Wednesday, May 19, 1999
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P U N J A B | |
Wednesday, May 19, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Badal
spreading canards: Tohra Murder of cop's wife: fourth
suspect identified |
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HC
upholds verdict on plots CPI for front to rout communal
forces People feel let down by SAD strife ISI ‘smuggling’ fake
currency Punjab seeks PM’s
intervention PUDA flats illegally occupied Indian territory shown as Chinese Punjab Congressmen back Sonia Bhai Ranjit asked to form front
Cong men oppose ticket to
‘outsiders’ SGPC code of conduct for artistes Rode hails PGPC, slams SGPC Probe ordered into doctors’
conduct ‘Plagiarism in
universities’ Bank settlement decried Desilt drains before rains:
villagers 4 held for selling pirated tapes
Protest against cut in HRA Shopkeeper shot dead |
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Badal spreading canards: Tohra CHANDIGARH, May 18 — Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, former SGPC president, today made fun of the moves to reopen the case that he sought Nirankari votes during the last Lok Sabha elections for an Akali candidate from Patiala. The Akali Dal lead by the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, at its meeting at Fatehgarh Sahib on Sunday had demanded that the Akal Takht chief should reopen the case and punish him as per the Sikh traditions. Mr Tohra was charged by the present Punjab Congress chief, Mr Amarinder Singh, that he had gone to a Nirankari meeting at Patiala and sought the support of the Nirankaris, who have been socially boycotted by the Sikhs under an edict of Akal Takht issued in the wake of Sikh-Nirankari clash of April, 1978. This complaint was taken up by the Sikh high priests, including Bhai Ranjit Singh, the then chief of Akal Takht. Mr Tohra had appeared on his own and explained his position. The evidence was examined in detail and the photographs found to be fabricated by an expert panel. The case was dropped. Mr Tohra said that neither Mr Badal nor any of his followers had supported the charge of Mr Amarinder Singh which had political motives. "They all supported my contention at that time. Now since I have been removed from the presidentship of the SGPC and also expelled from the party, this is being orchestrated. I had explained my position to the total satisfaction of Akal Takht. In any case, I do not recognise the present Jathedar, Giani Puran Singh. He has no legitimate powers to reopen or summon me", he told TNS here. Mr Tohra also said that Mr Badal's supporters would go to any extent to defame him. "What were they doing when the case was with Akal Takht?" he asked. Mr Tohra also maintained that Mr Badal was spreading canards against him. "I am being charged that I had met the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, or the Delhi Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dixit. It is all false. I was not even in Delhi, rather in Bathinda, when the meeting is said to have taken place. The Badal camp is very poor in its home work. I had met the Home Minister, Mr L.K.Advani. But that was in connection with the Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee elections", he said. Mr Tohra reiterated that
he was ready for an open debate. "Let Mr Badal
accept Bhai Ranjit Singh as Akal Takht chief and seek
pardon from him. I shall seek nothing more. Mr Badal and
his colleagues have gone to Anandpur Sahib and got
baptised. This showed that they were earlier violating
the constitution of the Akali Dal which lays down that
each office-bearers from the block to the state level has
to be an Amirtdhari Sikh. How good Sikhs are they?"
he asked. |
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Murder of cop's wife: fourth
suspect identified BATHINDA, May 18 — The murder of Ravinder Kaur, wife of Mr Paramjit Singh, Head Constable, Punjab police, has taken a new turn when Mr Parmod Ban, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Muktsar, who held the investigations into the matter, concluded that number of suspects involved in this case were four instead of three as shown by the police in FIR. Mr Parmod Ban, who held the investigation on the direction of the Inspector-General of Police, Patiala Zone in his report submitted to the SSP, here said that suspects in this murder case were four. He said Mr Jarnail Singh. Inspector, Punjab police, Investigation Officer in the murder case should be directed to arrest the fourth suspect identified as Gursharan Singh. Ravinder Kaur was murdered in her house in police colony on January 27, 1999, when she was poisoned by some unidentified persons. Later the police investigations said that Paramjit Kaur, who was having an affair with Paramjit Singh hatched a conspiracy with her daughter, Kamalpal Kaur and Charanveer Singh to kill Ravinder Kaur. The police claimed that Charnveer Singh, who was a son of police officer, Harpal Singh was having an affair with Kamalpal Kaur, the daughter of Paramjit Kaur. Police sources said Ravinder Kaur was murdered in a strange way as a person came to her second floor flat and told her that her brother, Sukhjiwan Singh, living in Ludhiana had died. On hearing this news, Ravinder Kaur started crying and had a fit. The stranger than handed over a capsule Paramjit Kaur, who was also sitting there, to give it to Ravinder Kaur so that she could recover from the fit. When Ravinder Kaur started vomiting. She was shifted to the civil hospital by her another brother, Mr Gurjiwan Singh, where she died after few minutes. The police had already
arrested Paramjit Kaur, Kamalpal Kaur and Charanveer
Singh. |
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Badal's kin collecting crores of
rupees: Tohra FATEHGARH SAHIB, May 18 — Jathedar G.S. Tohra, former SGPC President talking to The Tribune at his Tohra village today said that Mr Parkash Singh Badal had not launched the election campaign of the party, but a campaign against me. He spends most of his time, energy and government money in letting me down. He ridiculed the statement of Mr Badal that he (Tohra) was offered the post of Chief Minister by him (Badal). Mr Tohra was reacting to the speech of Mr Badal made at Akali conference held at Fatehgarh Sahib last Sunday. Mr Tohra described his speech as bundle of lies. He said everyone knew who was hobnobbing with the Congress and who had relations with Congress people. He said had Mr Badal been so liberal to offer important posts to others, he could have recommended the induction of a senior Akali leader Prem Singh Lalpoura in the Union Cabinet instead of his son Sukhbir Badal. He alleged that Mr Badal was surrounded by sycophants and he was bent on destroying Panthic principles by sidelining Panthic leaders who had made great sacrifices for the party and the quam. He said whosoever had challenged the authority of Akal Takht, had always been defeated and faced humiliation. He said all development projects had come to a standstill in the state and corruption had crossed all limits. He said Mr Badal had made a secret understanding with the Congress that neither he would take action against them on corruption charges, nor they would take action against him if they came to power. He said the state was being run by his family and crores of rupees were being collected by them. He said Punjab had become bankrupt. He said the Congress was enemy Number of the Sikhs. He said he made Mr Badal President of the SAD(B) by merging all factions. He said he was sad to see that a democratic Akali Dal was being converted into private limited company and affairs of the party had come into the hands of those who knew nothing about Sikhism and history of the Akali Dal. He said Mr Badal and ‘Co’ would meet their Waterloo in the coming Parliament elections. He ridiculed the statement of Capt Kanwaljit Singh that SAD(B) would win all 13 seats in the state. He challenged that if Capt was so confident he would contest the election from Patiala and would come to know about his popularity. He said a mini Panchayat of the SAD would be called after May 20 and Mr Badal would be removed from the presidentship of the SAD. Meanwhile Mr Karnail
