& V I C I N I T Y
Friday, November 6, 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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Friday, November 6, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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'No gain for farmers' Judge
traces reasons for delayed justice Film
stars have ‘lost public empathy’ |
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Wanted terrorist arrested 'Apni
mandi' for Industrial Area |
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Reunion
brings out youth in them Magistrate
ordered to inspect cinema halls Nip
illegal house building at 'first stage' Insurance
firm told to pay compensation
3-year
course in ophthalmic techniques Son
missing for 5 months: father A
different beauty pageant Sambhar
ventures into Sector 28 |
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'No gain for farmers' CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — "Have farmers benefited from the unprecedented hike in the prices of vegetables witnessed in the past six months ? " "No", say a majority of vegetable cultivators interviewed by The Tribune in Ropar, Nawanshahar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib districts. "The increase in returns has been negligible," they say by quoting the comparative rates at which they sell their produce, especially potatoes, cauliflowers and cabbage and rates charged from the public. Nauratta Singh, who produces cabbage, says the price he has been getting this season varies between Rs 5 and Rs 8 a kg while the retail price has remained between Rs 15 and Rs 20 a kg. He says the farmers get good price if the arrivals on a particular day are low. "The best I got this season for a pile of 20 kg of cabbage was Rs 160 and the lowest was Rs 110". It is no different for cauliflower and potatoes. The farmers maintain that on an average they are getting between Rs 4 to Rs 6 a kg for cauliflower and potatoes marketed by them. The retail market price of these vegetables has been three times of what they have been getting. The increase as compared to last year, they maintain, has been negligible. In most of the cases, it has been to the tune of Re 1 to Rs 3 a kg. In case of radish and sarson ka saag, they are getting almost the same price as in last winter. Only a few farmers admitted that they are getting better prices than last year for supplying radish and sarson ka saag. The rise, however, is negligible. A pack of 5 kg of radish fetched a maximum price of Rs 20 while the retail price at that time was Rs 10 a kg. The same has been the case with sarson ka saag. A sugarcane grower of Behram says that "farmers have been losers. Now against the government announced procurement price of Rs 95 a quintal, I am selling sugarcane for Rs 85 a quintal. Ultimately when I go to buy gur or shakar in the market after a couple of months, I know I will have to pay a much higher price than last year or even this year. This is what has happened to paddy growers. Some of them had to go for distress sale of their produce. They got less than Rs 250 a quintal. Do you think when they go to market and buy rice next year, will it be any cheaper." His views are shared and corroborated by several other farmers. Amazingly, the difference at which farmers sell their produce and the rates at which the same produce is sold in the market, be in wholesale or retail, has been growing bigger day by day. Farmers maintain that in the absence of capacity and facilities to hold back their produce for a while, their exploitation by commission agents and other market forces continues unabated. The high prices of vegetables, fruit and other items notwithstanding, the area under cultivation of vegetables this time has remained almost the same. "I am not planning to increase the area for vegetables. It is a tricky thing to do. We will watch for a couple of seasons before deciding to change our cropping pattern," adds Ram Singh, a farmer of Khamanon belt. Other farmers interviewed also expressed the same views. Farmers also claim that there has been no fall in production. Though unusual weather has affected paddy and sugarcane production, but vegetable production has been more than last year. "So far I already have 30 piles of cabbage and expect another 20 from my farm against a total of 35 I had last year from the same field", says Mr Nauratla Singh. Some other farmers also claim that there production has been 10 per cent to 15 per cent more this year. Some farmers in Doaba
suffered heavy losses to their potato crop. Overall, the
production has been more than last year. |
Kids used for peddling hooch CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Children who should be playing gleefully are being used as couriers for peddling spurious liquor and even helping in its sale at several makeshift "bars" that are flourishing in various labour colonies of the city. These makeshift and illegal "bars ", where liquor is sold on a peg basis or in plastic pouches or even supplied directly to homes, are thriving in labour colonies in the city. Though on a small scale, the business suits the sellers, who are basically lumpen elements, as well as those drinking at these places. While users get their supply of liquor at their doorsteps and at cheaper rates, the sellers who purchase the liquor in wholesale make a killing by selling on a peg basis while the future of children is spoiled. Of late small children, according to police sources, mostly of the Sansi