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Oz gurdwara vandalised, SGPC condemns attack
Will use all means to get Chandigarh: CM
Capital issue: Bajwa in favour of all-party meeting
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State leaders ridicule wheat MSP hike
Subsidised wheat seed being
sold to dealers, allege farmers
PPCC chief can’t remove elected office-bearers: Capt
Polluted Sutlej causing misery for border residents: Bhagwant
Govt framing policy on payments to contractors
Consider ‘tainted’ officer for promotion, Speaker to Chief Secy
Rare 72-kg turtle found in Patiala’s Rajindra Lake
North’s largest solar plant opens today
3 IPS, 15 PPS transferred
Ensure justice for the poor: HC judge
Last date for nursing courses extended
Experts want subsidy on food, agri inputs to stay
Jyoti Nooran’s maternal family accepts her marriage
Dowry row: Arjun Gill’s bail plea adjourned
Decide on transferring schools to Education Dept: HC
Murder accused brought to Hoshiarpur
Miller booked for assaulting food inspector
Case filed against Patiala doctor
Four of Abohar family killed in Gujarat road accident
2 schoolkids die in mishap
Gang rivalry claims youth’s life
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Oz gurdwara vandalised, SGPC condemns attack
Amritsar/Melbourne, October 30 In a statement issued here today, SGPC spokesman Diljeet Singh Bedi said the attack on the shrine was highly condemnable and the Australian authorities must initiate strict action against those behind it. He said SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, who was on a visit to the US, had shot off a missive to the Australian High Commission in New Delhi. The newly built gurdwara became the target of anti-Islamic slurs after it was vandalised. It was also painted with obscene messages. The multi-million dollar gurdwara in Bennett Springs was painted with the words like "Aussie pride" and "go home", ABC reported. Security cameras of the gurdwara were also damaged. “We are from India, particularly from Punjab. We have got no relation with any other religion. We are Sikhs and our religion is totally different from any other religion,” said the pastor, Satjit Singh. He said the vandalism was very upsetting and the damage could cost up to USD 50,000 to repair. “It hurts me and I believe it's insulting to the Australian community and the people,” he said. The treasurer of the gurdwara, Aman Deep Singh, said it was very hurtful. "Whoever has done this, he has done a shameful act, and also, please get your knowledge right," Aman Deep said. “Make the difference between Arabs and Sikhs and above all we all are here, we have left our businesses, jobs. They have done so much damage. They have not actually just done the damage to the gurdwara, they have done the damage to the whole country,” he said. He said these “shameful acts” damaged the progress of the country. Labor MP Margaret Quirk said the racial slurs showed “complete ignorance”. “Most of the people who worship in this temple are in fact Australian citizens. This is shocking,” she said. “Sikh soldiers were beside Aussie soldiers at Gallipoli and so this week of course we remember that it's the centenary of our soldiers going to Gallipoli and we serve next to many soldiers who were of the Sikh religion,” she said. “It would be no less acceptable if this was done on a mosque, but it does show the calibre of the people who are doing this graffiti. I think racially and religiously motivated vilification and graffiti should be stopped immediately,” she said. “On behalf of the West Australian community, I certainly want to apologise to my friends in the Sikh community that they have to put up with this rubbish,” she added. The incident has occurred a few days after two Perth mosques and an Islamic school were vandalised and had been painted with slogans, including “ban Islam”.
