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Khalsa march fizzles out
Mohali, July 9 The committee had asked Sikhs to gather at the gurdwara this morning and march to the residence of the Chief Ministers, Punjab and Haryana, to protest against the lackadaisical attitude of the two governments in taking action against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief. Donning black overalls, the committee members, leading a group of about 200 persons, walked out of the gurdwara but were stopped there by the police. Chanting “waheguru, waheguru”, the group remained peaceful. Rejecting the offer of the Chandigarh police to take a contingent of representatives to the houses of the two Chief Ministers to hand over their charter of demands, the protesters sat down on the road amid heavy police presence. Addressing the group, Karnail Singh Panjoli said the state government should not have interfered like this. “We were given assurances by Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Badal that we would not be stopped. Even the DGP talked to us this morning and told us that we would be allowed to go up to the border of Chandigarh,” he said. Ravinder Singh of Shiromani Akali Dal (1920) alleged that the Punjab government was in unison with the dera chief. Later, it was decided that the officers on special duty to the two Chief Ministers be called to the spot to accept the memorandum. N.S. Sangha. OSD to Punjab Chief Minister, and M.S. Chopra, OSD to Chief Minister, Haryana, accompanied by Ram Kishan, chief parliamentary secretary, Haryana, accepted the memorandum. In it the committee members have pointed out that due to the laxity in dealing with the dera issue the “cult leader and his so called ‘premis’ have become more offensive and their targets are mostly the mainstream Sikhs.” The members demanded the release of Simranjit Singh Mann and withdrawal of cases against Daljit Singh Bittu and all those Sikhs who were active during Sikh agitations against the cultists. “This is the last time we are handing over memorandums to the government. After this we will only stage protests,” said Panjoli. The committee members alleged that the police stopped a large number of their supporters all across the state. Meanwhile, SSP, Mohali, R.S. Khatra said Section 144 of the CrPC had been promulgated in the district and a special permission was required for the march, which the protestors did not bother to procure. “We had no option but to stop them from collecting and moving forward,” he said.
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Dera follower dead
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, July 9 A criminal case had been registered against Sham Sunder Bansal for attempting self-immolation in Paras Ram Nagar area of this town late last evening. Nau Nihal Singh, SSP, said a case under Section 309 of the IPC was registered against Sham Sunder. Sham Sunder made the attempt after a function organised in connection with bringing a large section of dera followers back into the fold of Sikhism at Gurdwara Tungwali got over. It was organised by a local Akali worker. He was first taken to the local civil hospital. He was later shifted to a Delhi-based hospital. Harwinder Sharma, one of the eyewitnesses, said he was standing along with four persons when they saw Sham Sunder in flames. He pointed out that Sham Sunder was crying for help. He added that they managed to douse the flames and arranged the vehicle to take him to the hospital. However, the SSP said so far he has not received any complaint in this connection. Sham Sunder in his statement to the police had said that he took the extreme step as he could not tolerate the harassment being done to the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda by members of a Sikh organisation. He also recorded that he could not tolerate what was being done to the followers by a section of society. Interestingly, the police officials, who accompanied the patient, took plain papers from the police post, Pathrala, to record the statement.
