Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
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Golden Temple CCTV steals a march on thieves
Amritsar On February 24, a Sikh devotee from Attepur village in Gurdaspur district went to take a bath in Golden Temple Sarovar near Dukh Bhanjani Beri. As he entered the Sarovar, a man decamped with his trousers containing his wallet and cellphone. The thief — oblivious of the fact that a team was watching him doing the act on a LCD screen that broadcasts the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) camera footage live — is caught in no time.
A Canada-based NRI complained to the Golden Temple authorities that her purse, which contained her and her colleagues’ passports, has been stolen. What worried the victims most was that they were scheduled to board a flight back to Canada in the evening. The CCTV surveillance team rewinds the recording of the video footage of the suspected place and after identifying the thieves, nabs them near the SGPC information centre. The purse was recovered from a dustbin. The NRIs managed to catch the flight back home.
With nearly one lakh devotees paying obeisance every day at the Golden Temple — the number rises to a lakh-and-a-half on weekends and festivals — the Sikh shrine is a favourite hunting ground for thieves.
But an initiative is fast heading towards earning the distinction of a “game-changer” in tackling such thefts at the holy shrine. The CCTV cameras installed at the temple are turning out to be a nemesis of kind for the thieves. Since June, 2011 — when the cameras became functional — 140 thieves have been caught in the act with the help of CCTV footage. If one goes by record, almost every alternate day, a thief is caught at the temple.
As many as 130 CCTV cameras have been installed at what officials call “strategic places” to keep an eye on thieves and unscrupulous elements inside the temple. “Ever since the installation of the cameras, there has been a positive change. We have successfully thwarted theft attempts, cracked cases and handed over the thieves to the police,” Golden Temple Manager Harbans Singh Malhi told The Indian Express.
with thanks : ExpressIndia : link in headline for detailed news.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sikh youth has jumped into river yamuna
There is a news that a Sikh Guy of Rani Garden in East Delhi, has jumped into the River Yamuna, at around 10 pm, alongwith his motorbike. More details are being awaited.
Amritsar:Sikh preacher Dhunda apologizes at Akal Takht
AMRITSAR:Sikh preacher Sarbjit Singh Dhundha who remained in severe controversies in past due to his controversial remarks during preaching, atlast appeared before the Five Sikh Head Priests at Akal Takht (highest Sikh Temporal seat) on Saturday.
After appearing at Akal Takht, Dhunda tendered apology before the five Sikh Head Priests who accepting his apology suggested him to listen Sikh religious hymns for the next few weeks in the Golden Temple besides recitation of Sikh religious scriptures and then again appear at Akal Takht to perform Ardas (prayer) as per Sikh rituals. Akal Takht Jatehdar Gyani Gurbachan Singh said that Dhundha appeared at Akal Takht being a humble Sikh and Five Sikh Head priests have given him a chance to make clear his conscious while listening religious hymns so that such mistakes couldn’t be repeated in future.
Dhunda appeared at Akal Takht along with his eight supporters amidst the tight security cover given by the Task Force of SGPC. Jathedar said that earlier Dhundha had uttered some objectionable remarks about the Golden Temple Amritsar, during his appearance while tendering apology said that his words were twisted and distorted but he was always ready to aplologise if sentiments of anybody were hurt due to him.
Dhundha told Akal Takht that for him Akal Takht was supreme and would always obey all the directions issued from here. Dhundha is a famous Sikh preacher in Sikh community regularly visits across the nation and even abroad. Akal Takht recently issued directions to Sikh community to all over the world to avoid Dhundha for allegedly uttering objectionable worlds against the Golden Temple unless he appeared at Akal Takht to submit his clarification along with apology.
Dhunda put a full stop at all the controversies by appearing at the secretariat of Akal Takht to tender apology for hurting the sentiments of Sikh community whereupon he clarified that he never intended any such thing since he kept high respect for Golden Temple as well as Akal Takht.
with thanks : Punjab NewsLine : link in the headline above.