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Will use all means to get Chandigarh: CM
Maur (Bathinda), October 30 He said the SAD would employ all means to pressure the BJP-led NDA government into transferring Chandigarh to Punjab. Senior SAD leaders hinted at launching a struggle to get their demands met. “Though we have our ally (BJP) at the Centre, we should continue to struggle to get our demands met,” said Rajya Sabha member Balwinder Singh Bhunder. Senior vice-president Balwant Singh Ramoowalia too said the SAD would continue its struggle to “get back Chandigarh”. He highlighted the importance of regional parties. The SAD leaders compared the Chief Minister with South African leader Nelson Mandela. They claimed while the latter had been in prison for 14 years, Badal had been behind bars for 18 years. The SAD leaders also spoke about the inter-state waters dispute. Later, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of a veterinary college and hospital to be constructed at a cost of Rs 70 crore. He inaugurated a sewage treatment plant at Maur. Prominent among those accompanying him were Cabinet Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, legislator Jeet Mohinder Sidhu, Milkfed chairman Amarjit Singh Sidhu, former SSBB chief Tejinder Pal Singh Sandhu, SGPC member Gurtej Singh Dhadde, BJP organising secretary Dyal Singh Sodhi and Bathinda press secretary Om Prakash Sharma.
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Capital issue: Bajwa in favour of all-party meeting
Chandigarh, October 30 Addressing mediapersons here, he said the delegation could also seek tax incentives for the state to end regional disparity. “Punjab’s economy has declined with 18,700 industrial units fleeing to nearby tax-exempt states. Punjab being a border state should also be given such incentives,” he said. He asked the Chief Minister to take up the cause of Gujarat’s Sikh farmers. Asked about his alleged links with gangsters reportedly seen at the Punjab Congress Bhawan during AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit, Bajwa went on the offensive. “Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal must explain how his entire family has been photographed with criminals. His son-in-law has been caught in a picture with a smuggler. “There are several pictures of the Chief Minister's son and the latter's brother-in-law sharing space with criminals," he alleged. The state Congress chief claimed that certain elements who had been snubbed by the party high command were behind the protests against him.
On dissidents Initially, I gave them a long rope. But I have been forced to sack four block presidents who were acting as puppets in the hands of certain
leaders. Partap Singh Bajwa, ppcc chief
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State leaders ridicule wheat MSP hike
Chandigarh, October 30 Badal advocated the need for adopting and aggressively implementing pro-agriculture and pro-farmer policies. He said the Swaminathan formula for fixing the MSP should be implemented, according to which the farmers should get an MSP equivalent to input costs plus 50 per cent profit. He said considering the market conditions and the price index in the country, the MSP was inadequate. He said the new government at the Centre had to reverse the “anti-farmer” and “anti-poor” policies of the UPA. “It is necessary for the NDA Government to undo the crippling effects of the UPA’s policies. Hiking the MSP beyond Rs 50 per quintal would be the first step in this direction,” he said. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said Rs 50 increase in the wheat MSP was not commensurate with the increase in cost of inputs. It should thus be revised to protect the interests of the farming community, he said. The SAD demanded that the MSP be enhanced by at least Rs 150 per quintal. The Deputy CM said the SAD had always supported the recommendations of the Dr Swaminathan Commission. “More and more farmers are getting into debt trap as agriculture is no longer a profitable venture. Only a reasonable and consistent increase in the MSP can save the rural economy,” he said. The Badals were yesterday criticised by leaders of opposition parties for not speaking on the matter. Punjab Pradesh Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa said the BJP had “cheated” the farming community by not implementing the Swaminathan committee report, as was promised by it in its poll manifesto. Badal should lead an all-party delegation to the Prime Minister on the matter, he said. BKU leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said the increase in the MSP was slightly more than 3 per cent which had not even neutralised the effect of inflation. Keeping this in view, there had been no increase in the MSP, he said. People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal described the Rs 50 hike in the MSP too meagre. He said this exposed the hollow promises made by the ruling SAD to the people before the Lok Sabha poll. Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar and former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal criticised the Agriculture Department for cutting down subsidy to farmers. Jakhar said the Centre had decided to grant a subsidy of Rs 1,000 per quintal on seed to the farmers under the National Food Security Mission, but the state was only passing on Rs 700 per quintal to the farmers.
