Ludhiana, September 16
In a shocking robbery, two factory employees today stabbed the owner and his wife at Sunder Nagar and decamped with cash, gold ornaments and mobile phones worth lakhs of rupees.

The victims, Ranjiv Bajaj (48) at Aprajita (46) suffered multiple stab injuries. They have been admitted to the Christian Medical College and Hospital for treatment (CMC&H).

Both accused have the same name, Pramod Kumar, and are relatives. They hail from Uttar Pradesh. The duo has been booked under section 459 of the IPC for burglary. Sub-Inspector Kapil Kumar, Sunder Nagar chowki in charge, said raids were on to nab the accused.

While recreating the crime scene, the police came to know about the robbery and attack on the couple. According to the investigating officer, it was a planned attack. One of the accused had been working at Ranjiv’s factory for the past three years. He brought his cousin, the namesake, to Ludhiana three months ago and succeeded in getting him a job in the same factory.

The couple was living alone following the marriage of their daughters Tania and Sofia. They were running a factory on the ground floor of their house.

It is learnt that Pramod and his cousin had hatched a plan to rob the couple. According to their plan, they dangled a rope outside the factory unit and left the premises late in the evening. At midnight, they entered the house but found Ranjiv’s room locked from inside.

The duo then laid a trap outside Ranjiv’s room. In the morning, when Ranjiv woke up and opened the room, the duo stabbed him with a knife. They went on to attack his wife. After injuring the couple, they decamped with gold, cash and mobile phones of the couple. They left the house through the main gate to evade neighbours’ suspicion.

The incident came to light when the other factory employees reached in the morning and found the couple lying unconscious in pools of blood.

The workers raised the alarm, following which the local residents gathered at the spot. The victims were rushed to the Christian Medical College and Hospital. The condition of Ranjiv and Aprajita is stated to be stable.

Ludhiana, September 16
Employees and officials of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited today held a protest at the zonal office against the proposal to hand over 32 acres of administrative offices and two residential power colonies to GLADA for commercial exploitation.

The rally was held under the banner of the coordination committee of the PSEB Employees Joint Forum, PSEB Employees Federation (AITUC) and the PSEB Engineers Association. The employees say shifting of offices of the power utility consequent upon the land being taken over by GLADA would adversely affect the working of the PSPCL and cause inconvenience to the general public.

The speakers at the rally condemned the decision of the Punjab Government to make use of this land for recreation/commercial projects as it was originally acquired for public interest. They said the proposed downtown project to be set up at this site required 100 acres whereas the land under possession of the PSPCL was 32 acre, which also included seven acre earmarked for construction of towers as alternative accommodation for offices and residential colony on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The protesting power employees also pointed out that while the process for handing over possession of land to GLADA was on, there was no indication of any proposal or plan of action for the construction of the towers. “It is also not clear as to who will take the responsibility for the construction of alternative accommodation at the same site,” the speakers said.

It was announced that the staff of power utility would hold protest rallies at all divisional headquarters under central zone of the PSPCL from September 17 to 24 to raise their voice against the arbitrary and unjust decision to acquire the PSPCL land for commercial purpose.

The speakers included Harbhajan Singh, Parkash Mann, Sawarn Singh, Rajinder Virk, Balwinder Bajwa, Jagir Singh, Gopal Singh, Rachhpal Singh, Hardev Singh, Nihal Singh, Diibag Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Harjit Singh and Kaur Chand from the Employees Joint Forum. On behalf of the PSEB Engineers Association, the rally was addressed by Bhupinder Khosla, GPMS Sidhu, Sukhbir Singh, Raminder Singh and Jaswant Singh Zaffer.

Ludhiana, September 16
Anganwadi workers blocked Malerkotla Road and burnt an effigy of Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Finance Minister, Punjab, at Shimlapuri under the banner of the Anganwadi Mulazam Union today.

The anganwadi workers have been protesting at the office of the Child Development and Project Officer for the past five days. A large number of anganwadi workers, led by their district president Subash Rani, blocked the Malerkotala road. The workers also burnt an effigy of the Finance Minister and raised anti-state government slogans.