Friday, February 24, 2012
We are fighting over Bala Sahib Hospital in Delhi, whereas,
In Secunderabad, 365 donors of the Sikh community fund the functioning of the hospital through the year. Each one donates Rs. 5,100 on one day in a year, either for a birthday or an anniversary, and the centre gets funds all through the year. MUST READ : HEALING TOUCH OF THE SIKH COMMUNITY : http://sikhsindia.blogspot.in/2012/02/must-read-healing-touch-of-sikh.html
MUST READ : ‘Healing touch' of the Sikh community
The HinduGuru Nanak Medical Centre in Secndrabad. Photo:G:Ramakrishna
Tucked away between commercial establishments on the busy road leading to the Secunderabad station, stands an unassuming building with a board that reads ‘Guru Nanak Medical Centre'.
Inside the centre, patients enter and exit rooms allotted for varied medical services one after the other, without much wait. And as they exit, the approval in their looks is unmistakable. A stark contrast to what one would expect on one look at the non-descript exteriors.
Calling out to the poor and down-trodden over the past five years, the centre, which is a unit of the Guru Nanak Charitable Trust, has been providing quality medical services at highly subsidised prices at a time when health care costs are sky-high.
“The way the doctor listens and explains the problem itself, makes you feel like half the illness has been alleviated,” says Manga, who had just finished her consultation with a physicist.
..............................................
Interestingly, 365 donors of the Sikh community fund the functioning of the hospital through the year. Each one donates Rs. 5,100 on one day in a year, either for a birthday or an anniversary, and the centre gets funds all through the year.
with thanks : The Hindu : Link in the headline above for detailed news. MUST READ.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
UK: Indian-origin British hotelier sued by parents
London Parents of a 60-year-old Indian-origin hotelier, reportedly one of Britain's wealthiest men, are sueing him for 100 million pounds (around $157 million), claiming their son took the family business for himself.
Jasminder Singh, chairman of the Radisson Edwardian Hotels, is accused of renouncing the Sikh tradition of sharing family wealth and barring his parents from their multi-million pound business, the Daily Express reported.
His 84-year-old father, Bal Mohinder Singh, stands to take a third of the family fortune if he wins the high court battle against his son.
The hotelier's name was on the family's assets purely because he was a chartered accountant and the Singhs' representative.
The family fortune is reportedly worth an estimated 415 million pounds.
In a statement to the court in London on Tuesday, Bal Mohinder Singh said he and his wife Satwant were 'deeply ashamed that Jasminder should publicly renounce his cultural heritage'.
The system of joint family ownership of all assets is based on religious teaching and widely practiced by Sikh and Hindu communities around the world, he said.
with thanks : IBNLive : link in the headline above for detailed news.
High Court reserves order on gurdwara poll
New Delhi, February 22
The Delhi High Court today reserved its order on a plea filed by the Delhi government against a single judge's order restraining it from issuing a notification for next month's Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) elections.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Shah Endlaw reserved its order after both parties concluded their arguments.
The February 7 order had directed the city government to update, within a month, the electoral rolls with photographs of voters for the DSGMC elections.
The directorate of gurdwara election (DGE) also challenged the order of Justice Vipin Sanghi ordering it to complete the exercise of delimitation in 46 wards within a month.
Challenging the order, the government in its petition said that "the single judge had no right to pass such an order once the directorate has declared the schedule for the polls".
On the delimitation of 46 wards, the government said that it would take a long time and could be done only after the elections.
The single judge's order came on a petition filed by Harmohan Singh, a poll aspirant, alleging that the directorate had virtually announced the schedule for the election but the notification was yet to be issued.
The election is scheduled for March 11 and the filing of nomination papers by candidates would have started on February 16, he said.
"The election of the DSGMC on the basis of incomplete list of voters and without delimitation of wards will cause unfair representation of the members from each ward," the petition said.