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Subsidised wheat seed being
sold to dealers, allege farmers
Muktsar, October 30 A number of farmers visit the plant protection office at the grain market here to buy the seed, but most of them return empty handed. They have accused the authorities concerned of selling the subsidised seed to private dealers instead of farmers. A bag of 40 kg of subsidised wheat seed is available to a farmer at Rs 650 against Rs 950 in the open market. Surjit Singh and Baljit Singh of Kotli Devan village, said they had come to the office early this morning to buy subsidised seed, but they were told it was out of stock. But the officials were selling the seed to persons known to them who did not even come in the queue, they alleged. Similarly, Baldev Singh of Badhai village and Harnek Singh of Ranjitgarh village said they had gone to the grain market to buy wheat seed yesterday, but the officials neither gave them the seed nor informed them as to when it would be available. They too alleged that the officials were selling seed only to influential persons or private dealers. Some of the farmers held a protest outside the office today. Kabul Singh, Assistant Plant Protection Officer, refuted the allegations. He said: "We had got 1,000 bags of subsidised seed today which were distributed among 200 farmers. Those could not get the seed are unnecessarily levelling the allegations." He said the sale of subsidised seed started four days ago, but the supply was much less in comparison to the demand. As per rules, a farmer can get a maximum of five bags (40 kg each) of subsidised wheat seed. Facing discrimination
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PPCC chief can’t remove elected office-bearers: Capt
Chandigarh, October 30 Block presidents of Ludhiana opposed to Bajwa were removed from their post yesterday. Amarinder Singh said the party constitution did not give any such authority to the state party president. Speaking on the sidelines of a state-level convention organised by the All-India Jat Maha Sabha at Kharar to appoint office-bearers in Punjab, Amarinder Singh flayed the “indiscriminate removal of elected office-bearers.” To a question on the PCC president’s claim that all dissenting voices had been muted, he said the Congress was a democratic party and “nobody can silence anybody.” He denied factionalism in the Punjab Congress, but hastened to add that the party high command was being briefed about day-to-day developments. He said expressing disagreement on a particular issue could not be treated as an act of indiscipline. “With only two years left for the next Vidhan Sabha elections, the leadership needs to respond to the challenges ahead,” he said. ‘Probe gangsters’ access to Congress Bhawan’ Capt Amarinder Singh has sought a probe into reports of gangsters being allowed inside the Punjab Congress Bhawan during AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Chandigarh. “It is shocking to learn that while elected representatives and senior leaders were not allowed to enter the bhawan, proclaimed offenders and gangsters, who turned out to be special invitees of the PCC president, were provided easy access,” he said. “The PCC president cannot shrug off blame by saying that he did not know the gangsters and had randomly taken their calls,” he said.
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Polluted Sutlej causing misery for border residents: Bhagwant
Fazilka, October 30 Mann said he intended to raise the issue at the international front. He said the polluted water flowing in the Sutlej was a source of misery for the border residents. He said successive governments in the state and the Centre had failed to resolve the issue. The AAP leader claimed he had been visiting the border villages for the past six years and was trying to highlight the issue on various fronts. The villagers had been plagued by ailments related to teeth, skin, stomach, joint pain and even mental disorders due to use of contaminated water, he said. Mann said he would raise the issue in the coming session of Parliament.
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Govt framing policy on payments to contractors
Chandigarh, October 30 It is estimated that bills of contractors worth around Rs 600 crore are pending with the state government treasury for clearance and disbursal. Because of the precarious fiscal health of the state, the bills have remained unpaid for several months now. Contractors executing projects for the Public Works Department and the Irrigation Department and those hired by other departments for construction of buildings and structures have been complaining that their final bills have not been cleared for months, while even the running payments (part payments released while contract is underway) have also been held up. Under the new policy, the contractors will be paid their dues within a maximum of six months after the job work has been executed. No longer will the contractor having the "right connections" get his dues on time, while the others keep running to get their dues released. Payments will now be released on "first come, first served" basis—the one who submits the bills first, will receive the payment first. "We are in the process of finalising the policy for the release of payments to contractors. It will also be submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court," state Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa told The Tribune. He said that the payments would be released from the state's consolidated fund within six months of the bills being submitted. "We are also working on expediting the release of running payments to contractors so that project execution does not suffer," he said.
