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Tuesday 18th March, 2003 Repoll result vindicates Cong stand: Josan at 21:55 IST by Makhan Fazilka, March 17 “The victory of the Congress candidate, Mr Mohinderjit Singh Madaan, from Ward No 9 in the Jalalabad civic body repoll with a convincing margin after the deployment of the CRPF and special observers has shown once again that the elections were fair,” said Mr Hans Raj Josan, Jalalabad MLA, at a press conference after the declaration of the result late on Sunday. Mr Madaan defeated his nearest rival, Mr Prem Valecha of the Bharatiya Janata Party, by 404 votes. Repoll had been ordered in Wards 9 and 12 of Jalalabad, following allegations of booth capturing and rigging. Mr Prem Valecha, president of the Municipal Council of Jalalabad and an executive member of the Punjab BJP, was contesting from Ward No 9. Mr Rajnish Kumar Doomra, outgoing BJP councillor, was contesting from Ward No 12. After the repoll order of the State Election Commissioner, both candidates had given a boycott call in protest against the March 9 poll, in which, the Congress had won in all the remaining 13 wards. Mr Josan said, the BJP call was a farce, as Mr Madaan was a clear winner. The result for Ward No 12 will be declared later, as the case is sub judice. Mr Josan said, the BJP-SAD leaders, during the MC poll 5 years ago, had kidnapped the Congress candidates and torn their nomination papers. There had been no repoll then, he said. He said newspapers had given only one aspect of the elections. Seven party activists had been assaulted and shot at, he said. Rs 8 crore will be spent on setting up a canal-based drinking-water project for Jalalabad. This project is financed by World Bank. There shall be a vigilance probe into all substandard works done by the outgoing Municipal Council. Tuesday 26th November, 2002 Bhattal to appear in court today at 07:39 IST by Makhan Bathinda, November 25 Even as former Chief Minister, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, facing trials in the case pertaining to corruption and embezzlement, appears in the special court here tomorrow in connection with the framing of charges, the defence counsel have moved an application in the court today to place those documents on record which allegedly exposed the double standards of the prosecution agency. Though Mr Nand Lal Garg, counsel for Mrs Bhattal, refused to divulge the reason behind the move, information gathered by TNS revealed that efforts were afoot to establish the fact that trials of Mrs Bhattal by the state prosecuting agency were being conducted on political consideration. Today when the Special Judge was to decide whether charges under Section 409 and 13 (1) D, read with Section 13 (2), of the Prevention of Corruption Act should be framed against Mrs Bhattal or not, Mr Garg moved the application. The documents include the affidavit and application filed by Mr Paramjit Singh Rai, Director, Prosecution and Litigation, Punjab, on January 28 in which he had urged that a challan could not be presented against Mrs Bhattal in the special court Bathinda, as it did not come under its jurisdiction and she could be put on trial before getting prior sanction. The application along with an affidavit was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Mr Rai. A similar application was filed in the court of Special Judge, here by the then DSP (Vigilance), Mr Khushi Mohammad, on January 2. However, with the change of government in the state Mr Mohammad moved another application in the court of Special Judge here on March 27 to withdraw the previous application and a statement in the high court was also made to withdraw the application moved by the senior functionary of the Department of Prosecution and Litigation, Punjab, to withdraw the application along with the affidavit moved by Mr Rai on January 28. Now the prosecution authorities have deputed special staff members posted in other districts to help the local office to ensure that charges were framed against Mrs Bhattal without any delay. A cross-section of lawyers to whom TNS talked to said they were surprised that why the state government had failed to initiate legal action against those officials, who had allegedly adopted double standards. Wednesday 13th November, 2002 Bhattal fails to appear in court at 15:35 IST by Makhan Bathinda, November 12 Even as former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who has been facing trial in the court of the special judge here in a case pertaining to corruption and embazzlement, failed to appear in court today. The special judge, Mr Jaspal Singh, directed her counsel to ensure her appearance on November 26 and adjourned the hearing. The special judge was to decide whether the charges of corruption and embezzlement from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund in 1996 against Mrs Bhattal be framed or not, Mrs Bhattal did not appear in the court on the pretext that Section 144 of the CrPC had been imposed and there was a tense atmosphere in Punjab in the wake of SGPC elections. Mr Nand Lal Garg, counsel for Mrs Bhattal, when contacted, said an application was moved in the court of the special judge, in which exemption from personal appearance was sought for Mrs Bhattal on the ground that she was not able to appear today as Section 144 of the Cr PC had been imposed in Punjab. She did not appear in the court earlier on October 29 on the pretext that intelligence agencies had advised her against proceeding towards Bathinda from Chandigarh as farmers’ organisations and some political groups had given a Punjab bandh call and they had organised a dharna on the way. A case under Section 409 of the IPC and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act had been registered against Mrs Bhattal by the Vigilance Bureau at Ferozepore on the direction of the special judge, acting on the complaint of Mr Balwant Singh Dhillon, president, Amateur Boxing Association, Bathinda, in May last year. Mr Dhillon had alleged that Mrs Bhattal had embezzled Rs 20 lakh after withdrawing it from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund in 1996, when she was the Chief Minister. Mrs Bhattal found herself in more trouble when non-bailable warrants were issued against her and a police officer of the rank of SP was directed to execute the warrants by the special judge. She secured bail from the court of the special judge after approaching the Punjab and Haryana High Court and a direction was issued to the special judge. Initially, Mrs Bhattal alleged that the corruption case had been registered as part of a conspiracy by a senior official of the Public Relations Department. Punjab denies stopping visitors to Temple at 15:34 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, November 12 The Punjab and Haryana High Court today dismissed a petition, registered on the basis of a telegram, alleging that the devotees were being stopped from visiting the Golden Temple, after Punjab’s Advocate-General denied the allegations, claiming that the security arrangements had been made in and around the election venue only. On a related petition filed by Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee President Kirpal Singh Badungar seeking directions to the state of Punjab, the Chief Minister, the Director-General of Police and Amritsar’s Deputy Commissioner against the alleged indiscriminate arrest of SAD (Badal) workers, the High Court fixed November 26 as the next date of hearing. In the telegram, taken up by the Bench, comprising Chief Justice Mr B.K. Roy and Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi, it was earlier alleged that the visitors were not being allowed to stay in the inns. It was further alleged that even school children from Surat in Gujarat and Ponta Sahib had been asked to leave the inns. Appearing before the Bench, Punjab’s Advocate-General Harbhagwan Singh stated that Inspector General (Security) Rajinder Singh had informed him that security measures had been taken only at the election venue and the adjacent areas. After recording the statement, the Judges dismissed the petition. Badungar, in the petition, meanwhile, claimed that the members were being arrested in an attempt to weaken, even wipe out, the SAD (Badal). Quoting press reports, he added that as many as 1222 persons had been arrested. Majority of them, he submitted, were SAD workers. Referring to an order, he added that no person was allowed to stay in the inns, hotels and guest houses within 500 metres of the Golden Temple for two days from November 11. This, he added, had forced a number of devotees to leave the place even though they were to perform Akhand Path. Explanation sought Mr Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday directed Punjab’s Additional Director-General of Police to be present in the Court for explaining why he was not replying to the letters written by state counsel. Pronouncing the orders, the Judge observed: “State counsel submits that in spite of demi-official letters, the ADGP was not responding. Let Izhar Aalam be present in the Court in person to explain why he was not caring for letters written by state counsel”. The case will now come up for hearing on December 2. Compensation In just over 10 years after three Batala district residents were allegedly abducted by the police, Mr Justice K.S. Garewal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday directed the payment of Rs 3 lakh compensation each to relatives of the victims. Delivering the verdict, Mr Justice Garewal ruled: “The petition is accepted and sum of Rs 3 lakh each is hereby awarded to the petitioner and the heir. The amount shall be paid by the state of Punjab through the Chief Secretary. It shall be paid within two months from today”. The Court had earlier directed the holding of an inquiry by Gurdaspur’s Sessions Judge into the disappearance of Balwinder Singh, Gurbachan Singh and Palwinder Singh. The Judge, in his report, had submitted that from evidence it appeared that the three had been abducted by the police. The inquiry was, subsequently, handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Saturday 27th July, 2002 Punjab BJP leaders call on Advani at 08:44 IST by Makhan New Delhi, July 26 The Punjab BJP has accused the Congress government in the state of politically victimising its leaders. In a representation to Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, state BJP leaders said the Congress government in Punjab had created an atmosphere of terror among the people, including government servants, in the name of anti-corruption movement. The leaders, who met Mr Advani today, said the corruption had been bred by the Congress which ruled the country for five decades. They said in the past five months the Amarinder government had adopted vindictive methods to tarnish the image of the BJP-Akali government. Citing the arrest of BJP leader Ashok Loomba, they alleged that political opponents were being targeted and the police was using rough methods to extract confessions. They claimed that some leaders were being framed on the basis of statements made under duress by those arrested. Pointing out that Mr Loomba belonged to a well-respected family of Ludhiana, the BJP leaders demanded that the case against him might be withdrawn and the “state government directed to stop framing cases for political vendetta.’’ Sidhu case: Punjab issued notice at 08:43 IST by Makhan Kharar, July 26 Mr Roshan Lal Chouhan, Judicial Magistrate, here today issued notice to Punjab for July 27 in an application moved by the counsel of Gurdeep Singh Manchanda who was arrested by the Vigilance on the charge of sending money belonging to Ravi Sidhu, suspended Chairman of the PPSC, abroad through hawala transactions for granting bail. The counsel in the bail application has stated that the accused was in custody since July 13 and next date of production in judicial custody before the court is August 1. He has stated that no recovery was involved in the cases registered against him. He has appealed that the accused should be ordered to be released on bail. PATIALA: All accused in the PPSC recruitment scam, including suspended Chairman Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu, former Commission Secretary Pritpal Singh, Paramjit Singh Pammi and examiners Prof Gurpal Singh and Dr Jagdish Karla were on Friday supplied with copies of the chargesheet filed against them by the Vigilance Department in the Sessions Court. District and Sessions Judge also ordered that the scrutiny of the challan would be done on August 9. Disposing off another application filed by Sidhu’s advocate Sahib Singh Dhindsa, the judge allowed him to meet Sidhu for one hour privately whenever he was brought to the court here for a hearing. Meanwhile, a demand made for provision of the copies of the statements made by Randhir Singh Dheera and Prem Sagar was also adjourned till August 9. Docs give death, not certificate at 08:43 IST by Makhan Fatehgarh Sahib, July 26 Mr Naresh Wadhwa, husband of Veena Wadhwa, a woman who was killed during a tonsillitis surgery in Civil Hospital here, is a harassed man. The hospital has refused to issue him his wife’s death certificate and told him get it from the PGI. The PGI authorities told him to obtain it from Civil Hospital here. The Civil Hospital authorities say that the woman had died in the PGI and not in this hospital. The PGI authorities said the woman had been declared brought dead and never admitted, so, a PGI certificate could not be issued. Even the post-mortem examination was not conducted in the PGI. Till today, the Civil Hospital authorities have not reported the woman’s death to the Registrar of Births and Deaths. The man said this was because his wife had died due to negligence on part of doctors. When contacted, Dr Bansal, acting SMO of the hospital, said the man should go to the PGI for the certificate and refused to say anything further. Meanwhile, various social welfare organisations have urged the local health authorities not to harass the man any further. Mr R.N. Sharma, president of the Citizens’ Welfare Council here, and Mr Varinder Takyar, a social worker, said if the authorities did not change their behaviour, there would be protests. Northern Rly XEn booked by CBI at 08:42 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, July 26 An Executive Engineer of Northern Railway, presently posted at New Delhi, has been booked by the CBI for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. CBI sleuths today conducted raids at the Patiala house of Executive Engineer, Jagtar Singh and seized documents pertaining to five properties — three at Patiala and one each at Noida and Delhi. Sources in the CBI said the evaluation of documents seized during the raid at his house revealed the properties were priced at Rs 90 lakh against his known sources of income. The Executive Engineer has two children who are studying abroad. The property was reportedly amassed between 1989 and 1996, said the sources. The officer is yet to be arrested and teams have reportedly been sent to Delhi in this regard. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered. Withdraw cut in grants: PCCTU at 08:40 IST by Makhan Jalandhar, July 26 The Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union today demanded the withdrawal of 10 per cent cut in grants and alleged illegal pension notification issued on July 9 by the state government. The state government has committed fraud on teachers through the pension notification which killed completely the already issued executive order regarding the pension-gratuity scheme on December 18, 1996, alleged Dr V.K. Tewari, general secretary of the union while addressing a protest rally here. The union leaders met Education Minister Khushal Behl yesterday. He agreed to disburse Rs 21.35 crore towards the UGC pay-revision arrears. He revealed adding that this was not enough and the state government must withdraw the pension notification and the proposed 10 per cent annual cut in grants. He also demanded that the entire UGC package on pay-revision including extension of revised scales to all colleges and posts as on January 1, 1996 counting of total length of service for promotion placement, benefit of past service and other benefits being given in the other states. PTI Dilemma over octroi collection at 08:34 IST by Makhan BALWANT GARGBATHINDA: The mediaeval system of taxation was brought alive when the abolition of octroi was quashed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on April 29, this year. Once again octroi collection appears to have put the state municipal committees and corporations in a dilemma.This time the problem lies in the methods employed for octroi collection. The tax can either be collected by the municipal employees or through contractors. Interestingly, the tax amount collected by contractors is always 25 to 30 times higher than what is collected by municipal employees, according to an audit report.But the ‘‘rude methods’’ employed by contractors have always invited severe criticism. The collection by municipal employees is no better since pilferage cannot be ruled out which inevitably results in the loss of revenue.It has been observed in the report that municipal committees nearing the end of their term are opposing contractual collection of octroi.However, in committees where elections are no where near, the stress is on the privatisation of octroi collection to generate funds for the cash-stripped committees.The collection of octroi in Bathinda has always been in the midst of controversy.During 1995-1996, the Bathinda municipal committee tried both the methods of octroi collection. The average collection in a day by the MC staff was Rs 1,07,505 and the amount collected by contractors in a day amounted to Rs 1,42,222.According to the audit report of the committee, a loss of Rs 31,59,247 was suffered when the tax was collected by MC employees.During 1997-1998, the Bathinda MC suffered a revenue loss of Rs 1,07,56,550 when committee staff collected the octroi.The money collected by the Bathinda MC staff in a day was Rs 1,15,239, while the amount collected by contractors on a daily average was Rs 1,44,763.The loss of revenue on account of pilferage by MC employees is not limited to collection. There are instances when the staff have allegedly tampered with octroi receipt books.In one of the many references in the audit report, the original receipt at an octroi post showed the amount received as Rs 1,300. However, the carbon copy of the receipt (to be maintained in the committee record) showed the amount as Rs 20.The fact that a lot of revenue has been lost will not force the Bathinda MC to give the job of tax collection to contractors.This could be because the MC house is nearing the end of its term, and it does not want to earn the residents’ ire by putting ‘‘rude’’ contractors on the job. Thursday 18th July, 2002 Dheera gets bail, may turn approver at 10:14 IST by Makhan Patiala, July 17 Vigilance Bureau officials today took Randhir Singh Dheera, key accused in the PPSC’s jobs for sale scam, into custody allegedly without authority immediately after he was released from the Central Jail here. Vigilance officials, including DSP, Vigilance, Ludhiana Sarup Singh, and DSP, Vigilance, Mohali Surjit Singh Khosa today posted themselves outside the Central Jail in early morning. Another alleged tout of suspended PPSC chief Prem Sagar, recently released from jail on bail was also seen outside the jail premises. Questioned by The Tribune Prem Sagar said, he had been brought from Moga by Vigilance officials to persuade Dheera to turn approver in the case registered against suspended PPSC Chairman Ravinderpaul Singh Sidhu and members of his family besides others at Patiala on April 30. He said both, he and another accused Pammi were being harassed since their release from jail and they could not even stay at their own homes. Immediately after Dheera was released from jail at 10 a.m. his new Ford Ikon car was cammandered by DSP Khosa who sat on the back seat along with him (Dheera) and proceeded to the PWD Guest House in the city. The DSP’s vehicle followed Dheera’s car. At the PWD Rest House Dheera disclosed that Vigilance personnel were pressurising him to turn approver in the case. Prem Sagar, who was also brought to the Rest House, said he and another accused in the case Paramjit Singh Pammi were also under pressure to turn approver. Dheera said he feared that the police would haul him up in either of the two cases registered against him at Mohali and Ludhiana and could also involve his sons in fresh cases. Dheera’s lawyer said his client would not turn approver in case he was assured that he would not be harassed by the Vigilance staff. He said it was due to this reason that Dheera earlier had shown reluctance in coming out of jail adding that Vigilance personnel had been following his client’s every move outside the jail. Dheera was questioned by Vigilance personnel at the PWD Rest House till noon and then he was whisked away again with Khosa sitting in his vehicle. Dheera’s counsel claimed that Dheera had been taken to Chandigarh for meeting with Vigilance officials there. The key accused had got bail in FIR number 24 registered here on July 10. He, however, could not be released from the jail immediately because some Sections had been listed wrongly in his release warrant. Though the wrong was rectified later, he deliberately did not furnish his bail bonds in a case registered against him at Ropar. According to a PTI report Randheer Singh Dheera, a Markfed employee, today denied that he had any plans to turn approver in the alleged cash-for-job scam of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) in which he had been arrested along with suspended Chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu and 10 others. Dheera also alleged that he was kept in a cell for four days in the jail before he made the confessional statement under Section 164, Cr PC, under pressure of Vigilance Bureau officials Sangrur SSP challans MLA at 10:13 IST by Makhan SANGRUR: The car of Gurpreet Singh Kangar, an independent MLA from the Rampura Phool constituency of Bathinda, was challaned on July 15 on the direction of SSP (Sangrur) Amardeep Singh Rai when Kangar was going to Chandigarh to cast his vote for the presidential election. The reason given for the challan was that the Lancer car in which the MLA was travelling was without a number plate, but the cause lay elsewhere. According to sources, the mistake the MLA committed was that he dared to overtake the convoy of the SSP near Sangrur. Annoyed, the SSP flashed a message, directing the police to challan the car at the next check post. The policemen who stopped the car at the next check post, however, let it go after learning that the person sitting inside was an MLA. Policemen manning the post told the SSP that the car belonged to an MLA, so they did not challan it. But the SSP was determined. He again directed the police to challan the MLA at the next check post. This time, the order was carried out and the MLA handed over a challan for driving without a number plate. Upon reaching Chandigarh, it learnt, that the MLA narrated the incident to other MLAs, who raised the issue with the chief minister. The chief minister reportedly pacified the MLAs, assuring ‘‘appropriate action’’. The very next day, the challan was withdrawn. Sidhu’s remand extended at 10:10 IST by Makhan Patiala, July 17 Suspended PPSC Chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu’s judicial remand was extended till July 26 by District and Sessions Judge S.N. Aggarwal here today. Sidhu’s advocate Sahib Singh Dhindsa filed an application, seeking permission to meet his client for two hours before he was taken back to jail whenever he came for court hearing, but the Sessions Judge allowed him to meet Sidhu for one hour after every hearing. Meanwhile, in another case, the court decreed that Prof Gurpal Singh and Dr Jagdish Kalra, who were out on bail, could be summoned as and when the need arose by the court as the challan had been presented in the court. The Vigilance Department also briefed the court of the steps taken by it to know about the whereabouts of Pritpal Kaur, Sidhu’s mother, and his brother Reetinder and sister-in-law Ajinder. It said advertisements had been placed in newspapers in this regard. High Court Bar supports CJ’s action at 10:07 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, July 17 Accusing the Punjab government of pushing the PPSC recruitment scandal under the carpet of secrecy, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association today demanded that the officers transferred out of the intelligence wing should be shifted back immediately. In a “stormy” general house meeting, the association members asserted that the officers, honest to the core, were transferred soon after they provided “relevant material” to the High Court Chief Justice which facilitated him to take action against three Judges. Congratulating the Chief Justice for withdrawing work from the Judges after conducting a thorough inquiry, the members also resolved to seek the transfer of all local Judges. They further decided to meet the Chief Justice of India and the Union Law Minister for the purpose. The justice delivery system would not improve till the local Judges were transferred out, they insisted. The convening of a “national conference” of the High Court Bar Associations spread all over the country was also demanded. Action on a “second list” of Judges reportedly being “prepared by the Chief Justice” was also sought by one of the members. Addressing the gathering of over 700 advocates in the afternoon today, advocate Tahar Singh claimed that the entire exercise of unearthing the scam was initially undertaken by the intelligence wing. After the government realised the involvement of certain Judges, it reacted by saying that the intelligence wing could only do the job of “sniffing” and the investigation was to be carried out by the Vigilance Bureau. The Bureau, he stated, was now involved in “Operation Close-up”. The Bar Association, he added, should resolve to meet the authorities concerned for ensuring the posting back of the officers. “Although I am sure they will continue to work with utmost dedication and honestly wherever they are posted, their transfer back to the intelligence wing will be in the interest of justice”, he asserted. Describing the withdrawal of work from the Judges as the “first victory in 25 years of the Bar and the media”, advocate Bhim Sen Sehgal maintained that page-one editorials in The Tribune injected a powerful dose in the advocates encouraging them to stand up against the corruption in the judiciary. Alleging the adoption of a “pick and choose policy” in the elevation of Judges, Mr Sehgal suggested that the Constitution should be amended to ensure that Judges above the age of 55 were appointed and were permitted to continue for a period not exceeding seven years. They should also be asked to give details of their assets at the time of taking oath and demitting the office, he added. Seeking action against other Judges “named in another list”, advocate Navkiran Singh said, “We believe that the CJ has prepared another list, it is necessary that action should be taken against them also”. Mr Navkiran further claimed that the advocates should not react if some member claimed that lawyers close to the Judges were being favoured, as it was an “open secret”. Today’s proceedings were disturbed when a member named a retired High Court Judge. The reference was objected to by some of the advocates, leading to chaos. The situation was brought under control only after Bar Association President Hawa Singh Hooda, along with other members, intervened. Others who supported the Chief Justice’s action included Mr H. S. Gill, Ms Daya Chaudhary, Mr Surinder Lamba and Mr I. S. Balhara. They also demanded the transfer of local Judges. No monsoon, but Bhakra dam is overflowing at 10:03 IST by Makhan SURINDER AWASTHI CHANDIGARH: Amidst disturbing reports of an elusive monsoon and its fallout on agriculture, there is good news, too. Nature compensates, albeit partially. Where the reservoir level elsewhere has declined, the Bhakra reservoir level is increasing at a rate of one foot per day because of the continued melting of snow in its catchment areas. The net result of the melting is that Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) is able to fully meet irrigation needs of its commandment area spread in the partner states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Also, its power generation has shown an increase of over 30 per cent since April 2002. Against the target of 2,753 million units, BBMB has produced 3,893 million units till date and this is despite the relatively poor performance at Pong dam. In stark contrast, the water level at Thein dam this year is 13 metres lower than last year’s (which was its first filling year). Instead of releasing 11,000 cusec water in mid-July, the management is releasing only 5,369 cusecs and accordingly power generation, too, had been affected. In all, Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) is generating only 117 lakh units per day from its hydro-projects against a target of 173 units, registering a shortfall in the vicinity of 40 per cent. Revenue officials bring Punjab govt to knees at 10:00 IST by Makhan BALWANT