"A number of duplicate voters have been mentioned in the list and non-Sikhs also figure in the voters' list," it added. - IANS
with thanks : TRIBUNE : Link in the headline above.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Refusal of Asylum to Afghanistan's Sikh
How can they go back?
An email received from Lili Van Heers ( a spokeswoman for the Sikh community in Belgium and is an author of a book on Sikhism in Dutch Language entitled: The Sikhism and the Sikhs (2008, Manohar Publishers):"
"I read the article about the documentary on Afghan Sikhs on Sikhsindia blog.I would like to add this.
One of my students Maninder Singh from Kabul in Belgium is a young Afghan Sikh who asked for asylum in Belgium together with his parents. He daily came to the Dutch lessons and tried his best to learn the language. On the day of the exams ;he didn't turn up. Because this was odd: I rang him and he sounds very sad. They( He & his family ) had been refused asylum and had to vacate their council house within a week and subsequently leave the country. He was worried about his elderly parents as their health was poor.
He said"If we have to sleep in the streets, we will have no access to a doctor and to medicine anymore". He could not understand the decision of the Belgian government after two years in this country.
How can they go back? They have nothing in Afghanistan, no family and no house anymore. Trying to ask for asylum in another European country is of course no option because of the Schengen agreement.
I myself cannot understand the refusal either, considering the dangerous conditions in Afghanistan, the precarious situation of the Sikhs over there and the health problems of the parents".
With thanks:Lili Van Heers(Belgium )
An email received from Lili Van Heers ( a spokeswoman for the Sikh community in Belgium and is an author of a book on Sikhism in Dutch Language entitled: The Sikhism and the Sikhs (2008, Manohar Publishers):"
"I read the article about the documentary on Afghan Sikhs on Sikhsindia blog.I would like to add this.
One of my students Maninder Singh from Kabul in Belgium is a young Afghan Sikh who asked for asylum in Belgium together with his parents. He daily came to the Dutch lessons and tried his best to learn the language. On the day of the exams ;he didn't turn up. Because this was odd: I rang him and he sounds very sad. They( He & his family ) had been refused asylum and had to vacate their council house within a week and subsequently leave the country. He was worried about his elderly parents as their health was poor.
He said"If we have to sleep in the streets, we will have no access to a doctor and to medicine anymore". He could not understand the decision of the Belgian government after two years in this country.
How can they go back? They have nothing in Afghanistan, no family and no house anymore. Trying to ask for asylum in another European country is of course no option because of the Schengen agreement.
I myself cannot understand the refusal either, considering the dangerous conditions in Afghanistan, the precarious situation of the Sikhs over there and the health problems of the parents".
With thanks:Lili Van Heers(Belgium )
Sarna dares SAD (Badal) to prove charges
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 21
Delhi Gurdwara Management Committee president Paramjit Singh Sarna today challenged the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) to prove the allegations levelled against him.
He said that he had not sold the Guru Harkishan Hospital adjacent to Bala Sahib Gurdwara located on Ring Road near Sarai Kale Khan.
The police registered an FIR against him on the direction of the district court Saket (southeast Delhi) under section 420 (cheating), 468 (forged documents) and 471 IPC (using forged documents as genuine).
SAD (Badal) member Kuldeep Singh Bhogal had filed the case against Sarna.
Addressing a conference, Sarna said, "First the Badal members had got the DSGMC election stayed. Now, they have got a complaint registered against me. They do not have any agenda for the community."
He said that the land has been given to a private company on lease. There is nothing illegal about the land being given on lease to a professional company in order to run the hospital.
He will submit the evidence concerning the Hari Kishan Hospital to the court. If the allegations against him are proved correct, Sarna said that he and his brother Harvinder Singh Sarna would leave politics and if they are not proved, he would get a criminal case lodged against Bhogal and the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Sarna said that Bhogal filed the case against him on the instigation of Parkash Singh Badal.
with thanks : TRIBUNE : Link in the headline above for detailed news.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Do Not Take Racial Profiling and Hate Crimes Lightly
US Attorney Ms Melinda Haag on Hate Crime Tracking Issue:
UNITED SIKHS organisation invited Honorable Ms.Melinda Haag, United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, at El Sobrante Gurdwara to explain her role as US Attorney, and to discuss the issues, concerns and challenges of Sikh Americans in the region.