On anvil
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Consider ‘tainted’ officer for promotion, Speaker to Chief Secy
Patiala, October 30 In the letter, the Speaker has asked the officer to instruct the department officers concerned to consider his case for promotion as department head and for a “personal hearing.” The Forest Ministry is held by BJP minister Chunni Lal Bhagat. When contacted, he said he was not aware of the matter and requested that the letter be sent to him. With Principal Chief Conservator of Forests MP Rai retiring on October 31, the topmost post in the department will fall vacant. Sources said the office of the Principal Secretary (Forest and Wildlife) had cleared the name of Kuldeep Kumar, a 1984-batch officer, for the post. But a 1981-batch officer, Gurbaj Singh, had raised objections to it. The latter was earlier denied promotion after he was chargesheeted. Posted as Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, an FIR was filed against him with Chandigarh’s Sector 34 police station in July 2013 under Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery) and 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. “I approached the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) which gave a report in my favour. But the government did not take any action on it following which I approached the Speaker,” he explained. The Speaker’s letter, mentioning the NCSC report, asks Kaushal to “drop the pending charge sheet against Gurbaj Singh and ignore remarks about his work in the annual confidential reports.” Expressing surprise at the letter, Chunni Lal Bhagat said: “As head of the department, I will recommend the name of an upright and senior most officer for the post.” Taking a dig at the Speaker, former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said the Speaker had no business to write to the Chief Secretary. “The Speaker should be neutral and he should know that service rules have to be followed”, he told The Tribune. Efforts to contact the Speaker proved futile. His personal staff promised to get back claiming that the Speaker was taking rest. Text messages on the minister’s mobile phone failed to evoke any response. What the rules say
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Rare 72-kg turtle found in Patiala’s Rajindra Lake
Patiala, October 30 Experts say the turtle could be more than 200 years old. “Such turtles were earlier found in the Indus valley,” said one of them. The soft-shelled fresh water turtle is declared vulnerable under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act. Physical characteristics of the turtle suggest that it belongs to a rare species.“It is one of the most rare turtles.The Wildlife Department might conduct a DNA test on the turtle to ascertain its age,” claimed former Divisional Forest Officer Karamjit Singh Jattana. “The Wildlife Act prohibits the sale and purchase of the turtle. Shrinking habitat is a major threat to the Indian fresh water turtles,” he said. Local Wildlife officials said the turtle was noticed by labourers inside the lake bed that has been partly dry for the past almost two decades. Shifted to the ChattBir zoo, the turtle is being fed on frogs, fish and aquatic vegetation. “We are monitoring the turtle round the clock. It will take some time to get accustomed to captivity,” said field director Manish Kumar. Wildlife experts delighted
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North’s largest solar plant opens today
Muktsar, October 30 “After the inauguration of this plant, Punjab would be generating nearly 60 MW through solar plants,” said MP Singh, joint director, Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA). He said the plant would be able to supply power to more than 170 villages. On an average, 1 MW power is consumed by five villages. On the benefits of solar energy, MP Singh said firstly the barren land had come into use and secondly it was a pollution-free mode to generate power. He said the system also provided employment to a large number of people. The PEDA officials said work on another nearly 100 MW solar power project was going on in the state. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal laid the foundation stone of the project in January. Sukhbir along with Non-Conventional Energy Minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia would inaugurate this plant. Preet Sandhu, co-founder of Azure Energy Private Limited, said, “This is the largest solar plant in north India, set up on 170 acres, producing 34 MW power.” Record radiance
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3 IPS, 15 PPS transferred
