The Tribune – Nation’s biggest solar plant gets going in Ludhiana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 29. The largest industrial solar plant of the country today became operational in Ludhiana. It will perform twin functions of generating solar power and disposing of large quantity of waste water by evaporating it.

Revenue and Non-Conventional Energy Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said one lakh litres of effluent water would be discharged by evaporation through the solar plant, which had been set up at Kaech village, near Sahnewal.

Majithia said Kangaroo Industries Limited had installed the solar plant. It manufactured staplers and staple pins that involved cleaning and galvanizing steals strips and wires. During the process, 12,000 to 15,000 litres of water was produced that was unfit for consumption and could cause air and soil pollution if discharged in the open.

The minister said besides this plant, the Punjab Energy Development Agency had installed nine solar plants at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Army Institute of Law, SAS Nagar, Indo Global College of Education, Abhipur (Mohali), North India Hotel and Industries, Jalandhar, Hotel City Heart, Ludhiana, DSM Anti-Infectives India Ltd, Toansa (Nawanshahr), Ranbaxy Industries Ltd, Ropar, Punjab Bhawan, New Delhi, and Dashmesh Academy, Anandpur Sahib.

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The Tribune – Runaway couples; Suspected honour killing; Youth beaten to death

Mohit Khanna and Mahesh Sharma, Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 9. In a suspected case of honour killing, a 23-year-old youth from Jodhan was allegedly beaten to death by his beloved’s kin last evening.

Sukhwant Singh was reportedly attacked by Kuldeep Singh and his accomplices Kulveer Singh of Dullo Kalan village, Nonni of Narangwal village and two more on the village outskirts. The victim succumbed to his injuries late in the evening.

Rachhpal Singh Dhindsa, Jodhan Station House Officer, said on the complaint of the victim’s brother Surjinder Singh, they had booked the girl’s father Balwinder Singh, her brother Kuldeep, Kulveer, Nonni and two more persons yet to be identified under Section 302, IPC.

Sukhwant, who was a carpenter, was in love with a girl of Dullo village, who belonged to an upper caste. The young couple met regularly. Surjinder claimed that his brother had told the girl’s father that if he objected to their getting married, they would elope. Sukhwant was allegedly waylaid while returning home from work. He was thrashed mercilessly.

The attackers left the spot believing him to be dead. A badly injured Sukhwant somehow called his brother for help on the cell phone. He was rushed to a private hospital on Pakhowal Road from there he was sent to the Civil Hospital. When his condition worsened, he was rushed to the CMC Hospital.Sukhwant had multiple fractures on the legs. His spinal cord was smashed and his hands were broken. He breathed his last at the hospital.

Chandigarh: Counselling and mediation is gradually ending the hatred for love and bringing the runaway couples back to their families. An affidavit submitted today with the Punjab and Haryana High Court by the State of Punjab provides a testimony to this effect. The affidavit, submitted by Punjab Undersecretary in the Department of Home Affairs and Justice Sewa Singh said nothing less than 368 matters had been resolved through counselling and mediation. Out of these, as many as 122 cases were resolved in Mohali alone.

The affidavit states that 40 runaway couples took refuge in 22 shelter homes across the state and 53 couples opted for marriage registration. Taking cognisance of the violence brought about by love marriages, the HC has already ensured judicial shelter for runaway couples by directing the district and sessions judges in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to pass necessary orders on their plea for protection.

The matter was brought under the scanner by Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia, after he took suo motu cogniance of the issue. Justice Ahluwalia had made it clear that the high court wanted the state to evolve a “compassionate” mechanism to redress the grievances of the couples and the parents, and reduce the backlog.

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The Tribune – Jail official alleges threat to her kids

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 4. The superintendent of a women’s jail has alleged that her children are facing threat to their lives from wanted criminal Amit Kamboj. She requested the authorities to shift an inmate allegedly associated with the criminal.

Women’s Jail Superintendent Sanehjot Kaur told DGP (Prison) Shashi Kant that she received the threat call yesterday afternoon and the caller identified himself as Amit Kamboj. He asked the superintendent to provide VIP treatment to his alleged paramour Dolly, who is facing jail term in various heinous offences, including murder and robbery.

“I am not worried about my life, but the man said that if I would not make the arrangements then the life of my children would be in danger,” she said.

The DGP assured her that full security would be provided to her children. Shashi Kant said even he had faced threats for his recent comments. “We have informed Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh about the threat calls. And the police has assured us that the criminal would be nabbed soon,” said the DGP.

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The Tribune – Ludhiana man is mayor of Hounslow

Puneet Pal Singh Gill, Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 21. A former resident of Kila Raipur, Pritam Singh Grewal, has become the Mayor of Hounslow in the UK. His wife Ajmer Grewal is a councillor in Hounslow. Born in Ludhiana, Grewal graduated from Panjab University with B.Sc in Maths, Physics and Chemistry.