Honourable Haag who also works very closely with the FBI and law enforcement officials to prosecute federal crimes informed UNITED SIKHS Director, Jatinder SIngh that a call has been placed already to the FBI Special Agent In Charge and a member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee about the hate crime tracking issue raised by the community.She said"The United States Attorneys have a broader role in our communities. We have a role in outreach with all of our communities to make sure that the people in our districts know when they have a problem, we can address them".She listened concerns of Sikh Americans who were victims of hate crimes,workplace discrimination and bullying in schools. she assured that the office of United States Attorney for the Northern District of California is aware of the challenges and obstacles faced by the Sikh community in workplace and schools, and is committed to provide maximum support to resolve such issues.
UNITED SIKHS’ Director,Jatinder Singh said,"In the decade aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, Sikhs and other minority communities have faced a rapid increase in hate crimes. Such incidents continually highlight the issue of Sikhs being targeted for their distinct external appearance and dress code.Just recently, Sikhs had incidents like stabbing of Sikh preacher Anup Singh by a 26 year old at an airport in Fresno,CA and murder of two elderly Sikh men in suburban Sacramento. All these three men were wearing dastaars (Sikh turbans)and sported beards in accordance with their Sikh faith.
With Thanks: UNITED SIKHS
UNITED SIKHS organisation invited Honorable Ms.Melinda Haag, United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, at El Sobrante Gurdwara to explain her role as US Attorney, and to discuss the issues, concerns and challenges of Sikh Americans in the region.
Honourable Haag who also works very closely with the FBI and law enforcement officials to prosecute federal crimes informed UNITED SIKHS Director, Jatinder SIngh that a call has been placed already to the FBI Special Agent In Charge and a member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee about the hate crime tracking issue raised by the community.She said"The United States Attorneys have a broader role in our communities. We have a role in outreach with all of our communities to make sure that the people in our districts know when they have a problem, we can address them".She listened concerns of Sikh Americans who were victims of hate crimes,workplace discrimination and bullying in schools. she assured that the office of United States Attorney for the Northern District of California is aware of the challenges and obstacles faced by the Sikh community in workplace and schools, and is committed to provide maximum support to resolve such issues.
UNITED SIKHS’ Director,Jatinder Singh said,"In the decade aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, Sikhs and other minority communities have faced a rapid increase in hate crimes. Such incidents continually highlight the issue of Sikhs being targeted for their distinct external appearance and dress code.Just recently, Sikhs had incidents like stabbing of Sikh preacher Anup Singh by a 26 year old at an airport in Fresno,CA and murder of two elderly Sikh men in suburban Sacramento. All these three men were wearing dastaars (Sikh turbans)and sported beards in accordance with their Sikh faith.
With Thanks: UNITED SIKHS
Monday, February 20, 2012
3 tried to sell off Sikh holy book for 20cr
NEW DELHI: Three persons have been arrested on charges of trying to sell off an old, hand-written copy of the Guru Granth Sahib - the holy book of the Sikhs - to some persons in the city for Rs 20 crore.
The accused have been identified as Praveen Babbar, who owns a hotel in Karol Bagh; Santosh Singh from Mirzapur, UP; and Kalyaneshwar Gautam from West Champaran in Bihar.
They told cops during interrogation that the copy of the Guru Granth Sahib was 300 years old and they had procured it at Patna Sahib Gurudwara. A police team has been sent to Bihar to investigate the matter, while expert opinion has been sought to find out the historicity of the holy book.
with thanks : TOI : link in headline for detailed news.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Court questions construction of parking at Gurdwara Rakabganj
The Delhi High Court has asked the New Delhi Municipal Council to explain how the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) is building a multi-level underground parking lot at a cost of Rs.400 crore inside Gurdwara Rakabganj in the New Delhi area without mandatory permissions as the shrine is a notified Grade III heritage building.
