C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
Monday, December 7, 1998 |
weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
Arrested gangsters try to
commit suicide 10
trains cancelled for today 1
lakh kids given polio drops Minister
lays stone of community centre |
DC apologises for Daler
show fiasco Leopard
keeps police, Wildlife staff on toes |
One-day
extension in Jeraths police remand Rs
2000 in cash, goods worth Rs 5000 stolen Beaming
of vulgarity "a deep-rooted conspiracy" Workshop
on fishery resources Delhi
voters did not accept Sushma: Sharma |
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Arrested
gangsters try to commit suicide PANCHKULA, Dec 5 Three arrested gangsters, who had struck terror in Panchkula and Chandigarh with their daring robberies allegedly tried to commit suicide in police custody here this morning by slashing their wrists. The three Sanjeev, alias Langrah, Vinod Kumar, alias Bhuddha and Ramesh Kumar alias Subhash reportedly used the sharpened angle iron supporting a washbasin inside the washroom of the police lock-up in Sector 5 to attempt suicide.They had been remanded in police lock-up till December 8. Another member of the gang, Raj Kumar, was away to Uttar Pradesh along with a police party in search of Munna, who is still absconding and is reported to be the leader of the gang. According to sources in the police, the suspects, who were profusely bleeding were rushed to the local General Hospital. Doctors attending the suspects, admitted to the casualty ward of the hospital, said one of them had low blood pressure due to excessive blood loss. They are reported to be out of danger but would be kept under observation for another day, said hospital sources. Though the exact cause of the alleged suicide attempt by the suspects in police custody could not be ascertained, the Superintendent of police, Mr Alok Mittal, maintained that somebody had told them that the Himachal Police would take them regarding investigations in some cases they committed the act out of fear of further interrogation. He said that the burglars were hardened criminals and had committed such acts in the recent past. When this correspondent visited the casualty ward at the hospital the suspects were closeted in a separate room guarded by three policemen who refused to let anybody in. Meanwhile the police has
registered a case under Section 309 of the IPC. |
10 trains
cancelled for today, others diverted CHANDIGARH, Dec 6 After four days of confusion the Railways today ran three express trains from New Delhi to Ambala to check the repaired track between that section thus raising a hope of an early restoration of regular rail traffic while passengers travelling to north from Delhi were delayed by several hours for the fourth consecutive day. As the track between the New Delhi-Ambala Rail section remained closed to regular traffic following track damage the three trains Dadar Express, Jammu Mail and the Flying Mail were run at a speed of only 30 kilometres an hour to check the track that had developed "cracks" at nearly 100 places, according to Railway sources. Repair of the track had been on for the past four days and all trains were diverted while several others were cancelled. Meanwhile position of movement of trains will be no better tomorrow as the Railways has cancelled 10 trains; terminated two trains midway and diverted several trains from the Delhi-Ambala section. The diversions have been delaying thousands of rail passengers daily, besides leading to crowding in buses and taxi drivers making a tidy sum by ferrying people. Above all the movement of goods trains and mail have been seriously hampered. The track was damaged four days ago and since then one of the two tracks has been closed. While trains moving north from Delhi were diverted either eastward of Delhi from Shamli-Saharanpur or westward of Delhi via Rohtak-Jind-Narwana-Jakhal-Dhuri to reach their respective destinations in the north. Trains going from Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir were going on the Ambala-Delhi route. Today all major trains were running late between two and five hours. The Shatabdi between New Delhi-Chandigarh and the Swaran Shatabdi between New Delhi-Amritsar were delayed by nearly three hours each. With the late arrival of the Shatabdi's several functions inviting VIPs from Delhi had to be cancelled or delayed by several hours. People wanting to receive relatives had to be awake till midnight as the evening Shatabdi had been arriving around midnight. Several tickets have been reportedly cancelled by travellers. The Kalka Mail that reaches Chandigarh in the morning was two hours and 30 minutes behind schedule while the Himachal Express from New Delhi to Una was three hours late by the time it had reached Ambala this morning. The Paschim Express between Mumbai and Amritsar was late by three hours while the Malwa Express between Indore and Jammu was late by four hours by the time it had reached Jakhal on its upwards journey. The pairs of these trains
