& V I C I N I T Y
Thursday, November 5, 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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Thursday, November 5, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Unsolved
murders mar police image Garlic
goes the onion way |
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Use
of polythene bags: meeting today
'Jain
men' boycott executive meeting 'No
notice was issued' before demolition Supplementary
challan filed in murder case |
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Lies unconscious as son dies CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — In what may be a classic case of human apathy, a villager from Raipur Rani in Panchkula, who had come to the PGI for the treatment of his ailing son, was drugged, robbed and dumped in a remote place in the city by a smooth talking trickster. As he lay unconscious for two days, his ailing son died at the PGI while his wife was left alone in the hospital, penniless and without any support. The humble villager, Hari Singh, an employee of a sugar mill in Naraingarh, is yet to recover from the rude shock administered to him in the fast-paced city. Apart from an irreversible loss of his son, he lost Rs 7000, a watch and the trust he had in mankind. From the PGI the trickster had lured Hari Singh to the Sector 15 market nearby where he was offered a cup of tea laced with a powerful drug that made him totally unconscious for two days. He woke up at a place unknown to him and found three white bandaids on his body, one each on his left forearm and wrist and another one on his shoulder. He suspects somebody may have taken a unit or two of blood while he was not in his senses. The drugging incident took place on Monday, October 26, and Hari Singh regained consciousness only in the wee hours of October 28, almost 40 hours later. Till then his son, Gurbachan Singh, a tailor, who had got married just a year ago, had died and the body had been cremated. Hari Singh regained full consciousness only four days after the drugging and since then has been busy with various rituals. The death of his son may be like the proverbial rubbing of salt into the wounds of Hari Singh. His grandson, the newly born son of the deceased, had died some time ago, according a family sources. Remembering the drugging incident, Hari Singh, while talking to The Tribune, said that his son was taken ill and rushed to the PGI around noon following the advice of doctors at Raipur Rani. In the emergency doctors saw the ailing Gurbachan and advised an ECG and an X-ray. As a nurse was installing the drip Hari Singh complained that time was being wasted. At that time a soft spoken man in his forties approached him saying he was an attendant of a patient from Moga and knew a doctor, who could use his influence to get work done quickly. "The man promised to help me in meeting the same doctor," says Hari Singh. He left saying he would return by 3 pm, Hari Singh added. Till then the family had moved to the area where X-rays are done. The same man appeared saying that X-rays are very expensive he took Hari Singh aside and promised him a meeting with the doctor, who could get the charges reduced. Both went outside and boarded a rickshaw to reach the "doctor's place". He stopped the rickshaw and went inside but was back within a few minutes saying the doctor had guests at home and "he has asked us to wait," remembered Hari Singh. The man then ordered for tea from a roadside tea stall and brought a packet of biscuits from a shop nearby. "After consuming the tea the man again went inside the house and this time came back saying the doctor was sitting in his other house nearby," Hari Singh said. The two then walked to the other house and Hari was made to sit on a bench in an adjacent park. After that he passed out and remembers nothing till the time he woke up. After waking up two days later he managed to reach the PGI in the drugged state only to be informed that his son had died. At the PGI as he was narrating his story a good samaritan handed him Rs 100 and urged him to go back home. Meanwhile as Hari Singh
was missing his family members lodged a complaint at the
PGI police post. The police confirmed about the report.