Justice Vipin Sanghi asked the NDMC to file a status report on the alleged construction of the parking facility without taking mandatory permissions from different government agencies concerned by March 22, the next date of hearing.
The Court asked for the explanation on a petition by the Sikh Forum for Service and Justice challenging construction of the parking facility.
The construction of parking lot is going since the laying of the foundation stone by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit last year.
The petitioner, G.S. Oberoi, president of the Forum, through his counsel Avtar Singh submitted in a fresh application that he had obtained information through RTI route that the DSGMC had sought no permission from the Heritage Conservation Committee to build the parking.
The petitioner further said that in a reply to a RTI application, the local body said that the Gurdwara Management had submitted a proposal to build the parking but it was rejected.
with thanks : The Hindu : link in the headline above for detailed news.
US court to hear 1984 anti-Sikh riots case
New York: A US court is set to hear on March 15 a plea for "default judgment" against India's Congress party for failing to defend charges of conspiring, aiding, abetting, organising anti-Sikh riots in November 1984.
The case will be heard by Judge Robert W Sweet of the US Federal Court in New York, according to Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a US-based community organisation, which filed a motion before the Court on February 02 for such a judgement.
The US court had issued summons to Congress party on March 01 last year asking it to file its answer within 21 days in the class action law suit filed under Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA).
with thanks : Zee News : link in the headline above for detailed news.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
SC setback for Sehejdharis: SGPC can elect office bearers
The Sehajdharis suffered a major setback on Friday after the Supreme Court stayed an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court wherein it had quashed a central government’s notification (in October, 2003) barring the Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) elections.
The apex court said that the SGPC, considered the Mini-Parliament of Sikhs, can carry out its functions normally. Days after the High Court judgment, the Sehajdhari Sikh Party (SSP) had demanded fresh SGPC elections stating that the Sehajdharis be allowed to cast their votes.
After the temporary relief from Supreme Court, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said that they would now wait for the Ministry of Home to issue a notification pertaining to the election of the office bearers of SGPC.
“We now look forward to Home Ministry to issue notification for the election of office bearers,” Makkar said.
The SC directions today paved the way for 185-member body to elect its 11 member executive body, besides the president, senior vice-president, vice-president and general secretary.
A question mark over the newly formed SGPC had arisen after the Punjab and Haryana High court had restored the voting rights of Sehajdhari Sikhs quashing the 2003 notification by the Union government that barred Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in SGPC polls.
with thanks : IndianExpress : link in the headline above for detailed news.
HC to hear next week plea on DSGMC polls
New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) The Delhi High Court today decided to hear next week the city government's plea against the single judge's order virtually staying the elections of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee due in March. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahi Endlaw fixed Tuesday to hear the appeal of Directorate of Gurudwara Elections (DGE) against the single judge's order asking it to complete the exercise of delimitation of area of 46 wards in a month and restraining it from issuing notification for the elections. Filing the petition through counsel Rajiv Nanda, the government said the single judge has no right to pass such order once the Directorate has declared the schedule for the polls. The lawyer also argued that the exercise for delimitation would take long time and that it could be done after the elections. Giving the order to the DGE on February 8, the court had also directed it to complete the exercise with regard to the electoral rolls within a month before issuing the notification for the Sikh body's polls. The court had passed the order on a petition filed by Harmohan Singh, who wanted to contest the elections, alleging that the Directorate has announced the schedule for the elections and the notification was yet to be issued. "The elections of DSGMC on the basis of incomplete list of voters and without delimitation of wards will cause unfair representation of the members from each ward," the petitioner said. He contended that number of duplicate voters have been mentioned and said non-Sikh persons also figured in the voters' list.
with thanks : IBNLive : link in the headline above.