running downwards are going through the Ambala-Delhi
section and seen to the punctual. |
One lakh
kids given polio drops CHANDIGARH, Dec 6 Over one lakh children below five years of age received polio drops in the city today in the country-wide first phase of the pulse polio immunisation campaign. According to Dr Y.P. Singla, District Family Welfare Officer-cum-Nodal Officer of the Pulse Polio Campaign, over 1,03,000 children were immunised against the disease in 316 booths, including 51 mobile booths. Several voluntary organisations, residents welfare organisations, police and para-military forces with the help of volunteers of the UT Health Department organised camps at various places, including at the entry and exit points in the city. The Finance Secretary, Dr Vajralingam, the Director of Health Services, Dr R.S. Sandhu and the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, were among those who visited camps. The services of CRPF personnel were also utilised. Wireless system at barriers made the task of volunteers easy. Construction areas, were also covered. The campaign was a smooth affair except for complaints of late arrival of food packets in Darua village. A press note said volunteers of four Rotary Clubs of Chandigarh, manning 175 booths, with the help of the department administered polio drops to over 55,000 children. As many as 4,529 children were administered polio drops at five centres in Colony No 5. Even one-day-old children were given drops at the booths manned by the Lions Club Chandigarh (Midtown). Volunteers of the Lions Club, Chandigarh (Rose), helped the department in giving drops to 2,552 children at the Sector 31 colony and Dhanwantri College, Sector 46. At Kajheri village over 1,650 children received polio drops at the three centres manned by volunteers of the State Bank of Patiala , Mr S.C. Hora, branch manager said. The Citizens Awareness Group joined at 16 different centres manned by the department in Sectors 39,40,41, Pir Colony and Maloya Colony. Personnel of 127 Battalion of the CRPF administered polio drops to 260 children besides assisting the authorities in giving drops to children in Burail, Mani Majra, Sector 31 and Raj Bhavan. The Principal-Director of Government Medical College Hospital, Prof V.K. Kak, administered polio drops to children in the Sector 31 Colony, Karsan village, Hallo Majra and Mauli Jagran. He also flagged off a rally of schoolchildren of Karsan village to create awareness about the campaign. A press note claimed that
over 3,000 children were administered polio drops in
Chandimandir. Over 400 children were given drops at a
camp in Sector 7 organised by the Residents Welfare
Association in collaboration with the department. |
DC
apologises for Daler show fiasco ROPAR, Dec 6 Mr K.S. Sidhu, Deputy Commissioner, has expressed regrets over the non-cooperation of the administration to Punjabi pop star Daler Mehndi, which led to the cancellation of his show at SAS Nagar, last evening. Mr Sidhu today said that neither the organisers nor the artiste had informed him about the show. Besides, neither he nor the SSP were contacted at the appropriate time to prevent any such awkward situation. Mr Sidhu refuted the allegation of Daler that the administration had created obstacles in the way of the show as officials were not paid bribe. He said the required
cooperation could not be provided due to the Khalsa march
being organised the same day. |
Boycott
Mohali functions: manch CHANDIGARH, Dec 6 Irked by the "humiliating" treatment meted out to Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi by the Punjab Government, the Folk Singers Kala Manch has given a call to all folk singers for boycotting the functions organised by the government authorities in SAS Nagar. President of the manch Sardul Sikandar said here today that a probe should be ordered to find out why such treatment was meted out to artiste. He said not only octroi was slapped on the musical equipment of Mehndi but also he was not permitted to perform at SAS Nagar. If the authorities had a problem in providing security to the singer they should have conveyed it in advance. Nothing could be more insulting for an artiste than not permitting him to perform at a fixed programme, he said. Hans Raj Hans, condemning
the incident, said that while Punjabi artistes were given
such a shabby treatment by their own people they were
held in a high regard in other states and abroad. Because
of this Punjab has lagged behind in achieving excellence
in the field of art, he added. |
Minister