GARG BATHINDA: It was meant to be a grand exercise to eradicate corruption in Punjab. Starting from Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), the new chief minister seemed to be more than eager to stem out the big banyan tree of corruption. But once the all-powerful vigilance department started taking action against the revenue department of the state this month, the widespread agitation by the revenue officials against the move brought the government to its knees. The revenue department is one of the government departments in the state which are notorious for corruption. On Tuesday, chief minister Amarinder Singh assured the protesting revenue officials that their offices would be raided only after taking the deputy commissioner into confidence. The chief minister reportedly regretted the inconvenience caused to the officials following the vigilance raid. With the revenue officials on a statewide strike for the last one week to protest against the vigilance move, the already the state has further deteriorated. The other worrisome fallout is that the revenue officials have decided to come in direct confrontation with the vigilance department by exposing the ill-gotten wealth and property of the vigilance officials. The state government is perturbed and wants to defuse the tension between the two departments. On Monday, the state chief secretary called a delegation of Punjab Revenue Officers Association and arranged a meeting between them and the chief minister on Tuesday. According to the vigilance department sources, during the last five years, the maximum cases of corruption were registered against revenue officials in the state. During 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, the number of revenue officials caught red handed accepting bribes was 38, 42, 31 and 18 respectively. Out of a total of 707 cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act during these four years, 129 cases were against the revenue officials only. Tohra echoing CM’s views: Dhindsa at 09:53 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, July 17 Senior Akali leaders, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, today regretted that Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra has allowed himself to become “his master’s voice” in his dealings with the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. “Mr Tohra seems to have even forgotten the fact of his being a veteran compared with the CM and has confined his role to implementing the Congress agenda in Punjab at the behest of the Captain.” “However, even after openly springing to each other’s defence against Mr Parkash Singh Badal, both Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Capt Amarinder Singh have failed to carry conviction with the masses, failing to answer any of the serious charges levelled against them by highly respected and non-political individuals,” said Mr Dhindsa and Mr Bhunder, Secretary-General and General Secretary of the SAD, respectively. In a statement here today, the Akali leaders said the strategy of the Tohra-Amarinder nexus was quite simple. Mr Tohra would defend the Chief Minister against charges of corruption by blaming everything on Mr Badal. Capt Amarinder Singh, for his part, would bail out Tohra on charges of complicity with intelligence agencies by blaming militancy on Mr Badal. The strategy, however, had boomeranged on both. “Mr Tohra has mortgaged his soul, mind and body to Amarinder Singh to such an extent that he cannot even think of words different from those used by the Chief Minister. “If Capt Amarinder Singh calls Mr Badal a coward and blames militancy on him, Mr Tohra echoes not only the same views but even the same words. Even a cursory look at the reactions of the two leaders on the Judicial Commission issue, the DSGMC poll, vendetta against Akali workers or the mystery of the missing crores is enough to establish that the former SGPC chief had been reduced to echoing his master’s voice.” The two leaders alleged that even the arrangements for Mr Tohra’s failed press conference were made by the Chief Minister’s personal staff. “It is amusing how Mr Tohra has become a spokesman for the Chief Minister in the scandal involving the disappearance of crores of rupees from bank lockers in the recruitment scam. The Akali leaders reminded Capt Amarinder Singh that he had himself been among the first to make such allegations against Mr Tohra in the past. Mr Dhindsa and Mr Bhunder further observed that the parallels in the situation and stands of these “stalwarts” were truly amazing. “Captain Amarinder Singh is facing serious allegations from his own officers regarding financial corruption amounting to crores in the Ravi Sidhu affair. Now Bhai Ranjit Singh has also come forth with conclusive evidence that Tohra men bought Congress support in the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee elections by giving the party ticket to ‘killers’ of innocent Sikhs in 1984. Neither Mr Tohra nor Captain Amarinder Singh have been able to answer these charges or to give any convincing explanation on why their own men have turned against them on issues of integrity and political morality.” When Operation Black Thunder came, Capt Amarinder Singh’s suspicious role in joining the Akali Dal had already been exposed through his open friendship with the Rajiv Gandhi clan. “He is the last person from whom Tohra should seek support on issues concerning issues of the Sikhs versus the Congress. Similarly, Amarinder Singh could also do without certificates of honesty and war against corruption from Tohra and his lieutenants like Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, Mr Dhindsa and Mr Bhunder said. But the unholy alliance was doomed from the start as the two men share nothing except their opportunism and disregard for values,” the Akali leaders said.” Mr Dhindsa and Mr Bhunder further said it was a tribute to the incomparable stature of Mr Badal that Mr Tohra and Capt Amarinder Singh do not even have the confidence to take on Mr Badal without each other’s help. By alleging that Mr Badal was the only stumbling block in the way of a resolution of the Punjab problem, both have indirectly conceded that they could not push their pro-Congress agenda because of Mr Badal’s towering presence. “The real stumbling block, however, was the Congress leadership in Punjab and in Delhi which wanted to punish Punjab for its role during the Emergency days,” the two leaders added. Amritsar ex-DC ready to appear before Akal Takht at 09:48 IST by Makhan Amritsar, July 17 Mr Sarbjit Singh, former Deputy Commissioner, who is the author of the controversial book “Operation Black Thunder — an Eyewitness Account of Militancy in Punjab” has offered to appear before Akal Takht to clarify his position on the facts mentioned in the book. Addressing a press conference at his residence here today, Mr Sarbjit Singh said, “Let Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra be installed as Jathedar, Akal Takht, and even then he was prepared to appear before him”. He said the book was “first-hand information” and hence could not be contradicted. However, he said Mr Tohra was not the only one who knew about the impending Operation Bluestar, but Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwale too had an inkling about it. This was why Sant Longowal recruited one lakh “marjiwras” (do-and-die squad) and Sant Bhinderanwale called Gen Shubeg Singh to fortify Akal Takht. He denied that he had written the book to malign anybody as alleged by Mr Tohra. Meanwhile, Mr Tarlochan Singh, Vice-Chairman, Minorities Commission, described the allegations of Mr Tohra as “baseless” that the book was written as his behest. He said the fact was that he had not met Mr Sarbjit Singh for quite sometime. However, he welcomed the book and said such books must be written by all those who were directly involved in Operation Bluestar and Operation Blackthunder. On the other hand, Mr Harmindner Singh Gill, President, All India Sikh Students Federation, alleged that the publication of the controversial book was part of a big conspiracy. He said Mr Badal wanted to defame Mr Tohra. Friday 12th July, 2002 Petrol dearer in Punjab at 09:41 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, July 11 The Punjab Government today issued a notification of a Re 1 infrastructure cess per litre of petrol, as per the state’s annual Budget for the ongoing fiscal year. All petrol stations in Punjab would now sell petrol at a price higher by Re 1 per litre with immediate effect following the issuance of this notification, an official note said here today. UNI HC notice to Badal, others in PPSC case at 09:38 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: A writ petition seeking, among other things, a direction to former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, to clarify as to how suspended PPSC chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu’s name was recommended for appointment as member of Union public service commission (UPSC), came up for consideration on Thursday at Punjab and Haryana High Court. Significantly, the petitioners have sought the high court’s intervention to direct authorities concerned to allow relaxation in the age limit for all those candidates who despite possessing merit and qualification were left out in various selections by the PPSC under Sidhu. The petitioners have also urged that those responsible for delay in investigating the PPSC recruitment scam should be brought to book. After hearing preliminary arguments, the division bench of Justices S S Nijjar and Kiran Anand Lall, issued notice to Punjab chief secretary, Punjab public service commission (PPSC), director general police, additional director general, vigilance, and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, listed by petitioners Harjinder Singh and three others, for July 29. Dangi plea to quash proceedings: Justice Ashutosh Mohunta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, on Thursday, issued a notice to the state of Haryana and others for August 5 on the writ petition preferred by former Haryana minister Anand Singh Dangi to stay and quash proceedings pending before the special judge, Ambala. The proceedings pertain to three cases registered by the state vigilance bureau against Dangi under Prevention of Corruption Act at Ambala, Rohtak and Hisar. Bhajan Lal plea to quash FIR : Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, on Thursday, issued notice for September 17 to the state of Haryana and other respondents on a writ petition filed by former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal for quashing an FIR registered against him. The judge also directed the investigating officer to bring the record of the case. Sonia urged to let CM continue as PPCC chief at 09:37 IST by Makhan Patiala, July 11 The Patiala District Congress Committee (DCC) today issued a statement saying that Capt Amarinder Singh should continue as PPCC president to keep the party “effective, united and result oriented”. In a communique to AICC President Sonia Gandhi and other leaders, DCC (urban) president Ved Prakash Gupta, while forwarding the “sentiments” of Congress workers, said the rank and file of the party wanted Capt Amarinder Singh to continue as the PPCC president and that any change could prove harmful for the party. Mr Gupta said because of the state’s proximity to the border Punjab should be treated as a special case and the Chief Minister be allowed to continue as the PPCC president as well. He said that former Chief Minister Beant Singh was able to achieve targets only because the high command had allowed him to hold the dual charges of the Chief Minister and the PPCC chief. BJP to play role of model Oppn: Jaiswal at 09:31 IST by Makhan Phillaur, July 11 The BJP will support any agitation launched by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) against the wrong, vindictive, and anti-people policies adopted by the Congress government in Punjab. This was stated by the Punjab BJP Organisational General Secretary, Mr Avinash Jaiswal while talking to this correspondent here today. He said though the BJP had decided to play a role of model opposition, but it would not tolerate any excesses on SAD-BJP workers. He alleged that law and order situation was deteriorating in the state due to the wrong policies of the Congress. Mr Jaiswal said the BJP was being strengthened at the village and town level in the state and its base would be expanded from 5000 villages to all 12,500 villages in the state. He said district-level meetings of the BJP had been held in 20 districts of the state, and block level meeting of the party would be held in 140 blocks in August. A state-level meeting of the Punjab unit of the BJP and its morchas would be held at Tarn Taran on July 14, which would be addressed by Punjab BJP affairs in charge Mr Sangh Priya Gautam. Monday 1st July, 2002 No evidence against 3 judges in PSC case at 09:08 IST by Makhan AJAY BHARADWAJ CHANDIGARH: While Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court AB Saharya has administered reprimand to three sitting judges for allegedly influencing former PPSC chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu in the PCS selections, the Vigilance Bureau is still grappling to assimilate tenable evidence against any of them. In fact, according to the Vigilance officials, the names of only two judges have surfaced so far during the course of investigation. ‘‘Even in their case too, we have yet to garner evidence which could conclusively put the two judges in the dock’’, said a senior official, who expressed surprise at the inclusion of the name of the third sitting judge among the list of the accused. ‘‘Ravi Sidhu’s touts during their confessional statements did name two sitting judges for influencing PCS selections, but the third name is something that never cropped up during the investigation’’, he added. The Vigilance’s findings thus are in stark contradiction to the facts and evidence assimilated by the outgoing team of Intelligence officials on the basis of which additional director general of police AP Bhatnagar had submitted his report to the chief justice. It is on the basis of Bhatnagar’s report that the chief justice decided to bar the three sitting judges, Justice ABS Gill, Justice ML Singhal and Justice MS Gill, from official work of the court. Bhatnagar told Times News Network that he did not know what had been the findings of the Vigilance Bureau, but the evidence and facts collected by the then team of Intelligence officials clearly put the three judges in the dock. Though IG (Vigilance) Chandra Shekhar was asked by the chief justice to assist Bhatnagar in collecting details