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Jobs aplenty for IT students
Chandigarh, July 9 In fact, there is such a shortage that companies have already recruited some students who will clear their graduation in 2008. Companies are also eager to recruit students who will pass out in 2009, says chairman of the Chandigarh Group of Colleges Satnam Singh Sandhu. Sandhu says it is a golden opportunity for students from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Chandigarh as companies have opened their doors for students from this region. Sandhu said companies were willing to offer huge pay packages, even at the beginning stage. Recently, a company recruited fresh students for pay packages up to Rs 4 lakh, a handsome amount for someone just beginning his/her professional career. Sandhu said as many as 20,782 engineering students from different colleges of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Chandigarh had got themselves registered for 18 joint placement meets organised so far by Chandigarh Engineering College, Landran, on its campus in the recent past. Of these, as many as 810 students had already received appointment offers. The companies, which have recruited students, include Satyam Computers (239), Life Business Projects (228), I-Flex solutions (75), Indian Air Force (67), Hexaware Technologies and GTL (46) Wipro Infotech (26) and TCS (21). Sandhu said Kiran Karnik of Nasscom and Chandraketu Jha of Infosys had informed him that 5 lakh IT professionals would be needed by 2010. Throughout the year, Chandigarh Engineering College works towards improving the skills of its students so that they could be best suited for the constantly growing and emerging needs of the industry. The training and placement cell of the college interacts with the companies to know their exact requirements and then grooms the students accordingly, Sandhu said. Chandigarh Engineering College principal G.D. Bansal is of the opinion that the big companies who are bulk employers do not find it convenient to go to individual colleges for small recruitment drives. Keeping in view the interests of companies as well as the students, the college provides its infrastructure and other facilities for recruitment. Bansal said almost all students of the 2007 batch had already been placed in various companies. In addition to this, 14 companies, including Sapient, Tata Elxsi, I- flex, U.S. technologies, Infosys, and Satyam Computers had already recruited a number of students who would complete their BTech in 2008. Some companies were even approaching the college for placements of students who were to pass out in 2009.
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Heavy security in Malwa
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 9 However, the carrying of firearms, swords and other weapons like lathis will not be allowed. Police checkposts have been set up at various places in the Malwa region. As many as 24 companies of the paramilitary forces will be assisting thousands of Punjab police personnel in checking vehicles and keeping an eye on suspicious movement. Punjab intelligence had tipped off the police about the build-up near Salabatpura when trouble broke out in early May. The SSP, Bathinda, was subsequently shifted for not acting on these reports. Senior officials believe the real test will be when the protesters come back. With the Simranjit Singh Mann-led SAD (Amritsar) boycotting the rally, it is expected that there will be fewer of the radical elements. A few of the known ideologues of “Khalistan” were not present at the Khalsa action committee march at Mohali.
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‘Amrit sanchar’ drive from July 15 Amritsar, July 9 SGPC president Avtar Singh here today released the schedule of various programmes to be held as part of the drive. He said the “dharam prachar” drive had also been launched under the supervision of SGPC members in their areas. — TNS
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Inside Babudom Chandigarh, July 9 IG Rajinder Singh and SSP A.S. Rai, both posted in the “inconsequential” counter-intelligence unit at Pathankot, are among the few IPS officers have opted to go on central deputation rather than being “dumped” for five years. Though it was expected that some police officers would get “sidelined”, none among the IPS cadre had ever thought that IG-level or SSP-level officials would be packed off to Pathankot, where counter-intelligence is almost non-existent. Normally, Punjab police service officers have been holding such posts. Being so close to the border, it is the army that is in control. The other officer to send a request for central deputation is IG Rohit Chaudhary. He is at present in the communication wing, but had enjoyed “good” postings during the previous Congress regime. Already, another officer, Sidhharth Chattopadhaya, who was investigating the corruption case against members of the family of Parkash Singh Badal, has gone on central deputation. He is with the border security force. Sources in the government confirmed the three had sent their requests. Rajinder Singh had served at Bathinda while Rai was the SSP of the important district of Ludhiana. There are about 25 vacancies for Punjab cadre IPS officers in central postings. The Punjab police had prepared a tentative list, but without taking the consent of the officials, deputation could not have been effected. Meanwhile, in a separate development, IG, intelligence, V.K. Bhawra will be going on one-year study leave from next week. Already, speculation is on as to who could be the IG of one of the most powerful units in the police. Several officers are in the race, but the choice may narrow down to a few who enjoy a good reputation and also the trust of the Badal family, especially the elder Badal. With a huge army of officials gathering information, the role of the IG in this wing is crucial.
