Briefly Nation; Sugar mill GM gets life for murder

Nestle labourer shot dead

LUDHIANA: A 25-YEAR-OLD labourer working with Nestle Private Limited was shot dead by four unknown assailants in Moga on Tuesday. The incident occurred around 2 pm when labourers were leaving the factory after completing their shifts. The deceased,Gurjant Singh — a resident of Indira Colony in Moga — used to work under a contractor at Nestle. According to his daily routine,he had come to duty at 6 am and stepped out from the factory’s gate number two in the Guru Ramdas Nagar area at 2 pm. According to eyewitnesses,as Gurjant came left the factory premises,a car was on the road with four men in it. Their faces were reportedly covered. When one of them pointed a gun at Gurjant,the youth panicked and tried to run inside the factory. However,the assailants fired four shots at him and one hit him. Workers rushed Gurjant to the civil hospital. Though the doctors referred Gurjant to a Ludhiana hospital,he died before he could be taken there. Nakas have been set up at all entry and exit points in the city and cars are being frisked to nab the killers,said SP (H) Satpal Singh Bhangoo. The police are yet to ascertain the motive behind the killing. Gurjant’s father Bant Singh also works in the same factory as a driver.

Capt hails improving Indo-Pak trade ties

Chandigarh:Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh on Monday said improvement of trade ties between India and Pakistan was in the interest of both the countries.Hailing the visit of Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and a delegation of business leaders to Pakistan and the warm welcome accorded to them,Amarinder said it only reflected the deep urge among the people on both sides to improve trade and business.“While the country in general will benefit with improved trade ties with Pakistan,Punjab in particular would benefit most because of its proximity with the neighbouring country,” he said adding,Punjab shares a long border with Pakistan and bordering towns such as Gurdaspur,Amritsar and Ferozepur would flourish again with a lot of trading activity. “Not only will trade resume with Pakistan but it will also help in transporting goods right up to the Central Asia,” the Congress leader said.

Will stall direct payment to farmers: agents

Chandigarh:Threatening to stall the Centre’s decision of making direct cheque payment to farmers,the Arhtiya Association of Punjab has called an emergency meeting on February 18 at Khanna to protest against the move. “The marketing system of Punjab and Haryana,which are major contributors to the central pool,depends upon the arhityas. No other state in the country can provide agricultural marketing system where farmers can get minimum price of their crops. Farmers get payments through cheques from the arhityas with equal transparency,” Ravinder Singh Cheema,president of Association and Vice-Chairman of Punjab Mandi Board said.

Contending that issue of direct payment to farmers through cheques has already been decided by the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and payment to farmers is being made through cheques by arhityas,he said the the move was intimated by the central government’s with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh elections and to pass on agricultural marketing system to multinational companies. Alleging connivance of some politically motivated people with central government to harm the interests of commission agents besides giving safe entry to multinational companies in grain markets,Cheema said they will be holding a joint meeting with the arhtiya association of Haryana onthe matter .