Singh Panjoli Convener of the Youth Akali Dal and a
confidant of Mr Tohra said that a meeting of the Tohra
loyalists would be held on May 23 at Fatehgarh Sahib
gurdwara. |
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Ludhiana industrial plots stay cancelled CHANDIGARH, May 18 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today upheld the judgement of the Single Judge cancelling the allotment of industrial plots measuring from 350 acres to 20 acres to six influential industrial houses of Ludhiana. Mr Justice Jawahar Lal Gupta and Mr Justice N.K. Agrawal, who handed down this order, held: "The allotment of land in the instant case gives the indication of an extravagant extravaganza. There was clearly a plot behind the allotment of the plots. Thus, we find no merit in these appeals. Consequently, these are dismissed. It is directed that the directions given by the learned Single Judge shall be carried out forthwith". The industrial houses to which the plots were allotted are PSIEC (350 acres), Avon Cycles (20 acres), Hero Cycles (100 acres), Ritesh Industries (40 acres), Royal Industries (25 acres) and PSIEC for the Export Promotion Park (60 acres). The allotment of these plots was questioned by International Cycle and Strips Ltd. The allegations levelled by the petitioner-industries (respondent in the LPA) were that the Punjab Government had not followed any set criterion in the allotment of the plots. No advertisement was issued in newspapers to offer a fair opportunity to all those who were interested in trying their luck. On the contrary, an arbitrary pick-and-choose policy was adopted. The plots were allotted under the Off-the-Shelf Scheme framed by the government. Speaking for the Bench, Mr Justice Gupta said: "In free India bonanzas are fairly frequent. Petrol pumps and plots have been freely provided. The chosen few have been invariably favoured. But these allotments have often been axed by judicial intervention. So is the position in these appeals. Herein 340 acres of prime land in the industrial town of Ludhiana provide the bone of contention". In his judgement the Single Judge had held: "No press advertisement was given, no objective criteria or procedure was evolved so as to rule out arbitrariness or favouritism in allotting plots; the land was acquired for setting up an industrial focal point at Ludhiana. The purpose of developing this focal point was to relocate dyeing and electro-plating units, located in congested areas, and to draw up a plan for the next 10 to 15 years to accommodate new units and stop their haphazard growth. However, while allotting plots these factors were not taken into consideration. Allotments were made either on account of political and bureaucratic patronage or on some other extraneous considerations and in almost all the cases there were no formal applications supported by project reports or documents containing details of the proposed projects". Endorsing the judgement, Mr Justice Gupta ruled: "We find that the view taken by the learned Single Judge that no criteria had been laid down is in complete conformity with the material on record. Consequently, we hold that the government had not prepared any policy for the allotment of undeveloped land. No guidelines had been laid down. No procedure for submission of applications, consideration of the claim for allotment and the other cognate matters had been prescribed. In such a situation, proper allotment of valuable land was not possible". The Bench noted that the
notification issued by the government contained a clear
mandate that only 30 per cent of the plots over 2500
square yards could be reserved for allotment under the
Off-the-Shelf Scheme. Consequently, it was incumbent on
the authority concerned to carve out the plots. The
number of plots above the size of 2500 sq yards had to be
fixed. Then, out of the available plots the permissible
number could have been allotted. This was admittedly not
done. "In fact, this condition was given the
complete go-by. Out of 774 acres, land measuring 340
acres was allotted to the six appellants. The number of
plots was never worked out". |
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CPI for front to rout
communal forces HOSHIARPUR, May 18 — Dr Joginder Dayal Secretary CPI Punjab, said that to defeat fundamentalists and communal forces in the ensuing elections of Parliament, a Secular, Democratic Front consisting of all democratic secular parties including the Congress, the BSP, the Janata Dal, the CPI and the CPM would be formed in state. After making adjustment the front would field joint candidates on all seats in Punjab. Dr Dayal was talking to reporters here yesterday. He said that the front would discard candidates doing politics in the garb of religion, posing threat to integration of the country and mixing politics and religion. He said that after making adjustment the CPI would also contest election on some seats in state. To a question Dr Dayal said that Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra former President SGPC had not clarified his position so far. His main aim was to defeat the SAD-BJP. Jathedar had made it clear that he would not continue his relations with the BJP which was appreciable. He questioned Jathedar Tohra that why he trying to revive supremacy of Bhai Ranjit Singh former Jathedar of Akal Takht. To another question he said that Jathedar Tohra had not contacted any of the opposition leaders so far. However, some of his associates contacted them on telephone. He made it clear that an alliance with Jathedar Tohra was only possible in these elections if he stopped mixing politics and religion and did politics on secular lines. Referring to the expulsion of Jathedar Tohra from the SAD Dr Dayal said it would revive terrorism in Punjab. He criticised the SAD-BJP government and said that it had failed to deliver desired goods to the public. He alleged that corruption had broken all previous records. Prices of all essential commodities had increased manifold. Instead of giving relief to the public it had increased power tariff and bus fares which affected the common man. He pointed out that Malwa belt produced 27 lakh bales of cotton every year. But the production had decreased to 4.67% due to which the entire belt was facing financial crisis. The SAD-BJP government had not taken any step to increase the production or to replace the cotton crop. Sugarcane growers were also facing serious financial crisis due to non-payment for the cane supplied to the sugar mill owners. He also alleged that SAD-BJP government had failed to fulfil its election promises except free water supply and free power to farmers. He said that medical education had also become expensive which now was beyond the reach of a common man. The Punjab Health Systems Corporation had also failed to provide better health care to common man. He alleged that Mr Parkash Singh Badal Chief Minister Punjab, was using government machinery to win the ensuing elections of Parliament. He urged the Election Commission of India to announce the date of election and make the notification in this regard to check the leaders like Mr Badal. Dr Dayal was accompanied by Comrade Piara Singh Deosi former secretary of the state unit of the CPI. NAWANSHAHR: The CPM may include the proposed Akali Dal to be constituted by former SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra into the third front being constituted in the state for the ensuing Lok Sabha poll provided the new party is formed on secular principles. This was stated by Prof Balwant Singh, secretary of the state unit of the CPM while talking to mediapersons here on Monday. He had come here to address the general body meeting of the district unit of the CPM. Prof Balwant Singh said the SAD-BJP government had failed to live up to the expectations of people. Mr Parkash Singh Badal had failed to persuade the Vajpayee Government to release Rs 300 crore for providing compensation for the damaged paddy crop. The youth was also
disillusioned as the state government had failed to