He also did his master’s degree in English literature from the same university. Coming from a sports background, his father Ranjit Singh Grewal and younger brother Mohinder Partap Singh Grewal, both of whom are no more, were national-level hockey players.

Having migrated to the UK in 1976, Pritam’s family organises the All-India Mohinder Partap Singh Grewal Women Hockey Tournament at Ludhiana every year. The outgoing Mayor of Hounslow, Amritpal Singh Mann, also hails from Ludhiana district’s Nangal village, 5 km from Kila Raipur.

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The Tribune – Suspect’s brother among 2 detained in DSP murder case

Jaswant Shetra

Jagraon, February 21. A team of the CIA Staff from Ludhiana today conducted raids at three different locations here and detained two youths for interrogation in connection with the double murder case of Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and a woman identified as Monica Kapila.

The DSP and the woman were done to death by unidentified assailants nearly three weeks ago at a farmhouse on the Hambran road near Ludhiana.

The police team searched the house of a suspect in Atam Nagar locality on Tehsil Road, but nothing suspicious was found from there.

Following this, the police team raided a house in Sant Nagar Mohala and detained a youth from there. The house was also searched, but nothing suspicious was found from there as well.

Another raid was conducted at a house in Kothe Khajura locality on the outskirts of the town. Though the police team did not find the youth for whom it was looking for, they, however, detained the brother of the suspected youth. The police took both the youths to Ludhiana.

Sources said that the two youths had been detained on the basis of some phone call details obtained by the police.

The local police was not aware of the raids. Jagraon DSP Harpal Singh said that they were not informed by the Ludhiana police before the raids.

He also confirmed that the raids were conducted in connection of double murder case involving Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and Monica Kapila.

Meanwhile, family members of the youth detained from Sant Nagar locality claimed that their son was innocent and he had nothing to do with the double murder case.

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The Tribune – Ludhiana double murder; Cops don’t rule out robbery motive

Mohit Khanna, Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 12. After having questioned at least 50 suspects, including hardened criminals, relatives and friends of murdered Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and Monica Kapila, DCP Ashish Chaudhary in a candid admission today said: “It is a personal challenge for me to crack the case.”

The police has reached the conclusion that the suspect were more than five in number. Contrary to the claims of the DSP’s family members that he had no link with Monica, the police said the two knew each other. “They knew each other for the past six months and the DSP hid his identity, posing as Aman Verma,” said DCP.

The police ruled out the involvement of a doctor in the murders. The police thinks robbery could be the motive behind the killings.

The police said it had been ascertained that the DSP and Monica entered the Hambran farmhouse between 6.15 and 6.30 pm on February 1 and the murders took place between 7pm and 7.30 pm.

“The two were, perhaps, attacked while returning from the farmhouse. The assailants could be hiding in the farmhouse,” the DCP said. The mirror of one of the cars was broken. A shoe print of one of the suspects was found at the crime scene.

The DCP said they had also found a key ring, a baseball bat, a sword, a sickle and a knife. It seemed the assailants had first hit the DSP on the head with the baseball bat. They had then used a sickle or a sword to kill him.

The attack on Monica was equally brutal. Her body bore injury marks on the left arm, the left foot, the jaw and the skull.

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The Tribune – Pair of jeans found in slain DSP’s car may lead to killers

Mohit Khanna, Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 8. Seven days after the Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and a woman were found done to death in a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city, the police said it had recovered a pair of jeans suspected to be those of the killer.

These were found in the DSP’s Chevrolet that was found abandoned in Balloke village, near here, on Sunday night. The police, that launched a combing operation in nearby villages, including Balloke, Noorpur Bet and Hambran, reportedly detained some youths with a criminal background. Each of them were made to try the jeans.

The police is reportedly questioning some youths with fresh injuries on the feet and hands.

“The cell location and time is helping us reconstruct the crime scene. It seems the killers attacked Monica and the DSP at the entrance of the farmhouse. It would have taken at least 20 minutes for the assailants to murder the duo,” said a police officer investigating the case.

He said had the DSP’s friends, Sanjay Agnihotri , Narinderpal Singh and an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), sounded an alert in time, the killers could have been possibly nabbed.

The three had got to know about the murders at 9.30pm but chose to keep mum sitting.

Monica last spoke to her daughter at 6.15pm to inform her she would be home in 20 minutes.

DCP Ashish Choudhary said: “We will soon crack the case.” Villagers complained that the police was unnecessarily harassing their young children. Sources said 40 youths had been picked up for questioning.

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The Tribune – Mystery killing; Vehicles recovered, experts take fingerprint samples

Mohit Khanna, Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 6. With the police having recovered vehicles used by slain Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and Monica Kapila, an industrialist’s wife, to reach the farmhouse near the Hambran Road on February 1, a forensic team from the Punjab Police Training Centre, Phillaur, today collected samples of fingerprints, footprints and blood stains of the suspects from the vehicles.

