Monthly Archives: August 2018

Justice SN Dhingra

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 11

Justice SN Dhingra, a former Delhi High Court judge, will head the new Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court to further investigate 186 cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.Justice Dhingra was a trial judge when punishments were handed out in 1990s to those accused of the 1984 Trilokpuri massacre. Kishori Lal, dubbed the “butcher of Trilokpuri”, was among those sentenced by him.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Almost 3,000 people were killed, most of them in Delhi, in the anti-Sikh riots that broke out following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra formally passed the order to set up the three-member SIT that would also comprise retired IPS officer of IG rank Rajdeep Singh and serving IPS officer Abhishek Dular.The court finalised the names after the counsel representing petitioner Gurnad Singh Kahlon agreed to the names suggested by Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand.While directing the government to provide all logistical and secretarial support to the SIT, the Bench asked it to submit its first status report in two months and posted the matter for further hearing on March 19. On behalf of the riot victims, senior advocate HS Phoolka too submitted a list of names for the three-member SIT but the court made it clear that it would go by the names suggested by the government.The Bench had on Wednesday said the previous SIT had not carried out further probe into these 186 cases in which closure reports were filed. The top court had taken the decision after perusing the report of a two-judge supervisory panel that scrutinised 241 cases related to the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi closed by an earlier SIT formed by the NDA government for re-investigation.Submitted on December 6, the report of the supervisory committee comprising Justice JM Panchal and Justice KSP Radhakrishnan was perused by the court for the first time on Wednesday.

A CCTV grab of the killer.

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Palwal, January 2

Five people were killed as they were assaulted separately with an iron rod by a middle-aged man in this town on Monday night.The accused, an ex-serviceman, was arrested after being identified from CCTV footage, police said.The cause behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The assault was carried out at different spots. One of the assaults took place around 2.30 am on Tuesday, as per the CCTV footage.Deputy Commissioner Mani Ram Sharma said a probe was on into the incident.

Sepoy Jagsir Singh. — @adgpi/Twitter

Jammu/Ferozepur, December 31

A pall of gloom descended on Lohgarh Thakran Wala village in Zira sub-division in this district after the news of Sepoy Jagsir Singh’s death reached here.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Singh (32) was killed after Pakistani troops again violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir today.He was posted in a forward area in Noushera sector of Rajouri district.Singh is survived by wife Mohinder Pal Kaur, two daughters and one son, his family said.He had visited his native village last week and had promised to visit again next month.His mother Gurmit Kaur said Singh rang up yesterday night to convey New Year greetings.“Little did we know that this will be our last conversation,” an inconsolable Gurmit Kaur said.The soldier’s family said the couple got married in 2010, and were blessed with three kids, Nigamjit Kaur (7), Gurmeet Kaur (5) and Jagdeep Singh (2).Singh’s last rites will be held tomorrow, Vipin Sharma, a Tehsildar, said. — PTI 

LT Gen Surinder Singh, GOC-in-C, Western Command, addresses a symposium at Chandimandir on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VIJAY MATHUR

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 25

Cautioning the officers of the armed forces against the build-up of an “unhealthy synergy” between sections of the media, political establishment, the military and arms dealers in the pursuit of vested interests, Harish Khare, Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune, stressed that the service personnel could do well by following the Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat’s dictum issued on Army Day to uphold the core national values and service ethos and live up to the trust reposed in the armed forces by the nation.Addressing senior Army officers and journalists on the theme of “Army and the media: Who uses whom” at a media symposium organised by the Western Command Headquarters at Chandimandir here today, Khare said while the Army remained the country’s most professional and secular organisation, there had been instances of individual abrasions, which were a cause for concern.Stating that the armed forces had to work within the larger constitutional framework, he said, “We can no longer pretend that there is no clash of professional interests and egos at the top level. This has resulted in some senior officers coming closer to political figures or seeking unhealthy alliances in a section of the media and the people have unfairly fallen victim to this.”While being critical of the functioning of both, the media and the top military leadership, Khare also warned against manipulation of institutional processes for personal or commercial purposes. He added that sections of the armed forces had used the media to create narratives about the weakness of the political leadership in military matters.General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen Surinder Singh spoke about the Army’s perspective on engagement with the media and highlighted the services’ concern over inadvertent dissemination of information that could have security implications or impact troop morale.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh with GOC-in-C, Western Command, Lt Gen Surinder Singh, at Chandimandir. Tribune photo

