& V I C I N I T Y
Sunday, August 2, 1998
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Sunday, August 2, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Are cops above the law?
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 Warrants
issued for arrest of SE in kickbacks case
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Colourful parade by school
children Raising
day celebrated Film
on Chandigarh premiered Sector
45 residents write to SSP Telephone Adalat on September 5 |
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Are cops above the law? CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 – On May 18 last year, Mr Amandeep Sandhu was allegedly attacked by four Punjab Police cops for not giving way to their Gypsy on Madhya Marg in Sector 7. The four cops – Prem Chand, Kamaljit Singh, Narinder Singh and Balbir Singh – are far from prison. Sanction to prosecute them is still awaited. * * * A young girl was allegedly forcibly taken away from the YMCA hostel in Sector 11 by seven or eight Punjab cops on February17, 1995, and brutally beaten up. The police is still awaiting sanction to prosecute an IPS, officer, Mr Lajpal Singh, and the other cops, allegedly involved in the incident. * * * A daring Haryana constable, Bal Krishan allegedly stole the original records of a criminal case from the record room of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was arrested but he jumped bail and was declared a proclaimed offender on November 25, 1997. * * * On a cold wintry night on December 21, 1996, two cops – ASI Sarwan Singh and constable Om Pal – doing a 'naka' duty allegedly took a bribe of Rs 7. 76 lakh to let off infamous fraud Paramjit Singh Jhandu, who had duped residents in this region of nearly Rs 3 crore. Despite the then in charge of the CIA arresting them and recovering the money, the case has been "sent up as untraced". * * * More than two years ago in March 1996, Kamaljit Arora, a son of a Punjab MLA, accompanied by two gunmen allegedly tried to kidnap Mr Kuldeep Mahajan. Now the case is pending in court since May, 1997. * * * These cases are just a
pointer as to how cops from Punjab, Haryana and
Chandigarh besides the wards of VIPs who have gunmen to
carry out their crime and enjoy a sort of immunity. Either the sanction to prosecute them does not come or the case is delayed due to one procedural wrangle or the other. Even the police – in some cases – closes the matter as "untraced." An example of this is how Mr Harkirandeep Singh was allegedly kidnapped by Gurdev Singh, an SP rank official of the Punjab Police from Panjab University on November 22, 1995. The kidnapping had created terror on the PU campus then. However, the case was "sent up as untraced". The local SSP, Mr C.S.R. Reddy, said: "the delay in sanctioning prosecution may not be deliberate as it involves a number of officials." He, however, did not rule out the possibility that the cops managed to delay the process by conniving with the lower or the clerical staff. A report of crime in Chandigarh involving cops and wards of VIP's since 1995 prepared by the Chandigarh Police observes: "The security personnel, due to lack of supervision have gradually shifted their loyalty from the department to the persons they protect thereby they behave in a manner injurious to the public law and order." Since 1995, a total of 98 cases have been registered against cops and VIPs wards but very few – even less than 10 – have been convicted, records indicate. "This is surprising", said a senior official on anonymity, the witness or the victim is usually manipulated through pressure exerted upon him. Thus the low conviction rate. The cases of acquittal are on the higher side. The Tribune has been highlighting from time to time hit-and-run cases, involving police Gypsies and members of the public. A quick scan through the records shows that many have been acquitted or the cases are still pending in court. A majority of the hit-and-run cases had taken a life or severely injured the other party. First, cases are delayed. In case of cops the sanction to prosecute usually comes after a year or two. By that time the victim has lost enthusiasm, said a senior officer. Those who get acquitted by skirting the law get more brazen, the officer added. In case of Chandigarh cops the rate of acquittal is "very good" according to the report of the police. So many acquittals are a pointer that a "weak" case may have been prepared by the investigating officer or influence was used, admitted a senior IPS, officer. A meeting of the top
officials held around 10 days ago had suggested various
measures to check the security personnel... |