Friday, February 17, 2012
13-year-old boy pens book on Sikh religion and tenets
A 13-year old Sikh boy from Surrey in Canada has penned down a book on Sikh tenets and Sikh religion, perhaps becoming the first writer of his age to write on the topic.
Introduction to Sikhism, the book in English by Bikramjit Singh Bains was released on Thursday by Akal Takht chief Giani Gurbachan Singh in Amritsar. The Akal Takht chief was all praise for the big initiative at a small age by the young writer. Bikramjit is the grandson of noted Encyclopaedist Dr Raghbir Singh Bains, who has to his credit writing the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism.
Bikramjit started work on his book when he was 10 on the occasion of Baisakhi in April, 2009. He got so inspired with the Sikh tenets as he researched for the contents that he got baptised (became an Amritdhari Sikh) in Surrey last year, amid carrying out the task of completing the book.
with thanks : Indian Express : link in the headline for detailed news.
Furnish details of 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims: MHA
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the state government to furnish details about victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots that broke out across the states following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The joint secretary of MHA, KK Pathak, shot a letter to the state government seeking information on the victims of the riots and whether compensation has been awarded to them. A senior state home department official said the letter was sent in connection to a question asked by a Rajya Sabha MP who wants to know the progress made in the “implementation of rehabilitation package to provide relief to the victims of riots.”
According to reports with the state disaster management department, West Bengal has recorded six deaths during the anti-Sikh riots and all of whom have been compensated. A total of 68 claims for compensation had been submitted to the state government of which 36 persons have received compensation from both the Centre and the state governments. The remaining applications have been turned down by the Centre, the official said.
with thanks : IndianExpress : link in headline above for detailed news.
Sehajdhari issue: Apex Court passes judgement in favour of SGPC
DELHI: The Sehajdhari Sikh Party suffered a major setback in the SGPC row over Sehajdhari Sikh issue. The Apex Court has given a stay order on the judgement of Punjab and Haryana High Court where the Hon’ble full bench headed by Justice Surya Kant had quashed the notification dated 8/10/2003 by which the Sehajdhari Sikhs were debarred from their voting right.
The Apex Court said that premier Sikh body can carry out its functions normally. After the High Court judgement the Sehajdhari Sikh Party had demanded fresh SGPC elections in which the Sehajdharis be allowed to cast their their votes.
The SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh had filed a SLP in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court judgement. The National President of the Sehajdhari Sikh Party Dr.P.S.Ranu had earlier stated that the Secretary of the SGPC is not a valid authority to file the SLP in Sehajdhari case because the SGPC is a body corporate and all body corporates can only speak through resolutions as it is upheld in the Punjab & Haryana High Court in a Judgement of Justice Liberhan in case of “ Sadhu v/s Gram Panchayat of Village Akalian:- Pleading-Suit against Corporate body-Corporates are not living persons and can speak only through esolutions. In absence of a resolution authorising a particular person to act or to conduct or to defend case, that act or deed shall be deemed to be without any authority and the act or result of the case cannot be binding on the corporate body.”
with thanks : punjabnewsline : link in the headline above.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Filming plight of destitute Sikhs
A filmmaker has returned from Afghanistan after filming a documentary to highlight the country's segregated Sikh society.
Bobby Singh, of Syston, flew to Kabul in January to shoot a documentary about the Gudwara Har Rai Sahib – a Sikh temple which has become home to about 1,000 displaced people.
The historic place of worship is riddled with thousands of bullet holes from US and Taliban fighters.
Writer Bobby, 43, spent a week with a film crew from Birmingham television channel Sikh TV.
with thanks : thisisleicestershire : link in headline above for detailed news report.