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Dasehri sweetens it up in UK
Amritsar, July 9 So far, four consignments of dasehri have been sent to Britain by Jet Airways and the trend is likely to continue till the end of the mango season. The exports are being handled by the Perishable Cargo Centre run by the Council for Value-Added Horticulture in Punjab. So far, the centre has been regularly exporting baby corn, grown in villages adjoining Ludhiana and beans from Himachal Pradesh to the UK. This year, there was also substantial export of green chillies from April to mid-June. Talking to The Tribune, centre’s deputy chief executive officer Sanjay Budhraj said though this was the first time that dasehri was being exported to the UK through the centre, the response had been encouraging. “There is a large population of Indian origin settled in the UK and Indians enjoy mangoes more than any other fruit,” he said. Baby corn, sugar snaps, snow peas and okhra are exported from all over Punjab to the UK where these are used in continental cuisines. A Ludhiana-based company, which specialises in the export of okhra, a variety of ladyfinger, green chillies and baby corn, was the pioneer in the export of perishable vegetables from this centre. It was soon joined by a company from Bangalore, which operates in parts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. To promote export of carrot from the region, the Council for Value-Added Horticulture in Punjab has tied up with a private company to provide export know-how to farmers. Ranjit Singh, a cargo agent handling the export of dasehri mango, said, “Even though small consignments of mangoes were sent in the past through the cargo centre of the Central Warehousing Corporation located at Rajasansi Airport but it did not have a cold storage facility. The Perishable Cargo Centre is equipped with the facility due to which the quality of the eatables can be maintained,” he said.
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SGPC delegation meets Patil
Amritsar, July 9 The delegation included senior vice-president Dalmegh Singh Secretary and Iqbal Singh Media advisor of the SGPC. Makkar urged the home minister to speed up the action against the dera chief so that the peaceful environment of Punjab was not disturbed.
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Dithering on declaration of holiday
Chandigarh, July 9 “ What was the use of declaring a holiday today?” asked an employee. “ The government had enough time yesterday to decide whether to declare a holiday or not”, he said. The holiday was declared an hour before the lunch break. Meanwhile, the government in a statement said the holiday was declared in all state government offices, educational institutions, corporations and boards throughout the state as a mark of respect to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, whose mortal remains were consigned to the flames in Delhi today. The statement said the Punjab government had also decided to observe state mourning for seven days (up to July14).
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BSNL staff hold dharna Patiala, July 9 The agitation began on July 5 following a call given by the Joint Forum of BSNL Unions and Associations of Executives and Non-Executives, New Delhi, over the failure of the authorities to place a purchase order for 45.5 million GSM lines (2G+3G), the absence of which has so far resulted in losses worth hundreds of crore of rupees to the BSNL. The employees raised slogans in support of their demands. They are demanding the immediate placement of purchase order for GSM lines and provision of mobile phones to people. A spokesperson for the association said if the purchase order was not placed immediately, it would lead to a loss of Rs 55 crore every month. Speaking on the occasion, SNEA district secretary Sarbjit Singh Mokha, AIBSNLEA district secretary Mangat Ram and BSNL Employees Union district secretary Narinder Pal Sharma highlighted the anti-employee and anti-public sector policy of the BSNL management and the central government, who were neither interested in expanding the customer base nor bringing about development of the public sector undertaking. The Joint Forum of BSNL Unions and Associations of Executives and Non-Executives, Patiala, has warned the BSNL management and the central government of going on a one-day strike on July 11, which may be converted into an indefinite one if the issue remains unsettled.
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Allottees want plot possession Mohali, July 9 The members gathered at the Rose Garden in Phase IIIB1 here today. They said that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had granted stay only on 102 acres of land falling in these sectors while 93 per cent of the area was under the possession of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA). Sucha Singh Kalour, president, said 25 per cent of the cost of each plot had been deposited with authorities concerned by allottees six years ago but they were yet to get possession. He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had assured in the Vidhan Sabha that possession of plots which did not fall under the purview of the stay orders would be given soon. Members of the Plot Allotment Sangharsh Committee, Sectors 76-80, have demanded that they should be given possession of plots allotted to them years ago at the earliest.