Chandigarh, October 30 A spokesman said Sukhdev Singh Bhatti had been posted Assistant Inspector General (AIG), Information Technology-II; Harcharan Singh Bhullar, Commandant, 3rd Commando Battalion, SAS Nagar, and Gurpreet Singh Gill, Commandant, 4th Commando Battalion, SAS Nagar. The fresh postings of the PPS officers are: Ashwani Kumar, AIG, Telecommunication; Swarndeep Singh, AIG, Special Branch, Investigation-I; Mandhir Singh, AIG, Information Technology; Snehdeep Sharma, AIG, NRI and Women Wing, SAS Nagar; Naresh Kumar, District Community Police Officer, Hoshiarpur; Gurdeep Singh, District Community Police Officer, Commissionerate of Police, Ludhiana; Amarjit Singh, Assistant Commandant, 4th IRB, Kapurthala; Harpreet Singh, AIG (Special Protection Unit), Chandigarh; Swaran Singh, SP (Investigations), Barnala; Lakhwinder Pal Singh, SP/GRP, Jalandhar; Amrik Singh Powar, SP (Investigations), Batala; Harwinder Singh, SP (Headquarters), Tarn Taran; Ranbir Singh, SP (Investigations), Ludhiana (Rural) and Navjot Singh, SP-cum-Sports Secretary, PAP, Jalandhar. Manohar Lal has been attached with the SSP, Amritsar (Rural).
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Ensure justice for the poor: HC judge
Chandigarh, October 30 Addressing the gathering at the Law Bhawan here, Justice Gupta emphasised on providing speedy and affordable justice to the not-so-well-off strata of the society. Justice Gupta also shared his experiences with the new entrants to the profession and advised them to exert themselves. Welcoming Justice Gupta, Bar council chairman Rakesh Gupta also asked the entrants to uphold the dignity of profession and make justice affordable for those who could not meet the expenses. The function was also attended by Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association president Anmol Rattan
Sidhu.
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Last date for nursing courses extended
Faridkot, October 30 The earlier cut-off date for admission to M.Sc nursing was September 30. But since about 70 per cent of the seats are lying vacant in 24 colleges, the last date has been extended to October 31. Only 188 students had cleared the Punjab Master of Sciences Nursing Entrance Test conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS). Even 61 of these eligible candidates did not opt for admission.
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Experts want subsidy on food, agri inputs to stay
Chandigarh, October 30 The association also gave a collective call to work out a long-term strategy to tackle the effect of climate change on food production. The meet on its second day of deliberations here also saw a brainstorming session on impending food crisis in the world due to rise in population. The experts finalised a blueprint to enhance agriculture production by at least 50 per cent by 2030 on the same area of land. International economist PS Birthal said agricultural growth was the only weapon that could bring the rural people out of poverty. Krishan Kumar Katoch, Vice-Chancellor, CSK HP Agricultural University, Palampur, said climatic changes would impact crop production. Prof Guy Poulter of Natural Resource Institute of University of Greenwich (UK) said it was matter of great concern that over 1.2 billion people in the world lived on less than one dollar a day. He said with the population growth projected from 6-9 billion by 2050 and Asia’s population growth from 4.4-5.2 billion, the world would have to produce 50 per cent more food and energy on the same area of land by 2030.
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Jyoti Nooran’s maternal family accepts her marriage
Chandigarh, October 30 As the case came up for resumed hearing today, the court adjourned the hearing for a short duration for Jyoti to go out of the courtroom and record her statement. Jyoti stated that she wanted to stay with her in-laws at Phillaur. Her parents insisted that the couple stay with them at Jalandhar. Jyoti told the court that she would sing with her sister but reside with her in-laws. Her maternal grandfather then told the court that the family had accepted the marriage and that none would be harmed. Justice Naresh Kumar Sanghi has fixed December 2 as the next date of hearing. About two months ago, an test report for determining Jyoti Nooran’s age was submitted to the High Court. The report indicated that Jyoti was about 17. But it did not rule out the possibility of variation up to two years. The High Court had, on a previous date of hearing, directed an ossification test on the younger Nooran sister. Facing the music for “marrying” against her family wishes, the singer and her “husband” had sought protection of life and liberty and directions to Jyoti’s parents and sister not to interfere in their “married life”. The direction on age determination came after the Sufi singer’s family claimed that the girl was a minor. Describing her parents as “very clever and greedy persons”, Jyoti’s counsel Mohammad Salim, had claimed that his client and her husband Kunal Passi were major and had tied the knot on August 2. But the relevant documents were with Jyoti’s parents.