Tejkhera incident has hurt Sikh community: Makkar
Amritsar, Feb 15 (PTI) SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar today said an incident of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib took place in Tejkhera area in Rajasthan and an SGPC team was sent there to look into it. The incident had hurt sentiments of the Sikh community, he said. Giving details, Makkar said some unscrupulous elements threw two Saroops of Guru Granth Sahib (the holy books of Sikhs) at Tejkhera in the stagnant water recently. The SGPC team retrieved the Saroops and reported the matter to police. Police had registered a criminal case in this connection, Makkar said.
with thanks : IBNLive : Link in headline above.
1984 Sikh riots: Release of accused stayed
New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna has reversed a decision of commuting life sentence of a convict in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case and asked Delhi's Sentence Review Board to give it a relook following protests by a section of Sikh community.
The decision to send the case again to State Review Board was taken following opposition by a section of Sikh community to the decision to commute life sentence of Kishori Lal, 48, a former butcher from Trilokpuri in East Delhi who was accused of stabbing to death several people in the neighbourhood during the riots.
"The State Review Board has been asked by the Lt Governor to review the Lal's case again," sources said on Wednesday.
Lal had been sentenced to death in at least five cases by the lower courts.
with thanks : IBNLive : Link in headline for detailed news.
Plz view the video from the link below :
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/1984-sikh-riots-release-of-accused-stayed/230613-3.htmlWednesday, February 15, 2012
Butcher of Trilokpuri’ set free; AISSF rushes to court
A day after the media reported that Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Tejendra Khanna has commuted the life sentence of Kishori Lal (48), convicted of multiple murders in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, the All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) announced to file a PIL before Delhi High Court challenging the move.
Khanna, acting on the recommendations of the state Sentence Review Board (SRB), recently commuted the sentence of Lal, who had earned the sobriquet Butcher of Trilokpuri after he allegedly killed several people, and 14 other life convicts.
Karnail Singh Peermohammad, president, AISSF, said that commuting Lal’s sentence would amount to another injustice to the victims of 1984 Sikh massacre. “The PIL will be based on the ground that commutation and release of such a hardened criminal, who murdered several Sikhs including three brothers Darshan Singh, Amar Singh and Nirmal Singh, by cutting them into pieces with his hatchet, will pose a threat to the safety of the witnesses who testified against him,” Peermohammad said.
“Commuting the sentence of Kishori Lal who murdered several sikhs in cold blood would amount to another injustice to the victims of November 1984 Sikh massacre. Kishori Lal’s sentence is commuted at time when victims of November 1984 are fighting against the Clean Chit given to Jagdish Tytler and are trying to get Sajjan Kumar convicted,” remarked Peermohammad.
with thanks : Indian Express : link in headline for detailed news.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
No cure for Punjab’s drug problem
Chandigarh, Feb 10, 2012, (IANS):
From leading politicians to the Chief Election Commissioner to the Sikh’s mini-parliament, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, everyone expresses concern over the growing menace of drug abuse in Punjab but no one really suggests the cure.
The state, which is the food bowl of the country as it contributes over 60 per cent of grains (wheat and paddy) to the national kitty, has a widespread problem of drugs especially among youth.An earlier study by researchers at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, 250 km from here, estimated that “73.5 per cent of youth between 16 and 35 years are addicted to drugs.”
In the last couple of months, security agencies in Punjab have recovered nearly 75 kg of heroin, a high-end drug, worth over Rs 350 crore in the international market, said a Punjab police official. Heroin is smuggled mainly through the Afgha -nistan-Pakistan route, said an official from state anti-narcotics department.
“We have encountered the problem of liquor during elections in almost all states. But drug abuse is unique only to Punjab,” CEC S Y Qureshi said during the run up to the Jan 30 Assembly polls in the state.
State anti-narcotics department revealed that five weeks from the January polls, various agencies recovered nearly 50 kg of heroin apart from huge amount of unaccounted cash and illicit liquor. Punjab had accounted for 60 per cent of the total drugs seized in the country in 2010-11, it added.
with thanks : Deccan Herald : link in the headline for detailed news.