Traffic had remained disrupted for more than half an hour. They called off the protest after police officials talked to them.

Subash Rani, president of the Anganwadi Mulazam Union, Ludhiana, said: “We are facing an acute shortage of funds. The government has not paid the rent of the buildings, where anganwadi centres are being run, for the last seven months. The workers have been paying the rent from their own pockets”.

“The project officer has not passed any fuel, uniform and feed bill besides travel allowance in past few months. We have asked him to release the funds till September 20. If the government does not release funds, we will go on a hunger strike,” she said.

Their protest at the office of the Project Officer in Shimlapuri will continue.

Ludhiana, September 16
For reasons best known to them, the officials of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) have failed to carry out the directions of the Local Government Department to cancel the allotment of land for the community centre in C Block of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar for violations of terms and conditions of allotment.

The LIT had allotted 2,196 square yards of prime land to Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar (East) Welfare Society in 1986 at a reserve price of Rs 65 per square yards for a community centre. While the society took possession of the land and a building was constructed, no payment towards cost of land was made nor was any building plan got approved from the Trust.

The area residents allege that the community centre was not serving the intended purpose but was rather being run as a marriage palace purely for commercial purpose. Not only this, the “unauthorised” marriage palace was also causing nuisance by way of haphazard parking of vehicles outside the building and blaring sound system late in the night.

On persistent complaints made by the affected residents, the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the Local Government Department conducted an inquiry and recommended appropriate action against the allottee vide memo no. 5/47/2014(12)-2LG2 / 271221 dated July 18, 2014.

The LIT authorities were directed by the Local Government Department to initiate action for the cancellation of allotment of land for non-payment towards cost of land and violation of the norms of the approved scheme. The department further called for action as per the rules for unauthorised and unapproved construction at the site.

Information acquired by a local resident, Baljit Singh, from the LIT under the Right to Information Act indicated that except for issuing notices for non-payment, no action was taken against the defaulting allottee. It was further revealed that neither any building plan was got approved, nor was any permission sought for change of land use.

The information provided by the LIT also says no house tax, water rate or sewerage charges were being paid by the allottee and no permission had been granted to run the premises as a marriage palace.

The Mahasabha, Punjab, a representative body of the residents of the colony, in a letter to the LIT Chairman, has sought immediate action for the cancellation of allotment of land, which has a market value of about Rs 10 crore, as per the directions of the state government.

Ludhiana, September 16
A resident of Durgapuri in Haibowal has been booked for sedating and raping a woman. The accused has been identified as Pawan Dhir. The case was registered on the recommendation of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP- Central).

The complaint, a resident of Purani Sabzi Mandi, had lodged a complaint with the police on September 4. She said Pawan Dhir took her to his house at Raman Enclave in Rishi Nagar on some pretext. At the house, he offered her tea laced with sedatives. After consuming tea, she fell unconscious. After that the accused raped her.

She told the police that when she regained consciousness, the accused threatened her with dire consequences if she report the matter to the police.

Ludhiana, September 16
A couple from Jharkhand has levelled serious allegations of human trafficking against their distant relative from Bihar. The couple claimed that the man was forcibly making eight girls and a boy from Rajabitha village at Godda district in Jharkhand work as bonded labourers.

Samsul Ansari from Rajabitha village has been putting up at a local gurdwara along with his wife Jabri and six-year-old for nearly a month.

The matter came to light when Samsul reached the Jamalpur police station and lodged a complaint against his relative Gafoor Ansari, alias Rahul Tokko, of Ram Das Nagar in Tajpur Road for making the migrants from Jharkhand work as bonded labourers.

He was accompanied by social activist Jagshir Singh Samsul. They met Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nilambari Jagdale yesterday and stated that he, along with his wife Jabri, visited the house of Gafoor Ansari to know the whereabouts of the eight girls and a boy, but Gafoor refused to divulge any details.

