Teen’s murder at Ludhiana hospital: Hospital staff ask how can they perform if their life is at risk

Teen’s murder at Ludhiana hospital: Hospital staff ask how can they perform if their life is at risk

According to Dr Gurmehar Kaur, who was on emergency duty in the ward, a group of youths badly assaulted Savan and he was then rushed to Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), but was declared dead on arrival.

15-year old Savan was killed by a group of at least 15 assailants.A police control room (PCR) vehicle is now stationed outside the emergency ward of Lord Mahavira Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, 24×7 with a team of cops on patrolling duty.
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Three days after a group of at least 15 assailants butchered a 15-year old boy Savan inside the emergency ward of the hospital, the probe has found that the reason behind the clash lied somewhere in the middle of two things — egos of two groups of youths and a brewing rivalry between two groups within Scheduled Caste (SC) community, Valmikis and Sansis.
While the victim was from the Sansi group, all accused booked in the case are Valmikis, both are the communities within Scheduled Caste and living together in the EWS Colony of Ludhiana.

According to Dr Gurmehar Kaur, who was on emergency duty in the ward, a group of youths badly assaulted Savan and he was then rushed to Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), but was declared dead on arrival.
Ludhiana police commissioner Kaustubh Sharma said: “Three cops led by ASI Rajinder Singh are posted at Civil Hospital police post none was on duty. An enquiry has been marked and action will be taken accordingly.”
Additional DCP-1 Rupinder Kaur Sra said that the victim and the accused were from different caste sub-groups which added to their rivalry.
Surinder Kalyan, vice-chairman, Punjab Safai Karamchari Commission, said that both Valmiki and Sansi have been living peacefully in Punjab since the 1990s when Sansi were allotted a part of EWS colony to settle down. “This is probably the first such incident where we have seen Valmikis and Sansis coming to loggerheads, otherwise they have always lived in harmony. It was during the tenure of Beant Singh as Punjab CM when Sansis were allotted a part of EWS Colony in Ludhiana,” said Kalyan.
A cousin of the deceased said that “the opposite group were bullying Sansi community boys in the colony for months”. “Whenever someone from our side would roam in the street, they would abuse or slap us. They used to harass Savan and his brother too,” he said.
Rajvir, the brother-in-law of the victim on whose statement FIR has been registered, said that a few days ago, Savan’s father had approached the parents of one of the accused to discuss the matter and suggested that “children on both sides should be counselled.”
The incident prompted district Civil Surgeon Dr SP Singh to write to police, administration and state health director, demanding 24×7 security for doctors and staff on duty especially at night. “How is it possible that despite having a police post within the premises police failed to stop such an incident? We have been told that cops posted at the hospital chowki are mostly missing from duty. Such a chaos was created inside the ward that doctors were not even in the situation to treat that injured boy and he had to be rushed to CMCH. They have now deputed a PCR vehicle outside the emergency ward but hospitals cannot be allowed to become crime spots,” Singh said.
Dr Rohit Rampal, district vice president of Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Association who wrote to civil surgeon demanding adequate security, said that the accused were weilding swords and the doctors and staff ran and hid to save themselves. “How can we expect doctors to give their 100 per cent if we can’t ensure their safety,” he asked.

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Deepender Hooda: MC polls will have no effect on state elections

Deepender Hooda: MC polls will have no effect on state elections

The results of Haryana municipal polls declared on Wednesday will have no bearing on the upcoming Assembly polls, Congress Rajya Sabha MP, Deepender Singh Hooda said on Thursday, while insisting that the Vidhan Sabha elections were very different from the civic polls.
The Assembly polls and Lok Sabha polls in Haryana are due in 2024.
Haryana’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) combine won 25 of the 46 municipal bodies in the municipal polls, with the Aam Aadmi Party and the Indian National Lok Dal bagging one seat each. With infighting between state stalwarts intensifying in recent months, the Congress did not contest these polls on party symbol, but has claimed
that the 19 Independents who won were backed by it.
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In a statement released on Thursday, Deepender Hooda said, “The Congress was ruling the civic bodies when the 2014 Assembly polls took place. However, despite that, the Congress lost the Assembly polls. On the other hand, the BJP candidates have secured just 26 per cent votes in the civic body polls. In these circumstances, what will happen to them (BJP) can be understood very easily.”
Deepender Hooda further said the people have been disillusioned with the BJP-JJP coalition government in Haryana.

“This is the reason that many ministers sitting in the government, including the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, could not make the party candidates win in their constituencies despite putting in all their strength. In Karnal, the home district of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the BJP was defeated in three out of four municipalities, while the JJP candidate did not even appear in the contest in the Deputy Chief Minister’s constituency, Uchana. A few other ministers of the Haryana government also could not get the party candidates to win in their respective areas,”, said Deepender, who is the son of former Chief  Minister and Leader of Opposition, Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
He further claimed, “Out of the total 12.71 lakh votes polled in the Haryana civic polls, BJP got 3.33 lakh votes even when the Congress was not in the electoral fray. However, the Congress had given its workers a free hand to contest the elections. Independent candidates, most of whom were Congress workers, got 6.63 lakh
votes and the BJP got only about half, about 3.33 lakh votes.”