While the Chevrolet Optra of the DSP was recovered from Balloke village last night, Toyota Innova of Monica was found abandoned near Sacred Heart School in BRS Nagar here late last night.

According to police sources, both the cars were driven for nearly 700 km each before being abandoned at two different locations. The police arrived at a conclusion that the killers abandoned the vehicles after exhausting the available fuel. It has questioned Narinder Pal Singh, the owner of Chevrolet Optra (the car used by the DSP) and Monica’s husband about the mileage of the vehicles.

The culprits did not touch the expensive car accessories of both the vehicles. While they tampered with the number plate of the DSP’s vehicle, the registration number of Toyota Innova remained the same.

The sources said the police got information about the car during the evening and launched a massive search operation in Ladhowal, Noorpur Bet, Balloke and Hambran villages.

“Earlier, the police was working on the theory that the killers might be nabbed along with the vehicles. But, we are now deprived of a crucial lead,” said a police official.

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The Tribune – Slain DSP’s vehicle recovered

Mohit Khanna, Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 5. Slain Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill’s vehicle (Chevrolet Optra) was found 2 km from the crime site, near Bolloke village late tonight.

Meanwhile, the DSP’s father today lashed out at the police, complaining that instead of nabbing the criminals, it had been indulging in the character assassination of his son to “hush up” the case.

The DSP and Monica Kapila, an industrialist’s wife, were found murdered in a farmhouse on Hambran road on Wednesday.

Lambasting police investigations, Kashmir Singh Gill, a retired BSF commandant, said instead of collecting evidence from the crime site, some officials had destroyed evidence.

“As I looked at the body of my slain son, a policeman washed the bloodstains from the floor. As a result, forensic experts failed to collect any fingerprints, which were vital to crack the case,” he said. He said instead of informing him about the incident, a junior officer had called up his son’s driver, instructing him to reach the Sahnewal police station.

“As we (Gill and the driver) neared Dhandari, we were asked to rush towards Hambran road. Before I could reach there, the family members of the deceased woman had already left, refusing to identify her,” said Gill.

He said he had requested the investigating agencies to find out if the woman would call up Gill’s friends, including a police officer in touch with the victim during the day of the incident.

“Why did the police not set up nakas on exit roads on being told of the crime,” he asked, alleging that his son could have been a victim of a larger conspiracy and demanded that his son’s friends who were in touch with him on the day he was killed be interrogated.

“My son left home at 5.30 pm and reached Narinderpal Singh’s office. He collected the keys of Narinder’s car and left for Sanjay Agnihotri’s farmhouse.We tried to contact him at 6:30 pm but his phone was switched off.

“We got worried and informed the police. Instead of informing us about the killing, Narinderpal called up my driver, instructing him to contact the ACP of Sahnewal,” said Gill.

Commandant Gill said no police official had visited the family to inform them about the progress in the case. “Instead, they have picked up my cook, the driver and two guards for questioning.”

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The Tribune – DSP Gill concealed his identity: Victim’s friend

Mohit Khanna, Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 4. Three days after the brutal killing of Moga DSP Balraj Singh Gill and Monica Kapila, an industrialist’s wife, the police today questioned a woman friend of the victim (Monica) and a male doctor.

The woman, identified as Vandna, is said to be a close friend of Monica. The doctor whose identity has not been disclosed yet was also an intimate friend of Monica.

During the questioning, Vandna said DSP Gill had concealed his identity and posed as Aman Verma, an industrialist. Monica was all praise for Verma’s (Gill’s) gentle demeanor, Vandana told the investigating officers.

Vandna was shocked when she came to know that Verma was none other than Moga DSP Gill, revealed a police source.

The victim’s friend said the DSP got late in arriving at the farmhouse. In the meantime, Monica rang up Vandna and told her that she was roaming around the Golf Link area in her vehicle and waiting for Verma (DSP Gill).

The sources said the call details procured by the police had showed that the duo used to exchange frequent messages.

However, there is no record of any long telephonic conversation between the two victims.

The sources said as the DSP was “concealing” his identity that was perhaps the reason why he did not carry his service revolver on that ill-fated day. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Kulwinder Singh said, “The assailants were more than three in number. Practically, if they were chasing a woman, they might be on a vehicle. After killing the victims, they took both the vehicles. That indicates that three or more persons are involved in the crime”.

The police today formed special teams to expedite the investigation of the case. On the other hand, the Moga police has also launched a parallel probe into the incident.

Meanwhile, during the bhog ceremony of the slain DSP, relatives and friends rebuffed the allegations of DSP’s links with Monica. They said baseless stories were being made to malign the image of the DSP and the woman.

“Everyone is concocting stories. My son had no involvement with Monica Kapila. The case appeared to be part of some major conspiracy hatched to kill my son and to malign the image of the family. It could also be a ploy to divert the line of investigation of the police in this case,” said Kashmir Singh Gill, Balraj Singh Gill’s father.

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