Jamalpur SHO Ranjit Singh said the matter was being investigated. He said it was not yet known whether Gafoor had made the nine children work as bonded labourers.

Samsul said: “Gafoor, along with his wife Sushma and one of their accomplices, went to Rajabitha village in November 2013. Gafoor told villagers that he ran a placement agency and provided jobs to the unemployed. “Like other villagers of Rajabitha village, I also believed him. I decided to go to Ludhiana. Eight girls, Soloni Paharan (12), Gori (17), Rupi (20), Maheshi (20), Surajmani (16), Mangali Pahari (20), Soloni (16), Kotri (20) and the boy, Lokhan Paharia (12), also accompanied us to Ludhiana,” said Samsul. Gafoor gave me Rs 5,000 and asked me to bring Mahasha, his wife Mahashi and the latter’s two sisters Manju and Mahashi along. On reaching Ludhiana, I came to know that I was booked in a human trafficking case. I was shocked and took Mahesha his sister-in-law Manju back to Jharkhand while Mahesha’s wife and her younger sister Mahashi also returned after a few days,” said Samsul.Samsul claimed that the Jharkhand police arrested him and his wife Jabri in a human trafficking case and sent them to jail. “We were jailed for eight months and finally got bail. On reaching home, the families of nine children came to my residence. They were worried about their wards. They told me that the children had not contacted their parents. I asked Gafoor to free the nine children, Initially, he kept dillydallying the issue, but when I pressed him, he blatantly refused and threw me out of the house,” said Samsul.

Ludhiana, September 16
A meeting of medical superintendent of hospitals and in charge of laboratories was called at Civil Surgeon Office. This was done after getting a memorandum from Hindu Sikh Jagrati Sena for providing better health services and laboratory facilities from private laboratories/hospitals at lower rates.

Ludhiana, September 16
Three more cases of dengue have surfaced in the city. With this, the number of dengue patients has reached 20.

A 40-year-old man, hailing from Haibowal Kalan, was admitted to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital while a 42-year-old woman from Ladhowal was admitted to Christian Medical College and Hospital.

A resident of Ferozepur was admitted to the DMCH today.

On the direction of Dr Subash Batta, Civil Surgeon, and Dr Anil Verma, District Epidemiologist, a team of 20 officials checked coolers at various places. Larvae were found in 15 coolers at Karnail Singh Nagar, nine coolers at Punjab Mata Nagar, one cooler at Vishal Nagar and one cooler at Jawaddi Road.

Ludhiana, September 16
Resenting the non-payment of salaries, the Safai Karamchari Joint Action Committee has decided to take out a rally.

As many as 600 employees have not received their salaries for the past two months.

When asked about the delay, the Mayor, Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria, said many employees were not even working and drawing salaries, which was against the rules. “Although their salaries will be released within two-three days, we have asked a senior official to check all records as we cannot afford to waste money,” the Mayor stated.

Deepak Hans, a member of the Safai Karamchari Joint Committee, said 600 employees, including beldars, sewermen and safai workers, had not got their salaries for the past two months.

He said, “On September 12, the Mayor had assured us of releasing our salaries by evening,” said Hans, adding that it had become difficult for daily wagers to make ends meet. “When all others are drawing salaries without any delay, why are the poor suffering? Earlier, we were given cash, but now payments are made through cheques,” said Hans.

Refuting all allegations, the Mayor said he was receiving complaints that many safai sewaks did not come to work.

“I cannot let public money go waste. To keep a check on it, I have asked Additional Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori to check the records and report to me. At the same time, we do not want the genuine employees to suffer. Keeping everything in mind, we have decided to release their salaries within two-three days, “ said the Mayor.

When asked about the officials’ involvement, the Mayor said: “If employees are not working and still getting wages, it means they are being shielded by a few officials.”

Ludhiana, September 16
The students of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (GNDEC) staged a protest against the college authorities here today. The students raised slogans against the college principal during the protest.

The students of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College protest against the college authorities in Ludhiana on Tuesday

The students claimed that their long-pending demands had not been addressed by the authorities till now.