lays stone of community centre CHANDIGARH, Dec 6 The Punjab Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, today laid the foundation stone of a community centre at the Tribune Model Gram at Bartana near here. Reacting to various demands of the residents, Capt Kanwaljit Singh instructed the SDO concerned to submit maps and estimates of the proposed link road connecting Bartana with the Ambala-Chandigarh road as soon as possible. He also asked the officials to prepare estimates for replacing the defective water pipelines connecting the village by Wednesday. He assured the residents that he would take up the demands of residents such as the additional bus service, setting up a post office and a dispensary with the authorities concerned. The minister informed that a meeting would be held tomorrow with regard to the notified area committee status to Zirakpur. He also announced a grant
of Rs. 2.51 lakh for the community centre from his
discretionary fund. |
Leopard
keeps police, Wildlife staff on toes CHANDIGARH, Dec 6 The local police and the staff of the UT Forest Department remained on their toes for more than 12 hours following hoax calls of spotting of a leopard in different parts of the city. According to the UT Chief Wildlife Warden, Mr H.S. Sohal, he received a message from the Police Control Room at around 8.30 p.m. on Saturday night that a leopard had reportedly been seen by someone near the CSIO complex. After that a search of the area was made jointly by the police and the staff of the UT Wildlife Department, but nothing was found. It was again at around 8.30 a.m that the Police Control Room received a call from a woman resident of Sector 43 that a leopard had been seen by her near the Government High School. Following the call a large number of policemen headed by an SHO and Wildlife Department staff cordoned off the area. A large number of onlookers gathered around the school to see the nabbing of the leopard, but even after a search operation lasting more than one an hour no one was able to have a glimpse of the spotted beast which led the onlookers and the officials to go back in an utter 'disappointment'. In addition to officials of the UT Wildlife Department , the authorities at the Punjab Wildlife Department were alerted and asked to be ready with a cage and tranquillisers so that in case the animal was spotted it could be put into the cage after giving it a dose of sedatives. Mr Sohal, said residents
needed not be panicky as it was against the behaviour of
the animal to enter into a thickly populated area.
"At the most, such an animal could stray into the
outer ring of the city,"he added. |
Lawyers
strike work PANCHKULA, Dec 6 The legal cell of the District Congress (I) Committee has urged the district administration to provide chambers for lawyers at the judicial complex in Sector 1 here. Mr Vijay Bansal, Chairman of the legal cell, said a delegation of the District Bar Association recently met the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Saroj Siwatch, in this regard. He maintained that the
Deputy Commissioner had told them that the government was
not in a position to build chambers for lawyers at the
judicial complex. To press their demand lawyers suspended
work at the local courts yesterday. |
Rs 2000 in
cash, goods worth Rs 5000 stolen PANCHKULA, Dec 6 Burglars in broad day light broke into a house in Sector 15 here and decamped with Rs 2000 in cash and items worth Rs 5000 while the occupants were away on Saturday. The police has registered
a case on the basis of a complaint by Mr Chaman Lal. |
One-day
extension in Jeraths police remand CHANDIGARH, Dec 6 The Duty Magistrate, Union Territory, Mrs Vani Gopal Sharma here today extended the police remand of K.K. Jerath, Chief Engineer, (under suspension) of the Chandigarh Administration by one day in connection with FIR No. 1 registered against him by the Vigilance Department, UT under the Prevention of Corruption Act. In respect of FIRs No 2 and 3 the magistrate ordered that Jerath be considered in judicial custody from November 27 the day he surrendered in the court of Ilaqa Magistrate, Jasbir Singh. The Duty Magistrate ruled that the prosecution was free to seek police remand of Jerath in these cases (FIRs 1 and 2), if it so desired. The request of prosecution for police remand of Jerath in these cases would be considered on merits. Mrs Sharma handed down this order when counsel for Jerath pleaded to the court to decide the status of the accused in two of the three cases registered against him. The counsel said that it was true that Ilaqa Magistrate Jasbir Singh had ordered police remand of Jerath for nine days in connection with FIR No 1. He had, however, not passed any order on the remaining two applications moved by Jerath for surrendering in all three cases. Since the prosecution did not seek any police remand in these cases what was the status of the accused in those cases. Under the criminal procedure code, the counsel for Jerath contended