Today the family completed the last rituals of the
deceased and then talked to the media at their home in
Dandrano village 5 km from Raipur Rani. |
Unsolved murders mar police image CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — Four untraced murders in the past five months, including the gruesome killing of a Sector 30 housewife last week, have not done any good to the image of the Chandigarh police, which claims a "good record" in cracking heinous crimes. Various search parties of the police have so far been unable to nab the killers in the last four murder cases in the city. In the latest murder, Santosh Kumari, wife of Mr Pritam Singh, a security guard at the Reserve Bank of India, was killed last week. Police parties which were despatched to Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh immediately after the murder returned empty-handed. In this case various theories have been floated by the police but none has shown the desired results. The entire family of her husband has been questioned. Even his son from his first marriage has been screened, but to no avail. The police is of the view that someone who came immediately after her husband left and the same person may have killed Santosh. The person, even after committing the crime in daytime in a crowded colony, is yet to be nabbed. The most intriguing case is the murder of property dealer Baljinder Singh Verma, who was shot dead in broad daylight by a masked gunman in Sector 21, in July. Senior police officials had claimed that they had identified the killer who was a resident of Sector 2, Panchkula. Despite repeated attempts no arrest has been made. Police parties were sent but the alleged accused was not nabbed as cops had been reporting that he had not returned home. On September 10 the body of a woman in her early twenties was found near Dhanas village. The woman, probably married, had been raped and murdered. The woman has not been identified so far, police sources said. The woman probably hailed from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. Constables have been making enquiries at various colonies but to no avail. The police is of the opinion that the woman may have been a resident of a neighbouring place and may have been lured to this area by someone. Meanwhile, the police seems to have forgotten the death of a youth at Mauli Jagran, whose throat was slit. No breakthrough has been reported in this case also. Apart from these cases the body of Mahesh, a computer programmer, was found in his Sector 11 house in July. The police after a few days had registered a case of murder against his wife and her "male friend". Vijay, who succumbed to
his injuries at the PGI yesterday, had been attacked by
certain persons a few days ago at the roundabout of
Sectors 24, 25, 37 and 38. Solving this case will be
another test for the police which is seemingly losing
grip over solving murders. |
Garlic goes the onion way CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — It seems that garlic is also going the onion way as far as the rise in its price is concerned. While on the onion front people had started heaving a sigh of relief following a considerable fall in its price in the past four days, it is the turn of garlic to take the place of onion and to drill a hole in the pockets of consumers due to its high price. The TNS during a survey of different markets today found that garlic was available at an astronomical price of Rs. 60 to Rs 65 a kg. According to vegetable vendors, just a month ago it was priced at Rs. 30 a kg and even till Monday, its price never went beyond Rs. 40. It had been priced at Rs. 50 yesterday. Mrs Suchet Bala, a housewife purchasing vegetables at Sector 26 market, feared that garlic might upset her family budget as all her family members were garlic lovers and hardly eat any vegetable without the commodity known for its medicinal value. Roshan, a vegetable vendor, said there was no possibility of garlic prices coming down till February as consumption goes up during winter. "You will see that garlic price will increase as its crop had also suffered damage," he added. However, there was no hike in the prices of other 'kitchen essentials' such as onions and ginger, which were available at the Sector 26 vegetable market for Rs 35 and Rs 20, respectively, and even less, depending upon the quality. There was a variation in price to the tune of Rs 5 to Rs 10 in different sector markets. 'Sarson ka saag', a winter speciality, has registered nearly a five-fold hike in its price as compared to last year. If a bundle (weighing about 500 gm each) was available for Rs 2 last year, the same and that too not of a good quality, has been priced at Rs 10 now. In the same fashion, pineapple is the only fruit to have recorded a 300 per cent rise in its price in the past three months. Pineapple priced at Rs 10 in August is now available between Rs 30 and Rs 35 bacause of no fresh arrivals after Divali. But on the pulses front the situation seems to be gloomy as even after the abolition of tax on the import of pulses, their prices are rising, with 'arhar' taking the lead. 'Arhar'which was priced at Rs 28 in August, witnessed a two-fold increase in three months and is now available at Rs 45. According to wholesalers,
the impact of the import duty abolition was expected in a
fortnight after the arrival of pulses from abroad. They,
however, added that so far there was a marginal average
decrease of Rs 50 per quintal after the announcement on
duty abolition. They expected that within a fortnight
there will be an average fall of Rs 200 to Rs 300 in the
prices of almost all pulses. |
Gurpurb celebrated with fervour CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — The 529th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev was celebrated with fervour and enthusiasm in different parts of the city and its surrounding areas. Thousands of devotees, including women and children, started thronging the decorated gurdwaras in the city since early morning, and paid their obeisance to Guru Granth Sahib. They also participated in ‘shabad kirtans’ and religious assemblies and listened to recitations from holy scriptures. Akhand Paths and Langars were organised in different parts of the city. While gurdwaras were illuminated, people were seen bursting crackers to express their joy. The 'Prakash Utsav' of Guru Nanak Dev was also celebrated at Gurdwara Gangsar Sahib, near Sukhna Lake,where a huge 'kirtan diwan' and a 'langar' was organised. PANCHKULA (FOC): Gurpurb was celebrated with religious fervour at different gurdwaras in the township.The main function was held at Nada Sahib Gurdwara near here. Lakhs of devotees paid their obeisance at the gurdwara.'Prasad' of 'jalebis' were distributed among the devotees. A function was organised by the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee (I) in Sector 45. Principal Gurbachan Singh,