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Warrants issued for arrest of CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — The Judicial Magistrate, Mr Jasbir Singh, has issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of K.B. Sharma, Superintending Engineer with the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, in connection with the kickbacks case registered by the Chandigarh Administration against certain officials of the engineering department. The warrants are returnable on August 17. The order was passed by the magistrate on an application move by the vigilance department. The application stated that the application for anticipatory bail moved by Sharma had been dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 30. The court had earlier issued non-bailable warrants for the arrest of Sharma on June 13. However, these warrants were recalled by the court on July 18 on the defence counsel's plea that Sharma was not absconding. He had rejoined duty. The plea of the vigilance
department was that it had failed to trace him even after
raiding his house and suspected hideouts. He was evading
arrest. |
Indian women vulnerable to breast
cancer CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — Cancer of the breast is the second most common cause of cancer among Indian women, said Prof S.M. Bose of the PGI while discussing how a clear line of managing breast cancer is important in today's context. He was talking to The Tribune on the opening day of the two-day "Consensus symposium on breast cancer". He said that followed by cancer of the uterine cervix breast cancer was affecting Indian women the most. It was occurring at a young age as compared with the developed world. On an average cases were being reported at the age of 45 in India while in the developed world the average age was about 55 years for cases of breast cancer. Single women, childless women, those who have not breastfed their children and women with a family history of breast cancer were the most suspect. Though there was no definite cause for breast cancer, these broad categories of women should take care. It would be ideal if every woman aged above 35 went in for regular check ups, Prof Bose added. The results are out in one day and the test is done through a fine needle, he explained while informing that the PGI was carrying out 150 breast cancer surgeries annually. The symposium, he said, was organised as a lot of research was going on the world over. A lot of controversy existed in all aspects of breast cancer management. The idea was to try and follow a certain line of investigation. At present there is no recommended standard management for breast cancer. Most women are shy to approach a doctor and some of them arrive at a stage when nothing can be done about breast cancer. The symposium is being attended by surgeons, oncologists, radiotherapist, pathologists and radiologists. The recommendations will be brought out in a book form for quick reference for doctors. The idea to have such a consensus was born after experts participating in the recently organised international breast cancer symposium felt the need to constitute a "breast cancer care group". The group is to discuss,
standardise and recommend the management protocol for
breast cancer of all stages — investigation and
treatment; to collect epidemiological data and to start
clinical research, particularly related to chemotherapy
and hormone therapy. |
Colourful parade by school children CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 (Agencies) — More than 25,000 schoolchildren drawn from different schools of the city today held a colourful cultural programme to formally mark the launching of fortnight-long functions of the closing ceremony of the golden jubilee celebrations of India's Independence. The programme was organised by the Education Department of the Chandigarh Administration and the Independent School Association. Lt Gen. (retd). B.K.N. Chhibber, Governor, Punjab and Mrs Rama Chhibber were the chief guests at the function, which was attended by Mr Jagdish Sagar, Adviser to the Administrator, UT Chandigarh. Mr Satya Pal Jain, Member Parliament, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, Mayor Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, Mrs Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, chairperson, Chandigarh Housing Board and Mrs Anuradha Gupta, Home Secretary-cum-Education Secretary. The programme started with a colourful march past. The Administrator then released a bunch of balloons forming the Indian tri-colour. The children also enacted various scenes from India's freedom struggle. Many patriotic songs were also presented on the occasion including "Sare Jahan se Acha" whose echo reverberated through the entire stadium. Mr Jagdish Sagar said children in Chandigarh were privileged to be studying in one of the best cities of the country and owed it to the country to repay it by growing up as useful citizens. Hundreds of students belonging to government schools were, however, disappointed when they were excluded from the function. Only one government school and 14 private schools took part in the parade while the show was dominated by students of private schools. The principal of a