the prosecution was required to seek police or judicial remand in all three cases, especially because the accused had moved three separate applications before the court for surrendering in all these cases. He further argued that the court was duty bound to pass orders on all three applications. Stand of the prosecution, on the other hand, was that Ilaqa Magistrate had granted police remand only in one case. However, the Administration reserved its right to seek police remand in other two cases. The public prosecutor, however, admitted that Jerath had been arrested in all three cases. At this stage the magistrate asked the public prosecutor to show any authority of the high court or the Supreme Court wherein it had been held that the police could seek separate police remand in separate cases. The public prosecutor did place a ruling of the apex court before the magistrate. However, counsel for Jerath told the court that the facts of the case which had been referred to by the public prosecutor were different. Earlier the prosecution had sought three-day police remand of Jerath in connection with FIR No 1 on the ground that the suspect was not cooperating with the investigating agency, He did not divulge any information about the place where he had camped in the past nine months after the rejection of his bail plea by the high court and the Supreme Court. The prosecution also pleaded before the court that the prosecution was yet to recover some documents from his possession. The public prosecutor argued that the prosecution was also to establish his links with the three alleged middlemen, modus operandi of payment of kickbacks to officials of the Engineering Department, UT and the whereabouts of J.C. Gilhotra, who was on deputation with the Chandigarh Administration as Superintending Engineer and whose bail application had been rejected by the high court. He told the court that Gilhotra had also been at large. e also quoted the
observation of Mr Justice R.L. Anand, a Judge of the high
court, in his order rejecting the anticipatory bail plea
of Jerath. He told the court that Mr Justice Anand had
held that the prosecution should be given a free hand to
interrogate the suspect. |
Beaming of
vulgarity "a deep-rooted conspiracy" CHANDIGARH, Dec 6The Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today warned foreign satellite channels against the beaming of 'foreign culture' and 'vulgarity' through their programmes. Mr Naqvi, who was speaking at the media divas organised by the Vishwa Sambad Samiti at the Sector 10 DAV College here today also criticised a section of print media for indulging in "undue" projection of a political figure and for "distorting" the image of the country through their writings. Stressing the need to wage a war by all political parties against such planned efforts, he asserted that beaming of such programmes by certain vested interests under a deep-rooted conspiracy would not be allowed at any cost. Mr Naqvi said electronic media hads invaded Indian households like an uninvited guest and was beaming programmes which were against Indian values and which could not be watched by whole family. Such programmes were being telecast under a deep-rooted conspiracy hatched by a number of "East India Companies" objective of which was to enslave our country by ruining our culture in a big way, said Mr Naqvi who in the same breath admitted that these channels could not be prevented all of a sudden. "We will however set right the erring ones," he asserted without defining the line of action to be taken against such satellite channels. He urged all political parties to realise the threat potential of these channels and work in a united manner to stop the onslaught by waging a war against programmes which were not in keeping with Indian values and culture. He added even the programmes which were banned in the USA and Pakistan were being "bombarded" on India. Training his guns at a section of print media, the minister said that certain so-called intellectuals and journalists were selling India to other countries by presenting a black picture of India. "The more they paint India black, more money they get in return," he said such writers were also getting prizes for such type of writings. We have to work against such elements, he added. He said role of media in India had not been so good. What offers a ray of hope that Indian papers were serving a social cause by taking up issues such as corruption as compared to headlines of European papers which target personal lives of Bill Clinton and Lady Diana. Mr Naqvi alleged that a section of both electronic and print media was not projecting any personality except one, who did not even belong to this country. No one including the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav or Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, were not being projected in such a systematic manner. The Punjab Local Bodies Minister, Mr Balramji Dass Tandon, said besides positive criticism the media should take up issues of people. He also criticised the media for raking up the issue of "Saraswati Vandana". The Haryana Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Sharma lamented that media was not projecting true picture of the Jammu and Kashmir, where militants were subjecting the people to torture. 'So much so that electronic media was blacking out the Prime Minister'. he alleged. |