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Protests mark Mann’s maiden roadshow

Protests mark Mann’s maiden roadshow

Although Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s much-publicised maiden roadshow for the upcoming Sangrur Lok Sabha bypoll began on a high note in the morning at Bhadaur market, it gradually tapered off as the day progressed. At some places, it was marked by protests as well. The roadshow, by and large, received a lukewarm response from the public on Thursday.
Even though people came out of their houses and shops, they showed little enthusiasm to join the CM’s roadshow – quite a departure from the response he got during the Vidhan Sabha poll campaign.
Mann covered a number of villages of Bhadaur and Barnala constituencies on Thursday.
While he faced protests from some youngsters at Tapa market, Mann in a video footage could be seen turning a blind eye to the negative response, with a smile and a wave of his hand.Best of Express PremiumDelhi Confidential: Relics, BondingPremiumUPSC Key-June 16, 2022: Why ‘Militarisation of Society’ to ‘Section 295A ...PremiumExplained: What the US Fed’s biggest rate hike in 28 years means for Indi...Premium10 lakh jobs: Existing govt vacancies to account for most, 90% at lowest ...Premium
Protests were witnessed in Shehna and Handyiya areas as well.
The roadshow started from Bhadaur market around 8 am where he got a good response.
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At Tapa market, the Galla mazdoor union members vented their anger against the state government on the moong issue. They said moong was being procured, bypassing the arhtiyas (commission agents). As a result, the mazdoors employed in mandis and the arhtiyas were getting a raw deal.
At the same site, the ration depot holders also waved black flags at CM’s convoy.
One Avtar Singh Fakharsar, a protesting depot holder, said, “Mann had stated that his government will end unemployment, but soon after they came to power, they made 27,000 depot holders redundant, as now they have started a doorstep ration delivery scheme. And, moreover, Markfed has been made the agency for ration distribution. So where should we go?”
The roadshow covered Bhadaur, Shehna, Pakho Kenchian, Ugoke, Dhilwan, Tapa and other areas in Bhadaur, while it covered Barnala city, Court chowk, Handayiya, Sekhan, Upli and other areas in Barnala.
Sources said Mann did not speak at over 10 places because of protests.
Addressing public gatherings during the roadshow, Mann said that the opposition was scared of him as his government was cracking down on corruption. Lashing out at the opposition for creating uproar over alleged deterioration of law and order situation in the state, Mann said that the opposition parties were baffled by the good governance of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) regime in Punjab.
The CM said that opposition leaders are jittery because of his government’s action against corruption and mafia. They are afraid they may have to go to jail.
He said, “A few are behind bars already and some more will be in jail soon. We arrested former Congress minister (Sadhu Singh Dharamsot) from his house at 3 am. The Vigilance team told us that he can be arrested in the morning as well, but I insisted to arrest him immediately before he joins BJP.”
However, the CM ruffled a few netizens’ feathers on social media with his ‘BJP joining’ remark i.e. “If a leader joins BJP, will no action be taken against him?”
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said that the people of this constituency had passed ‘a vote of no-confidence’ against Mann and the AAP government by holding widespread protests across the constituency against the chief minister for betraying their interests.
Talking to reporters at Sunam after addressing public gatherings in favour of SAD-BSP candidate Kamaldeep Kaur Rajoana for the Sangrur bypoll, the SAD president said, “People have shown the mirror to Mann. Despite huge security arrangements, people came out spontaneously in protest against him. This shows Mann now cannot even visit his own erstwhile constituency without police security.”
Mann said, “Actually, the Akali Dal and the Congress are not able to digest how a common man has become the CM and how he is taking pro-people decisions for the welfare of Punjab.”

Praising the candidate, Gurmel Singh, Mann said that Singh is a young man like him and understands the pain of the common man. By becoming an MP, he will raise the voice of the people of Sangrur in Lok Sabha.
Lambasting SAD (Amritsar) candidate Simranjit Mann, the CM said, “We advocate love, peace and brotherhood. We are talking about saving Punjab’s water and farmers and giving employment to the youth. However, Simranjit talks about bullets and swords. Violence does not benefit any society.”
The CM claimed that it has been only three months of the AAP government in Punjab. But in such a short time the government has taken some big decisions, which the governments in the past could not take in the last 75 years.
He said, “Every penny of the public is now being spent on people and we will take our money back from the corrupt leaders which ‘they have looted’ from the public. I stand by my promise to make Punjab happy and prosperous again by eliminating corruption and mafia.”
He said, “In just three months, we have shown the people of Punjab that this government has teeth.”
Mann said that till now, 5,800 acres of ‘sarkari’ land was made free of encroachment, while more such action will be taken in the coming days

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Congress workers protest against Rahul’s ‘unending harassment’, submit memo