provide employment alleged Mr Balwant Singh adding that
wrong industrial policies had led to the closure of more
than 150 units rendering about 3 lakh workers unemployed. |
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People feel let down by SAD
strife FATEHGARH SAHIB, May 18 — Most of the Akali rank and are dismayed at the split in the ruling party. Talking to a cross section of people, including peasants in the two districts of Fatehgarh Sahib and Ropar, one gets the impression that the people were seeing the leadership in poor light. A middle-aged farmer from Chuni village Mr Partap Singh felt that this fight between the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and the former SGPC President, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, centred around the basic issue of Akal Takht and its role. "They have been seeking vote and support in the name Panth. The public meeting organised at Fatehgarh Sahib in a gurdwara hall showed this. And how could Mr Badal run away from the Akal Takht and manipulate the SGPC", he asked in an agitated voice. But some 30 km away in village Charnalthal, Mr Balwant Singh did not agree with this. "This ladai (infighting) is for power and money. No one is interested in the welfare of the people. We expected these leaders to behave better than Congressmen since we had suffered so much. They have forgotten the tragedy that lasted in Punjab for years," he said. This farmer felt that the Congress would be the net gainer. In villages around Morinda, Sirhind, Bassi Pathana and in these towns also, the one could hear a similar story. At village Karimpura where a former Akali Minister, Mr Randhir Singh Cheema, lives, some senior Akali leaders along with former Lok Sabha member, Mrs Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal had come on a visit, the feeling of dismay prevailed. " The Akali leaders are born wreckers. They do not know how to govern and bring in change. Farmers had suffered badly during the past two years throughout Punjab. Does Mr Badal have any solution? Will throwing out Mr Tohra in any way help? People cried for good governance and this is what Mr Badal has given us. Mr Tohra must have played some dirty game. But what is the total achievement of this government. There is no money, we are daily told by you press people", a school teacher who preferred not to be identified. The people who had gathered around him nodded in agreement. At Gharuan village, Mr Gurdial Singh, a farmer, said "I have always voted for the Panth" felt that the leaders had lost an opportunity and they would suffer. In Kheri village, even the women who were first hesitant to discuss politics by saying "sanu ki asi ki lena ( what do us), did hint at their problems and of unemployment, education, water supply. "Our lot, would remain the same whosoever rules here", one of them said. Asked to count the 'blessings' of the Akali-BJP government, most of them said, "we have free power and repaired roads". Farmers may be dismayed although the bumper wheat crop this season has brought some cheer, the townsmen are unhappy and very critical. " Mr Badal said that he would end corruption and we know how we bribe the petty officials to make life less troublesome. I had always thought Akalis to be well meaning and simple people. But best about them is they quarrel", said a small entrepreneurs Mr Amarjit Singh at Sirhind. Commission agents, small entrepreneurs and traders, gave an impression that some major surgery is required to set the system right." People do not want to bribe any more. They are keen on leading clean life. But the system is such that they are forced to adopt dubious means. Look at the bureaucracy and the police and other sections. Do we have no solutions? It is the same what my father had seen during the British times", argues Mr Amardeep Singh Dharni, a lawyer here. And even a retired teacher who is close to the ruling circles, Mr Kirpal Singh Sethi of Bassi Pathana felt that "corruption has got entrenched. While he blamed Mr Tohra for the present split, yet he agreed that no one is bothered about the people. While the Akali Dal led
by Mr Parkash Singh Badal organised an impressive rally
and galvanised the supporters, Mr Tohra was busy holding
meetings with sarpanches and panches at two important
places. "We have created a major dent in the bastion
of the former SGPC president, and this rally would prove
to be a watershed", Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance
Minister who has been virtually camping for a week
claimed. But going by the general feeling of despondency
one could agree with 74-year-old Harpal Singh Mann,
"we had built peoples' hopes too high. The
performance of the government could be still
better". An old classmate of Mr Badal in Lahore, Mr
Mann felt that the Akalis should have remained united.
Evidently, he has not lost hope. |
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ISI ‘smuggling’
fake currency AMRITSAR, May 18 — The IG (Border Range), Mr J.P. Birdi, said here today that Pakistan's intelligence agencies like the ISI continued to smuggle fake currency into India. Talking to reporters, he said two intruders from Pakistan made an attempt to smuggle in fake currency amounting to Rs 19.5 lakh from the border post of Burj in Amritsar district last week. Their attempt was foiled by the BSF which seized the currency. The Civil Lines police here also seized fake currency valued at Rs 1.83 lakh from the house of sarpanch Kewal Singh in Kashmir Avenue on May 15. Mr Birdi said the police party which raided the house was fired upon. The police arrested five persons — the sarpanch, his brother, Apar Singh, Harpal Singh, son Kulwant Singh and Kashmir Singh — from the house. One double-barrelled gun along with four cartridges and a computerised printing machine were also seized. The sarpanch was arrested for the second time, the IG said and added that a case under Section 498-A and certain sections of the Arms Act was registered. Meanwhile, Head Constable Balwinder Singh and constable Kabul Singh who were accused of providing information to Pakistan's intelligence agencies by the Tarn Taran police were said to be involved in the smuggling of gold biscuits which they had seized at a naka in Tarn Taran district during the past few months. While 30 biscuits valued at Rs 19.50 lakh were recovered, another 30 were yet to be seized, he said. The police had also
transferred Sub-Inspector Mandeep Singh of Harike in this
connection and ordered an inquiry. |
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Wheat movement CHANDIGARH, May 18 — The Punjab Government has requested Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee to intervene personally to expedite the movement of wheat from Punjab to deficit states. "The movement of wheat is slow at present and we wanted it to be doubled at least", said Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, Punjab Food and Supply Minister, while talking to TNS here today. "Even we have crossed the revised target figure of 75 lakh tonnes as far as procurement of wheat is concerned by government owned agencies in the state". Mr Mittal claimed already 77.80 lakh tonnes of wheat had been procured by government agencies and the wheat still continued to arrive in the mandis, Mr Mittal said. The initial target was of 70 lakh tonnes but it was revised to 75 lakh tonnes in the first week of May, keeping in view the arrival of wheat in the state mandis. The state may end up with the procurement of 80 lakh tonnes of wheat by the end of the procurement season. "Our major worry is to transport the wheat to other states which was stored under the contingency storage programme", Mr Mittal said. Such wheat required to be shifted to safer places before the onset of the monsoon in this part of the country. Moreover before the arrival of the paddy crop, we wanted to create enough space for the storage of paddy and rice. He said while state agencies had procured about 69 per cent, which is 2 per cent above the allocation made to them, the FCI had made 31 per cent of the procurement made by the government agencies so far. The FCI’s share was 33 per cent. Mr Mittal said it would help Punjab if the Central Government allowed the export of wheat. Second, he said that the coastal states should not be allowed to import wheat and these should be supplied wheat from Punjab provide relief on the storage front to the state. The Punjab Government has also urged the Central Government to make a drastic change in the Public distribution system to allow people slightly above the poverty line to buy wheat at a controlled price. Mr Mittal said due to faulty PDS, the offtake of wheat from government quota had come down drastically. Under the existing PDS, wheat was provided to below the poverty line families at a 50 per cent subsidised rate. Those who were slightly above the poverty line, they had to pay almost the market rate while having wheat from the PDS. The Mittal said it was a wrong policy which was adopted in 1996 and it required to be changed to provide justice to those who were slightly above the poverty line. He said under the