government school protested at the non-inclusion of her
students in the cultural show before a senior officer,
but her plea was ignored. |
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Not
many takers for science courses CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — Admissions in science streams for undergraduate classes in Panjab University have fallen considerably over the past few years. Significantly the number of boys opting out of science classes after plus two is greater than the number of girls. A number of local college principals contacted by the TNS today pointed out the marked change in the admission trends. Mrs Mohini Sharma, principal of Government College for Girls, Sector 42, said the number of students at the B.Sc. level had come down, particularly in the past few years. Earlier, the college had a strength of over 300 students. The number now has come down to approximately 200. The main reason, she said, was lack of avenues after the B.Sc. courses. "A child feels B.Sc. could only be followed by M.Sc. and a possible job of a teacher. Students are more inclined for commerce-related courses". Even in DAV College, which had strength of over 300 students till a few years ago, the total strength is unlikely to cross 200 this session. The basic reason is the downfall in credibility of the varsity examination system, said Mr R.C. Jeewan, principal of the college. All students who pass the B.Sc. course are treated on a par with others by the university whether he secures 50 per cent marks or 90 per cent marks. For the subsequent higher class a student has to appear in an entrance test. Students as a consequence stopped thinking about academic excellence and started being contended with only qualifying the examination. There is a mad race towards BBA courses. The courses have already failed in Himachal, Mr Jeewan added. Also students are opting for the commerce stream to prepare for related postgraduate courses in MBA, CA or CS, he added. Prof S.P. Dhawan, a senior teacher in Government College for Men, Sector 11, said rush for commerce classes was manifested in the fact that science teachers were ready to accept even compartment cases. A principal on a note of anonimity said that BBA courses were like a "child conceived and delivered in a hurry". The college of this principal also has the course. This is because there is a great demand for the course. The university has not yet decided whether these students would get any weightage in the MBA. The question of its equivalence also remains unanswered, the principal added. A similar opinion about the course was voiced by at least three more principals. The principal of GCG, Sector 11, said that the number of students at the B.Sc level had gone down in the past few years. In this session, however, the numbers have improved. Girls continue with the science stream in many cases to complete their B.Ed in the subject, the principal, Mrs Vijaylakshmi, added. BCA admissions near completion CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — The admission process for the Bachelor of Business Administration and the Bachelor of Computer Application courses in most local colleges has been completed. All colleges are likely to finish the admission process in the coming week. The Government College for Girls recorded a cut-off percentage of 80 per cent for 30 seats in the BBA course, the college principal said. The top-scoring candidate admitted had an aggregate of 96 per cent. Admissions for the BCA course in GGDSD College closed at 76.20 per cent. For the BBA courses the cut-off percentage was 73.40. The cut-off percentage for BCA course in Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College for Men, Sector 26, was 68.8. Admissions have also been completed in Government College, Sector 46 C. In GCG, Sector 42, a total of 22 seats in the open category were filled today. Seats in the reserved category will be filled on Monday. If any seats remain vacant in the reserved category they will be de-reserved for admissions on Wednesday, the principal said. Admissions in GCM, Sector 11 will be held on August 3. DAV College for Boys will display its merit list on Monday evening. The last date for submission of forms is Monday. Sources indicate that a
number of students of B. Com and B.Sc streams, have
shifted to these courses. In GGDSD College and GCG,
Sector 42, the faculty members are understood to have
advised commerce students to continue with B. Com
classes, instead of joining BBA and BCA courses. |