Delhi
voters did not accept Sushma: Sharma CHANDIGARH, Dec 6 Mr K.L. Sharma, vice-president of the BJP today admitted that people of Delhi did not accept Ms Sushma Swaraj in the recent election to the Delhi Assembly. Addressing a press conference at the UT State Guest House here, Mr Sharma, also conceded that the removal of the former Chief Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, from the Chief Ministership, did not benefit the party in elections. Criticising the Congress, Mr Sharma, accused it of following a "dual policy". On the one hand it was saying that the BJP government would not be destabilised, on the other it was making it known that the Congress would not shirk its responsibility if the government fell on its own. Mr Sharma claimed that contrary to past when coalition governments were relied on the Congress for survival, this time he said the Congress was in a position neither to provide an alternative nor create circumstances for a mid-term poll. The Congress, he alleged, had a vested interest in creating an atmosphere of instability which was bad for economy and people of the country. Accusing the Congress of playing the "Christian card", the BJP leader alleged it was a habit with the party to play the communal card and vote bank politics whenever an opportunity came its way. Answering a question, Mr Sharma, said strict action should be taken against the BJP leaders allegedly involved in the dispute with the management of a Dehradun-based Sikh Academy. Saying that the Nehru-Gandhi family had done much harm to the interests of the nation, he asked the party to do "soul-searching" as Sonia Gandhi could not become more powerful to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. On the BJP's defeat in the recent Assembly elections, he said this had nothing to do with the parliamentary politics. In the byelections to the Lok Sabha seats this year the BJP had not lost a single seat, he claimed. On the crisis in the local
unit of the BJP, he said he would submit his report to
the party president, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, soon. He hoped
that the crisis in the party would be over before
December 23 the date of election for new team of
office-bearers of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh
(MCC). |
Workshop on
fishery resources CHANDIGARH, Dec 6 An Indo-USA workshop on "Conservation and Development of National Fishery Resources of Western Himalayas" is being held on December 7 and 8 at Department of Zoology, Panjab University. About 70 participants from various parts of the country will deliberate on the conservation and development of hill streams biodiversity. Researchers from various universities, national research institutes and several fish farmers will participate. Anglers and Mahaseer
lovers will be the key attraction of the workshop. An
exhibition of books, water analysis equipments and live
fish will be another attraction. |
call |
CHANDIGARH, Dec 6 Workers of the local unit of the Bajrang Dal were booked by the police for allegedly trying to outrage the religious feelings of a particular community by writing derogatory slogans on walls in Bapu Dham Colony. Workers of the dal were yet not identified. The police action was initiated as the name of the dal had been mentioned along with the slogans. A case under Section 295 of the IPC has been registered. Succumbs to injuries: A man who fell off the roof of his house in Hallo Majra village a few days ago, succumbed to his injuries at the PGI here this morning. Gopal, a labourer was seriously injured in the fall. Meanwhile, three persons, including a woman, have been injured in separate incidents in the city and its surrounding areas in the past 24 hours. Dinesh Kumar of Phase VII, SAS Nagar, received burn injuries following an electric shock while Mamita of Phase I consumed some poisonous substance. Meanwhile, Bimla Arora of Sector 40, here was injured when her scooter skidded at the traffic light point at Sectors 22 and 23. PANCHKULA Burglary: Burglars in broad day light broke into a house in Sector 15 here and decamped with Rs 2000 in cash and items worth Rs 5000 while the occupants were away on Saturday. The police has registered
a case on the basis of a complaint by Mr Chaman Lal.
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