existing system only 1kg of wheat could be provided to
above the poverty line family a month, which was totally
ridiculous. Mr Mittal added that the Prime Minister, who
was briefed by him in this connection, was convinced with
the arguments advanced by him Mr Vajpayee had assured him
that matter would be looked into. |
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PUDA flats illegally occupied LUDHIANA, May 18 — The law of the jungle seems to prevail in the occupation and allotment of the LIG and MIG flats of the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) meant for the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims at Jamalpur (Dhandari Kalan) and Dugri. According to the figures available, of the 714 LIG and MIG flats under four different schemes at Dhandari Kalan, 89 flats are under unauthorised occupation in Dugri and 393 LIG and MIG flats of the total 1000 flats under three different schemes, are illegally occupied. A total of 329 of these flats at Jamalpur and 184 flats were allotted to riot victims at Dugri Road in 1991. These flats had been constructed and allotted by the Punjab Housing Development Board before it was merged with the PUDA in 1995. The cost of the MIG flats (both at Jamalpur and Dugri) was fixed at Rs 80,000, which had to be paid by the allottee through monthly instalments of Rs 810 per month for the first 13 years and Rs 184 per month for the next 12 years. The cost of the LIG flats at Jamalpur and Dugri was fixed at Rs 33,000 which was to be paid by the allottees through monthly instalments of Rs 184 per month, for a total of 25 years. According to officials at the PUDA, a few months after these houses were allotted to the riot victims, some of the allottees stopped paying their instalments. There were others who had the flats under unauthorised occupation. After much dilly-dallying, PUDA officials held a meeting with the then Urban Development Minister, late Sarup Singh, in June, 1998, and it was decided to give one-year time to all allottees to start paying their dues to the PUDA or face cancellation of allotment of their houses. The last date given to the allottees was May 15, 1999, and senior officials at the PUDA confirmed that many allottees had started making payments. The Estate Officer, Mr J.P. Mittal, said, "We still have to assess the actual number of persons who have already complied, but the final picture will emerge only after this month as many more are expected to fall in line during the coming two weeks". When asked to comment on the course of action to be initiated by the PUDA against those allottees who had the flats under unauthorised occupation and had not begun making the payments, Mr Mittal said the law would take its own course. Another anomaly that has come to light is the illegal allotment of an MIG flat at Jamalpur to one Ms Shilawati, who, investigations reveal, had wrongly posed as a 1984 anti-Sikh riot victim and got the flat allotted under the reserved category. Those seeking the benefit of the allotment of PUDA houses under the category of riot victims needed to deposit their "red card" (card issued by the Government of India to all riot affected families) along with their application for allotment. However, Ms Shilawati deposited no such card and instead submitted an affidavit, stating that she would produce her "red card" on a later date, which has not been done so far. Subsequently, a flat was allotted to her in 1991. However, investigations carried out by this correspondent reveal that at no point of time Ms Shilawati was a resident of Delhi during November, 1984, when the riots occurred. In fact, at this time the woman concerned was residing at Macchipal village, Kapurthala tehsil, and was also engaged in fighting a court case for separation from her husband at Moga. Those living in MIG and LIG flats at Jamalpur allege that this is not the only case of illegal allotment under the category reserved for riot victims. They complain that some other illegal allottees, like her, enjoy political clout or are hand-in-glove with PUDA officials, so no action will be taken against them. However, the PUDA Estate
Officer denied these charges and said although Ms
Shilawati had not submitted her "red card", but
her claim had been found to be genuine by a three-member
committee formed by the Punjab Government to oversee the
allotment cases of riot victims. The three-member
committee comprising the Deputy Commissioner, the
Manager, Estates, Punjab Housing Development Board, and
the Divisional Engineer, Civil, Punjab Housing
Development Board, had cleared her case for the allotment
of a flat on July 29, 1991." |
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Indian territory shown as
Chinese SAS NAGAR, May 18 — The law-enforcement agencies have not yet bothered to take any action on a wholly erroneous map, affecting the sovereignty of India, brazenly shown in a magazine circulated here. The April issue of the quarterly , India-China Mirror, was circulated in the presence of the Political Counsellor of the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, Mr Lin Shanglin. The occasion was a photographic exhibition on ‘‘Tibet — yesterday and today’’ from May 1 to 4 sponsored by the Cultural Office of the embassy and the India-China Friendship Association, Punjab. The exhibition was held at Paragon Senior Secondary School, Sector 71 here, and was inaugurated by a Punjab minister, Raja Narinder Singh. Mr Shanglin was honoured on the occasion with none of the other invitees lodging a protest over the map showing Indian territory as part of the ‘‘Tibet Autonomous Region’’ of the People's Republic of China. Brig K S Khatri, Director, North-Western Circle, Survey of India, Chandigarh, said yesterday that most of NEFA and some areas of Assam, which comprised Indian territory, had been shown as part of China. After close examination of the map, Brigadier Khatri said: ‘‘The area north of latitude 28 degrees till the international border has been shown as part of China.’’ Any map showing the international boundary had to be cleared by the Survey of India for correctness. Permission, he said, had also to be obtained for its publication. Brigadier Khatri said the published map should carry a note stating that the external boundary shown in it had been certified by the Survey of India and was being shown with the permission of the Surveyor-General of India. India-China Mirror, whose Editor was Mr Jiwan Tewari, had not fulfilled these conditions, as is evident from the map published. Wing Cdr Satwant Singh (retd), a resident of Phase III B2 here, who saw the exhibition, said he was greatly pained to see such a map. He said he had flown a lot in the north-eastern areas as a pilot. Son many Indians had laid down their lives to protect the Indian borders and ‘‘now somebody comes out with this map which is published by our own people’’. Wing Cdr Satwant Singh said he was not against friendship between India and China but this was the absolute limit. He demanded that the map should either be amended or withdrawn immediately. The matter is too
serious to be overlooked by the authorities concerned.
