The Tribune – Attack on employees: SGPC to approach Akal Takht

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 3. Three days after armed activists of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee, a private outfit, attacked SGPC employees with sharp-edged weapons, the SGPC today talked tough and warned the committee to mend its ways, besides announcing to approach the Akal Takht over the issue.

Addressing mediapersons here, SGPC Secretary Dalmegh Singh alleged that the committee was unnecessarily intervening in the SGPC’s work. He accused the committee members of carrying out searches in different gurdwaras on their own without having any authority to do so. “Who has given them the right to act in such a manner?” he wondered. He further charged the panel members of attempting to conduct a search at an SGPC-run gurdwara in Kartarpur, besides taking away some literature from the house of writer Anoop Singh.

He claimed the SGPC was receiving complaints against the committee from different quarters. He said if at all the committee members fond something wrong at a religious place, they could sort out the matter in a peaceful manner by initiating a dialogue. “Assaulting individuals and taking law in hand is not a solution,” he added.

Dalmegh also showed a video footage of the committee members brutally thrashing some individuals for allegedly committing sacrilege at a Ludhiana village. He said by resorting to such a move, the panel members not only took law in their hand but also exhibited disrespect to turban as during their action turbans of the aggrieved individuals fell off. He also lashed out against a committee supporter, Gurjinder Singh, who targeted the SGPC in an interview to a foreign TV channel, alleging that he himself had been booked for smuggling of drugs in the Chabbal area of Tarn Taran in 2006. He also produced a copy of the

FIR lodged against Gurjinder in this regard. He cautioned Sikhs to be aware of such elements and “don’t allow themselves to get misled by them”.

Earlier, a group of armed activists belonging to the committee had attacked employees of the SGPC’s publication wing in the city on January 31, accusing them of perpetrating sacrilege of religious scripture. Subsequently, the police had registered a case and arrested some of the activists of the committee involved in the violence in which some SGPC employees suffered injuries.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120204/punjab.htm#12

The Tribune – Mystery Killing; No headway in DSP’s murder

Mohit Khanna, Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 3. Nearly 48 hours after Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and Monica Kapila, wife of an industrialist, were found dead at a farmhouse on Hambran road here yesterday, the police is still groping in the dark. The probe, so far, has indicated that the cop and the woman reached the farmhouse separately. The DSP was the first to reach the farmhouse and invited Monica.

The police appears to have concluded that Balraj and Monica arrived at the farmhouse in different cars. But the vehicles haven’t been located.

“The DSP was the first one to enter the farmhouse. He came in his friend’s Chevrolet. The woman arrived in Toyota Innova.

The killers fled with both the vehicles and also took away gold rings and purses. Besides, they also took away the mobile phones of both the victims,” said a police officer.

The theory of robbery by a group of drug addicts is also doing the rounds. According to the police, the assailants might have spotted the smartly dressed woman driving alone at a secluded place and could have followed her. They could have gained entry in the farmhouse along with the woman. On seeing the woman in trouble, the DSP might have tried to rescue her which led to a scuffle. The attackers then assaulted the cop with sharp-edged weapons.

But the brutality by which the DSP had been murdered with his neck almost chopped off did not support the view that the incident was a result of a sudden provocation.

Sources in the police said the DSP and the woman met six months ago during a morning walk and had been talking to each other over the phone.

They had only met thrice in the past. The two victims were meeting after a gap of over a month as the DSP was busy in Moga for the Assembly elections.

A common friend of both the victims had reportedly told the police that Monica and Balraj came in contact a few months ago when Monica called at the DSP’s mobile phone by mistake.

On the ill-fated day, the DSP was unarmed. His service revolver was found a day later from his house.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashish Choudhary said, “We are probing the issue from all angles and the criminals would be nabbed soon.” Sources said that 17 suspects from Noorpur Bet and Hambran area had been picked up by the police for investigation. Following postmortem examination, Monica was cremated here today.

Multiple weapons

- The postmortem report shows a baseball bat, sword, sickle and knife were used in the crime

- The assailants attacked the DSP on the head with a baseball bat which broke his skull. Then, the attackers used a sickle or sword to kill him

- Monica was also killed brutally. Her jaw was broken. There were multiple wounds on her left arm

Shoddy probe

Shoddy investigation by the cops has led to the destruction of vital clues. It is learnt that on finding the door locked from outside, police personnel scaled the wall and entered the premises. On seeing the duo lying in a pool of blood, they came outside and broke open the lock which had the fingerprints of the assailants.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120204/main4.htm

The Hindu – India’s ‘most wanted’ comes on air

Hafiz Saeed counters Mani Shankar Aiyar on Pakistan television show

Anita Joshua

Islamabad, 4 February 2012. Dove was pitted against hawk live on television on Thursday evening when noted anchorperson Hamid Mir brought in “India’s most wanted” Hafiz Saeed on telephone to present the other voice to Rajya Sabha member and advocate of peace with Pakistan, Mani Shankar Aiyar.

As is invariably the case with anything India-Pakistan, the verdict was divided on how that six-minute encounter went. While Mr. Aiyar’s reference to the Jama’at-ud-Da’wah (JuD) head as ‘Hafiz Sahab’ has brought him brickbats from Indian netizens, their Pakistani counterparts thought otherwise. And, not many took offence to the parliamentarian reiterating India’s demand for Hafiz Saeed’s arrest.