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Dowry row: Arjun Gill’s bail plea adjourned
Chandigarh, October 30 The plea came up for hearing this morning but was adjourned after advocate AS Sukhija, appearing for the accused, sought morer time to argue the matter. Arjun Gill had moved a local court for anticipatory bail on grounds of implication, after he was booked by the Chandigarh Police on October 11 on allegations of outraging modesty, attempt to rape, breach of trust, criminal intimidation and other offences under Sections 354, 354-A, 354-B, 406, 506, 376 and 511 of the IPC and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. The complaint in the case was lodged by the daughter of an Inspector-General with the Punjab Police. She has alleged that Gill had tried to outrage her modesty after calling her to his place. Describing himself as innocent, Gill has alleged that a false complaint had been lodged complaint after he "refused to marry" the complainant on compatibility grounds. He has claimed that dowry was never demanded by the applicant and the allegations were completely false, baseless and fabricated.
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Decide on transferring schools to Education Dept: HC
Chandigarh, October 30 The government has also been asked to look into the issue of transferring 582 civil veterinary hospitals and various posts under zila parishads to the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries. The three-month period will begin from the date the Punjab Panchayat Association and other petitioners submit a representation in the matter to the state government. The association has also been given a month for submitting the representation. In a petition placed before the Division Bench of Justice Satish Kumar Mittal and Justice Deepak Sibal, the petitioner claimed it was an association of gram panchayats in Punjab and was seeking the quashing of two notifications dated September 19 issued by the state in this regard. The Bench observed the petitioners, before filing the instant petition, had not approached the government against taking policy decisions. "A similar writ petition, though on different grounds, was filed by certain ETT Teachers of Rural Development and Panchayats, Punjab. "It was disposed of by this court, with liberty to the petitioners in that petition to make a representation to the competent authority with regard to the grouse raised by them in the said writ petition. If the petitioners therein would make any such representation, the competent authority was directed to consider and decide the same expeditiously, by passing a speaking order. "Since the petition challenging the same notifications, has already been disposed of by this court by issuing directions, we dispose of this petition with liberty to the petitioners to make a representation against the notifications to the appropriate government. "If any such representation is submitted within a period of one month, the appropriate government is directed to consider and decide the same expeditiously, preferably within a period of three months, by passing a speaking order," the Bench concluded. The order
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Murder accused brought to Hoshiarpur
Hoshiarpur, October 30 The accused was presented before a local court. The police had asked for his remand, but was denied. The next date of hearing in the case is November 5. Rahul and his two aides were booked on September 21, 2010, for allegedly killing the paternal aunt of RM
Puri, a Hoshiarpur-based brick kiln owner, and his daughter. They had allegedly looted Rs 20 lakh cash and jewellery from their house. — OC
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Miller booked for assaulting food inspector
Sangrur, October 30 The "boycott" began yesterday afternoon after alleged "beating up" of an inspector of the Food and Civil Supplies Department posted at Malerkotla by a rice-sheller owner outside the office of the District Food and Civil Supplies Controller (DFSC) here yesterday. Protesting against the alleged "beating up" of Inspector Gurinder Singh Rana by Bhagwan Singh Sandhu, owner of a rice-sheller at Malerkotla, inspectors of five procurement agencies staged a dharna and held a rally at the district administrative complex here today. They lifted dharna after the police registered an FIR against Sandhu.
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Case filed against Patiala doctor
Patiala, October 30 Dr Sidhu carried out a sting operation on Malhotra Ultrasound Centre on September 25 with the help of a decoy patient and allegedly found that the centre indulged in sex determination.
