that Shanbhu, Rawat, Kamal, Mangal, Kalu and Rattan, all residents of slums near the Teacher Colony have made a gang, that activates in the night and steals expensive material and cash from the houses and shops in the city and near by areas and today also they are planning to strike at some house and even they had illegal ammunition with them. The SSP also stated that acting swiftly on the information, they registered a case against these accused under Sections 399, 402, 411 of IPC at the Thermal police station and constituted a team to arrest these gang members under Swaran Singh Khanna (SP, Intelligence) followed by DSP (D) Gurmail Singh, DSP City 1 Gurjit Singh Romana and Jagdish Kumar in charge CIA staff. On the directions of the team, ASI Avtar Singh along with the police party of the CIA staff arrested three accused Shanbhu, Mangal and Kalu who were sitting under the trees near the National Colony. The police also recovered illegal weapon and stolen material from
them. The SSP also stated that during the interrogation, the accused had admitted that they had committedcrimes in Bathinda city, Cantonment, Bucho, Rampura, Dabwali and other nearby towns. They broke the shutters of a few shops and stole away expensive materials. They had also stated that they struck at sanitary stores and departmental stores. The police said after arresting these three accused, search for their other members is on and very soon their other members would also be arrested. |
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Lack of basic facilities at govt schools
Nikhila Pant Dhawan
Bathinda, September 14 In a nation, which aims at securing 100 per cent literacy rate by 2020, it is ironical that in the Bathinda district the dropout rate at the secondary level has increased to 8.59 per cent in 2013-14 as compared to 2.91 per cent in 2009-10. Residents of the district opine that the government lacks the will to develop infrastructure at the government schools, which cater to the children belonging to a large population of the state and looks rather inclined towards promoting privatisation in the field of education to earn a few quick bucks. Residents also agreed that the government has washed of its hands in taking care of ordinary and even model government schools in the context of shortage of teachers, inadequate infrastructure and lack of basic facilities. No investment in government schools
The government is not interested in investing in government schools. The only grant that these schools get in the name of upkeep or maintenance of schools is the one that is released under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) for construction of schools. The schools hardly ever get any grant for buying furniture. The schools, especially the government elementary schools, are doing with furniture donated by NGOs and individuals. There are hardly any class IV employees in government schools. In such a scenario, the teachers and children are left with no option but to clean their desks and tables or the mats to sit on. Things at some of the schools have come to such an extent that teachers contribute some amount from their salaries to pay the electricity bills of the school so that the power supply is not disrupted. Some schools have expensive computers and LEDs but since there is hardly any security, thieves often steal expensive goods. Resham Singh, teacher at government school in Jandawala village Lack of motivation
The all-pervading cause of the failure of government schools is the fact that there is lack of motivation among staff and students. Considering that the government lacks the will to promote these schools by heeding their demands and ensuring that the schools are working well so that they attract students from better financial backgrounds as well, the teachers also take their duties for granted and lack motivation to teach the students properly. Over the years, with the private schools mushrooming and government schools lagging behind, the quality of teaching at government is also on the downslide. While we blame the state government for the state of affairs at government schools, we, as a society, should also come forward to improve the situation by doing our bit. DR JS Anand, principal, DAV College Security issue
While the lack of basic infrastructure in government schools is a much-talked about topic, there is another very crucial front, which the government has forgotten to give its attention to. Though private schools make sure that security guards are stationed at all the entry and exit points, the government schools are open for all. There are no security guards at these schools, which are required, especially outside the government girls schools, which often witness cases of eve-teasing right outside the premises the moment the schools close and the students step out to leave for their homes. While earlier, the WASPS personnel were sometimes seen outside the schools, that has become a rare sight now. Manpreet Kaur, student at Government Girls School, Mall Road Experimenting with new, forgetting the old
The Punjab Government keeps on doing new experiments in the field of education. But the past experience shows that the new programmes are not followed by sustained and concrete action. What is the logic of opening model residential schools when the already existing government schools, particularly those in the rural and semi-urban areas, are in a state of neglect and are in dire need of basic infrastructure and amenities? The policy of carrying out new experiments without improving the already existing system shall hardly serve any useful purpose. There is an urgent need to update government schools in the state to ensure quality education for the students belonging to the poor strata of society. Rather than opening new model residential schools, sincere efforts must be made to make the existing schools into model ones. Prof NK Gosain, dean, Malwa College Discriminatory approach
There is no doubt that the government schools lack basic infrastructure. With limited resources, the state government is providing some funds to the schools but this is also discriminatory. Some schools, with political clout, get funds while others, which have no such privilege are at a loss. As for providing school uniforms to the students, Rs 400 is too small an amount for getting two good quality pairs of uniforms for a year. The provision for safe drinking water, toilets and classrooms are also the need of the hour. The drainage system, particularly during the rainy season, leads to collapse of school boundary walls. Frequent power outages in villages leaves the students and teachers with no option but to sit out in the open in the school ground or under the shade of a tree and study.
Rakesh Narula, social worker |
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Judicial inquiry ordered against CT Group
Jalandhar, September 14 The department has also initiated a judicial inquiry against CT Public School on GT Road in Maqsudan under Section 7(A) of the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (EPF & MP) for the non-compliance of the essential PF norms. According to NK Jain, assistant PF commissioner at Jalandhar, officials, during one of the recent routine inspections, noticed certain discrepancies in the Provident Fund accounts of a few institutions run by the CT group. Also, one of the institutes was found not complying with the essential norms of the EPF Act. “We have initiated a judicial inquiry against them and are in the process of scrutinising the accounts of their many other institutes also. We are expecting more violations to crop up in the coming few days,” said Jain. When contacted, Charanjit Singh Channi, chairman of the CT Group of Institutions, showed ignorance in the case. Recently, there has been an amendment in the EPF Act and the Central Government, through its notification issued on September 1, has raised the ceiling of the mandatory EPF subscription from Rs 6,500 to 15,000. Now, the department is planning to launch a massive PF awareness and inspection drive to ensure the strict compliance of the PF Act in the region. |
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Man commits suicide
Amritsar, September 14 Sarmukh Singh, brother of the deceased, identified as Sukhraj Singh, told the police that he and his brother had procured half acre land from Bhagwant Singh of same village. Later, Bhagwant committed suicide by consuming poisonous substance and his wife lodged a false police case against them. He said Sukhraj was very disturbed over this and therefore ended his life by consuming some poisonous substance. The police said a case under Section 306 of the IPC has been registered against four accused and further investigations were under progress. No arrest has been made so far in the case. |
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Patients get free treatment at medical camp
Bathinda, September 14 Dr Sanjeev Pathak said, “The patients were given free medicines during the camp. Most of the patients were suffering from skin diseases. They need to change their food habits. The camp, however, mostly patients who are elderly or disabled and avoid going to the doctor for minor problems, but these problems later become big diseases when not they are cured in time.”
— TNS |
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Bathinda, September 14