Friday, February 10, 2012
SGPC challenges HC order on Sehajdari Sikhs
Challenging the High Court order quashing the notification of the Centre banning Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in SGPC elections, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court.
The recent Punjab and Haryana High Court order quashing the Centre notificaition banning Sehajdhari Sikhs from casting votes in the SGPC elections has affected the working of the Sikh body.
The order meant that the newly-elected house has not been able to hold its first meeting to elect its office bearers. The SGPC has not filed a writ petition against the High Court order in the Supreme Court.
with thanks : dayandnightnews : LINK in headline above for detailed news.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Pak should allow Sikh pilgrims to enter without visa: Sarna
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Paramjeet Singh Sarna requested the Pakistan government on Tuesday to allow Sikh pilgrims to visit their religious places located in the neighbouring country without passport and visa.
“When a Kashmiri from India is allowed to enter on the basis of a certificate issued by an SDM to visit Pakistan, then why is a Sikh not allowed to visit religious places in Pakistan? We request them to allow us enter without passport or visa,” said Sarna in a press conference.
Sarna also revealed that he has received a letter from Pakistan government giving DSGMC permission for taking up any renovation work in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Lahore and Babay-de-Bairee in Sialkot. “We had requested the Pakistan government to allow us to take up renovation work in our Gurdwaras there. We managed to get permission now as I received a letter in this regard signed by Deputy Secretary Shrines Evacuee Trust Property Board, Government of Pakistan, Syed Faraz Abbas,” said Sarna.
with thanks : Deccan Herald : link in headline for detailed news.
Sikh house of worship in Sterling Heights vandalized with anti-Muslim graffiti
A Sikh house of worship in Sterling Heights under construction was vandalized with what appears to be anti-Muslim graffiti.
The Sikh building, known as a gurdwara, was defaced sometime between Sunday evening and Monday morning, a Sikh advocacy group said today. Some of the graffiti reads: “Don’t Builed” and “Mohmed,” which seems to refer to Islam’s prophet, Mohammed. The graffiti also included a Christian cross, a pistol, and the letters R and A. It’s unclear what the letters refer to.
In the West, Sikh men are sometimes confused for being Muslim because they wear full beards and turbans. Over the past ten years, some Sikhs in the U.S. have been victims of violent bias attacks because they’re wrongly perceived to be Muslim. Based in India, Sikhism arose about 300 years ago and now has about 25 million adherents.
Jasjit Singh of the Sikh American Legal Defense Education Fund, said: “attacks and vandalism against any of the nation’s houses of worship must be condemned by all Americans.”
Singh asked anyone who has information about the incident to call Sterling Heights police at (586) 446-2800. The Sikh house of worship is on Dequindre Rd. just north of 14 Mile.
with thanks : freep : link in headline above for detailed news.
Delhi court stays DSGMC polls, asks govt to prepare new voters’ list
In an indictment of the manner in which the Delhi government hurried into initiating the election process for the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), the Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed the poll process after noting that there was an unjustified "turnaround" over preparation of fresh voters' list as well as delimitation of certain constituencies.
As per the government notification, the election process was scheduled to begin on February 16 while the polling had to take place on March 11. The election will be held for 46 wards in the city. The term of the DSGMC is four years. Of the over a million Sikhs living in Delhi, 4.5 lakh are registered as DSGMC voters.
The court was adjudicating a petition by one Harmohan Singh, who had challenged the merger of the two voters' list and holding elections without delimitation.
Justice Vipin Sanghi directed the government to re-start the process of preparing the fresh electoral roll and complete the task within a month. The court also ordered the government, Gurdwara Election Directorate and the incumbent Committee to complete the process of delimitation as there has been an increase in the Sikh population in Delhi in recent years.
Observing that the entire process was "short-circuited" by the stakeholders, Justice Sanghi also restrained the government from issuing any further notification until the process of preparing fresh electoral roll and delimitation was concluded.
with thanks : Indian Express : link in headline above for detailed news.
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