According to the Criminal Law Amendment (Amending) Act,
1990: ‘‘Whoever publishes a map of India, which
is not a conformity with the maps of India as published
by the Survey of India, shall be punishable with
imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine,
or with both.’’ |
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Punjab Congressmen back Sonia CHANDIGARH, May 18 — More Punjab Congressmen today came up with statements in support of Mrs Sonia Gandhi and criticised the three letter writers for raising a "non-issue". The first joint statement of Mr Mohinder Singh Gill and Mr Santokh Singh Randhawa, both ex-presidents of the PPCC, said the people of India, particularly, Congressmen, were "deeply hurt" over the "treacherous stand" taken in the letter by Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr P.A. Sangma, and Mr Tariq Anwar. The issue of Mrs Sonia's "foreign origin" was baseless and she was as good an Indian as anyone else.The country accepted her as its "leader". The statement appealed to her to withdraw her resignation and take a bold stand and strengthen the party and the nation. In a similarly worded statement, two former ministers, Mr Avtar Singh Brar and Mr Lakhwinder Singh Randhawa, have castigated the three Congressmen for their letter. "The three seem to have forgotten how, when the Congress was in a state of disarray, Mrs Sonia had come out to 'save the party'. "Just when she had infused new life into the party such non-issues had been raised. Her resignation as Congress chief was a proof that she had no greed for any office and was working for the Congress alone which she helped regain its lost ground. Her presence on the scene showed that the country had such a "big" leader who has shown "spirit of sacrifice". The two requested her to withdraw her resignation. If that be so, the vice-president of the Punjab BJP Yuva Morcha unit, Dr Bhai Paramjit Singh, said the present political and other crisis in the country were due to the Congress. The BJP as such may not seek answer from Mrs Sonia Gandhi on questions raised in the letter by three Congressmen, nevertheless, the turmoil within the Congress would at least make countrymen sit up and think. His statement said Mr A.B. Vajpayee was far more popular than Mrs Sonia Gandhi. If the country today faced a number of problems it was due to the wrong policies of the Congress which spread corruption in every walk of life. On the other hand the Pokhran nuclear tests had given added strength to the nation. Meanwhile, a PPCC press
note said today that AICC leader in charge of Punjab, Mr
Pranab Mukerjee, will address a meeting here on May 22,
which will be presided over by Capt Amarinder Singh. |
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Bhai Ranjit asked to form front JALANDHAR, May 18 (PTI) — Radical Akali leaders of splinter groups within the Sikh polity today jointly called upon Bhai Ranjit Singh to bring together all those recognising him as Jathedar of Akal Takht under a single political banner to defeat the ruling Akali Dal led by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the Lok Sabha elections. "We will accept as our leader anyone nominated by Bhai Ranjit Singh or he can himself lead such a formation," Mr Kuldip Singh Wadala and Mr Jasbir Singh Rode, Presidents of the Akali Dal (Democratic) and the Akali Dal (Panthic), respectively, told reporters here. The joint meeting of the leaders, opposed to Mr Badal, was attended by, apart from Mr Wadala and Mr Rode, Mr Sucha Singh Chhotepur, Mr Prem Singh Lalpura, Mr Kulbir Singh Ghaura, human rights activist D.S. Gill, former chairman of the Gurdwara Commission Bhalinder Singh Sekhon and leaders of the Janata Morcha and the Samajwadi Party. The leaders, in their appeal to Bhai Ranjit Singh, said he should bring together all those who were present at the "parallel" Khalsa tercentenary celebrations at Anandpur Sahib last month under the banner of the Sant Samaj. They included ousted SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Mr Simranjit Singh Mann. Asked whether Mr Tohra would be acceptable to them as leader of such a political front, which they termed as the "third force" to oppose both the Congress and the SAD-BJP alliance, the Akali leaders said they would accept the choice of Bhai Ranjit Singh. The leaders also
endorsed the formation of the Pakistan Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee saying it had given the Sikhs in
Pakistan the right to manage the affairs of Gurdwaras. |
||
Tohra was expelled for
'indiscipline' SANGRUR, May 18 — The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today said the former SGPC chief, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra was expelled from the SAD for gross indiscipline and conniving with the Congress. Addressing a party conference at Nankana Sahib, about 5 km from here. Mr Badal said he tried his best to avoid the action, but in vain. Mr Badal said he offered Mr Tohra the chief ministership, but the former SGPC chief declined the offer. The Chief Minister charged Mr Tohra with misuse of SGPC funds and requested Bibi Jagir Kaur, president of the SGPC, to issue a white paper in this regard. Mr Badal said Mr Tohra's expulsion would not affect the prospects of SAD-BJP alliance candidates in the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll. Mr Badal blamed the Congress for forcing the mid-term poll on the country. The party was an enemy of the Sikhs and Punjab as it had always adopted a step-motherly treatment towards the genuine demands of the state. Mr Badal criticised the Congress for projecting Mrs Sonia Gandhi as the future Prime Minister and congratulated Mr Sharad Pawar and two other leaders on raising the Sonia issue. Mr K.L.Sharma, senior vice-president of BJP, also blamed the Congress and Left parties for forcing the mid-term elections on the nation and expressed the confidence that the BJP and its allies under the leadership of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee would be voted to power. Mr Sharma assured Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi, senior vice-president of the SAD, that the issue of more powers to the states would be included in the national agenda of the National Democratic Alliance because the BJP believed that both states and the country should be strong. Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, secretary-general of the SAD predicted that Mr Vajpayee would be the Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha poll. Speaking on the
occasion, Bibi Jagir Kaur justified the expulsion of Mr
Tohra. Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, Union Agriculture
Minister, Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi and other leaders
criticised the Congress for forcing the mid-term poll on
the people. |
||
Cong men oppose ticket to
‘outsiders’ SANGRUR, May 18 — A hornet's nest has been stirred in the district with all important leaders opposing the candidature of "outsiders" being reportedly favoured by the pradesh Congress for the parliamentary seat. Pradesh Congress President Capt Amarinder Singh had hinted last week that industrialists Kewal Dhillon and Arvind Khanna were leading aspirants for the Congress ticket from the Sangrur constituency. Former MP Gurcharan Singh Dadhahoor, who says he is a contender for the ticket, has lambasted the candidatures of Mr Kewal Dhillon and Mr Arvind Khanna. He said he would oppose the candidature of Kewal Dhillon tooth and nail as he was not a Congressman. He alleged that Mr Dhillon had supported and financed Akali Dal Candidate Surjit Singh Barnala against him in 1996 and that he was likely to withdraw in favour of Mr Barnala if given the party ticket. Mr Dadhahoor said on the other hand Mr Arvind Khanna, who was a recent entrant to the party from the Akali Dal and had come to Sangrur a few years ago, was hand in glove with the Akali Dal Secretary-General Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa who had made him Secretary of the Punjab Olympic Association earlier. Mr Dadhahoor said he was a disciplined worker of the party who would abide by the decision of the high command and forgo the ticket if there was an understanding with the Left parties and the Sangrur seat was given to the CPM. He said it was, however, unfortunate that outsiders and opportunists were being made prospective candidates when the wave was in support of the Congress and loyal workers who had stood by it through thick and thin were being ignored. He said he would request the pradesh Congress to support him or else he would approach the high command. Meanwhile, other senior Congressmen of the Sangrur constituency have also supported Mr Dadhahoor's line of thinking. Talking to TNS, Sangrur district Congress president Gurcharan Singh Dirba, who is also a legislator from Dirba, said people were not in favour of outsiders. He said Mr Dadhahoor could not be called a weak candidate as he had fought elections during the period of terrorism in 1992. Veteran Congress leader Som Dutt, who is presently a secretary of the pradesh Congress from Barnala, when contacted said only a Congressman should be given the party ticket. In a reference to Mr Khanna, he said the Congress should beware of forces which had infiltrated the party with the intention of weakening it. Veteran leader from Malerkotla and former minister Abdul Ghaffar, when contacted, said party workers should be given importance and candidates should not be imposed on them. Referring to Mr Kewal Dhillon and Mr Arvind Khanna, he said these persons had never even attended party district committee meetings. Moreover, a decision had been taken at Panchmari not to give important posts to new entrants till three years. Pradesh Congress
President Capt Amarinder Singh when questioned about the
