Bhikhiwind: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday said that had the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre acted timely and diligently, then Sarabjit Singh could have been saved.

Addressing a gathering to pay homage to Sarabjit Singh, the Chief Minister said that the state assembly had passed resolutions four times and sent them to the Centre urging for prompt action to ensure Sarabjit Singh’s early release, but the Centre had not taken the matter seriously.

“However, the entire country in general and the Punjab government in particular were with the family of Sarabjit Singh in this hour of crisis,” he said handing over a cheque of Rs 1 crore to Sarabjit’s family.

The Chief Minister said, Sarabjit Singh was a national martyr who had suffered endless agonies in the Pakistani jail for being an Indian.

He also announced that Sarabjit’s elder daughter Swapandeep Kaur would be recruited as Naib Tehsildar in the state government and the younger daughter Poonam would be given the post of a teacher.

“Cabinet clearance for both these posts would be given by the council of Ministers in the very next meeting,” he said.

Appreciating the efforts made by Sarabjit’s family for his release, the Chief Minister said, due to their concerted efforts the entire country had prayed for the release of Sarabjit, who had spent more than 23 years in a Pakistan jail.

Showering praise on Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur for her pledge to secure the release of other prisoners lodged in Pakistani jails, Badal added that the state government would extend full support and cooperation to her.

Moga: A 17-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by two brothers, also related to the victim, police said on Sunday.

Joginder Singh and Swaran Singh, both residents of Rauwal village, allegedly raped the girl on the evening of May 10 when she was alone in her house, they said.
Both the boys escaped after the victim’s mother arrived in the house and caught them in the act, police said, adding that the accused were relatives of the girl.

A case has been registered and a special investigation team has been constituted to probe the case in which no arrests have been made so far.

Moga: A Delhi resident was arrested for allegedly throwing acid on a girl’s brother after her family resisted his marriage proposal, police said.

The teenager engineering diploma-holder resident of Delhi was yesterday nabbed after he allegedly threw acid on the girls’ brother Surinder Pal Singh at the victim’s residence in Nathuwala West village here, they said.

The accused visited the girl’s house and asked her parents to marry her with him, threatening them that if they turned down his marriage proposal he would kill all the family members, police said.

The girl’s father Balwinder Singh said that it was very difficult for them to marry their daughter without knowing about his family following which the accused took out an acid bottle from his pocket and threw it on Surinder, they said.

The accused, while trying to flee, was over-powered by police personnel on Baghapurana Mudki road.

A case has been registered after recording the statements of both the girl and her father.

Amritsar: The SAD has kept its rural turf intact this time too by grabbing almost 50 per cent of the seats unopposed in the upcoming panchayat samiti and zila parishad elections. However, most of the villages lack basic amenities despite the rural population favouring the ruling party.

Besides, the zila parishad hardly has any power or contribution to the rural development agenda.

The ruling SAD had made a clean sweep in the previous zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections in 2008 in Majha region.

This time too, out of the total 21 rural constituencies in Amritsar, nine have already been taken by the SAD. Gurmeet Singh (Jasraur), Ranbir Singh (Lopoke), Sandeep Kaur (Chogawan), Harmeet Kaur (Harsha Chhina), Upkar Singh (Jahangir), Bhagwant Singh (Khasa), Jasbir Kaur (Majitha), Sukhwinder Singh (Tasrikka) and Gurwinder Kaur (Mehta) have been declared unopposed. The Congress did not field any candidate on Lopoke, Jasraur, Chogawan, Harsha Chhina and Jahangir seats.

Among the undisputed winners are the family members or relatives of SAD leaders. Ranbir Singh is the son of former MLA Vir Singh Lopoke whereas Gurwinder Kaur is the wife of SAD MLA Baljit Singh Jalalusma. Others in the fray include: MLA from Baba Bakala Manjit Singh’s brother Ranjit Singh. He is contesting from Baba Bakala.

The contesting candidates are promising safe drinking water, better sanitation services, health services, education, road infrastructure, grants for making houses and hygienic toilets.

