Phagwara, August 22
Hundreds of BJP and BJYM activists sat on a dharna before the local police station and blocked vehicular road traffic on Phagwara-Chandigarh road for several hours in protest against the “careless and misleading” working of the Phagwara police, which allegedly summoned Block BJP President Tejasvi Bhardwaj, son of Prem Krishan of Phagwara, in place of an accused Tapasvi Bhardwaj, son of Satish Kumar of Chandigarh, in connection with an investigation in a case of cheating and human trafficking on the pretext of sending the youths abroad, here last night.

When contacted, Mr Tejasvi Bhardwaj said ASI Baldev Singh of the City police station came to his office at about 7 pm on Monday evening and asked him to accompany him to the police station. He said he was interrogated for more than an hour.

When he tried to explain the matter and his ignorance about any such matter, the policemen, he claimed, ignored his plea.

Later he contacted ASP Sukhchain Singh Gill who instructed the police officials to allow him to leave. The ASP described the incident as case of mistaken identity. 

A protest rally was also organised at dharna site before local city police station, which was addressed by district BJP chief Hira Lal Dhir, general secretary Balbhadhar Sein Duggal and Akali leader Sarwan Singh Kular who strongly condemned the police. They demanded immediate suspension of City Police Station SHO Gurwinder Singh for harassing Bhardwaj.

The fiasco occurred after the police booked four persons, including a woman, on the charges of duping a Chandigarh resident of Rs 10 lakh here on Sunday night.

The complainant told the police that one Tapasvi Bhardwaj, a travel agent from Chandigarh, had struck a deal for Rs 15 lakh in September last year to get him a work permit to in Australia.

The complainant said he was asked to come to international airport at Delhi on January 24. But since then the accused neither sent him abroad nor returned his passport. 

Kapurthala, August 22
Punjab government has decided to develop Sultanpur Lodhi as a religious circuit.

Special facilities will be provided for pilgrims outside religious places of Sultanpur Lodhi.

The town, 30 km south of Kapurthala, has considerable religious importance as Guru Nanak Dev had spent several years of his life there.

The place has a host of gurdwaras among which Gurdwara Ber Sahib is the most prominent. It derives its name from a Ber tree under which the Guru had meditated.

Gurdwara Ghat Sahib is also situated in this town. Guru Nanak Dev reportedly reappeared at the place where this gurdwara is situated after a three-day dip in the Kali Bein.

Other historical buildings here include Mazaar Shah, Hujra Hajira and Serai, the oldest building in Sultanpur Lodhi.

Punjab Principal Secretary, Tourism, Ms Geetika Kalha, stated this in a meeting of the district officers here today.

Addressing the district officers after visiting several heritage buildings, she said Kapurthala, Ropar and Fatehgarh Sahib would also be developed as heritage towns.

Stating that Amritsar and Patiala were declared as heritage cities last year, she said the Punjab government was likely to get Rs 25 to Rs 50 lakh for the development these as heritage towns.

Ms Kalha said that Kapurthala would be developed as tourist destination under a scheme of the Union government. Basic infrastructure and other facilities would be provided near the heritage buildings, she added.

Earlier, the principal secretary visited Moorish Mosque, Gole Kothi, Darbar Hall and other buildings.

A development report of these heritage buildings would be sent to the Centre and the work for the same would be started after getting nod from the Centre, she added.

Ms Kalha said there are plans to constitute heritage societies headed by concerned DCs in some districts so that development works for the heritage buildings could be carried out.

Jalandhar, August 22
Veteran Akali leader and the chief of the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib Ravi Darshan Abhilasha Sanstha, Mr Kuldeep Singh Wadala, today urged the Central government to talk to the Pakistan government over providing free passage to Sikhs to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib.

The gurdwara in Pakistan has been a place of reverence for Sikhs as Guru Nanak Dev had spent the last phase of his life there.

Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib Ravi Darshan Abhilashi Sanstha has been demanding free passage and open corridor for Sikhs to the shrine for a long time.

Mr Wadala alleged that Sikhs and Punjabis were being discriminated against by the Centre in respect to the improvement of their bi-lateral relations with people of Pakistan.

“There are numerous examples of this discrimination. There are five open routes that have been provided by the Government of India to the people of J&K for free travel to the other side of Kashmir. The Rasgotra Committee has further recommended that the number of such passages be increased and this suggestion is under active consideration of the Indian government. So if despite bomb blasts and shoot outs, people of the two Kashmirs can meet, then why such an arrangement is not being made for people of Punjab? Is it not discrimination?” Mr Wadala asked at a press conference here.

He said people of the two Punjabs had been through a suffering that matched the suffering of people of the two Kashmirs, but the treatment on the part of the government has been different.

“Punjab is peaceful. So, don’t the people of Punjab deserve a better deal? ” he asked.

Jalandhar, August 22
Thirtysix religious and community leaders from remote areas of Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on a 14-day tour to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Ajmer under Operation Sadbhavana arrived at Jalandhar late last evening.

After a night stay here, they left for Delhi this morning. The group had an informal meet with the Army commander here who urged them to utilise the knowledge gained during the tour to spread the word of unity and brotherhood among people and bring peace and prosperity in the state back once again. The tour members, selected from remote areas of Rajouri, represent all religious communities and social strata of the state. Aptly named ‘Sair-e-Watan’, the tour exhibits intimacy of J&K with the rest of the country.

The members will meet the President of India, Chief Minister of Rajasthan and Maharaja of Jaipur apart from other senior military officials.

As a mark of communal harmony, the group will visit Akshar Dham, Jama Masjid, Sheesh Gaj Gurdwara, Catholic Church and the shrine of Moin-ud-din Chishti and finally move back to Jammu on September 3. 

Jalandhar, August 22
The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has recognised the lifetime achievements and outstanding efforts of Dr D.R. Vij, a Jalandhar-based eminent educationist by honouring with him its prestigious national award.

Dr Vij was one of five educationists selected by the NCTE from all over the country. He is the lone teacher from Punjab selected for the coveted honour by the apex teacher education body of the country.

Born in 1926 in Narowal in Pakistan, Dr Vij is not only the president of the Punjab State Centre of the Council for Teacher Education and a member of the Indian Association of Teacher Educations, but he has also been a member of syndicate, senate and academic council of a number of universities, including the Guru Nanak Dev University, Panjab University, Punjabi University, Kurukshetra University, Gorakhpur University, Muslim University, Aligarh, Benaras Hindu University and Indore University.

Besides, he has been a member of the National Committee for Equivalence of Standards, Punjab School Education Board, and has also worked as an advisor to the Punjab Public Service Commission for selection of candidates for high posts in education.

“I’m elated to get the award. This has enthused me to take the cause of education a bit further,” Dr Vij said.

He had represented India in different world education workshops in Sri Lanka, Kualalumpur, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand between 1978 and 1998.