tribe, and even women have been used as conduits or couriers to bring in liquor in pouches or smuggle in crates. The liquor is sold from these "bars" that are camouflaged by sellers who usually act as boiled egg sellers or parantha makers. A Tribune team, accompanied by a local resident, visited two such colonies, one in Maloya in the southwest, and Bapu Dham in the north east of the union territory. The price of a peg of a lower end whisky is quoted at Rs 15. Protests of "too high a price" are ignored by the seller, who probably knows that the buyers are outsiders. The liquor is kept hidden in a basket covered with a soiled and tattered cloth and at a given time not more than two bottles are kept at one place. "They know the law that the police cannot arrest anyone carrying less than six bottles, police sources said. Young boys hover around the place. They act as informers about the movement of the police and "home delivery boys" as well as couriers, sources say. Sources say that the rate of a peg is normally Rs 10 while a pouch of country liquor is sold at a price ranging from Rs 9 to Rs 11. In retail, a bottle of similar brand costs around Rs 65 while a pouch sells for Rs 15. The rates in labour colonies are less as liquor is smuggled in from adjoining states, where it is cheaper. The suppliers also buy in bulk, thus inviting discounts from liquor shops. Trying to explain the modus operandi, police sources quoted a case in which they had nabbed a young boy carrying a gunny bag filled with grass. The weight of the bag was more than that what it should have been. Upon suspicion, police personnel emptied the bag and recovered around 50 plastic pouches of country liquor. A couple of days ago, a woman was nabbed in Maloya while carrying 40 pouches of liquor. While admitting that the problem of liquor smugglings is existing, the local SSP, Mr C.S.R. Reddy, said that borders with adjoining states were contiguous with the union territory. The lure of making a fast buck was an attraction for sellers. At regular intervals the police was setting up 'nakas' and nabs suppliers and carriers. So far in this year the
Chandigarh Police has nabbed 104 persons and registered
cases under the Excise Act. |
Judge traces reasons for delayed
justice CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Delay in the appointment of judges, lack of proper infrastructure and heavy load of work before the courts are major causes for delayed disposal of cases in courts. This was observed today by Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar, a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court while delivering a key-note address at a seminar on "Administration of justice and delayed disposal of cases" organised by the All-India Lawyers' Union. The judge emphasised that speedy justice was the paramount concern of the day and each one connected with the administration of justice should help improve the system. He told the audience that the Legislature had taken care of every situation which was likely to arise in the disposal of cases, and framed rules for the purpose. He added that after a thorough discussion by experts law had been amended from time to time but its implementation part remained defective which led to delay in the disposal of cases. The judge pointed out that the Medical Council of India had laid down doctor-patient ratio. Similarly, teacher-pupil ratio had been suggested. However, no one took pain to survey the number of cases handled each day by each judge, what to talk of judge-case ratio. Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar said that numerous posts of high court and Supreme Court Judges had been lying vacant for long. The delay in filling these posts was the main factor that caused delay in the disposal of cases. Advocates present at the
seminar also took part in the discussion and suggested
methods to curtail delay in the disposal of cases. |
Film stars have ‘lost
public empathy’ CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Eminent film-maker Shyam Benegal, while lamenting the decline in the standard of films, has said that the film industry was passing through a crisis. Talking to mediapersons here today, Benegal said in the post-liberation phase there had been a significant fall in both the number of films made and ‘failures’. As against over 900 films made in the country per year about three years ago, the number now had come to nearly 400. Giving statistics, he said of the over 70 releases this year, only three films, including a superhit, had done reasonably well at the box office. While the mainstream cinema had such an alarming failure-rate, film stars continued to be much in demand in variety shows, on the front pages of the newspapers and film programmes, he said, adding that film stars at present did not enjoy the empathy of the public as stars of yesteryear. Talking about his new projects, he said he had almost completed the shooting of his new movie "Samar". Set in the Bundelkhand area of Madhya Pradesh, the film, which has many talented actors from the state besides veterans like Raghubir Yadav and Seema Biswas, explored the caste attitudes of the people. About the future of the "parallel cinema", of which he was one of the pioneers, he claimed that its future was not dim. He, however, conceded that it could never be part of the mainstream cinema as it was more personalised and individualistic. Since all art forms reflect changes in life, the current phase would not last for ever. Later