Leno sued over ‘racist’ Golden Temple remark

US talk show host Jay Leno

New York, January 25
US talk show host Jay Leno has been sued by an Indian-American in California for his “racist” comments on the Golden Temple and ridiculing the entire Sikh community by portraying the holy shrine as a vacation home.
According to court papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Randeep Dhillon claims that Leno “hurt the sentiments of all Sikh people in addition to those of the plaintiff” with his joke that the Golden Temple could be a possible summer home of Mitt Romney, a leading Republican presidential hopeful.
The celebrity website TMZ said Dhillon has filed a libel suit and is seeking unspecified damages.
The suit adds that Leno’s joke “clearly exposes plaintiff, other Sikhs and their religion to hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy because it falsely portrays the holiest place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort owned by a non-Sikh.” It said this is not the first time that Leno has ridiculed the Sikh community.
“Previously, in 2007 he called Sikhs ‘diaper heads.’ Clearly, Jay Leno’s racist comments need to be stopped right here,” the suit added.
In more trouble for the TV host, a Sikh rights group here has lodged a complaint with a federal agency demanding action be taken against Leno and NBC channel for airing the “racist and derogatory” depiction of the Golden Temple.
Sikhs for Justice has filed its complaint with regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against Leno and NBC.

The FCC is tasked with regulating the broadcast of television programmes, analysing complaints and conducting investigations. 

SAD (Delhi) seeks action against Leno

New Delhi: The Delhi unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal has shot off a protest letter to US President Barack Obama, about a controversial television show which degraded the Golden Temple. “We are quite displeased and hurt with the remarks on the Golden Temple by a television show hosted by Jay Leno,” SAD’s Delhi unit President Manjit Singh GK said.

India, Norway reach agreement; kids to be handed over to uncle

New Delhi, January 25
The prolonged agony of an Indian couple in Norway whose kids were taken away by the Norwegian Childcare Services on grounds of "emotional disconnect", may end soon when the children are handed over to their uncle following the finalisation of an agreement between India and the Scandinavian country today.

According to official sources, Arunabhash, the uncle, has agreed to the parents’ wish and will be the children's primary caretaker. He will spend sometime with the two kids in Norway before bringing them to India and submit a list of doctors in India whom the Norwegian authorities could contact to know about the welfare of the children. An Indian agency will also monitor whether the children were being properly looked after.

The accord between India through its mission in Norway, Municipality of Norway, Norwegian Childcare Services, the parents (Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya) and their lawyer named Anurup's brother as the primary caretaker of the two children.

Barnevarne (Norwegian Child Welfare Services) has approved and agreed to give children to the uncle.

Arunabhash, who lives in Kolkata, will soon leave for Norway and all the expenses of his travel will be borne by the government, the sources said. However, under the agreement, the parents still have parental and visitation rights.

The children Abhigyan (3) and Aishwarya (1) were taken under protective care by Barnevarne, which claimed emotional disconnect with the parents, and placed them in foster parental care according to the local Norwegian court's directive.

Following the plea by the family, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna spoke to the Norwegian authorities and requested them to find an "amicable and urgent" settlement.

India expressed its concerns to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the children were being deprived of the undoubted benefits of being brought up in their own ethnic, religious cultural and linguistic milieu.

In Kolkata, the grandparents of the two kids expressed happiness that they would be handed over to their uncle. ''This is undoubtedly a matter of great relief that Abhigyan and Aishwarya will now be returned to their parents and we are eager to see them back here'', they said.

Lawyer moves CBI against Badals

Chandigarh, January 25

A city-based lawyer has lodged a complaint with the CBI against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia for allegedly exercising power illegally.

Advocate Himmat Singh Shergill had earlier filed a PIL in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. However, the HC on December 15 had asked him to approach an investigating agency and thereafter, approach the court if the problem remains unsolved.

In his complaint, Shergill alleged that Badal and his son exercised their executive powers in an illegal and manipulative manner to provide monetary benefits to the companies owned by the Badal family. Most irregularities happened after they came into power in March 2007.

Calling it a well-planned and institutionalised corruption, Shergill demanded a thorough probe by the CBI.

Shergill had submitted the annual returns, director's reports and balance sheets of various companies that "established ownership of Parkash Singh Badal and his family". "They are running family businesses out of the state's exchequer", he alleged in the complaint.

ALLOTMENT OF RESIDENTIAL PLOTS TO DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES

High Court quashes PUDA’s scheme

Chandigarh, January 25
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today quashed the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority's "arbitrary" scheme for allotment of residential plots to its own staff at reserve prices.

The significant judgment came on challenge thrown by advocate HC Arora to an office order dated September 24, 2010, "which prescribed allotment of identified residential plots exclusively to the PUDA employees at reserve price".