The brief encounter saw Hafiz Saeed justifying JuD’s opposition to granting Most Favoured Nation status to India till pending issues including Kashmir are resolved. Alleging that India was building dams on the other side of Kashmir to divert waters and dry up Pakistan, he said: “It will create a crisis. They will make their land fertile. They will sell their cheap products here and try to turn Pakistan into their market.”

Asked how pending issues could be resolved without talks, the JuD leader maintained he had never opposed dialogue with India but alleged that New Delhi had never shown seriousness in resolving issues.

“India has always indulged in delaying tactics while pushing its agenda.”

Given a chance to rebut, Mr. Aiyar countered: “Hafiz Sahab belongs to a minority group and the majority of Pakistanis want peace with India. Like Hafiz Sahab, we also have some Hafizs who do not want progress but thankfully common people here want better links. We want him arrested and taken to a terrorism court.”

When it was pointed out that there was no case against him, Mr. Aiyar shot back that is what India was upset about. Hafiz Saeed’s defence was that a High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan had acquitted him after being arrested by the Pakistan Government on charges made by India. “India is unwilling to accept our courts, our laws…the reality is that India does not accept Pakistan’s existence,” the JuD leader said to which Mr. Aiyar said India not only accepted Pakistan as an independent country but also wanted to see it become strong and prosperous.

Pat came Hafiz Saeed’s reply. “If you accept Pakistan then why not accept our courts’ verdict. If you do not like our courts, then take me to any foreign court and produce your evidence before that court. But you are not willing to accept any court’s decision. Then how do they say they accept Pakistan. You should not feel offended by my words but there should be an answer to this.”

At this point, for reasons best known to Mr. Mir, he cut short the discussion with Hafiz Saeed and did not insist on a reply from Mr. Aiyar who was in Pakistan to deliver the second in a series of lectures organised by the Jinnah Institute on India-Pakistan relations.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2858127.ece

Brussel, Bruxellles, Brussels, Leuven 20 December 2011 & Francis van Herck

Brussel Centraal – Bruxelles Central

Leuven, Siemens engine 1833

Leuven, Siemens engine 1833

Francis van Herck, Hasselt, pulling rickshaw
More about Francis :
http://maninblue1947.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/belgian-rickshaw-wala/

See Belgium/Netherlands public transport photos at :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12445197@N05/sets/72157622685920411/

More Belgian pictures to follow
Harjinder Singh
Man in Blue

The Tribune – Long way to ensure transparency: PM

Ashok Tuteja, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 3. Regretting that the Lokpal and the Lokayukta Bill could not be passed in Parliament during the Winter Session, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed the hope the country would soon be able to enact a strong Lokpal law to combat corruption.

Even as he listed the steps taken by his government to fight graft during the past one year, he said there was still a long way to go in the efforts to ensure transparency, accountability and probity in public life. He spoke about the government’s initiatives such as the Right to Information Act, the Judicial Accountability Bill and the Whistle Blowers’ Bill.

Addressing a conference of Chief Secretaries here, he said the Centre and the states would have to work together to achieve the goal of better governance.

Recalling that at the meeting of the Chief Secretaries last year, he had stated that his government was committed to taking all legal and administrative measures to curb corruption in public life, the PM said he had also desired that both the Centre and the states should make full use of advances in modern technology to improve the delivery of the public services system.

”Let me say that we have moved substantially forward in these areas in the past one year. We have introduced in Parliament a Bill on Citizens’ Charter which will empower citizens to demand services with appropriate standards from various government departments.”

The Electronic Delivery of Services Bill has also been introduced in Parliament to provide electronic delivery of public services to the citizens. The government was also moving forward on framing a law for regulating public procurement.

Talking about fiscal management, Singh said the latest data showed that the economy grew at the rate of 8.4 per cent in 2010-11. This was a creditable performance when seen in the background of a crisis-ridden world economy. But growth in the current fiscal year was likely to be lower, between 7 and 7.5 per cent, in a large measure due to the continuing uncertainty in the global economic environment.

Inflation, he noted, was a persistent problem during the course of the last year, particularly regarding food items.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120204/nation.htm#1

Dawn – Banned outfits gaining strength due to capital inflows, claims report

Karachi, 4 February 2012. Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have informed the government that the outfits banned in Pakistan and abroad were gaining momentum due to the supply of capital in the form of domestic and international currency, a BBC Urdu report said.

According to a secret report obtained by BBC Urdu, the outfits were operating through proxy bank accounts in Pakistan in which transactions were taking place at the national and international level.

Organisations such as Jaish-i-Mohammad, Tehrik-i-Islami, Millat-i-Islamia Pakistan, Ghazi Force, Hizbut Tahrir, Jamiatul Furqan and Khairunnisa International Trust were operating bank accounts using varying identities, the report said.

The report indicated fears that these banned outfits could regain strength through this process.

Some of these banned outfits are also working under the cover of the social organisations, the report said.

In the light of this information, the interior ministry has ordered the monitoring of suspected bank accounts.

Earlier, the government had frozen bank accounts that were being operated by 24 banned outfits.

Moreover, banks accounts belonging to four outfits that were banned by the United Nations had also been frozen by the government.

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/04/banned-outfits-gaining-strength-due-to-capital-inflows-claims-report.html