about the judges’ conduct, he was practically kept out of the factfinding mission of the Intelligence. At this stage it is not sure whether the Vigilance officials would pick up any threads from the Bhatnagar report which formed basis of the chief justice’s action. Incidentally, Bureau and the Intelligence had had their first bout of confrontation over the involvement of judges in the multi-crore bribery scam. The Intelligence officials had felt that the interrogation reports of the key touts, Jagman Singh and Randhir Singh Dheera, were being tailored by the Vigilance Bureau in order to give benifit of doubt to the sitting judges. It was at this stage that the names of judges started circulating in the media with conflicting versions emanating from both the agencies attracting the chief justice’s attention to the crisis. It is learnt that the Vigilance Bureau did not furnish any details about the involvement of judges in the case following which the chief justice entrusted the task to Bhatnagar. SGPC hands over probe to Akal Takht at 09:06 IST by Makhan AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has decided to hand over the case of its assistant information officer Narinderpal Singh to Akal Takht for investigation and taking any decision. ‘‘Till then the officer would be placed under suspension,’’ said SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar. Narinderpal was caught red-handed while warding off evil spirit at a dera a few days ago. Badungar said, ‘‘In past, SGPC had failed to take the cooperation of other Sikh bodies like Nihang organisations and Singh Sabhas, due to which the committee had lacked in delivering its basic objective of Dharam Parchar. He said the SGPC had now set up staff training institutes where SGPC employees would undergo training. Mann to raise rice scam in Parliament at 09:05 IST by Makhan Chander Parkash Bathinda, June 30 The scam pertaining to the diversion of export category rice to domestic markets by export firms in connivance with rice mill owners and officials which came to light in the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in the district and other parts of state will be taken up in Parliament in the coming session by Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, MP and President, SAD (Amritsar), as he alleged that the FCI authorities has succumbed to the pressure of the “export lobby”. Mr Mann alleged that road movement of export category rice from various parts of Punjab to ports located in Mumbai and Kandla was suspended after the scam came to light, had been started again by the higher FCI authorities under pressure from the “export lobby”. A major scam, running into crores and involving illegal diversion of export category rice to local markets through and alleged nexus between rice mill owners, export firms and FCI officials was unearthed by the district police on June 18. Similar scams have also allegedly taken place at Sangrur and Ferozepore districts of Punjab, which had been reported in the media. The FCI authorities, which swung into action after The Tribune exposed the rice diversion scam, constituted a two-member panel to probe the role of FCI officials into the alleged scam and suspended the road movement of rice from Punjab to various ports. Though the different Central and state agencies, which have been tasked to probe the scam, are yet to submit their findings to the authorities concerned, the FCI authorities have once again allowed the road movement of export category rice to various ports from Punjab. After suspending the road movement of rice, the Punjab regional office of the FCI sought the permission of the higher FCI authorities for restarting the same. A week after the suspension of the road movement of rice, the FCI authorities allowed it be restored. Mr Mann while talking to TNS today said he had been collecting all relevant documents pertaining to the rice diversion scam to raise the matter in the coming session of Parliament. He added that a higher FCI authorities were involved into this scam, it was being hushed up. Sources said the FCI authorities had allowed the road movement of rice for clearance of stock which had been choking the storage space and to make enough space for storing the rice to be delivered by the millers after the next milling, which would start around October or November. They added that road movement had been allowed only to those export firms which had submitted bank guarantees and made advance payments to the FCI authorities in lieu of rice. In other cases, road movement would not be allowed. The district police, which exposed the rice diversion scam, seized about 36 trucks loaded with rice bags from six rice mills located in the district. The rice seized by the police was meant for export through an export firm namely Sharp Menthol India Limited. The Sharp Menthol India Limited, a Delhi-based export firm, was blacklisted by the FCI authorities after the scam was unearthed. Information gathered by TNS revealed that the rice mill owners had been selling better quality rice, to be delivered to the FCI in lieu of paddy taken from it for milling, in the open market at high rates. They would replenish their stock by purchasing rice from export firms at their doorsteps at a small premium. In this way, both rice mill owners and export firms, which had been getting rice from the FCI under export category at very low prices, had been minting money. The sources said in the past more than two years, more than 35 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of rice had been sold by the FCI to export firms under the export category rice. How much quantity of export category rice had illegally been diverted to the local markets by export firms will be known only after a probe by an independent agency. Punjab reverts 31 District Education Officers at 09:03 IST by Makhan Prabhjot Singh Chandigarh, June 30 In an endeavour to cleanse the Education Department of “ad hocism,” favouritism and nepotism, the Punjab Government has ordered the reversion of 31 District Education Officers, both Secondary and Primary , to their substantive ranks, besides making “merit-cum-seniority” the sole criterion for appointments at the senior level. As a sequel to this major policy decision, 60 Circle Education Officers (CEOs), Deputy CEOs, District Education Officers (DTEOs), both Secondary and Primary, were either reverted, transferred or given fresh postings today. The decision to revert to the “merit-cum-seniority” policy, says Mr Khushal Bahl, Education Minister, was necessitated because of the “total chaotic atmosphere” prevailing in the department for the past four or five years. Talking to The Tribune, Mr Bahl said that juniormost members of the Punjab Education Service Class II (Schools and Inspection Cadre) were posted as District Education Officers while the seniormost and meritorious Principals were ignored. The new policy would be strictly implemented. “And those who do not fulfil the merit-cum-seniority criterion have been shown the door and replaced by more competent, experienced and meritorious seniors,” said Mr Bahl, revealing that some of those who entered the PES Class-II (School and Inspection Cadre) only in 1999 and lacked adequate experience of even running a secondary school as Principal “manipulated” to get the coveted and responsible post of District Education Officer. A DEO is expected to implement the policies and programmes of the government and supervise hundreds of schools within his or her jurisdiction. “The old policy of ‘ad hocism’, favouritism and nepotism resulted in utter demoralisation in the cadre of Principals as juniormost members of the cadre started writing the ACRs of their seniors. Such a situation led to indiscipline,” he added. “We have also decided to concentrate on primary education. To strengthen primary education, seniormost PES Class-II officers have been posted as DEOs (Primary), both in big and educationally backward districts. “In the coming years the role of the DEO(Primary) will become very important as he or she will be the key officer in the district for implementing the Sarv Siksha Abhiyan, aimed at admitting all children in the 6-14 age group to schools in a time-bound manner. “Unfortunately, the number of absolute illiterates has been on the increase. Against 62.39 lakh illiterates in 1991, the number increased to 63.80 lakh in 2001. And there are 2.97 lakh children in the 6-14 age group who are still out of school in Punjab,” Mr Bahl added. Meanwhile, the following transfers and postings have been ordered in the Education Department: Circle Education Officers Mr Jaskartar Singh becomes Principal, GISTC, Faridkot, and, in addition, CEO Faridkot; Mr Rajinder Kumar will be CEO, Nabha; Mr L.R. Lakha will be the new CEO, Jalandhar. Deputy CEOs Ms Gulshanveer Kaur goes to Jalandhar as Deputy CEO while Ms Charanjit Kaur will be the new Deputy CEO, Nabha. District Education Officers (Secondary) Mr Avinash Chander Sethi — Moga; Mr Baldev Krishan Mittal — Ferozepore; Mr Sohan Lal Goyal — Muktsar; M Avtar Singh — Mansa; Mr Krishan Chand Kapoor — Nawan Shahr; Mr Bachittar Singh — Ludhiana; Mr Ujagar Singh Mahi — Ropar; Ms Iqbal Kaur — Fatehgarh Sahib; Ms Sukhmander Kaur — Faridkot; Ms Sudesh Handa — Kapurthala; Ms Bhupinder Kaur — Patiala; Mr Ashok Kumar Sachdeva — Sangrur; Mr Avtar Singh — Hoshiarpur; Mr Gurpartap Singh Guri — Amritsar; Ms Surinder Kataria — Bathinda; Mr Avtar Singh — Gurdaspur; Mr Raunak Ram — Jalandhar. DEOs (Primary) Mr Yah Pal Gulati — Amritsar; Mr Gian Singh Basra — Faridkot; Mr Yash Pal Mehra — Ferozepore; M Chander Hans Puri — Bathinda; Mr Harbans Lal Sodhi — Hoshiarpur; Mr Ved Parkash — Sangrur; Ms Jatinder Kaur — Jalandhar; Ms Veena Sharma — Ludhiana; Ms Mohinder Kaur — Fatehgarh Sahib; Ms Veena Gupta — Patiala; Ms Tejinder Kaur Shillon — Kapurthala; Mr Palwinder Singh — Mansa. DEOs reverted to their substantive ranks Mr Surinder Pal Singh Dhillon, Ms Usha Rani Sidhu, Mr Harbhajan Singh Bhullar, Mr Dalip Singh, Mr Ashok Kumar Bhalla, Ms Harjit Kaur, Mr Davinder Pal Singh, Mr Ajmer Singh, Ms Kulraj Kaur, Mr Kharag Singh Cheema, Ms Parkash Kaur, Mr Babu Lal, Ms Gurjit Kaur, Ms Parkash Kaur, Mr Raj Singh, Ms Bhupinder Kaur, Ms Pritpal Kaur, Mr Pritpal Singh Walia, Ms Gurminder Kaur, Mr Surinder Nibber, Mr Darshan Singh Brar, Mr Jaswant Rai, Mr Amrit Singh and Ms Raj Kumari. Saturday 29th June, 2002 Wheat stolen from godown seized at 10:21 IST by Makhan Officials of Markfed, Panchayati Dept ‘involved’ Ropar, June 28 A scam involving Panchayati Department and Markfed officials has come to light, with the local police early today seizing two truckloads of wheat allegedly stolen from Markfed godown in Chamkaur Sahib and arresting five persons. The SSP, Ropar, Mr G.P.S. Bhullar, in a press conference held here, said on a tip-off, a police party intercepted two trucks carrying 440 bags of wheat worth about Rs 2.5 lakh. The bags were allegedly being shifted from the Chamkaur Sahib godown of Markfed to Anandpur Sahib. The wheat was stolen by Jasbir Singh, a field officer of Markfed, in connivance with Jasmir Singh, a traffic constable, Harbhajan Singh, a watchman of Markfed’s plinths in Chamkaur Sahib and the two truck drivers, Harnek Singh and Jaswant Singh. The arrested Markfed official revealed that the stolen wheat was being taken to Anandpur Sahib to meet the shortfall in stocks under the Antyodaya programme. Officials of the Panchayati Department posted at the BDO office, Anandpur Sahib, had allegedly sold the wheat meant for the Antyodaya programme or the food-for-work programme in their area in the open market. The newly elected Zila Parishad ordered an stock verification of wheat lying under the programme. Fearing that the theft of wheat might be exposed, Panchayati Department officials contacted Jasbir Singh, field officer of Markfed, to help them deal with the situation. Jasbir Singh allegedly stole the wheat from the plinth under his charge and was in the process of shifting the stock to Anandpur Sahib when the police apprehended him. The SSP further said that as per rules, foodgrains from Markfed godowns could only be moved in the presence of two responsible officials. However, in this case, Jasbir Singh, in connivance with the watchman, illegally moved the wheat bags out of the plinths. The police has confiscated the entire record and sealed the plinth from which the wheat was stolen. The police has arrested and booked Jasbir Singh, along with his accomplices, under Sections 406, 379 and 120 B of the IPC. Two junior engineers of the Panchayati Department, Maheshwar and Naresh Kumar, have also being booked. The SSP said both were absconding. It is worth mentioning here that The Tribune reported a fake muster roll racket in the Panchayati Department recently. Investigations by The Tribune had unearthed an illegal practice being followed by some Panchayati Department officials. As per the guidelines of the Centre, development works in rural areas had to be carried out involving local labour. Under the employment assurance scheme, local labourers had to be paid half of their labour in cash and the other half in the form of foodgrains. However, Panchayati Department officials got the works done on contract in connivance with some sarpanches. The foodgrains meant for distribution among the local labour were sold in the open market and the profit pocketed by officials. Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Seema Jain, has also directed the Secretary, Zila Parishad, to verify the wheat stocks under the assured employment scheme. Amritsar club debars Bedi at 09:57 IST by Makhan AMRITSAR: Local Service Club has denied entry to former caption of Indian cricket team Bishan Singh Bedi. The club authorities, under instruction from the club president, have pasted a notice which reads: ‘Bishan Singh Bedi (ex captain, Indian cricket team) is debarred from the club. No service will be give to him even as a guest. Instructions are to be followd strictly.’ In turn, Bedi, who is currently in the city for a cricket workshop, was ‘‘flabbergasted’’ to know of the notice. ‘‘I have nothing to do with the Service Club. I am not even a member,’’ he said. Club president Sarabjit Singh Sandhu alleged that the club had on several occassions honoured Bedi as a guest but ‘‘recently when we met in Delhi, he denied knowing me and refused to shake hands.’’ Sandhu said that having been humiliated in front of other dignitaries, he had taken up the issue with the club’s executive committee, which decided to debar Bedi from the club. Bedi admitted to meeting Sandhu at a function in Delhi but claimed that since it was a ‘shok sabha’ there was no need for formalities. Bedi said he would seek legal advice against the defamatory notice and the slanderous accusations by the club. Cong flays move on NDA team at 09:56 IST by Makhan Amritsar, June 28 A former General Secretary of the PPCC, Ms Ratna, today condemned the SAD-BJP combine for requesting the Central Government for sending an NDA team to Punjab for looking into cases of alleged harassment of their leaders. Senior Congress leader felt that in case the NDA government accedes to their request it would tantamount to interference in the working of the duly elected state government. Lauding the efforts of the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, in rooting out corruption in the state involving the former Akali ministers, she said Mr Parkash Singh Badal was crying foul as it was he who had allowed corruption to flourish and encouraged ministers and his family to amass a huge amount of wealth. She said the entire party was behind the Chief Minister. PAIC will not be disinvested: Bhattal at 09:53 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: Punjab agriculture minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has categorically stated that Punjab Agro Industries Corporations (PAIC) would not be disinvested but would continue to serve the farmers of Punjab. Bhattal made her announcement on the eve of signing of a MOU between PAIC and ICICI Bank Limited here on Thursday. The MoU is to develop agri business in Punjab and encourage infra-structure development including post-harvesting technology. Also present were finance and planning minister Lal Singh, minister of state for agriculture and Parliamentary secretary Mohinder S Rinwa. ‘‘Half the Punjab cabinet present here is committing that PAIC will not be packed up,’’ said Bhattal, in variance with the recommendation of the disinvestment commission. Bhattal highlighted the need for diversification and described the MoU as a major step in this direction because it would provide credit support to farmers, development of post harvest infra-structure and assist farmers in introduction of new crops. Punjab offers jobs to Kargil heroes, kin at 09:50 IST by Makhan A. S. Prashar Chandigarh, June 28 In pursuance to its general policy intent to expedite the implementation of the schemes relating to the welfare of ex-servicemen and their families, the Punjab Government today took a major decision to offer employment to 20 disabled soldiers of the Kargil Operations and their dependents under its scheme of “Honour and Gratitude”. Formal recommendations in this regard were made at a meeting of the Empowered Committee, held under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Mr Y.S. Ratra, yesterday. Giving details, Mr K.B.S. Sidhu, Secretary, Defence Services Welfare, told Tribune News Service that former Lt Bikramjit Singh had been recommended for appointment to the PCS (Executive Branch). He had suffered 60 per cent disability in the operations in J & K on March 1, 2001. The committee resolved to offer the post of PCS (Executive Branch) to Mrs Anjali Dada, wife of the late Major Raman Dada. Major Dada had been conferred the Kirti Chakra posthumously for his act of gallantry in the Kargil Operations. The committee also recommended the appointment of Mrs Rajneesh Kaur as District Food and Supplies Officer. Her husband, Naik Jasbir Singh, had suffered 100 per cent disability, being blinded in Operation Vijay. Ex-Lance Naik Kashmir Singh, ex- Naik Daljit Singh and ex-Sep Mukhtiar Singh (all with 60 per cent disability) were offered the post of Inspector in the Department of Food and Supplies, while the brother of the late Sep Mustakh Khan was offered a similar post in the Excise and Taxation Department. Mr Sidhu, who is also the convener of the Empowered Committee, stated that his own department had taken a major initiative in offering posts of senior assistant to two widows of ex-servicemen who had attained martyrdom in Operation Vijay, apart from two disabled ex-servicemen, and in one case, a dependent brother. The other departments in which the eligible persons had been accommodated included the offices of Deputy Commissioners and Chief Medical Officers in various districts, as well as the Punjab State Electricity Board and the Municipal Council, Nangal. The committee also issued directives to the administrative departments concerned to post the selected persons at stations of their choice for a period of at least five years. Instructions were also issued to a few departments where previous recommendations of the committee had been held up on account of some difficulties. Mr Sidhu stated that the government had already relaxed the educational qualifications in the case of all Group C posts to matriculation and for Groups A and B to graduation, in such cases. The requirement, if any, of previous experience under the service rules had also been waived and the same held good for acquiring knowledge of the Punjabi language. The others who attended the meeting included Mr Bhagat Singh, Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Mr P. K. Verma, Financial Commissioner (Development), Mr Ramesh Nayyar, Secretary, Finance (Expenditure), and Mrs Kalpana Mittal Baruah, Secretary, Personnel. Friday 28th June, 2002 Sidhu embezzled secret funds: VB at 09:32 IST by Makhan PATIALA: The case registered against Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu on April 30 at the police station of the Vigilance Bureau took an other turn on Thursday when the Bureau told the court that Sidhu had embezzled Rs 11.60 lakh from a secret fund of the PPSC for which section 409 of the IPC had been included in the case. On this ground, the Vigilance Bureau sought that his police remand be extended by seven days. On June 22, the court had remanded him to police custody till June 27. The court extended his police remand till July 1. The Bureau, on the statement of Karam Singh - an employee in the accounts section of the PPSC, told the court that Sidhu had withdrawn the said amount 23 times during September 9, 1996 to 2000 without giving any details. A team of assistant public prosecutors of DK Garg, GS Sandhu and Sukhchain Singh also told the court that during the police remand Sidhu did not cooperate with the Bureau saying that he had 'right of silence'. On the other hand, Sidhu's counsel Sahib Singh Dhindsa said the investigating agencies could not compel a person to give evidence against himself. It was the duty of the investigating agency to prove the charges levelled against him, he submitted. Dhindsa also alleged that the Vigilance Bureau was not getting his medical examination conducted properly. The court directed the Bureau to follow the orders of the court. Meanwhile, responding to an application by the Vigilance Bureau, the local court declared Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu's mother Pritpal Kaur, brother Reetinder Singh, sister-in-law Arjinder Kaur, and an alleged tout Shamsher Singh as proclaimed offenders. The Bureau told the court that they had conducted raids to arrest these persons for questioning, but they could not be apprehended. Court has also issued warrants against them and directed the Bureau to report on July 17. Sidhu, through his defence counsel also filed an application in the court that he be provided basic amenities and facilities like medically prescribed diet, bath, bedding, fan and proper clothing and adequate sitting space in the transportation vehicle. Besides, he also sought proper medical check-up and treatment of skin infection and rashes. The court directed the concerned authorities to provide him the basic amenities and proper facilities. PTU, Thapar counselling dates clash at 09:30 IST by Makhan Bathinda, June 27 First it was Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, and now it is the turn of Punjab Technical University, (PTU), Jalandhar, to frame rules that seem to favour mediocre students. The PTU cancelled the counselling date at the eleventh hour and issued a public notice on June 25 stating that the counselling for B. Tech/BE and B. Arch courses, scheduled for June 26, had been postponed to July 8. The new date clashes with the counselling date of Thapar College of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. Information revealed that this year Thapar College had disassociated itself from the Punjab common entrance test conducted by the PTU for admission to various engineering colleges and had announced that the students would be admitted on the basis of their ranks obtained in the All-India Common Engineering Entrance Test conducted by the CBSE. The authorities of Thapar College entered into an understanding with the CBSE to declare ranks of the students from Punjab separately. The result of the CEET conducted by the CBSE was declared on June 19 and the students were given two ranks, one All-India rank and the other the Punjab one. A session of parents and professors contacted by The Tribune pointed out that Thapar College had disassociated itself from the Punjab CET as the examination had lost its credibility over the past few years. They added that even after adopting the CEET ranks, the college would be admitting 85 per cent of the students from Punjab. They alleged that the PTU authorities had changed the date of counselling deliberately to penalise brilliant students who wanted to get admission in Thapar College. “Unlike the MBBS course where only the quality of education provided by the medical college matters, in case of an engineering college, the line in which a student was admitted also mattered,” Mr Mohit Aggarwal, father of a student, said. Some engineering aspirants who have scored decent ranks in the CEET said if they went for the counselling of Thapar College and were not able to get admission in good courses, they would miss out on PTU courses also. No senior official was available for comments at the PTU and Thapar College. Akalis at the receiving end at 09:22 IST by Makhan Sarbjit Dhaliwal Chandigarh, June 27 The Akalis were at the receiving end in the Budget session of the Punjab Assembly that ended last evening. Congress legislators had a clear strategy. They systematically attacked the previous SAD-BJP government, making the former Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, the main target. The Akalis had no definite strategy or plan to counter the Congress attack. In fact, there was a whole lot of opportunities available to the Akalis to put the Congress on the mat. But they failed to do so. The issue of the freezing of certain allowances of employees is a burning issue. Of course, Akalis pitched in for the employees in the Assembly,. But they had the opportunity to do a lot more on the issue. Confrontation between the Akalis and the Congress in the House is a clear pointer that the political temperature will go up further in the days to come. Mr Badal, and his senior party colleagues like Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Mr Adesh Partap Singh and Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder made several efforts to extend the hand of friendship and cooperation to Capt Amarinder Singh and his party in the House. But there was no response. Instead, Capt Amarinder Singh said that he would continue to pursue his “Vigilance Bureau line” to root out corruption, the political meaning of which is to “set the Akalis right.” The Congress approach is to demoralise the Akalis associated with Mr Badal to the extent possible. As the issue of corruption appeals most to the public, to whip Akali leaders on the issue fits in with the scheme of things of the Congress. Mr Badal and his nephew, Mr Manpreet Badal, tried their best to put the Congress on the defensive on the corruption issue. The senior Badal swore on the floor of the House that he had not taken a single penny as bribe to get any work done for anyone. In fact, Mr Manpreet Badal was the first to raise this issue. Appearing emotional, Mr Manpreet Badal was the first to swear that he had not taken even five paise as bribe till date and would keep the slate clean in the future. He challenged the Congress Ministers sitting on the two front rows of the Treasury Benches to say on oath that they had never taken a bribe. Except for Mr Avtar Henry, no Minister stood up to accept Mr Manpreet Badal’s challenge. Most of the questions came from Congress MLAs during question hour. And it provided them with an opportunity to take to task their own Ministers. Mr Malkiat Singh Birmi was the best in doing so. He did not spare anyone while asking supplementaries to Ministers. He came to the House after doing proper homework and asked pointed supplementaries to put Ministers in an awkward position. Mr Birdevinder Singh also did the same. Both Mr Birmi and Mr Birdevinder Singh asked sharp supplementaries to the Public Works Minister, Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, who is said to have emerged as a close confidant of Capt Amarinder Singh in the recent past. In fact, in the absence of Capt Amarinder Singh, Mr Bajwa replied to questions on Capt Amarinder Singh’s behalf, though Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Chowdhary Jagjit Singh used to be present in the House. The Akalis came out with a few questions and supplementaries. Most of the questions were asked by two Congress legislators, Mr Joginder Singh Mann and Prof Darbari Lal . From the SAD, Capt Balbir Singh Bath asked the maximum number of questions. All Bills presented in the House were passed without discussion. In a democracy this should not happen. Akali and BJP legislators had staged a walkout before the taking up of Bills by the House. There are several clauses in the Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, that will affect people in the state, especially businessmen. But no one from the Treasury Benches stood up to seek clarifications from the Minister concerned. A Congress MLA, Mrs Razia Sultana’s maiden speech created a flutter among the Treasury Benches. Pleading the cause of the minorities, especially Muslims and Christians, in chaste Urdu, she said that justice had not been done to them in the Budget. It proved a bit embarrassing for the Finance Minister. She also made a veiled but pointed attack on Mr Parkash Singh Badal without naming him. Certain members used words during their speeches which, though not unparliamentary, indicated the lack of decency. There were objections to the use of such words which were later expunged. But they left a bad taste and set the wrong precedent. Mr Bhunder pointed out repeatedly that such bad precedents should not be set. MoU to develop agri-business signed at 09:19 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 27 The Punjab Agro-Industries Corporation (PAIC) and the ICICI Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding here tonight to develop agri-business in the state by encouraging investment in infrastructure development, post-harvest technologies, value addition to agri-produce and allied areas. The memorandum was signed by Mr P.K. Verma, Financial Commissioner, Development, and Mr P.H. Ravi Kumar, Senior General Manager, ICICI, in the presence of the Punjab Agriculture Minister, Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, the Finance Minister, Mr Lal Singh, the Minister of State for Cooperation, Mr A.S. Samra, and the Parliamentary Secretary, Dr Mohinder Rinwa, besides the MD of PAIC, Mr Himmat Singh. The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, could not attend the programme as he was away to Patiala. Mr Verma in his welcome address, said the state government had taken upon itself the responsibility of gradually taking 10 per cent of the cultivable area out of wheat-paddy rotation and encouraging other profitable crops. The government and the PAIC, he said, would act as facilitators and help the farmers tackle problems. He said attempts in the past on diversification, though limited in scale, had failed because of lack of market support. Mr Himmat Singh made a presentation on the perspective plan of Punjab agriculture, highlighting the need for diversification from high-volume low-value crops to value-addition crops. In the absence of in house processing, post-harvest infrastructure, updated technology and marketing support, there was high level of wastage and low-value addition to agricultural produce in the state. Mr P.H. Ravi Kumar said the new instrument of crop insurance would be in the market within the next four to six months. Ms Bhattal reiterated the government’s commitment to make agriculture economically remunerative again. “We have taken it as a challenge. The Congress governments in Punjab have been successful in meeting previous challenges, including ending terrorism in the state,” she said. Mr Lal Singh said because of the poor fiscal health of the state, it was necessary for the farm sector to look up and the state would provide all support to make agriculture profitable. Intelligence loses turf war at 09:18 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: The ongoing turf war between the state police Intelligence and the Vigilance Bureau over the multi-crore bribery scam in the Punjab Public Service Commission saw its major fall-out on Thursday when the state government transferred all top Intelligence officers. It is learnt that the recent arrest of K S Bedi, manager of the Mohali branch of Punjab and Sind Bank, at the behest of Intelligence, proved to be the last straw in the prolonged tussle between the two agencies. The Vigilance Bureau had taken exception to the arrest of the key witness in the case and managed to get the case transferred to it from the state police. ADGP (Intelligence) A P Bhatnagar and IG (Intelligence) Sumedh Singh Saini, who were directly monitoring the case, have been posted out as ADGP (Security) and IG (Provisioning), respectively. DIG (Int) R P Singh and S S Mand, SP (Int), who had been assisting their seniors, have also been moved out of Intelligence, though no fresh posting has as yet been given to both of them. S S Virk, ADGP (Security) will be the new ADGP (Intelligence) while Shashi Kant takes over as IG (Int). DIG R P Singh has been replaced by Dinkar Gupta,who was DIG, Jalandhar range. The government has also ordered ordered the posting of four range DIGs. Rohit Chaudhary, DIG, Ludhiana range, takes over as DIG, Jalandhar range, while Mohammad Mustafa, DIG, Ferozepur range, will take over as DIG, Ludhiana range. R P Meena, DIG, Faridkot range, will become DIG, Ferozepur range, while Gurinderpal Singh, DIG (Commandos) is the new DIG, Faridkot range. Notice issued to Punjab on Jagman’s bail plea at 09:15 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 27 Taking up a petition filed by approver in the Punjab Public Service Commission recruitment scam Jagman Singh seeking the grant of interim bail, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice of motion to the state of Punjab for July 3. In his petition taken up by the Bench, comprising Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Jasbir Singh, Jagman Singh had earlier contended that his wife was in “advanced stage of pregnancy” and the expected date of delivery was July 17. He had added that except for him there was no one to look after her. Going into the background of the case, the petitioner had contended that he was taken into custody in a case registered in the PPSC scam under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act by the State Vigilance Bureau at SAS Nagar on March 25. Claiming to have been implicated in the case, he had added that his name had not been mentioned in the first information report registered by the Bureau Counsel for the petitioner had added that Jagman Singh was later projected as a tout of Commission’s under-suspension Chairman Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu. He had further added that the petitioner had already made a confessional statement before a Judicial Magistrate at Kharar and was allowed to become an approver in the case. The case will now come up for further hearing on July 3. Allowed Allowing a writ petition filed by senior Vice-President of Sirhind Municipal Council Rakesh Kumar Verma, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday ruled that the petitioner, granted charge on February 4 this year, shall have the right to continue till February 3 next year. Delivering the verdict, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Jasbir Singh, observed that the issue involved in the present petition had been covered by a judgement of the High Court pronounced on January 30 last year. In it, though the petitioner had been duly elected by a resolution of the Municipal Council, he was not allowed to function in one way or the other. While allowing the petition, the Court had held that the petitioner was entitled to a term of one year.... Referring to the present case, the Judges added that the petitioner was granted charge on February 4 and shall obviously have the right to continue till February 3 next year. In his petition, Mr Verma had earlier contended that he was elected as senior Vice-President on June 29 last year, but on July 2, 2001, the President, after tampering with the record, had claimed that the elections had not taken place due to disturbances. Soon after, the Director of Local Government had sought a detailed report. On January 1 this year, a letter was sent to an Executive Officer stating that the elections had been carried out in accordance with the rules, counsel for the petitioner had added. He had further claimed that the petitioner, after taking over the charge on February 7, had sent a representation to the Director of Local Government for granting him a period of one year from the date of his taking over the charge, but his grievance had not been redressed. Interim bail Directing the continuation of interim orders instructing that the Chairman of Oil Selection Board, Justice M. R. Agnihotri, will not be arrested till further orders, Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohunta of the High Court on Thursday fixed July 19 as the next date of hearing in the case. A former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge, Justice Agnihotri, along with two others, were earlier booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation, for cheating and other offences under Sections 120-B, 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, besides Prevention of Corruption Act on June 10. His anticipatory bail plea was initially rejected by UT Additional District and Sessions Judge Ms Sneh Prasher. Taking up his petition, Mr Justice Mohunta, on the last date of hearing, had asked the former Judge to join the investigation as and when required and had also permitted his counsel to accompany him. PWD workers oppose Budget proposals at 09:14 IST by Makhan Bathinda, June 27 Election session of the PWD Field and Workshop Workers Union, Bathinda zone, was held here today at the main office of the Water Works Sewerage Board. The session was presided over by Mr Karamjit Bihla, president, Mr Gurmez Singh, chairman, and Mr Ved Parkash Sharma, secretary of the union. At the session, the union passed main resolutions and demanded that anti-employees recommendations, in the Budget like freezing of DA, abolition of posts lying vacant and cess on petrol be reversed. Addressing the session, Mr Satpal Bharti, secretary, Lal Jhanda Bhatta Mazdoor Union, said all employees should unite and fight against the anti-employee policies of the state government. Office-bearers of the union demanded that services of employees working in different departments on daily wages or ad hoc basis for the past three years should be regularised. Thursday 27th June, 2002 Punjab Budget passed at 10:45 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 26 After a three-day-long debate, the Punjab Assembly today passed the Budget, approving the Punjab Appropriation Bill, 2002, authorising the payment and appropriation of Rs 28340.79 crore. The Bill was moved by the Finance Minister, Mr Lal Singh. Interestingly, Akali legislators who had opposed several Budget proposals did not move a single amendment seeking modifications in the proposals. However, while taking part in the debate they criticised various aspects of the Budget’. “I am surprised why the Akalis did not move any amendment”, said the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, while interacting with mediapersons after the passing of the Budget. If they had any objection to any specific proposal, they should have moved an amendment, he added. Before the passing of the Appropriation Bill, discussion was held on certain demands mentioned in it . The discussion remained confined to demands relating to the agricultural and health sectors. Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Mr Sunil Jakhar and Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal participated in it. Mr Jakhar said there was need to critically evaluate the performance of Punjab Agricultural University which had failed to tackle problems faced by the agricultural sector. He said PAU should be closed down as it was serving no purpose while the government had to spend Rs 100 crore every year on it. The university was making no worthwhile contribution to agricultural research, he added. The Assembly also passed the Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill that replaced the ordinance issued in this connection earlier. It also passed the Punjab State Legislature ( Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2002, replacing the ordinance issued earlier in this connection. This has been done to protect those MLAs who have been appointed to certain positions in the Punjab Government, from disqualification. The House also passed the Punjab State Legislature Members (Pension and Medical Facilities Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2002, that authorises the state government to withdraw certain facilities which were given to former Chief Ministers by the previous government. The Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2002 was also passed by the House to allow the participation of the private and public sectors in the development, operation and maintenance of infrastructure facilities in the state. Mr Lal Singh said the Bill had been passed to give high priority to infrastructure development to accelerate economic and industrial growth. The Government wanted that the private sector should supplement its efforts in the development of infrastructure. Earlier during the question hour, Capt Amarinder Singh, replying to a question by Mr Gurjant Singh, (CPI), said there was no ban on the recruitment of one member of each of the terrorist affected families. He said 729 applications for jobs from such persons were pending besides 429 applications were being processed. He said his government would provide jobs to these persons on top priority but he did not specify the time-frame. Replying to a question by Mr Joginder Singh Mann on behalf of Prof Darbari Lal, Capt Amarinder Singh said there was no possibility of paying subsidy worth Rs 469 crore that was due against the state government to the industrialists concerned in the immediate future. He said he would call a meeting of such industrialists to discuss the issue with them after the announcement of the new industrial policy. Their dues might be cleared in instalments, he added. The Chief Minister said the government was not in a position to provide temporary power connections to tubewells at this stage. Punjab House passes Infrastructure Act at 10:44 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 26 The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, which is to be set up under the Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, passed by the state Assembly today, would have the power to levy fee to raise infrastructure fund in the state. According the provisions in the Act, every dealer would be liable to pay a fee levied under the Act on the sale or purchase of the goods specified in Schedule-111 within the state at the rate not exceeding Rs 6 for every Rs 100 value of goods as the state government may, by notification, direct. The fee would be levied when the act is enforced in the state by issuing a necessary notification by the state government. With respect to the fee, the accounts would be maintained and the returns submitted in the manner prescribed by the state government. Whoever contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of this Act, the rules and the regulations made with respect to filing of true returns and the payment of fee shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with which may extend to five times the fee to be paid. B.Sc (IT) part II results today at 10:35 IST by Makhan Amritsar, June 26 The results of B.Sc (IT) part II held by Guru Nanak Dev University will be declared tomorrow. The results can be accessed on the university website “gnduonline.org” after 5 pm tomorrow. Meanwhile, candidates who appeared for counselling on June 25 and 26 for the LL.B (three years) course are to submit their graduation certificates by July 5. Dr Kashmir Singh, coordinator of the law entrance test, clarified that failure to submit the certificates would result in the chance to be passed on to the next candidate on merit. Seized rice rotting in FCI godowns at 10:23 IST by Makhan Chander Parkash Bathinda, June 26 Even as the work of exporting rice has come to a complete halt in Mansa and Bathinda districts after a rice scam in the Food Corporation of India (FCI) came to light in the city on June 18, rice worth lakhs of rupees lying in many trucks detained at its godown here has started to rot. Information gathered by TNS stated that more than 800 quintals of rice worth 7 lakh, lying in trucks had started rotting as neither the FCI authorities nor the police authorities had made arrangements to save the same. However, the FCI authorities claimed that the rice did not belong to them now as the gate pass for the same had been issued in the name of the export firm, Sharp Menthol India Limited, against whom a criminal case had been registered by the police authorities for their alleged involvement in the rice scam which came to light after police parties raided the FCI godown and six rice mills located in the district and seized about 36 trucks loaded with rice bags. The truck operators, whose trucks had been detained, also alleged that as they were not at fault and that their vehicles should be released and they should be given adequate compensation. On the other hand due to the agitation of the FCI employees in protest against the implication of certain FCI employees the criminal case has led to a complete halt to the storage and acceptance of rice operations in Mansa and Bathinda districts. The state agencies are finding it difficult to meet the deadline of June 30 fixed in connection with the completion of milling of its paddy stock by rice mill owners due to the strike. A section of exporters and FCI contractors have also suffered huge financial losses on account of demurrage they had to pay to the railway authorities for the delays. The movement of rice to other states from the two districts has also come to a complete halt due to the srike. Mr V.K. Singh, Senior Manager, FCI, Punjab region, has already said that no senior official of the FCI was involved in the alleged scam and the company, Sharp Menthol India Limited, was a genuine firm which had submitted a bank guarantee of Rs 35 crore to the FCI. He added that a two-member panel had been constituted to probe the role of a certain low rank FCI official in the alleged scam. However, the police has arrested an Assistant Manager (Depot), FCI, Hardev Singh, for his alleged involvement in the scam, while six FCI officials, who were earlier arrested, had been released on bonds. The police authorities were tight-lipped and declined to divulge the details in connection with the investigation into the matter, which was being handled by senior police officials. They also conducted some raids to arrest the main accused involved in the scam. The FCI authorities had blacklisted the company. An exporter said if the FCI authorities did not make arrangements for releasing the rice for export their contracts with the foreign buyers would be terminated and they would suffer losses. Meanwhile, the FCI official along with drivers of trucks, who were arrested by the police authorities, could not secure bail. Darbari Lal elected Deputy Speaker at 10:21 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 26 Prof Darbari Lal, a senior Congress legislator from Amritsar, was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha today. Born in Gujarat, now in Pakistan, in 1942, Prof Darbari Lal migrated to Amritsar in 1947. He taught at DAV College, Amritsar, for 20 years before being elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 1980 and later in 1985 and 2002. He has special interest in history and writes for various newspapers. His name was proposed by the Leader of the House, Capt Amarinder Singh. It was seconded by the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Chowdhary Jagjit Singh. Representing the principal Opposition party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, in the House, Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder endorsed the name of Prof Darbari Lal for the office of Deputy Speaker. After the election, Capt Amarinder Singh, accompanied by Mr Bhunder, Mr Sucha Singh Chottepur, Mr Tikshan Sud of the BJP and Mr Gurjant Singh of the CPI, escorted Prof Darbari Lal to his seat in the House. As per tradition, the Deputy Speaker sits on the bench along with the Leader of the Opposition, who at present is Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Prof Darbari Lal thanked all parties for electing him unanimously. Tuesday 25th June, 2002 M.Com (I) results today at 10:22 IST by Makhan Amritsar, June 24 The results of M.Com. (I) paper held in April will be declared on June 25 by Guru Nanak Dev University. The results will also be available on the university website the same day after 5 p.m., a university spokesman informed in a press note here today. Sale deed scam detected at 10:19 IST by Makhan Varinder Walia Amritsar, June 24 Sale deeds below the rates fixed by the Collector during the five-year tenure of SAD-BJP government have been detected by a report which has indicted many Tehsildars and revenue officials for causing a huge loss to the state exchequer. The scam is just a tip of the iceberg as the inquiry pertains only to a few villages. The inquiry was conducted by Mr Gian Singh Bal, the outgoing Additional Deputy Commissioner on the direction of the Commissioner, Jalandhar division. The Tehsildars who were indicted include Rajesh Sharma, Rajinder Singh, Vinay Kumari, Lakhwinder Singh, Parmpreet Singh and P.P.S. Guraya. After going through the official record, the inquiry officer found that the revenue officials registered the sale deeds below the rates fixed by the Collector, apart from evading stamp duty. In a separate report, Rajesh Sharma has been indicted for committing irregularities while registering sale deeds of “zumla mushtarka malkan” (share-holders) land. As per the report, he registered 38 sale deeds in Pandori Waraich village. The land in question was sold and deeds were registered without the share-holders getting their individual shares determined by the competent authority. Though Rajesh sharma was transferred on the basis of several complaints, he succeeded in getting his transfer cancelled. The inquiry was entrusted to the Additional Deputy Commissioner by the Commissioner, Jalandhar, on February 8. The inquiry officer studied the sale deed records between 1996 and December 2001. As per the inquiry report, in 1996 alone, at least five sale deeds registered by Rajesh Sharma were Rs 1.96 lakh less than the rates fixed by the Collector. By doing so, a stamp duty to the tune of Rs 11,813 was evaded. Similarly, three Tehsildars, Rajinder Singh, Rajesh Sharma and Vinay Kumari, registered at least 16 sale deeds which were Rs 4.5 lakh less than the rates and hence evaded stamp duty to the tune of Rs 27,438. In 1998, the above revenue officials registered as many as 36 sale deeds (under value of over Rs 27 lakh) and evaded stamp duty of Rs 1.6 lakh. Lakhwinder Singh, Rajesh Sharma and Vinay Kumari were responsible for the registration of 18 such deeds in 2000 which were undervalue (Rs 21 lakh) and evaded a stamp duty of Rs 1.2 lakh. In the coming year, the four Tehsildars, including Parmpreet Singh, registered 35 sale deeds which were found to be less than the rates (total Rs 38 lakh) and evaded stamp duty of about Rs 2.3 lakh in 2001. The revenue officials indulged in the registration of deeds which were less than the rates to the tune of Rs 1 crore and stamp duty of Rs 5.59 lakh had been evaded. The inquiry officer said the Tehsildars and clerks of the department should be held equally responsible for causing such a huge loss to the exchequer. 250 SAD, BJP workers ‘implicated’ at 10:18 IST by Makhan Fazilka, June 24 Mr Surjit Kumar Jyani, former state Forest Minister, addressing a press conference here today alleged that Capt Amarinder Singh’s government is indulging in politics of vendetta. He said 250 SAD-BJP workers in the Fazilka area had been implicated in police cases during a short span of three months. He alleged that officers had merely become “puppets” of politicians. He denied charges of corruption against him and said he or his family members did not have bank accounts anywhere. Declaring his assets and property, he said he was a co-sharer in 170 acres of ancestral agricultural land. He owned a plot allotted to him under the legislature quota, two plots at Fazilka purchased on instalments, besides a Lancer and Qualis purchased on loan. He denied his involvement in the alleged wood scam and sought an impartial probe and action against erring personnel. He said all Congress leaders should make their property and assets public as declared in their election manifesto. Illegal buildings continue to mushroom at 10:16 IST by Makhan Jalandhar, June 24 Despite directives from the state Local Bodies Department Secretary, Mr Sarvesh Kaushal, to all four commissioners of municipal corporations to check the mushrooming of illegal buildings, the construction of such illegal buildings and commercial complexes in Jalandhar continues unabated. Mr Kaushal had shot off a demi-official letter to the four commissioners last week saying that the monitoring of the sanctioned building plans was not being carried out in accordance with the provisions of the building bylaws, as a result of which illegal construction was continuing. The Secretary, who had instructed that the menace of unauthorised construction should be checked within 10 days, had also directed that no building should be allowed to be occupied without obtaining the completion certificate as required under Section 272 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976. However, during a round of various parts of the city by The Tribune team today, it was found that huge commercial complexes are coming up in a number of posh areas of the city, including Mall Road in Model Town and the Gazi Gulla Road locality near the Model Town market. Interestingly the Model Town locality is a residential area and no commercial building can be constructed here without obtaining special permission with regard to “change in use of land” from the civic body or from the Local Bodies Department. Besides these under-construction buildings do not have any parking facilities in stark violation of the building bylaws which state, “50 per cent of the total area of a commercial building should be reserved for parking purposes.” Most of the owners of these commercial complexes had reportedly shown parking places in their building plans but instead had used the space for shops and showrooms. It is alleged that MC officials are patronising defaulters and a lobby of builders. “You see, officials of the building branch are charging Rs 3,800 as bribe for approving a plan of a residential building within 15 days of the submission of an application and in case one fails to pay the bribe, the officials put several objections. Besides, they charge huge money, running into lakhs, for allowing construction of huge buildings including hotels and commercial complexes, without mandatory approval of building plans,” reveals a local architect on condition of anonymity. The corporation Commissioner, Mr Jagjit Singh, admitted that he had also observed that construction activity was going on in some places. He said he had already directed his subordinates to stop illegal construction, if any, in the city. Bedi case with Vigilance Bureau at 09:46 IST by Makhan AJAY BHARADWAJ CHANDIGARH: The arrest of manager of the Mohali branch of the Punjab and Sindh Bank, Kuldip Singh Bedi, in the Ravi Sidhu multi-crore bribe scam, after sparking off a turf war between the Intelligence and the Vigilance Bureau, took a new twist when the state police, which had executed the arrest, transferred the case to the Vigilance Bureau. Bedi’s arrest by the Mohali police last week had raised hackles for tillrecently he had been a key witness in the case. The police investigations, conducted independently of the Vigilance Bureau, however, detected him to be one of the prime accused who had transferred Sidhu’s money to foreign banks through hawala transactions. The Vigilance Bureau chief director AP Pandey, ADGP, had taken exception to the manner in which the Intelligence had reportedly framed charges against Bedi and consequently had shot a letter to DGP MS Bhullar requesting him to hand over Bedi’s case to the Vigilance. According to sources, Bedi, during his interrogation by the police, informed that he along with Sidhu’s brother, Reetinder Singh, had stacked Rs 2 crores in the two lockers in the Sector 22 branch of the Punjab and Sindh Bank. The Vigilance had, however, drawn blank when it broke open both the lockers in April. Both the lockers, incidentally, were then opened by a team of the Vigilance sleuths with Bedi as a witness. While admitting to have illegally transacted more than Rs 1 crore to a bank in Belgium, Bedi had told the investigating officials that he would normally operate in tandem with former bank official, GS Manchanda, who has been absconding in the case for about two-and-a-half months. Manchanda’s wife is already in the judicial custody. Hawala recipients named: Bedi, during his interrogation, is believed to have named police officers and politicians whose money, he claimed, was transferred to foreign banks through hawala transactions. Bedi has also disclosed his links with militants’. Excise staff to observe ‘black day’ today at 09:43 IST by Makhan Prabhjot Singh Chandigarh, June 24 Shaken by the death of an Excise and Taxation Officer and two Inspectors in less than a week, allegedly because of working under stress, the Confederation of Employees of the Punjab and Excise and Taxation Department has given a call for a “black day” tomorrow . A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the confederation held in Jalandhar yesterday after the bhog ceremony of Mr Karnail Singh Sahota, ETO, who died in a late-night road accident while returning home from office last week. It was at the meeting of the confederation that news about the death of the two Inspectors was broken. According to sources, the confederation has decided to ignore for the time being the Excise and Taxation Commissioner’s invitation to hold “negotiations”. The invitation was extended to the Confederation at the bhog ceremony of Mr Sahota . The deaths of Mr Pardeep Malhotra and Mr Navdeep Tuli within 48 hours of each other has given credence to the allegation of the confederation of “horrifying psychosis created by a stressful work environment” in the department. Mr Tuli, an engineer, was given employment on compassionate grounds and was in his early 30s. He was posted in Ludhiana-I. Mr Malhotra was posted at the ICC, Madhopur. Mr Tuli, according to family sources, awake until late at night on Saturday, was upset and panicky with regard to the preparation of reports and documents for the June 25 meeting. “This stress