The development is significant as Arora had alleged "the allotment of residential plots to its own employees by the PUDA was to enable them to sell these at three to four times higher price; and thus to get financial gains at the cost of tax paying public".

Arora had alleged PUDA was taking steps to allot at reserve prices residential plots from five to 14 marlas to its employees, depending upon their status, from Class-IV to Class-I. Even officers or employees with own residential plots or houses were eligible for allotment, if they have completed five years of regular service with the PUDA.

Allowing the petition, the Bench of Justice MM Kumar and Justice Rajiv Narain Raina asserted: "We are of the view that the scheme is arbitrary, which is amply highlighted by the fact that it does not distinguish an officer/official, who or his/her spouse owns a house in an urban estate."

"In fact, clause four of the scheme expressly postulates that officer/official who had purchased a plot/house/building through open sale in the market or auction is also eligible to submit application under the scheme".

In its detailed order, the Bench added: "Even otherwise, it is well settled, as rightly pointed out by advocate HC Arora, that there cannot be any reservation of plots in favour of the employees or their wards because it has no rational basis….

"The scheme appears to have been finalised only by the Chief Administrator, PUDA, and not by the State Government, which smacks of arbitrariness".

Before parting with the order, the Bench asserted: "The writ petition is allowed. The scheme/office order dated October 24, 2010, or any other similar scheme is hereby quashed".

Lawyer moves CBI against Badals

Chandigarh, January 25

A city-based lawyer has lodged a complaint with the CBI against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia for allegedly exercising power illegally.

Advocate Himmat Singh Shergill had earlier filed a PIL in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. However, the HC on December 15 had asked him to approach an investigating agency and thereafter, approach the court if the problem remains unsolved.

In his complaint, Shergill alleged that Badal and his son exercised their executive powers in an illegal and manipulative manner to provide monetary benefits to the companies owned by the Badal family. Most irregularities happened after they came into power in March 2007.

Calling it a well-planned and institutionalised corruption, Shergill demanded a thorough probe by the CBI.

Shergill had submitted the annual returns, director's reports and balance sheets of various companies that "established ownership of Parkash Singh Badal and his family". "They are running family businesses out of the state's exchequer", he alleged in the complaint.

Vigilance check for agents at RLA

Chandigarh, January 24
The vigilance cell of the UT police today conducted a check at the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA) to find out if unscrupulous agents luring people into preparing driving licences and registration certificates were active.

Sleuths conducted a check as a preventive measure following the busting of a fake licence scam in October past year. Inspector Dulip Rattan said they randomly checked some persons who came for licences to see if agents were involved.

Past year, the cell had arrested six persons in the fake driving licence scam. The accused used to provide licences by forging the signature of DSP (Traffic) Vijay Kumar.

The police had recovered 28 files based on fake papers prepared by the accused from the office of the RLA at Sector 17. Investigation revealed that the accused had documented more than 200 driving licences by using fake stamps and signatures.

The scrutiny of the files recovered had revealed that the beneficiaries had not appeared for driving test at the Chandigarh Traffic Park in Sector 23. Their files were found to be having valid serial numbers.

Negligent cops punished

Increments forfeited for varying periods of time

Chandigarh, January 24
Three police officials, found guilty of mishandling the Khushpreet kidnapping-for-ransom case, have been awarded major punishment for their negligence.

The three, including inspector Udeypal Singh, former SHO of the Sector 34 police station, sub-inspector Narinder Patial, the then in charge of the Burail police post, and the then investigating officer sub-inspector Balraj Singh, have been punished with forfeiture of increments.

Inspector General of Police PK Srivastava issued the orders of their punishments recently.

While inspector Udey Pal Singh has been awarded punishment of forfeiture of increments for four years, both sub-inspector Narinder Patial and sub-inspector Balraj Singh have been punished with forfeiture of increments for two years.

Five-year-old Khushpreet was kidnapped for ransom from Burail village in December 2010. A police trap to arrest the kidnappers failed and the body of the child was recovered from a pit in Mohali on January 5, 2011.

This is for the first time that senior police officials have acted against the negligent cops ever since an earlier departmental inquiry conducted by DSP Kulwant Singh Pannu indicted the three policemen for negligence while handling the case. The inquiry report was submitted on June 22 last year. Earlier, senior police officials had also issued them a reduction in rank notice asking them to reply why their current ranks should not be reduced.

All three officials were earlier suspended following a magisterial probe in January last year and were reinstated in May. On October 14 last year, the police complaint authority (PCA), too, criticised the police for not taking any action against the three officials despite them being indicted in both a magisterial and a departmental probe.

The three were found guilty of taking the ransom calls lightly in the beginning, which had resulted in a delayed police action. Both inquiry reports had indicted inspector Udey Pal Singh, inspector Narinder Singh Patial and sub-inspector Balraj Singh and had pointed to the culpabilities of the police officials for mishandling the kidnapping-for-ransom case.