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Dimpa gets bail in one case
Amritsar, July 9 The court has granted bail in FIR number 47 in which he was declared proclaimed offender by the court. The court has also ordered to remove two major Sections, including 307 (attempt to murder) and 452 (house trespassing and assault) in the case after the council produced an inquiry report of the sub-divisional magistrate, Ajnala who had recommended to remove these sections. Dimpa’s counsel said the Beas police had not removed the above two Sections. He said the court had also allowed their application for not handcuffing Dimpa while producing him in court. Meanwhile, taking the cognizance of the medical reports of torture of Dimpa by the police in custody, the court also ordered to book the police officers responsible for the torture of Dimpa.
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Seeking bail, SAD (A) leader says case against him false
Chandigarh, July 9 In his application filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court for pre-arrest bail, Bittu claimed that the ruling SAD did not appreciate the participation of other groups in peaceful marches organised by the Sikh community. In an attempt to prevent his party from coming into the limelight by taking part in one such march, a false case was planted on him, he added. Going into the background of the matter, he said a first information report was registered on May 31 under Sections 124-A, 153-A, 341 and 505 of the Indian Penal Code at Fatehgarh Sahib police station. The main allegations against him were that he had raised slogans which fell under the definition of seditious uttering during a march the same day. Taking up the petition, Mr Justice L.N. Mittal of the high court today issued notice of motion to the state of Punjab. The case will now come up on August 3 for further hearing.
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Bid to kill case: Chahal bail plea hearing today
Chandigarh, July 9 Describing Chahal as a victim of mala fide intent and political vendetta, the petition had stated that he was arrested by the Ludhiana police in the case when he was coming out of the Vigilance Bureau premises after joining investigations. He had added that the FIR was registered in the matter by the Ludhiana police was after a delay of seven months as the alleged attempt to grab the land in Daad village, according to the complainant, happened way back in October last year. This delay, the petitioner submitted, pointed towards mala fide intentions of the police to implicate him and was "aimed at some different purpose".
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2 held for snatching purse Patiala, July 9 The two have been identified as Sunny Kumar and Ram Singh of Sanjay Colony. After snatching the purse the two tried to escape on a motor cycle when the victim, Gursharan Kaur, raised the alarm and the two were nabbed, police sources said.
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Sonam, Anmoldeep, Sambli PMET toppers
Faridkot, July 9 The entrance test was held at 37 centres in Patiala yesterday. Two merit lists for the general and reserved categories have been declared. The three joint toppers are Sambli Garg (Patiala), Anmoldeep Singh (Mansa) and Sonam (Nabha). All of them have scored 720 marks out of 800. Five candidates shared the second slot with 716 marks each. They are Anupam Malhotra (Ludhiana), Nikhil Jain (Naya Nangal), Satjit Kaur (Bathinda), Anish Bhatia (Ludhiana) and Ankit Goel (Bathinda). Akriti Bhandari (Ludhiana) was adjudged third with 715 marks. As many as 954 candidates have been declared successful in the reserved category in which Lovedeep Singh (Ferozepur), Divesh Kumar (Nawanshahr) and Kirandeep Singh (Hoshiarpur) have been adjudged the toppers.