a Congress leader, addressed the gathering. 'Shabad
kirtan' was also organised. |
Use of polythene bags: meeting today CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — A meeting of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee to discuss banning the use of polythene bags in City Beautiful will be held tomorrow. The committee was constituted after the issue of environmental degradation and the harmful effects of polythene were discussed at the World Environment Summit held at Rio de Janerio. The members of the committee are traders of Sector 17 who had more than one and a half years ago carried out a voluntary exercise not to give polythene bags to consumers. The novel way had caught the attention of the Administration and a committee was formed to tackle the problem by the then deputy commissioner. A couple of meetings were held but nothing tangible came out of it as the Administration and traders wanted a total ban on the manufacture and supply of polythene bags in the city. At the meeting, which has been called by Mr S K Gathwal, chairman of the committee, the issue of a total ban is unlikely to materialise as the Administration is of the opinion that more efforts should be made for creating awareness and advocating a voluntary will of the people not to use these bags. This stand of the authorities has been unacceptable to certain members who feel a voluntary effort was not possible, not only in this city but in the country as a whole. Recent efforts to do so have fallen flat in many states, they point out. It is pertinent to mention
here that the Central government today told a Delhi court
that it had decided to ban polythene bags for carrying
food items and would provide certain specifications for
the manufacture of polythene bags. |
Insurance claim with costs allowed CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (II) has ordered the United India Assurance to pay Rs 72,420 to a Delhi-based consumer as insurance claim for theft. Mr R P Bajaj, president, and Mrs Kamlesh Gupta and Mr H S Walia, both members, gave the order on a written complaint filed by Mr Jasbir Singh . Mr Jasbir Singh in his complaint alleged that he was running a business of tyres and tubes of two wheelers at Kiratpur Sahib. On the night of June 21 and 22, 1989, a theft took place at the shop. The insurance company deputed a surveyor who assessed the loss at Rs 72,420. The company instead of paying the compensation deputed another investigator. The claim of Mr Jasbir Singh was repudiated. The forum after going through the details, however, found no grounds to brush aside the assessment of the first surveyor. The forum allowed the claim with Rs 2,500 as costs. The sum of Rs 72,420 has to be paid with 15 per cent interest from November, 1989, till the date of actual payment. The order has to be
complained with in a month of the receipt of the copy of
the order. |
'Jain men' boycott executive meeting CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — The infighting in the local unit of the BJP deepened when a meeting of the state executive was boycotted by members owing allegiance to the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain. The meeting was held late this evening at the party headquarters in Sector 36. Among those who stayed away besides the MP were Mr Prem Sagar Jain, who resigned as Senior Deputy Mayor, and Mr Yash Pal Mahajan, vice president of the party, according to sources. The meeting resolved that everybody should sink differences and work for the party. It was also resolved that the long overdue election committee and the disciplinary committee should be constituted. The party president, Mr Dharam Pal Gupta, has been authorised to constitute these committees. Another resolution urging
the Administration not to carry out demolitions till the
issue of an extension of 'lal dora' of villages was
decided was also passed. |
UT phone users called to Delhi CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has invited the Chandigarh Telecom District Telephone Users' Association for a meeting in Delhi on November 6. The meeting will discuss
issues relating to restructuring of telecom tariffs and
improving the quality of service, the association said. |
'No notice was issued' before
demolition CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — Members of the Shiv Shakti Resident Welfare Association have alleged that their houses in Raipur Kalan were demolished by the Chandigarh Administration without the issuance of any notice under the provisions of the Periphery Control Act. A statement issued by the affected persons here today stated that the owners of only eight houses, out of more then 30 houses in the colony, had received notices. Moreover, the constructions were four to six months old and not two years old as was being claimed by the Administration. The association has
demanded compensation and rehabilitation from the
Administration and have written to the Home Minister, the
Union Urban and Rural Development Minister and the Chief
Minister of Delhi of the selective demolition being
pursued by the authorities. |
Supplementary challan filed in murder
case CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — The local police has filed a supplementary challan in the court of the Judicial Magistrate, Mr Jagnahar Singh, in connection with the Manisha murder case. Ms Manisha, a district court lawyer, was killed in an accident on February 25, 1996. The report contained in the supplementary challan scientifically analyses the circumstances in which the accident took place and the result of the collision. The report also aims at explaining certain issues, including the speed of the vehicles, nature of occurrence, the angle of the projection of the pillion and determines whether the accident was accidental or intentional. Ms Manisha, who was
seriously injured in the accident, was admitted to the
PGI on February 25, 1996. She succumbed to her injuries
after a couple of days. |
CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — Water scarcity in November may sound unbelievable, but this is very much true as regard certain areas of the city are concerned. Residents of part of Sector 18 complained that they had been received much less quantity of water and muddy water for the past four days. In the morning, the pressure starts decreasing by about 6.30 a.m. resulting in upper floor residents put to a lot of inconvenience, said a resident. The afternoon supply is not regular. With muddy water supply for the past several days, water has to be purified in filters before use which every resident cannot afford. The residents of 504 Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) flats in Sector 61 had to virtually go without water since morning. While there was no morning supply, the supply was restored for a few minutes in the afternoon. Residents of the upper floors were at the receiving end in the absence of adequate pressure. As the supply to the housing complex is linked to power, in case of power failure water supply is disrupted. What surprised the residents today was that though the power supply, which had been disrupted last night was resumed early in the morning, water supply was resumed only in the evening. Corporation sources said the water supply was disrupted as one phase of the three-phase supply line was not functioning. Dissolution sought: The Chandigarh District Congress Committee (Rural) on Wednesday sought the dissolution of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) for its "failure" to provide civic amenities to residents of the city. A press note sought the
restoration of the post of Chief Commissioner for the
city. |
CHANDIGARH , Nov 4 — The UGC is a poor child compared to science and technical education in the country . The budgetary allotments are not "really sufficient " for proper development of colleges who get paltry sums when the total is divided at the end. These observations were made by Prof Yash Pal, an eminent academician and a former chairman of the UGC while talking to the TNS here today. He is now on the guest Faculty of Panjab University. The total allocation for education needs a boost with particular stress in the field of elementary education. The country gave up right at the outset on the front of higher education. The universities are funded in a pitiful manner. Even the industry has failed to tie up with the university laboratories, Prof Yash Pal said. One thinks of only the national laboratories while mentioning research. "The real place should have been the universities and this is possible only if the universities are connected with the industry. Industrial labs and university laboratories could function like co-operatives," he said. Universities continue to be separated from the world of innovation. Often what is new in abroad becomes obsolete by the time it is introduced in our system, Prof Yash Pal said while commenting on the "sickness of education system". The man behind the highly popular TV show "Turning Point " which explained in simple words how the science operates in our surroundings continues to share his concern about the "created gap" between the formal and informal education." What is formal or informal education? Education is education", he said. Schools seldom take examples from surroundings with specifics. Surroundings differ in different parts of the country. "We use a false uniform picture based largely on the middle class while designing the "syllabi". It quite frequently ends up, giving a feeling to the underprivileged and the landless a sense of alienation. "he added. "Most of what a child learns is learnt by the age of five. This should be used as a resource for his individual development and it would be different in each child. The education system now is more about memorising. It has become a game in itself where things like marks and quiz contests are like hurdles", Prof Yash Pal said. "A large number of dropouts were probably looking for a connection of education with their understanding of things around. The education must have failed to do so", the former UGC chief said. "The education system has neglected a large potential of sub-terrainean education system in the country. Who teachers a farmer's son to cultivate fields? Look at the chair makers and scores of artisans. Coupled with the lacklustre syllabi is the sense of no freedom to teacher in innovating his teaching work", the educationist noted. " We at the UGC did
initiate certain measures to promote research. Common
facilities which universities could share were created,
"he adds while citing the example of the nuclear
accelerator at Delhi used by over 44 institutes. |
CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 — A Ram Darbar-based housewife succumbed to her burns at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, last night while another woman continues to fight a battle with burn injuries. Kamlesh had sustained burn injuries on the night intervening October 30 and 31. She was preparing tea for her husband when her saree reportedly caught fire. The police says that it has not received any complaint of harassment from any of the woman's family members, thus eliminating the angle of suspicion. Meanwhile, Madhu, also of Ram Darbar, has been admitted to GMCH with burn injuries. She has 45 per cent burns. Harassment case: A case of harassment has been registered against a Sector 41 family for allegedly troubling Sunita Rani. The woman had alleged that her husband, Rajesh Kumar, mother-in-law, Sheela Devi, and father-in-law, Kishan Lal were harassing and maltreating her. Sunita had lodged a case in the Sector 26 police station. The police has registered a case under Sections 406 and 498-A of the IPC. Motorcycle stolen: A motor cycle (CH-01-J-6575) owned by Ashok Kumar Verma of Dadu Majra has been stolen from Sector 22. Two arrested: A resident of Sector 29 and a woman of Maloya village have been arrested in separate cases of carrying illicit liquor. Vijay Kumar of Sector 29 was nabbed from near the Sectors 29 and 30 traffic lights with 12 bottles of whisky. The woman, Geeta, of Maloya colony was arrested from the same colony with 40 pouches of liquor. Cases under the Excise Act have been registered. Meanwhile Jailu Ram of
Colony No 4 has reported that his minor daughter has been
abducted by Laal Mohammed of the same locality. |
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