delivering a special lecture on "25 years of making films", on the Panjab University campus, the Padma Bhushan awardee, said as cinema defined popular entertainment in India it affected all other performing arts, including classical music and theatre. Our mainstream cinema was unique in the sense that no other country in the world had made so much use of this medium as we had done. Tracing the history of the Indian cinema, Benegal, who is also a cousin of legendary film-maker Guru Dutt, said before Independence several "socially concerned" personalities, including Munshi Prem Chand, Josh Malhayabadi, KA Abbas and directors, joined the filmdom as it was the only medium to reach the masses. Conceding the influence of great film-makers like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen on him, he said they were the persons who started revolting against standardisation of the mass entertainment. He said he had never made a film which was beyond his own sensibility. Lamenting the all-round fall in the quality of films, he said a majority of the present-day films only appealed to the senses. That was, perhaps, the reason that the censor board deleted many scenes from films, he quipped. Later during a question
answer session, the film-maker came down heavily on the
censor board, saying the body, formed in 1927, had not
done much for Indian cinema. The board, while lopping off
scenes from films, was in a way doubting the intelligence
of crores of Indian viewers, he said. |
Wanted terrorist arrested CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — A terrorist wanted for his alleged involvement in a bomb explosion in the Sector 26 police station almost a decade ago has been arrested by the police from his present hideout in Gurdaspur. The terrorist, Gurcharanjeet Singh alias Billa, had been declared a proclaimed offender by a court in 1991. A police party from the Sector 26 police station went to Gurdaspur and nabbed Billa yesterday. He was produced in court today and remanded in police custody till November 8, according to sources. Billa had allegedly planted a bomb in the police station. He was nabbed from his village Solepur in Gurdaspur district. He had been biding time by doing some farming, police sources said. Billa, who is associated with the "Khalistan Liberation Force", along with three constables of the Chandigarh Police had planted the bomb in July, 1990. Two cops, Satwinder Singh and Balwant Singh were nabbed while Billa and constable Doulat Singh had absconded. They were declared proclaimed offenders in March, 1991. According to the SSP, C S
R Reddy, the SHO of Sector 26, Mr Kultar Singh Kahlon,
had received secret information about Billa. A police
party under SI Dilsher Singh was despatched. According to
the Police, initially Billa had left Punjab and settled
in Mumbai where he was working as a truck driver. |
Villagers oppose fish-sellers'
dharna SAS NAGAR, Nov 5 — A dharna was staged by fish-sellers of Phase-I here today in protest against the seizure of their goods and other items by Municipal Council employees. The fish-sellers, who staged their protest in front of the Municipal Council office, demanded permission to continue their business at the present site adjoining Mohali village. The dharna, however, drew opposition from residents of the village. They said the fish-sellers had created unhygienic conditions in the area and were also a traffic hazard. The council president Mr
Harinder Pal Singh Billa, said the fish-sellers had been
evicted during the ongoing safai campaign. They were
encroachers and would not be allowed to continue their
sale at the present location as this would only worsen
the sanitary conditions in Mohali village. |
Magistrate ordered to inspect cinema
halls CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Ms Paramvir Nizzar, Civil Judge, Junior Division, today directed the District Magistrate to inspect the safety precaution equipment installed in various cinema halls in the city. She further directed the magistrate to present his inspection report in the court on or before November 28. The Civil Judge passed the order on a suit preferred by the Consumer Protectors, a social organisation, and Mr Baljit Singh seeking directives to cinema hall managers to adopt possible measures to get their safety precaution equipment checked. She also directed them to
file their undertakings to this effect in her court. |
Nip illegal house building at 'first stage' CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — The local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, has urged the Chandigarh Administration to take a decision regarding the grant of power and water connections to all those who have constructed houses outside the "lal dora" of various villages of the union territory. Mr Jain said here today that he had made this demand during his meeting with the Adviser to the Administrator, Mr Jagdish Sagar, here yesterday. Mr Jain impressed upon the Adviser that instead of demolishing old or new structures, the efforts of the Administration should be to stop "illegal constructions" at the initial stage. No one should be allowed to construct any house or structure "illegally". Mr Jain said he had told the Adviser that a number of affected families of Raipur complained that their newly constructed houses were demolished without any notice. He said that in case it was found true then necessary action should be initiated against officials found guilty on this account. Mr Jain also wanted that all places of worship, including temples, gurdwaras and mosques, who had been regularised should be granted power and water connections. A survey has already been conducted in this regard, he added. He also demanded that all footpath vendors, including those repairing bicycles, scooters or selling bidis and paan, should be given identity cards to save them from harassment by enforcement staff. He added that the Adviser