candidature of Mr Kewal Dhillon and Arvind Khanna last
week had said while the candidature of Mr Dhillon had
been put up before also for the seat. Mr Khanna had done
good social work in the district by covering more than
300 villages under a mobile dispensary scheme. When asked
why Mr Khanna had been given the important post of
treasurer in the pradesh Congress just after he joined
the Congress from the Akali Dal, he said he needed
persons whom he could trust at crucial positions. |
||
SGPC code of conduct for artistes AMRITSAR, May 18 (UNI) — The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has come out with a code of conduct for stage and film actors and actresses playing the role of prominent Amritdhari (baptised) Sikh personalities in films or on stage. A press release issued by SGPC secretary Kulwant Singh here yesterday said that an actor with shorn hair and supporting a false beard could not be permitted to play the role of any historic Sikh personality by supporting a long (false) beard and role model of a Sikh personality who had sacrificed his life for the cause of Sikhism, the release added. The release specifically stated that the SGPC would not permit any director/producer or playwright to project the Sikh Gurus and their disciples on stage or in films. The reaction of the SGPC followed their objection to the staging of a play entitled "Singh Soorme" (brave Sikhs) recently at various places in Punjab to mark 300 years of the birth of the Khalsa. The release claimed that a number of complaints had been received by it on the manner in which the play was directed. It said that in the play the role of two Sikhs Bhai Sukha Singh and Bhai Mehtab Singh who had attained martyrdom in the 18th century were played by clean shaven actors supporting false beards. Moreover these two actors smoked cigarettes and consumed liquor and hence they were all the more not qualified to personify the two martyrs on stage, the release added. The release further said
that the producers and directors should get the clearance
from the SGPC if they wanted to direct Sikh historical
films and plays. |
||
Rode hails PGPC, slams SGPC JALANDHAR, May 18 (PTI) — Former Akal Takht Jathedar and president of the Akali Dal (Panthic) Jasbir Singh Rode yesterday hailed the setting up of the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PGPC), saying the move would ensure better upkeep of gurdwaras which were earlier being looked after by the Waqf board. "The SGPC has singularly failed to play any constructive role in looking after the over 120 gurdwaras in Pakistan and its only role has been to collect offerings at big functions and not share these with gurdwara managements", Mr Rode told PTI here. "Earlier, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, who remained at the helm of the SGPC for 25 years, promised several times that measures would be taken for the renovation of historic gurdwaras, but did not take any step for the purpose. The setting of the PGPC would enable local Sikhs to look after these gurdwaras now," he said. Mr Rode, known as a radical Akali leader, ridiculed those criticising Islamabad's move and said for Sikhs "who pray everyday to Akal Purakh that they be granted an opportunity to look after their holy shrines" this had come as a blessing. The PGPC, which is headed by a former ISI chief, was set up last February by the Nawaz Sharif Government through a notification. The Indian Government and the SGPC had strongly criticised the move with SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur even threatening not to send Sikh jathas to Lahore for the June-end death anniversary function of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Mr Rode lashed out at Bibi Jagir Kaur for what he termed as "irresponsible statements" and said the SGPC, which used to collect all offerings at the gurdwaras during the visit of jathas had actually starved the gurdwaras of all funds. "Not event the SGPC or Bibi Jabir Kaur have ever alleged that the Pakistani authorities ever interfered in running gurdwaras or violating maryada. Then, is the SGPC only peeved over the loss of funds running into a few crores?" Mr Rode asked. Most of the shrines in
Pakistan are in bad shape and the Pakistani authorities
have never showed any interest in their maintenance. |
||
Probe ordered into
doctors’ conduct AMRITSAR, May 18 — Dr H.S. Gill, Medical Superintendent, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, has deputed Dr Jagdish Gargi, Prof and Head of the Department of Forensic to conduct an inquiry into the allegations of inordinate delay in the preparation of the medico-legal report of a worker of a mill at Chheharta who was allegedly injured in a attack by pro-management workers. However, Mr Satya Pal Dang, a veteran CPI leader in a communication to the Chief Minister and the Principal Secretary Research and Medical Education, Punjab has urged for a high-level probe into the alleged unethical conduct of some doctors of the hospital. He said the inquiry should be conducted by an IAS officer. In his complaint, Mr Dang alleged that the medico-legal report of Joginder Singh, a worker of Chheharta mill, was not prepared in as doctors were in collusion with the management of the mill. Mr Dang alleged that the police also favoured the management for obvious reasons. He further alleged that the case was not registered under proper sections of the IPC. However, officials of
the mill management denied any hand in the delay of the
medico-legal report. |
||
‘Plagiarism in universities’ AMRITSAR, May 18 — A former national lecturer of the University Grants Commission (UGC), in an article published by Guru Nanak Dev University, has alleged that hundreds of research papers, theses and term papers of universities are full of plagiarism. The article is contained in a book, "Punjabi criticism of twentieth century", edited by Dr Harbhajan Singh Bhatia, a reader of the Punjabi Department, which was released by university Syndicate. The article by Dr Joginder Singh Rahi, a former national lecturer of the UGC and former Head, Department of Punjabi, has alleged that vice-chancellors of various universities of the state were aware of the academic frauds, but had not taken any action for reasons best known to them. It may be mentioned here that the university has already ordered a high-level probe into an alleged academic fraud last month. Dr Rahi, in his article, alleged that there were numerous instances of plagiarism when "not only sentences or paragraphs, but also pages were copied" by the "so-called research scholars or Fellows. Dr Rahi while talking to this reporter, alleged that the professors who had reached the level of Dean were also involved in plagiarism. Dr Rahi alleged that a senior professor of the university, had copied at least 80 per cent material from a French author. Dr Rahi alleged that a lecturer in journalism at Punjabi University had "plagiarised a book" of his senior professor who had gone abroad. Similar cases of plagiarism were also detected in the Departments of English, Physical Education and Sciences. Inquiries were ordered from time to time, but no action had so far been taken against the plagiarists. However, Dr Harbhajan Singh Bhatia, who edited the book carrying the article of Dr Rahi, said the recent controversy about plagiarism was uncalled for. He said that the article was written by Dr Rahi a few years ago and it was reproduced in the book this year. He alleged that politics seemed to be behind the publication. He further said that Dr Rahi had not mentioned the name of Guru Nanak Dev University in his article. The word used by him was "universities". However, Dr Rahi said that though certain vested interests were raising a hue and cry, the points raised by him in his article were relevant. These allegations needed to be probed at the highest level as academicians holding high posts were involved. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr
Harbhajan Singh Soch, said the examples given by Dr Rahi
were prior to his (Dr Soch's) taking over as the
Vice-Chancellor. However, he said he had directed the
officials concerned to make the research and term papers
transparent. He said that steps were taken to check the
acts of plagiarism and the method of presentation of
theses or term papers in the university was being
streamlined. He further said that there was not even a
single case of plagiarism reported during his tenure as
Vice-Chancellor. |
||
Bank settlement decried JALANDHAR, May 18 — A conference of the Punjab National Bank Workers' Union (Northern zone) was held here on Sunday. Mr Manoranjan Kalia, Health Minister, inaugurated it. Addressing the conference, Mr J.K. Sawhney, general secretary, All-India Punjab National Bank Workers' Federation, criticised the seventh bipartite settlement with the united forum of bank employees as it was far below the expectations of employees and the forum's demand for a 56 per cent rise. He said after the merger of the New Bank of India with Punjab National Bank, more than 2000 employees of New Bank of India had been transferred to office places and their seniority reduced. A large number of cases were pending in different courts. The conference expressed its concern about corruption in Punjab National Bank. It demanded that the chairman and managing director who had been holding the office for the past 10 years should be replaced. The conference also passed a resolution that the sub-staff and the non-sub staff should be given two time-bound promotions. Mr J.N. Kapoor, general secretary, All India Bank Staff Association, while stressing the need for the establishment of the 10th association of bank employees, said the employees' issues and aspirations were not being properly addressed by the existing unions. Mr D.P. Tank, Mr N.K.