Daljinder Singh Captain, an MBA student, said, “We’ve informed the college principal several times but he seems least bothered.”

The students claimed that a fine of Rs 5,000 was imposed by the college authorities if a candidate did not appear for an examination due to the shortage of lectures.

“The supply of potable water is poor on the campus as well as in the hostels. The filters are not working properly and the water stinks in water coolers. The rates of goods in the canteen are three times higher than the market price. Day scholars are not allowed to enter the hostels”, said Maninderpreet Singh Brar, a student of MTech.

“The generators are not working in colleges and hostels. The college collects the fee for Wi-Fi but it does not work properly”, said Sulakhan Singh Gill.

“We’ve been demanding that the library should be open for 24 hours. Moreover, the dispensary should have a 24-hour first aid facility”, said Gurjant Sidhwan.

Meanwhile, a meeting of students and college authorities was held in the evening where the heads of all departments assured the students that their demands would be addressed. Following this, the students called off the protest in the evening.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 16
Office-bearers and activists of the Class IV Government Employees’ Union has threatened to launch a zonal-level agitation under the banner of Punjab and UT Joint Action Committee. The unconcern of the government towards solving of their long pending demands was cited as the prompting factor.

Activists led by Lal Chand and Ram Avtar, presidents of the district and local unit, said the successive government had failed to implement reforms regarding the welfare of Class IV employees of various departments.

Existing facilities provided to the employees are not adequate for leading a dignified life, said the speakers who addressed the meeting held at Block Primary Education Office in Dehlon.

Officer-bearers, including Surinder Pal Singh, Bhagwan Singh Bhangu, Shadi Ram and Paramjit Singh called upon their members to be ready for the proposed zonal-level action. — OC

Ludhiana, September 16
The wife of an employee of Coca Cola company has cried foul and blamed the Jamalpur police for being hand in glove with her attacker and helping him get bail in a criminal trespass and assault case.

It is a classic case where the police not only failed to prevent the crime, but even helped the accused to get bail even before he could be arrested.

Complainants in the case are blaming the police for deliberately delaying the arrest to give sufficient time, of about two weeks, to the accused to get bail which he ultimately got.

According to FIR number 108 dated September 3 registered with the Jamalpur police, the accused, Kamaljeet Walia, went to the house of his former colleague Ashok Pandita, working with Coca Cola Company in Ludhiana.

Walia had been sacked from the company and he held a grudge against Pandita blaming him for his dismissal.

Since Walia was known to Pandita’s family, on the fateful day of September 3, he went to Pandita’s place. His wife Soni served him tea. She had no idea that Walia had been sacked and he had come to attack her. Finding her alone in the house, within no time, Walia pounced at Soni dragging her by hair and started hitting her head with his helmet. She cried and shouted. Meanwhile, neighbours came but not before she had been seriously injured. She was profusely bleeding lying on the ground and was taken to hospital. Although the neighbours, who were all women, tried to catch hold of Walia, he managed to escape.

The police registered an FIR late in the evening for trespass and attack on September 3. “However, every day they come out with an excuse that the accused, who lived in Model Town, could not be traced,” said Pandita, adding that the police kept them in the dark. Despite repeated attempts, Jamalpur SHO Ranjit Singh could not be contacted.

Ludhiana, September 16
Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation Pradeep Aggarwal stated that the work pertaining to the maintenance of rotaries and chowks will begin within 10 days.

Aggarwal visited the rotaries and chowks and held a meeting with a few industrialists today.

He said the industrialists will be entrusted with the beautification/maintenance of the rotaries.

The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation had proposed to hand over 11 roundabouts to industrialists for five years. The industrialists, after going through the terms and conditions, had agreed to it, but due to transfer of Commissioners, the work could not be started. The approval, however, was given by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in February 2014 when he met with the industrialists.

The General House and Finance and Contracts Committee has already okayed the agenda.

An industrialist will spend Rs 3.5 lakh on the beautification of a roundabout.