has been playing havoc with employees of the department. No one has peace of mind. And most of the work being assigned to each official is either repetitive or redundant,” alleges the confederation. Even the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Mr Suresh Kumar, against whom the agitation is being organised, admitted that there was a “lot of avoidable redundancy” in the department and he would try to check it. He also admitted that there was increased work pressure and that was why 50 posts each of Excise and Taxation Officer and Inspector had been sanctioned for the department. The Jalandhar meeting of the confederation was attended by more than 200 representatives of Excise and Taxation officers, inspectors, members of the ministerial staff and Class IV employees, including drivers. The confederation also observed two minutes’ silence as a mark of respect to Mr Malhotra and Mr Tuli. Demanding the “immediate ouster of the Excise and Taxation Commissioner and the Additional Excise and Taxation Commissioner-I, the confederation expressed its solidarity with the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, in achieving the revenue targets, but appealed to the state government to act on its demand of shifting the two officers out of the department. In a signed statement issued after the meeting, Mr S.S. Cheema, president, Excise and Taxation Officers Association, said that “if such a suffocating environment continues, more precious lives may be lost in the near future. All members of the confederation will wear black badges tomorrow to “protest against the derogatory and insulting behaviour of the Excise and Taxation Commissioner and the Additional Excise and Taxation Commissioner-I.” It’s girls all the way in PSEB at 09:43 IST by Makhan SAS NAGAR: It’s girls once again. In the Punjab School Education Board Class X results declared on Monday, girls have outperformed boys, notching up 16 positions in the top 20 of the merit list for regular students. Ravneet Kaur of Doaba Public Senior Secondary School, Parowal (Hoshiarpur), has topped with 94.46 per cent marks. She is followed by Gurpreet Kaur of Gurunanak Public National Public School, Mahilpur (Hoshiarpur) with 93.23 per cent. Rohini Gupta of Holy Heart High School, Amritsar, and Sandeep Kaur of Nankana Sahib Public School, Kila Raipur (Ludhiana), have stood third with 92.76 per cent marks. The pass percentage has shown an improvement over 2001. Of the 2,84,075 students who appeared in the exams 1,67,877 passed; the percentage of 59.09 is 10 per cent more than the pass percentage of 49.17 in 2001. The number of students who reappeared for the exams was 61,404. The result of private candidates has also shown an improvement with a pass percentage of 38.64 as compared to 33.53 per cent in 2001. The top three private candidates are Rajan Singla (90.30), Gundeep Kaur (90.15) and Renu Kapahi (89.80). Government schools have performed poorly as compared to the private schools with only two girls from government schools making it in the top 20. Compared to last year, the results have been declared 10 days in advance. ‘Result- witheld cases’ have also fallen from 5,000 in 2001 to 1,300 this year. The subject-wise pass percentage has also shown an improvement. In Punjabi, 96.19 per cent students have passed as compared to 96 per cent in 2001. The pass percentage is 66.07 per cent in English, 66.07 per cent in Hindi, 53.04 per cent in Maths, 81.52 per cent in science and 65.50 per cent in social studies. The pass percentages in these subjects had been 96, 58.53, 77.91, 42.51, 65.83 and 56.30 per cent respectively. Jagjit Singh Sidhu, secretary, PSEB, said that with the computerisation of the results the department had reduced the chances of error in results. For the first time students will be given computerised photo certificate with detailed marks. The certificates will be made available from July 3. The district-wise gazettes of the results were dispatched from the department and the same would be officially released on Tuesday. Sidhu said that since the students were being provided computerised marksheets no cutting, erasing and overwriting would be accepted. To ensure error-free results, the department had sent a list of names to all the schools to correct any mistakes in names and subjects. Tota’s White House raided at 09:41 IST by Makhan Moga, June 24 A team of the Vigilance Bureau from Chandigarh today raided White House, the residence of former Education Minister Tota Singh, who is in judicial custody on charges of cheating, forgery, corruption and accumulation of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Sources in the bureau said no evidence regarding the accumulation of wealth in the form of cash or jewellery had been recovered from the residence. Certain documents pertaining to owning of immovable property were, however, recovered, the sources added. The sources further denied that the bureau had arrested any councillor of the Moga Municipal Committee in this regard. However, few other persons, including the son Mr Barjinder Singh, alias Makhan Singh, and personal assistant of former minister Gurmail Singh are wanted in the case. No raids have been carried out on his residence at Nihal Singhwala, the sources added. Saturday 22nd June, 2002 CM seeks report on rice scam at 09:38 IST by Makhan Bathinda, June 21 The Chief Minister, Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, today said he had sought a report from the district police in connection with the export rice diversion scam, which allegedly took place in the city, and added that the matter would be dealt with according to the report. While addressing a press conference at Talwandi Sabo, 30 km from here, Capt Amarinder Singh said at the moment the matter seemed to be serious but action would be taken after he receives the report from the district police. A major scam, running into crores of rupees involving the illegal diversion of export earmarked rice, to the local market through a nexus allegedly between rice mill owners, some export firms and employees of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was unearthed by the district police authorities on June 18 here. The Chief Minister said though the matter related to the Central Government, the Punjab Government would take appropriate action if the situation demanded. Meanwhile, Mr V.K. Singh, Senior Regional Manager (SRM), FCI, Punjab region, while talking to the TNS said Sharp Menthol India Limited was a real business firm and had been doing business worth crores of rupees with the FCI for the past many months. The firm had been doing major share of export of rice through railway mode of transportation. He added that no senior official of the FCI based at Delhi was involved in the scam. He pointed out that the FCI had a bank guarantee worth Rs 35 crore from this firm and it had about 60 per cent of share in the export market. Information gathered by the TNS revealed that the police authorities did not have any evidence so far which could establish that the firm was fake and higher FCI officials were involved in the alleged scam. DMC deadlock continues at 09:37 IST by Makhan LUDHIANA: As the dharna by the DMC employees’ union entered the fifth day, and with the ward paramedical staff coming out for a dharna each day for two to three hours, the efficient functioning of the hospital has been seriously affected. There is no sign of the deadlock getting resolved yet. While SC Ahuja, principal of the college, blames the union members for the current impasse, Chander Mohan Kalia, president of the union, said that they were invited to the secretary of the managing society, Prem Nath Gupta’s residence to talk about the issue. Navraj Kaur, secretary of the union, said that they were ready to talk about the issue anywhere within the campus of the DMC hospital, but would not go to the secretary’s house. But even as the game of charges and countercharges go on, the hospital’s work has been ground to a standstill with the employees refusing to work, and the management not prepared to concede to their demands. On Friday the employees decided to let an employee or two stay at the work station. The rest went to join the dharna. To counter this the management locked up the employees from outside at their work points, so that they could not leave. Five employees were locked in the telephone exchange of the hospital from morning to afternoon on Friday, with a double lock at the door, and two security guards at the door. They also bolted the billing section, where fifteen to twenty employees work. The union members said that the management employees had threatened them with calling the police, if they did not work peacefully. Punjab to move SC on river water issue at 09:33 IST by Makhan Talwandi Sabo, June 21 In a significant statement which could have far-reaching consequences, the Chief Minister of Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, said the Punjab Government would approach the Supreme Court through a writ petition for judicial division of river waters between Punjab and Haryana and the SYL canal could be used for bringing the surplus water which Haryana had been consuming for the past many years back to Punjab. Capt Amarinder Singh said though the Supreme Court had ordered the completion of the SYL canal, the Punjab Government would approach it for division of quantum of river waters between these two states on the basis of ratio of agricultural land. He added that Haryana had been getting more water than Punjab against the norms. Capt Amarinder Singh, who was accompanied by Mr Enrique Anchordoqui, the Ambassador of Uruguay, was here to inaugurate the water treatment plant donated by Uruguay. The Chief Minister said Punjab had been getting only 12 million acre foot (MAF) water against the agricultural area of 105 lakh hectares while Haryana had been getting 14 MAF water against its agricultural area of 80 lakh hectares. He added that the main issue before the completion of the SYL canal was that there should be judicious division of the river waters. Disclosing that the expansion of the Council of Ministers would take place only after the AICC chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, gave her nod after the Budget session was over, Capt Amarinder Singh said efforts were being made to secure foreign funding to make the financial position of the state strong. Every body, including employees, would have to make some sacrifices for bringing the economy of the state back on the rails. He added that money which was being seized from politicians the who had been in power earlier and other government servants would be diverted to development works. The crusade against corruption would continue and 10 retired Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had been shortlisted for constituting the judicial commission to probe corruption during the previous SAD-BJP regime. The assets acquired by the politicians in power earlier through unfair means would be forfeited and put to use for development works. The Chief Minister said panchayats would be empowered as per the constitutional provisions made in the 73rd and 74th amendments. Panchayats would be given powers to run dispensaries and schools in their respective areas, he added. Regarding the allegation levelled by former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that he had an affidavit against Public Works Minister Partap Singh Bajwa in connection with bungling, the Chief Minister said as Mr Badal and his associates were under attack on various counts, Mr Badal had made a fake affidavit against Mr Bajwa to save himself. He added that the crusade against corruption would also take Mr Badal to task. Answering a question regarding the alleged role of a DCC functionary in the construction of a multi-storey building around the fort at Bathinda, Capt Amarinder Singh said he was yet to get complaint from senior functionaries. When he received the same, he would look into the matter, he added. The Chief Minister said to provide safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in rural areas, a soft loan of Rs 5000 crore would be taken shortly from a consortium of banks through a UN agency and a plan of Rs 2350 crore had been prepared in this connection. In the coming three years, about 6000 villages would be covered under the rural health programme, he declared. Mr Jasjit Singh Randhawa, Minister for Public Health, Mr Enrique Anchordoqui, the Ambassador of Uruguay, Mr Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, an MLA, and Mr Harminder Singh Jassi, a former minister, also spoke. Capt Amarinder Singh also went to Takht Damdama Sahib to pay obeisance. Banks ignore small farmers at 09:31 IST by Makhan Amarjit Thind Ludhiana, June 21 The Agro Economic Research Centre (AERC) of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), recently conducted a study on indebtedness of farmers for the Ministry of Agriculture. The study threw up some shocking facts. The small and marginal farmers whose number is the largest lent their holdings are small in the state get merely mere 27.02 per cent of the total agricultural credit. Here too the process has been marred with wrong selection of beneficiaries, improper monitoring and less promising purposes for which the loans are being advanced defeating the national objective of providing low-cost credit to this group. What to talk of diversification, the share of certain thrust sectors like dairy and poultry farming besides fisheries has decreased in the past three years. It may be recalled that the Centre had sometime ago, directed the states to suggest measures so that a national policy could be drafted to benefit the marginal farmers whose condition is deplorable even after half a century of Independence. In this context, PAU carried out a study “flow of Credit to Small and Marginal Farmers in Punjab” under the aegis of the Ministry. It was conducted by Kamal Vatta in association with Prof Karam Singh, Director, AERC. The study recommended to the state government and the Centre to adopt the Self-Help Group (SHG) strategy to provide low-cost credit to the small and marginal farmers, most of whom largely were dependent on arhtias and commission agents for credit needs. The SHG strategy has enjoyed great success and has come to the aid of farmers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal to reduce their dependence on money lenders, who charged highly excessive rate of interest — 24 per cent to 60 per cent — from them. Talking to The Tribune about the study, Prof Karam Singh, said, “there are 1,706 banking institutions — including 942 commercial banks — in the rural areas of the state which have raised deposits worth Rs 12 |