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Four of Abohar family killed in Gujarat road accident
Abohar, October 30 Dera sources said scores of followers had gone to Mumbai to participate in an event on Tuesday under the Swachh Bharat Mission. Surinder Kumar (28) had arranged a Tavera vehicle to travel to Gujarat along with his wife Kamlesh (26), mother Krishna Devi, brothers Chhotu and Daleep and wife's brother Dinesh besides Gurjant Singh and Goverdhan Singh. Surinder was an active member of a dera committee. He was assigned a duty in Gujarat by the dera authorities. On their return journey, the driver reportedly lost control over the vehicle which overturned near Damoi village in Aravalli. Surinder, Kamlesh, Krishna and Dinesh died on the spot. All other occupants were injured. Dera activists said that the injured were being shifted from Aravalli to Hanumangarh. In another incident, 18 passengers of a private bus escaped unhurt as the Jalandhar-Abohar bus rammed into a roadside canter on the railway over-bridge on the Malout road here last night. The canter driver was trying to overtake the bus. He and his helper fled after the incident. A case has been registered against them.
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2 schoolkids die in mishap
Tarn Taran, October 30 The deceased have been identified as Jagroop Singh (16) and Jobanjit Singh (14), both residents of Kallha village. They were on their way to Shekhchak village on a motorcycle which collided with a tractor head-on. The Sadar police have registered a case under Sections 304 A, 279 and 427 of the IPC against the driver of the tractor, who fled the spot. — OC
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Gang rivalry claims youth’s life
Faridkot, October 30 The deceased, Gurjit Singh, was an accused in a two-year-old murder case of another youth. He was acquitted a few days ago. Sources said it was believed that the rival gang attacked Gurjit, a resident of Gobindpuri locality, in retaliation. In his complaint, victim’s father Amarjit Singh alleged that around 15 youths armed with iron rods attacked his son when he was on his way home. Gurjit was rushed to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, from where he was referred to Amritsar. He died on the way to Amritsar. The police have booked 15 persons, but no arrest has been made yet.
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Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the SAD would both plead with the Centre and put pressure on it to ensure Chandigarh was transferred to Punjab.
Farmers in the district have accused government officials of favouritism in the sale of subsidised wheat seed (variety HD 2967).
A number of farmers visit the plant protection office at the grain market here to buy the seed, but most of them return empty handed.
Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh today said that Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee
(PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa had no right to remove elected party office-bearers, including district and block-level presidents. He said it was the prerogative of the Congress president to do so.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Parliament Bhagwant Mann today visited the border villages of Teja Rohela and Dona Nanka to enquire about the problems being faced by the residents, particularly due to the consumption of polluted water.
Chandigarh, October 30
Wildlife experts from across the region are showing a keen interest in a giant turtle rescued recently from Rajindra Lake, one of the oldest lakes in
Patiala. The 72-kg turtle has been shifted to the Chattbir zoo near Banur where it will be kept under observation for a fortnight.
Justice Hemant Gupta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today distributed enrolment certificates to 378 law entrants from across the region at a function organised by the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said Rs 1,450 per quintal MSP of wheat could not even cover the input costs of the farmers. He said the MSP must be hiked to enable the farmers get a remunerative price for their produce.
The wheat MSP of Rs 1,450 per quintal will not even cover the input costs of the
farmers.
The MSP must be enhanced by at least Rs 150. More and more farmers are getting into debt trap.
The BJP has cheated the farmers by not implementing Swaminathan report, as promised by it in its poll
manifesto.
Against Rs 1,000 per quintal central subsidy on seed, the state is only giving Rs 700 per quintal.
The meagre hike has exposed the hollow promises made by the SAD before the Lok Sabha poll.
Punjab is all set to get a major boost in solar power generation tomorrow with the inauguration of north India’s largest 34 MW solar power plant at Panjawa village in Lambi Assembly segment in the district.