The rotaries that are to be maintained include Fountain Chowk (Nahar Group), Jagraon Bridge (AKC Motors), Hambran Road (Ashok Kumar and Company), Baba Than Singh and Subhani Building (Ganga Acro Wools), Ishmeet Chowk (Soin diagnostics) , Police Commissioner Resident Chowk (HSBC Bank) and Cheema Chowk (Association of Machine Tool Industries).

Ludhiana, September 16
The city is losing its glory. With the industrial downturn, lesser opportunities and other regions of the country faring well, the industrial hub no longer lures migrants.

The industry is reeling under shortage of labourers. Even white-collar jobs are not attracting the migrants. Keralites, who had made the city their home, are now going back.

As the number of job opportunities are lesser in the state of backwaters, and in contrast to the high number of educated people, they are absorbed in the industry here. They started coming and settling here decades ago. One of the organisations of migrant Malayalis ‘Kerala Kalavedi’ was started 33 years ago.

“The number of Keralites in the city are 4,000 thousand,” said K Babu, a businessman.

“A few years ago, the number was 50,000,” he said.

Not only because of the bad shape of the industry, but also because of more job and business opportunities in South India, the new generation of Keralites is shifting its base.

“Those, who are well-settled here or have their children studying in city schools, are not thinking of leaving the city,” he said.

Ludhiana, September 16
Health officials are conducting an Iodine Deficiency Survey in the city. Today, they visited Chanan Devi Government Primary School, Salem Tabri.

A team comprising Dr Deepak Sharma from the PGI, Taranjit Kaur from the National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (NIDDCP), Director, Health, Punjab, along with District Epidemiologist Dr Anil Verma, School Health Officials Dr Manisha Khanna, Dr Gurmeet Singh and Dr Arundeep Riar conducted the survey.

Ninety children in the 6-12 age-group were examined for goitre. Nine urine samples were collected.

Thirty areas will be surveyed till October 15.

As many as 2,700 children in the 6-12 age-group will be examined. Around 270 urine and 540 salt samples will be collected. Tomorrow, the officials will visit schools at Baghian village (Sidhwan Bet) and Jagraon. The health officials said the department was putting in efforts to rid the children of iodine deficiency.

Ludhiana, September 16
A pulse polio drive will be held in Ludhiana district from September 21-25 and 3.80 lakh children will be administered polio drops during the drive. “Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared India as a polio-free nation but still people should not be careless about the relapse of this disease,” said Neeru Katyal, additional deputy commissioner, during a meeting held here today.

Dr Sanjeev Hans, district immunization officer, said polio drops would be administered to children (between age group of 0-5 years) in every area, be it rural or urban, and volunteers would go door-to-door to complete the drive.

The Health Department has formed 1,579 teams for the purpose in which there are 99 mobile and 67 transit teams.

The inspection team checked the fund registers, attendance registers, mid-day meal infrastructure, labs and cleanliness at the government schools.

A workshop in progress at the Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women in Ludhiana. A Tribune photograph

A four-day Lean Six Sigma Certification workshop was inaugurated at the RIMT Institutes, Mandi Gobindgarh. As many as 30 students of MBA final year took part in the event. The workshop is being organised by the Department of Business Administration, RIMT. Dr Harsh Sadawarti, campus director inaugurated the workshop and welcomed the chief guest Ramakrishnan, owner of Ushaa Technologies. He said, “It is very useful for the engineering and management students to increase their employability skills.” RIMT founder-chairman and visionary Dr Hukam Chand Bansal in his address said, “Six Sigma Certification at RIMT provides the students tools that are needed to achieve sustained, measurable improvement in a wide variety of workplaces wherever they will serve in future.” Chairman Vijayant Bansal said the training would benefit budding management professionals to serve the society with unique and innovative methods.