Tehri, Mr Chander Sheikhar and Mr S.P. Singh were elected
president, general secretary, secretary and treasurer,
respectively. |
||
Desilt drains before rains:
villagers GURDASPUR, May 18 — Resentment prevails among residents of the Kahnuwan Bet area in this district against the government's failure to desilt drains in the area. The problem is likely to worsen if the desilting of the drains is not completed before the start of the rainy season , they said. According to a survey as many as 23000 acres of land in the area is waterlogged. Kotli Sainian, Maan, Chopra, Kural, Balhra, Gunopur, Kotli Harchandan, Salopur, Pandori, Kalichpur, Sundhrab, Chhinna Kot Khan Mohammad, Feru Chechian villages are affected by the problem. Official sources said Mr Bikramjit Singh, Secretary, Power and Irrigation, visited the area in middle of March and listened to the grievances of the people. As a result a plan was chalked out to desilt about 195 km length of drains in the area at a cost of Rs 2.35 crore. NABARD officials also visited the area on April 16 but have sanctioned no funds. Mr S K Sandhu, Deputy Commissioner, said the Irrigation Secretary has approved the desilting of 127 km length of drains which will involve an expenditure of Rs 1.2 crore. The amount has been sanctioned and the first instalment amounting to Rs 50 lakh has been received by the district . The desilting operation will be carried out in the 20 km length of Kot Khan Mohammad drain and its link drains, 14 km of length of the Ghukla drain system, 21 km length of Noor Shah drain system, 38 km length of Kahnuwan Swamp drain system, 21 km length of Kotli Harchand drain system and 13 km length of the Gunopur drain system. As many as 10 drag line machines have been pressed into service and the task will be accomplished before June 30, claimed the Deputy Commissioner. Mr Sandhu said the remaining length of drains will be desilted as soon as the funds were sanctioned and received by the district. Farmers of the area said
the farmers' economy was likely to improve after the
desilting of the drains which will solve the menace of
waterlogging. |
||
4 held for selling pirated tapes MOGA, May 18 (UNI) — Four owners of three music centres have been arrested on a charge of selling pirated cassettes here. The police said today that the arrested persons were identified as Ashok Kumar of Chaudhary Music Centre, Rakesh Kumar and Vaneet Kumar of Gupta Cassette Stores and Gopal Krishan of Sapna Music Centre. During search a large number of pirated cassettes were recovered. A case under the Section
420 of the IPC and the Indian Copyright Act were
registered against them. |
||
NRI arrested on rape charge MOGA, May 18 (UNI) — The police today arrested, a NRI, Jasbir Singh, in connection with a rape case, with help of Interpol, from Delhi airport, while he was trying to board a flight to Canada. According to the police Jasbir Singh, along with two others had allegedly raped a woman. A case against the trio was registered on February 7. Earlier, the police had arrested his two accomplices however, Jasbir Singh had been absconding since then. He was brought back and produced before a court here. The court, remanded him
to police custody for two days yesterday. A case under
Sections 376, 452, 506 and 34 of the IPC had been
registered against them. |
||
Protest against cut in HRA PATIALA, May 18 — The Punjab and UT Employees Joint Action Committee of government and semi-government departments today organised gate rallies in front of their respective departments. They also staged a dharna in front of the Punjab Pollution Control Board in protest against the recent lathi charge by the police on government employees living in Sector 39 and 40 in Chandigarh. Mr Darshan Singh Labana, General Secretary of the committee, later in a statement said the Chandigarh employees were 'peacefully' protesting for the past 26 days against the move of the Punjab Government to effect a 10 per cent cut in house rent allowance (HRA). He also alleged that by ordering the lathi charge the government was trying to intimidate the striking employees. The committee demanded that the state government should immediately withdraw orders regarding the cut in house rent allowance and suspend police officers who attacked the demonstrators. The joint action
committee has also decided to organise rallies daily at
all employees' colonies here till their demands are
accepted. |
||
Shopkeeper shot dead JALANDHAR, May 18 — A shopkeeper was shot dead by two youths on a scooter near Adarsh Nagar here this afternoon, here today. Police sources said that
the two first pushed Mr Ashwani Kumar, a resident of
Adarsh Nagar and shot him dead from a very close range.