Raising day celebrated CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — Cultural programmes, bara khana and a special sainik sammelan marked the 19th Raising Day of the Ninth Battalion of the Assam Regiment which was celebrated somewhere in the Western Sector today. While addressing the "Sainik sammelan" the Commanding Officer of the unit, Col S.B. Ghorpode, who was the chief guest, commended the valour exhibited by the ranks during several operations in different parts of the country. While greeting the men and their families, Col Ghorpode said the battalion, raised in Shillong in 1980 by Lieut-Col J.R. Mukherjee, earned admiration for posing a tough challenge to terrorists during the three-year stint in Jammu and Kashmir from October 1994, to July 1997. While creating goodwill among the people, the regiment killed as many as 33 terrorists while the same number of ultras were captured by the regiment in this period. In addition to this, jawans of the regiment captured 64 rifles and 34 pistols from Kashmiri militants, he said. The regiment was honored with the Chief of Army Staff Scroll of Honour and a number of other awards, including five sena medals, one Vishisht Seva Medal and several commendation certificates, for its dedicated service. Besides the Raising Day flag hoisting ceremony, five Lance Naiks Mr Khogendra Ch Boro, Rabindra Sinha S.R. Kamring Anal, N. Beiro Lakher and Wapang Temsu were promoted to the rank of Havaldar for their distinguished service and dedication. Jawans of the regiment
from north-eastern states depicted the rich cultural
heritage of the area by tribal dances. |
Crime
File PANCHKULA, Aug 1 — At least four cases of theft committed in the military area in Chandimandir have been solved with the arrest of Ranjit Singh, a resident of Ludhiana, by the CIA staff of the district police. According to information, Ranjit used to target locked houses. On the basis of information given by him, the police has recovered stolen items worth over Rs 60,000 from his possession. Besides stolen items 13 LPG cylinders, gold and silver jewellery, a VCP, stereo and garments which had been stolen from the Mani Majra housing complex, have been recovered from him. Case registered: The police has registered a case of murder in connection with the unidentified body of a woman which was found lying along the banks of Mehtab Nadi in Kalka on July 29. The body was found in a decomposed state, said a police official. The autopsy report said that the death was due to strangulation. A cloth was found tied around her neck. CHANDIGARH Ornaments stolen: Ten gold chains, two rings and a pair of ear-rings have been stolen from a Sector 37 jewellery shop. Mr Sandeep Verma, owner of the shop, alleged that the theft had been committed by his servant, a resident of Calcutta. A case has been registered. Car stolen: A car (HR-01-D-9980) owned by Mr Rajiv Sharma of Kurukshetra was stolen in a unique manner on Friday. Mr Sharma had arrived outside a popular restaurant in Sector 17 and someone took his car keys on the pretext of parking it properly and sped off with the vehicle. The culprit had asked Mr Sharma to park the car properly. He took the keys from Mr Sharma, pretending to help him out and left a dazed Mr Sharma behind. Cyclist hurt: A person has been injured, while in another accident a truck banged into a car in the past 24 hours in UT. Mr Mittar Pal, the cyclist was hit by a truck driven by Kirti Singh. Mr Pal has been admitted to the PGI. A car (CHK 4346) driven by
Darshanbir Singh of Sector 34 was hit by a truck driven
by Jasbir Singh. The truck driver has been arrested. |
Film on Chandigarh premiered CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — The premiere of "Chandigarh — a City Beautiful", a documentary by Sunil Babbar, was organised for a select audience at Art Gallery in Sector 10, here today. The film is an attempt to present the intended plan of the city as it was originally conceived and subsequently built by the French architect Le Corbusier. The basic design of buildings, various kinds of roads and prominent places in the city was the highlighting feature. Jainendra Singh has narrated the script. The script has been written by Bharati. Aditya Prakash who was associated with the construction of the city in the initial stages is the project adviser. The first public show of the film will be organised at Plaza, Sector 17, on August 6 evening. The film will be exhibited
regularly at the Plaza on Fridays and Saturdays and at
Sukhna Lake on every Sunday evening throughout the year,
Mr Sunil Babbar said. |