‘Budding Lawyers’

Desh Bhagat University Faculty of Law organised a get-together named ‘Budding Lawyers’ for its students to acquaint them with various career openings, how they should prepare themselves and how to become successful as lawyers and law officers. University Pro Chancellor Tejinder Kaur inaugurated the event by lighting the ceremonial lamp. Chancellor Dr Zora Singh while conveying his wishes to the students said, “In future these students will fight for justice and for this, they have to work hard and be honest to their duties.” Vice Chancellor Dr Shalini Gupta congratulated the students and encouraged them to serve mankind with honesty and empathy. The students had an open discussion on various issues. The law students also interacted freely with their seniors. Fun games and a modelling competition were also organised. After several rounds of games, quiz, singing and dance competitions, LLB students — Harmanjot Singh Grewal, Sandeep Kaur, Abhishek, Nisha, Jasjot Singh and Ranvir Kaur and LLM students Shaswat and Jaspreet Kaur — were declared the winners.

Ozone Day

Students of GNN College and GSS School celebrate World Ozone Day at Government Senior Secondary School in Ludhiana on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Sanmati Government Science and Research College, Jagraon, observed World Ozone Day on the college campus today. The college organised a debate and poster-making contest during the occasion. The students took part in the contest with enthusiasm and shared their views on the ozone layer. Through their posters, the students gave the message of protecting the Mother Nature from further degradation. College director Mohinder Kaur Grewal was the chief guest and gave away prizes to the winner students. Senior lecturers Prof Rakesh Raman, Prof Balwinder Singh, Prof Neelam Bal and Prof Jatinder Singh were also present during the occasion.

Freshers welcomed

Punjab Institute of Management and Technology organised a freshers’ party. The party was celebrated with great pomp and show. The party was inaugurated by Director PIMT Dr Manisha Gupta. The audience was enthralled by performances, including dance, songs and mimicry. The Mr and Miss Fresher were also selected on the basis of their performance. Mr Fresher Rayees (management), Fazil BCA-I (IT), and Miss Fresher Navjot Kaur MCA-III (IT), Divya BBA-I (management) were selected. They were given prizes by the chairman. — TNS

Members of the Raksha Jyoti Foundation submit a memorandum to DC Rajat Aggarwal in Ludhiana. A Tribune photograph

More than 200 members of the Punjab Medical Representatives Association along with CITU leaders staged dharna outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner here on Tuesday. Ashish Molri, secretary PMRA, submitted a memorandum to DC regarding the unfair, anti-labour policies adopted by a pharma company. Jatinder Pal, CITU president, said the unfair labour practices being carried by a pharmaceutical company were totally unlawful. He said the rules of labour law were being violated by pressurising employees to work for more than 12 hours a day.

Meeting

The Raksha Jyoti Foundation members met Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal and Commissioner Police Pramod Ban here on Tuesday. The delegation under the leadership of president Ashwani Behal has urged the officials to take strict action against the shopkeepers who were openly providing tobacco/cigarettes etc to innocent youngsters. The officials have assured to do the needful.

Relief for J&K flood victims

The items for the relief material to be sent for the flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir can be deposited at the party office at 86-J, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana. This was stated by HS Phoolka, Aam Aadmi Party leader, on Tuesday. Those interested may contact at these numbers: 0161-2464500, 2464501, 2464502, 2464503. — TNS

Khanna, September 16
An unidentified motorcycle-borne person decamped with Rs 80,000 from a scooter after breaking its glove box. The incident took place outside the grain market in Khanna today.

As per the information, the victim, Gurnam Singh of Majri village, said he and his friend went to a shop in the grain market to purchase some pesticides after withdrawing Rs 95,000 from Punjab National Bank, Khanna. Gurnam said he kept Rs 10,000 in his pocket and gave Rs 5,000 to his friend while they kept the remaining amout of Rs 80,000 in scooter’s glove box.

The victim added that he and his friend went inside the shop after parking their scooter in front of the shop counter. He claimed that when they came out from the shop they found the glove box of the scooter broken and the money was stolen. They raised alarm but to no avail.

Another shopkeeper said he saw a person waiting on his motorcycle near the parked scooter but after a few minutes he disappeared from the scene.

Pawandeep, SHO, city police station, confirmed the incident and said investigation was on in this regard.