Congress workers protest against Rahul’s ‘unending harassment’, submit memo

Several workers of Chandigarh Congress Thursday marched towards Punjab Raj Bhawan from Congress Bhawan in Sector 35-C, Chandigarh, to protest and present a memorandum addressed to the President of India.
The memorandum requested the President to advise the BJP government to ensure “that the security agencies work impartially and do not try to falsely implicate the leaders like Rahul Gandhi, who speak against the divisive, anti-people and anti-Constitution policies of the current government at the Centre”.
The slogan-shouting workers were stopped by a heavy contingent of police at Sector 34-35 traffic lights. About 100 workers of the party, including senior party functionaries, were arrested when they tried to sneak through the police barricades. They were taken to Sector 36 police station in buses.
The Congress workers alleged “unnecessary, unwarranted and unending harrasment of their leader Rahul Gandhi on baseless grounds at the behest of Modi government by the Enforcement Directorate”.Best of Express PremiumDelhi Confidential: Relics, BondingPremiumUPSC Key-June 16, 2022: Why ‘Militarisation of Society’ to ‘Section 295A ...PremiumExplained: What the US Fed’s biggest rate hike in 28 years means for Indi...Premium10 lakh jobs: Existing govt vacancies to account for most, 90% at lowest ...Premium
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Later, the arrested leaders gave a memorandum addressed to the President of India to police officials with a request to forward it to the UT Administrator.
The memorandum submitted on behalf of Chandigarh Congress stated “that while the law enforcing agencies like ED are trying to manufacture cases against the leaders like Rahul Gandhi, nothing is being done to probe the prima-facie cogent allegations against the people within the government as well as those connected with the BJP”.
The Chandigarh Congress demanded a probe by a truly independent agency into the recent newspaper reports quoting M M C Ferdinando, former chairman of Celon Electricity Board of Sri Lanka, to the effect that Prime Minister Narendra Modi influenced the Sri Lankan President to award a wind power project to Adani group. The probe must focus on why a private player was favoured during the negotiations between the two governments, the memorandum added.

Similarly, Anil Ambani’s nascent company with zero experience was favoured during negotiations for Refale airplanes. The allegations to this effect were levelled by none other than former President of France at one stage. It was alleged that the people at large were also peeved at lack of transparency in spending thousands of crores deposited in PM CARES Fund. The memorandum added that a free and fair inquiry by an independent agency may bring many skeletons out of the PM CARES Fund.
The Congress leaders said that the security agencies are meant to be impartial and are bound to treat all citizens as equals.
“But the unfortunate situation that appears to be prevailing in the country today is that those who are close to the power centre in Delhi are allowed to subvert the law as well as the rule of the law without any fear and those who differ from the government’s viewpoint are being implicated in false cases,” the statement said.
In the afternoon, Treasurer of All India Congress Committee Pawan Kumar Bansal reached the police station to enquire about the arrested Congress activists, who were released later in the day.

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Sidhu’s kin to approach CJI, Union Law minister

Sidhu’s kin to approach CJI, Union Law minister

The family members of national-level shooter and advocate Sukhmanpreet Singh alias Sippy Sidhu, who was killed in 2015, on Thursday demanded that the acting Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, Justice Sabina, be relieved of her duties as her daughter had been arrested for murder.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested a woman identified as Kalyani Singh in connection with the murder of Sippy Sidhu. Sippy was murdered in a public park in sector three Chandigarh on the night of September 20, 2015.
Sippy’s family has been alleging the role of Kalyani Singh in the murder from Day One with Deepinder having repeatedly claimed that it was Kalyani who had called her son to the Sector 27 park before his murder.
The family of Sippy Sidhu said that they will soon meet the Chief Justice of India (CJI), and  the Union Law Minister to put forth their demand as they feared that Justice Sabina may interfere in the investigations.Best of Express PremiumDelhi Confidential: Relics, BondingPremiumUPSC Key-June 16, 2022: Why ‘Militarisation of Society’ to ‘Section 295A ...PremiumExplained: What the US Fed’s biggest rate hike in 28 years means for Indi...Premium10 lakh jobs: Existing govt vacancies to account for most, 90% at lowest ...Premium
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Interacting with media persons at her Mohali Phase 3 residence, Sippy Sidhu’s mother, Deepinder Kaur Sidhu, said that the government must step in and relieve the Himachal Chief Justice for the sake of a free and fair probe.
Deepinder said that the family had been waiting for long for the arrest of the accused and all they wanted now was the culprits being brought to justice.

“I lost my son, but now the truth is in front of the people. However, we still apprehend pressure from the judge. I appeal to the government to relieve her (Chief Justice Sabina) of all her responsibilities  so that the culprit gets the punishment she deserves,” she added.
Sippy’s younger brother, Jippy Sidhu, said that they will soon meet the CJI and Union Law Minister and take up the issue with them.
If summoned, Kalyani’s mother will appear before CBI, says counsel Counsel for accused, Advocate Sartej Singh Narula, meanwhile, said that some relatives, including Kalyani Singh’s father had already been questioned by the CBI in the case. He stated that if summoned, Kalyani’s mother, Justice Sabina, too would appear before the agency. The CBI will have to take permission from the Chief Justice of India in order to Justice Sabina for questioning in the case.
“Our priority right now is getting bail for Kalyani, which is our next step,” said Narula.

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