Telephone Adalat on September 5 CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — With a view to expediting the redressal of complaints of telephone users of Chandigarh Telecom District and settle them on the spot, the next "Telephone Adalat" will be held on September 5 (Saturday) at 11a.m. in the office of the Principal General Manager, Telecom, Chandigarh. Subscribers whose grievances regarding delay in provision of the phone connections, excess metering complaints and provision of accessories have not been settled are requested to send in their representation in duplicate. Previous complaints must have been lodged before June 30, a press note of the department said. The complaints may be sent to Mr K.S. Saini , DEP (ES) in the Sector 18 office. Meanwhile, the department has sorted out a long standing complaint of the public that they had to visit one office after another for various procedural formalities. In order to satisfy the complainants the commercial sections and TRA sections have been now relocated in the respective areas, north and south. The offices of the Accounts Officers and Commercial Officers for southern areas are now located in SCO 122-123 Sector 8-C, Chandigarh. Similarly the offices of
the Accounts Officers and Commercial Officers for
northern areas have been located in SCO 55-56, Sector 17,
Chandigarh. Their telephone numbers are as follows:
Commercial Officer (North) 549769, (South) 711969; Chief
Accounts Officer TRA (North) 779655, (South) 700000;
Accounts Officer TRA (North) 779652, (South ) 711979. |
Sector 45 residents write to SSP CHANDIGARH, Aug 1 — A large number of residents of Sector 45 have complained to the SSP of Chandigarh that certain indisciplined and mischievous young boys of their locality indulge in anti-social activities and disturb the peace and tranquillity in the area. In a three-page complaint, the residents have alleged that the boys form unlawful assemblies, hurl threats at residents, tease girls and even damage movable and immovable property. They have written to the SSP that they have repeatedly voiced their grievances before the officials posted in the police station of their area. However, no action has been taken to restore law and order. They have requested the
SSP to take immediate steps to put an end to the
anti-social activities. |
Disabled kids take part in contest PANCHKULA, Aug 1 — As many as 360 students from 18 different local schools participated in a on-the-spot painting competition organised by the District Council for Child Welfare at the Mini Secretariat here today. The District Child Welfare Officer, Ms Anita Arvind, said students of the Welfare Centre for Hearing and Speech Handicapped, Raipur Rani, and the Saket Institute for Orthopaedically Handicapped, Chandimandir, also participated. She said that winners of the competition, which was divided into five categories as per the age group of the students, would be honoured on Independence Day. She said Sunil (8) of the
Saket Institute would be awarded a special prize for
painting with his feet. |
Striking a chord with monsoon raga CHANDIGARH: The fortnight-long cultural feast, a much-awaited event, commenced on Saturday evening on just the right notes. These notes flowed from none other than Grammy award winner Pt Vishwa Mohan Bhatt's Mohan veena. Pandit Bhatt, who belongs to Jaipur, is the master and creator of this instrument. He has changed the strings of the guitar and put new strings on it. It is played by placing it in the lap and gives the sounds of both the sitar and sarod. These two legendary instruments cannot be wiped out from the Indian classical music scene but now the Mohan veena too has carved a niche for itself, so much so that demands for it are pouring in from abroad. The city seems to be one of the favourite places of the artiste. He likes to come here often as he finds some kind of music in the environment. The greenery and the ambience inspires him greatly. Besides, he finds the audience encouraging. He feels the listeners over here are with him throughout the recital. He is constantly creating and innovating. It is this quest which led him to collaborate with other artistes all over the world. The result was his composition along with RY Cooder, 'Meeting by the riverside', which won him the Grammy Award in 1994. Raga mian ki malhar was chosen by him for this evening, keeping in mind the current monsoon season. It was presented in all its facets — 'alaap', 'jod', 'jhaala'. And what a presentation it was! A simply soulful rendition of this raga! The entire performance was enlivened by the able accompaniment on the tabla by Sandeep. The 'jugalbandi' between the two 'saaz' had to be heard to be believed. The opening raga was followed by raga bes. Pandit Bhatt concluded the session with a 'lori', which was tremendously appreciated. Whether or not the rain gods smiled during the rendition of raga malhar was immaterial. What mattered was that the listeners' thirst for exalting music was quenched. — Priti Verma
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