Briefly State

HC stays arrest of Manpreet’s OSD
Chandigarh: In a reprieve for Charanjit Singh,Officer on Special Duty to Punjab’s former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal,the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday stayed his arrest in a case of abetment to suicide,registered against him by the Punjab Police on November 4. Charanjit had earlier moved the High Court seeking a ‘blanket bail’,fearing implication in a false case. The OSD filed an anticipatory bail on Wednesday. His counsel advocate Karambir Singh Nalwa said the was a political vendetta,as Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh had made a public statement that Charanjit was responsible for Manpreet’s decision to quit Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Taking stock of the contentions,the High Court stayed his arrest till December 22.

BJP to oppose present form of seed Bill
Chandigarh: The Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to oppose the present form of seed Bill in Parliament. The party said the Bill was benefiting the manufacturers more than the farmers. Addressing a joint press conference on Wednesday,BJP Kisan Morcha president O P Dhankar and secretary Sukhminder Pal Singh Grewal said the Bill needed “at least 16 amendments”. The Bill will be presented in the Rajya Sabha on November 9. The leaders expressed concern over the quality of branded seed to be sold to farmers. “If branded seed fail,will the government or any other agency give the same compensation? The branded seed should be sold after getting them insured and their price should not be too high. The farmers should not be cheated on the pretext of charging royalty. Also,the seed market in the country should not be handed over to multinational firms,” said the leaders,adding that the party would stage nationwide protests if their demands were not met.

Dal Khalsa flays sedition case against Geelani
Amritsar: Dal Khalsa has expressed concern over the registration of a sedition case against veteran Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani,Arundhati Roy,Prof S A R Geelani and four others by the Delhi Police. The police have brought charges of sedition,promoting enmity between two communities and assertion against national integration against the seven for speaking in favour of Kashmir’s independence at a convention held on October 21. Party leaders H S Dhami and Kanwarpal Singh said strongly believed freedom of speech and expression was a fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens.

RDX case: Accused released on bail
Jalandhar: British national Paramjit Singh Dhaadi,who is originally from Jalandhar,and his two accomplices who were convicted in a case pertaining to recovery of RDX and were sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment were released from the Nabha Central Jail on Tuesday after they were granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The bail bonds were furnished by their advocates in a Jalandhar court on Monday. The High Court had observed that the convicts could be released as they had already remained in custody for nearly four years,which covered major part of their sentence,adding that a decision on their appeal,challenging the conviction,was likely to take time. After their arrest in December 2006,the Jalandhar police had claimed that they were planning a major terror strike before the 2007 Assembly elections.