The police has registered a case under Sections 302, 34
and the Arm Act. |
||
Joint entrance test on July 2 AMRITSAR, May 18 — The joint entrance test (undergraduate) for admission to the first year of the B.Sc. (Hons School) in chemistry, physics, botany, human genetics, zoology, B.Sc industrial microbiology, and B. Pharmacy of Guru Nanak Dev University will be held on July 2. The date for the receipt of completed application forms is June 21. According to a press
note of the university the prospectus will be available
from May 25. |
||
INTUC meeting from May 21 JALANDHAR, May 18 — A meeting of the 239th National Working Committee of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) will be held here from May 21 to 23. Dr Subhash Sharma, General Secretary of the Punjab INTUC, said here today that such a meeting was being convened for the first time after 1964 when a meeting was held at Yamunanagar which was then part of Punjab. It was likely to discuss the labour policy of the Centre, the appointment of the Second National Commission on Labour, the protection of the public sector, the political situation in the country, the raising of the income tax limit, the revision of minimum wages and the anti-employee policies of the union and Punjab governments. A workers rally would be
held at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall to pay homage to Rajiv
Gandhi on his eight death anniversary and a blood
donation camp would also be organised. The sub committees
of INTUC would hold their meetings at the Circuit House
here on May 21. |
||
More relief sought for
militancy-hit AMRITSAR, May 18 — BJP MLA Laxmi Kanta Chawla has said that the condition of militant victims in Jammu and Kashmir is miserable. In a press note issued here today, Ms Chawla who recently visited the state, said Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had not cared to, visit Thakurai village in Doda district where at least 17 members of a family were gunned down by militants. She urged the Prime Minister to direct the Jammu and Kashmir Government to provide compensation to the violence-hit on the pattern of the Punjab Government. She also called for
efforts to stop the migration of Hindus from Jammu and
Kashmir by ensuring their security. |
||
Three held for robberies LUDHIANA, May 18 — The police here has arrested Nirbhai Singh, a criminal involved in a number of robbery cases in the city and its adjoining area. He was involved in looting money from liquor vends and from a scooter driver. In a separate incident,
the police has arrested Santokh Singh and Chamkaur Singh,
who were involved in some cheating cases. The two used to
arrange the marriage of their woman accomplice, Manjit
Kaur, and later decamped with jewellery and cash. |
||
Hushing up of case alleged AMRITSAR, May 18 — In a communication to Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, Mr Amarjit Singh Asal, Secretary, Punjab Trade Union Congress, has alleged that the police had hushed up a sensational case in which a left foot of a migrant labourer was cut due to the alleged high-handedness of the management. Mr Asal, in his communication, alleged that the case was hushed up in collusion with doctors of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. Mr Satya Paul Dang, a veteran CPI leader, also alleged that despite repeated requests to the Station House Officer Cheeharta, the FIR was not lodged against the suspect. He further alleged that the trade union leaders met the SSP who had reportedly directed the SHO to lodge FIR yet no action was taken in this regard. The CPI leader further said that it was the duty of the hospital to inform the police if there was any accident case. However, in this case the doctors did not bother to inform the police for obvious reasons. The victim was shown as "unknown" son of "unknown" in the hospital record. However, the management
of the mill when contacted denied the charges of Mr Asal
and Mr Dang. |
||
Autorickshaw men block traffic AMRITSAR, May 18 — In protest against the alleged high-handedness of the police auto-rickshaw owners here resorted to a traffic jam at the Bhandari overbridge, causing a lot of inconvenience to the public. In a press release
issued here today Mr Ram Sharn Paul, President, Amritsar
Autorickshaw Dal, alleged that the union had to resorted
to the jam as an autorickshaw driver was kept in illegal
police custody for two days. He alleged that instead of
giving justice, the police had used harsh language
against the autorickshaw owners when they met senior
police officials in this regard. |
||
Bail plea of scam accused
rejected PATIALA, May 18 —The Special Judge, Mr B.C. Rajput, rejected the anticipatory bail application moved by M.S. Sonar, Director, Agriculture and Gurbas Singh, Joint Director, here yesterday in the fertiliser-subsidy scam. The applicants through their counsels contended that they were not involved in the scam as it fell outside the purview of their duty. However, the Vigilance Bureau here, which is investigating the scam, presented documents through public prosecutor K.S. Nigha that these duties were assigned to the accused officers. A case has been registered against 16 officers of the state Agriculture Department and three employees of the Punjab Agro Industry, while about 50 persons are involved, according to the bureau. The vigilance inquiry
report says fertilisers were sold to fictitious farmers
or agencies. Even registration numbers of vehicles used
for transportation turned out to be of scooters and cars. |
||
Consumer court penalises SBI PATIALA, May 18 (PTI) — The Patiala District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the State Bank of India, Nabha branch to pay compensation for its failure to deposit in time a bank draft in a customer's bank account. The forum said SBI branch office should pay Rs 500 to complainant Poonam Jain as compensation for its failure to deposit her draft in time in her savings bank account. A demand draft had been deposited by Ms Jain on May 18, 1998 for Rs 35,648 which was drawn on Punjab and Sind Bank, Nabha, but the amount was not credited to her account. On July 8, 1998, the complainant issued cheque for Rs 35,000 in favour of M/s Atma Ram Bhim Sain, Nabha. However, the bank did not honour the cheque and returned it with the objection 'refer to drawer', insufficient funds. Ms Poonam filed a petition with the Consumer Court claiming compensation of Rs two lakh on the ground that her reputation had been hit. The consumer court found
the bank guilty of deficiency in service instructing it
to pay Rs 500 as compensation to the petitioner and Rs
250 as costs of the petition. |
||
Held for selling spurious
petrol GURDASPUR, May 18 — The police today arrested Kamal Kumar a resident of Dinanagar on the charge of selling spurious petrol. The accused was mixing a red coloured chemical in the thinner to produce duplicate petrol. Mr Varinder Kumar SSP said here that the police along with Tarlok Singh Inspector Food and Civil Supplies on specific information, raided the shop of the accused yesterday and recovered 150 litres of duplicate petrol, 400 litres of thinner and 150 gram of red coloured powder. A case under Section 7
of the Essential Commodities Act has been registered
against the accused by the Dinanagar police. |
||
University teachers end dharna PATIALA, May 18 — Members of the Punjabi University Teachers Association (PUTA) have lifted their month-long dharna following an assurance given in this regard by the new Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia. Dr Ahluwalia assured the teachers yesterday there would be no victimisation in the university and efforts would be made to make the atmosphere congenial and harmonious. He also said various demands of employees and teachers would be met as early as possible. The United Teachers Front Chairman, Dr Kehar Singh said office-bearers of PUTA held a meeting today with the Vice-Chancellor. PUTA President S.S.
Khaira discussed at length the victimisation being faced
by employees and teachers and non-teaching staff. |
||
Rally against lathi-charge on
govt staff CHANDIGARH, May 18 — The Punjab Civil Secretariat Staff Association today held a rally here to protest against the alleged lathi charge on Punjab Government employees, who were holding a peaceful rally against the increase in house rent from 5 to 10 per cent. Mr Karnail Singh Saini, General Secretary of the association, said that in Sector 39 employees were canecharged without any provocation a few days ago. He said that employees had every right to hold peaceful rallies to highlight their demands. The association has
urged the Punjab Government to release 10 per cent
dearness allowance as has been given by the Himachal
Pradesh and Haryana Governments to their employees. |
||
Expel Pawar, says Buta PHILLAUR, May 18 — A former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader, Mr Buta Singh, has demanded the immediate expulsion of Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr P.A. Sangma and Mr Tariq Anwar from the party for opposing the candidature of AICC President Sonia Gandhi as the future Prime Minister on the ground of her foreign birth. Talking to this correspondent today, Mr Buta Singh described this episode as unfortunate and meaningless. He said there was conspiracy to divide the party and to indirectly help the BJP. He said the Congress would be strengthened under the able and strong leadership of Ms Sonia Gandhi. When asked to comment on
Ms Sonia Gandhi's resignation, Mr Buta Singh said no
Congressman could tolerate her resignation and appealed
to Ms Gandhi to withdraw her resignation in the interest
of the party. |
||
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