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 24

While announcing that the Punjab government will set up two high-level committees, one to resolve issues relating to acquisition of land for setting up military facilities in the state and the other to address infrastructural and garbage dumping problems around the Chandigarh Air Force Station, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh also called for a review of provisions governing constructions around sensitive military installations.The committees would comprise officials from both the armed forces as well as the state government and will meet regularly for updates and decisions. This was resolved during the annual Civil-Military Liaison Conference between the Punjab government and Western Command at Chandimandir today.Chaired jointly by the Chief Minister and the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen Surinder Singh, it was attended by top government and Army officials.Expressing concern that various issues raised by the armed forces earlier have not yet been resolved, the Chief Minister said ammunition depots, for instance, were established many years ago but the manifold growth of Punjab necessitated a re-look in the context of the current situation and review of the provisions for such facilities.The issue came up in the context of non-promulgation of gazette notification with respect to ammunition depots at Dappar and Naraingarh in the state. Failure to issue the notification had made it difficult to stop proliferation of construction activity in the vicinity of the depots, the government was informed.The armed forces have requested notification of the notified zone by publishing a gazette, to which the state government said it would be issued once the discrepancies found in revenue records of the areas were removed.Problems relating to exchange of land between the Army and civil authorities for infrastructural projects, development of access roads and railways crossings at strategic places, bird menace arising out of dumping of garbage around airfields, illegal mining and storage around vital installations were also discussed.The committee to look into the Chandigarh airfield problems would be headed by the Secretary, Civil Aviation, and include representatives of the airport management.One of the key demands of the military for the acquisition of 5 kanal and 13 marla land to strength security around the Air Force Station, Barnala, had been pending due to delay in the release of funds to the PWD to pay compensation for construction of a new road after acquisition. The acquisition of land for passage between the Chandigarh airbase and Air Force High Grounds is also under consideration.The Chief Minister also agreed to extend the notification of land near Faridkot, used for training and manoeuvres, up to 2030 and would also look into the issue of exchange of camping ground land to enable the armed forces to carry out training. The Kandi belt and Hoshiarpur area is being considered for this. The issue of damage to the ditch-cum-bundh border defences in Amritsar and Gurdaspur areas due to sand mining also cropped up.

Civil-Military Liaison Conference  

• The committees would comprise officials from both the armed forces as well as the state government and will meet regularly for updates and decisions.
• This was resolved during the annual Civil-Military Liaison Conference between the Punjab government and Western Command at Chandimandir on Wednesday.
• Chaired jointly by the Chief Minister and the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen Surinder Singh, it was attended by top government and Army officials.

Bathinda, January 18

As part of Army Day and Republic Day celebrations, the army is organising a mini-marathon called ‘Lets run for the nation’ here on January 22. The event is open to the public after proper registration.The aim of the event is to bring the civilian population and the Army on one platform to enhance harmony and sovereignty. The mini-marathon will be conducted in two categories — 5 km for all women and minors below 15 years of age and 10 km for participants above 15 years of age.The starting point of the marathon is Multipurpose Sports Stadium. For 5 km marathon, participants have to take a round of the stadium to Rose Garden Chowk. Similarly, for 10 km, participants will have to take a round of sports stadium to Rose Garden Chowk and then Bibiwala Chowk. The mini-marathon will begin at 6.15 am. The first prize winner will get Rs 5,000, followed by Rs 2,000 for the second spot and Rs 1,000 for the third. Besides, there are four consolation prizes. — TNS

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 15

Headquarters Western Command commemorated the 70th Army Day at Chandimandir today by paying homage to the soldiers who laid down their lives in the line of duty.Army Day is observed each year to mark the taking over of the reins of the Indian Army by the first Indian Commander-in-Chief, Late Field Marshal KM Cariappa, who succeeded the last British Commander-in-Chief in India, General Francis Roy Butcher on this day in 1948.In a solemn ceremony, Lt Gen GS Dhillon, Chief of Staff, Western Command, laid the wreath at the Veer Smriti war memorial on behalf of all ranks of the Command. Addressing the troops, he exhorted all ranks to strive for professional excellence and uphold the highest traditions of the Indian Army.BJYM pays homage to martyrsThe Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) paid homage to the martyrs and saluted the soldiers on Army Day at Shastri Market in Sector 22.On the occasion, Chandigarh party president Gaurav Goel said, “A day is not enough to express our gratitude to our soldiers for guarding us 24 hours and 365 days. Joining the Army is not a profession, but a passion to be ready to sacrifice everything for the nation.”