NEW DELHI: A 51-year-old chief medical officer (CMO) of a government hospital here was arrested on charges of raping a 21-year-old patient after luring her into a clinic on the pretext of undergoing ultrasound scanning, police said on Wednesday.

Narendra Singh, CMO of Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, advised the patient to undergo an ultrasound examination and took her to a clinic near the hospital on Tuesday, police said.

He allegedly raped her after giving her soft drinklaced with sedatives. She later approached police and a medical examination confirmed rape.

Singh was arrested last night from Seelampur where he lives.

NEW DELHI: Nexus 4, the official Google phone, is available for pre-order on Flipkart, an e-commerce site, starting at a price of Rs 25,990. The device will be shipped to consumers as soon as LG, which makes Nexus 4 for Google, officially launches it in India. The launch is expected by Friday.

Sources said that the pre-order is part of an exclusive deal Flipkart has struck with LG.

Once the device is officially launched, it will also be available in retail stores across India. Sources say that details like price and availability have already been finalized and LG is waiting for a nod from Google before formally announcing the device.

While Flipkart has listed only 16GB version of Nexus 4, LG is also expected to launch the 8GB model. The price of 8GB model is expected to be around Rs 20,000.

Nexus 4 has a 4.7-inch screen with 720P resolution. The phone is powered by a quad-core processor and has 2GB RAM. It has a 8MP primary camera and a 1.3MP front camera. But the real appeal of the device lies in the software it runs. Like all Nexus devices, Nexus 4 is powered by an unmodified version of Android and is guaranteed to get updates whenever Google comes out with the new version of the OS.

Google usually sells Nexus devices online through its Play store. But Nexus 4 is likely to be sold only by LG and its retail partners. When contacted, Google Indiarefused to comment on the Nexus 4 launch details and availability.

The phone was launched in the global markets last year. At that time an LG executive claimed that it would be available in India in October. But the plans to launch it didn’t materialize.

Incidentally, Nexus 4 has appeared in India just hours before Google I/O, the company’s annual event for developers in San Francisco. Google is expected to announce a new version of Nexus 4 at the event. It is likely to have 32GB internal storage.

AMSTERDAM: Branislav Ivanovic scored with an injury time header on Wednesday to give Chelsea a 2-1 win over Benfica in the Europa League final and secure the club’s second European title in as many seasons after winning last year’s Champions League.

The Serbian defender rose at the far post to send a looping header over Benfica goalkeeper Artur from a Juan Mata corner to seal the match in the 93rd minute.

A Fernando Torres solo effort gave Chelsea the lead on the hour mark and Oscar Cardozo leveled from the penalty spot eight minutes later — setting the stage for Ivanovic’s last-gasp decider.

Chelsea won despite playing without two key players, Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard and veteran central defender John Terry, who both picked up injuries in Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League victory over Aston Villa. It was the second year running that Terry had to sit out a European final — he was suspended for last year’s Champions League decider and could only look on as his team beat Bayern Munich on penalties.

The last-minute defeat in front of 46,163 fans at the Amsterdam Arena meant more heartache for Benfica, which has not lifted a European trophy since 1962 when a promising 20-year-old striker called Eusebio fired in two goals to power his team to a 5-3 victory over Real Madrid, also in Amsterdam. Since that victory, Benfica has now lost all six European finals it reached and Eusebio was on hand to watch the latest defeat.

Torres, who has struggled to find the net consistently for Chelsea since his 2011 transfer from Liverpool, ignited the long-simmering match just in the 60th minute.

The Spaniard collected the ball just inside Benfica’s half, used his strength to turn and wrestle past Ezequiel Garay and then beat captain Luisao before rounding Artur and calmly slotting in the net from a tight angle.

He sprinted to the corner and struck a Usain Bolt-style pose in front of the Chelsea fans.

Chelsea’s lead only lasted eight minutes before Cesar Azpilicueta handled the ball just inside the area and Cardozo smashed in the penalty to bring Benfica level.