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No coaching for him
Mansa, July 9 Son of an advocate,
Anmol, who topped the class VIII of the Punjab School Education Board and figured in the merit list of classes X and plus II, managed to top the PMET without taking any coaching. Five candidates of this town have cleared the
PMET. — TNS
A pleasant surprise
Patiala, July 9 Sambli said the news had come as a pleasant surprise. “I had done well in the test, but being the topper has come as a pleasant surprise. The credit for my success goes to my parents and teachers,” she said. Her father, Dharam Pal
Garg, a plywood trader, said she would be the first doctor from their family. Her mother, Usha
Garg, a housewife, has a significant contribution to her success. — TNS
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Ban on 3 architecture colleges goes
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 9 The COA said the ban had been lifted after the colleges concerned assured the council that no students would be admitted to the five-year architecture degree course without his having cleared the national aptitude test in architecture (NATA). The council had barred the Faculty of Physical Planning and Architecture at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar; the School of Architecture at the Giani Zail Singh College of Engineering and Technology, Bathinda; and the Indo Global College of Architecture at Abhipur. The IIT, Kharagpur, had challenged the ban imposed by the COA, stating that “making NATA compulsory for all architectural institutions in India was illegal”.
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Summer camp concludes with a bang Patiala, July 9 The function was organised to mark the conclusion of a summer camp, which was started in May by the institute, said director Rajesh
Sachar. Deputy commissioner D.S. Grewal was the chief guest on this occasion. The function started with a
ghazal, “Tumko dekha to yeh khayal aaya”, by Deepak Sharma. He also recited “Hosh walon ko Khabar
Kya”, “Tera chehra kitna suhana lagta hai” and “Main nashe me
hoon”, which elicited applause from the dignitaries and audience. The children who attended the two-month workshop then took the stage and entertained the audience with their performances. A classical dance by
Parneet, Kirat, Sumit and by Isha Dang was well appreciated. A fashion show and a fancy dress competition were also presented by the participants of the workshop. Former Samana MLA Surjit Singh
Rakhra, Mahant Atma Ram, Seema Sharma, Indermohan Bazaz, Inderjeet Singh
Parwana, Amrit Bir Singh Gulati, institute president Jaspreet Kaur, secretary Ajay Verma and other members were also present.
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Pbi varsity BA-I result today Patiala, July 9 Stating this, Dr Baldev Singh, chief coordinator (examinations), said the results would be available on the university website - www.universitypunjabi.org - after 5 pm on July 10.
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Pbi varsity brings out info booklet
Patiala, July 9 The bi-lingual booklet, published in Punjabi and English by the university’s department of students welfare, is being provided to students for free at the time of admission. While releasing the booklet, vice-chancellor Swaran Singh Boparai said the “effort is aimed at welcoming and making the university user-friendly for newcomers. It will help them know what to get, where and how without much hassle”. Dean (students welfare) Dr H.S. Bhatti said the booklet contained important information about how to avail oneself of financial assistance, other funds and concessions, scholarships, and facilities like health, security, transport and placement, etc. Information along with contact numbers of officials concerned, to get relief against ragging and sexual harassment has also been provided in the booklet, he added.
— TNS
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College calls off counselling Fatehgarh Sahib, July 9 The parents and students rued that they had not been provided with any information that counselling had been call off. They stated that though the dates for counselling had been announced through a public notice published in newspapers, the decision to postpone it was not published in any of the newspapers. Some of the parents said the college management had been allocated 160 seats that were to be filled through management quota. They said out of 160 management seats, 50 were to be filled during the first counselling, which was held on July 1, and the remainder during the second counselling scheduled for today. However, they alleged that the college management filled all 160 seats in the first counselling itself and did not inform the aspiring students about this. They asked the university authorities to initiate action against the college for having cheated students. One of the aspirants, Sandeep Singh, who had come here from Uttaranchal along with parents, told Chandigarh Tribune that security guards at the college gates misbehaved with them and said they (guards) had been asked by the college authorities not to allow any admission-seeker in. College principal Dr T.P. Singh initially refused to comment on the issue but later asked one of the lecturers to issue a clarification. The lecturer claimed that in the advertisement published in the newspapers, the college had clearly stated that the second counselling would be held only if management seats were not filled in the first one. He said the management had posted information regarding cancellation of the counselling on the college website day before yesterday. He, however, maintained that the claims made by the parents that the college could fill only 50 seats in the first counselling stood no ground and the college could fill all seats in the first counselling itself.
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