assured him that issues raised by him would be decided
soon by the Administration. |
Insurance firm told to pay
compensation PANCHKULA, Nov 5 — The local consumer court has awarded a compensation of over Rs 1.50 lakh to a business man after the New India Insurance Company failed to compensate him in a fire at his factory at Kalka. The court held a surveyor of the insurance company responsible for giving a false report about the fire incident on the basis of which the claim of the consumer was rejected. The order was passed by Mr R.C. Taneja, president, Mr V. Aditya and Ms Rekha Sharma, both members of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on a complaint filed by Mr Ashwani Kumar. Mr Kumar of Uppar Mohalla at Kalka was running a business of saw mill at Ahata Chatarsen, Kalka, and had borrowed around Rs 80,000. He procured an insurance cover for the equipment and goods at his factory for which premium was paid to the insurance company. On the night of November 3, 1994, he alleged that he suffered a loss of Rs 4.50 lakh after his saw mill caught fire. The police was informed about the incident the next morning. The insurance company on being noticed by the forum maintained that the complainant had deliberately refused to fulfil the necessary formalities and thus his claim was rejected. The Forum in its orders observed that the surveyor did not record the detailed statement of the complainant which could prove that the claim was not genuine. The eye-witnesses mentioned by the complainant were also not examined by the surveyor. The insurance company has
been directed to pay interest on the compensation amount
of Rs 1 lakh at a rate of 15 per cent with effect from
April 1,1995, till the date of payment. A sum of Rs 1000
has been awarded to the consumer as costs of the
proceedings. |
Reunion brings out youth in them SUBATHU (SOLAN), Nov 5 — A crisp salute, a firm handshake and a brief introduction in Gorkhali by Havildar Bir Jung Thapa is enough to trigger the memory of Lieut-Col Edward Gopsill at the reunion of 1 Gorkha at the picturesque 14 Gorkha Regimental Centre at Subathu garrison today. The 77-year-old British officer who served the regiment and left India in 1946 was meeting his 80-year-old comrade in arms in the Indo China conflict after half a decade. While the former said that they had seen some good times, the latter pointed to a chestful of medals and said "Sahib, hum bahut khele". The duo then began a conversation and were not the only ones to reminiscence about the good old days. Stories were swapped and the dangers they had faced were recalled with a smile. The importance of the reunion, the last of the millennium, was not lost on either the old and serving soldiers and no stops had been pulled by the hosts to ensure that it was a time to remember for everybody. The espirit de corps were evident everywhere and it was a real treat to watch old Gorkha hands and the guests from abroad dance in tandem to the beat of a dholak belying their age. Most of the retired jawans and officers were well past 70. As many as 55 officers are attending the "punarmilap". The seven member British group of officers is led by Major Gen Michael Callan and includes Major John Twelles, Capt Peter George Morgan, Capt Hohn Howard Burges and Lt Frank Trevor Morley. Others include Major Gen C Venugopal, Major Gen R P Singh, Major Gen D Sehgal, Major Gen D Banerjee, Major Gen S J B Sharma and Major Gen Vikram Singh. The day's events started with a guard of honour where Major-Gen A R Kumar, the Colonel of the Regiment took a general salute. Following his a memorial service was held at the war memorial. Spread over the next two days the events include a 'pagal gymkhana,' a 'barakhana' and other allied activities. In a brief and informal chat with mediapersons, General Callan said whatever changes had taken place since they left were better and he welcomed them. He said he was proud to be a Gorkha officer and was overwhelmed with the welcome. He added that he was here for the first time. Over a cup of tea, General Kumar told TNS that he was proud to be heading a 183-year-old regiment with glorious traditions and to be hosting the last reunion of the millennium. Commenting further he said the memory of the public and the press was short and while both glorified the heroes and jawans at the time of war no one cared for them afterwards. "The apathy towards the war widows and the jawans were for everyone to see. We need to do more for these people." In view of the shortage of officers, the JCOs were being given additional responsibilities and by their performance it was felt that the faith in them was not misplaced. He also revealed that the regiment on its own had started a welfare fund which would greatly benefit war widows and deserving jawans. Brig S K Bhasin, Commandant of the GTC, said the fund had been started with a sum of Rs 5 lakh which had been collected from the release of the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) souvenir. Besides this, an appeal had been made to all the serving and retired soldiers to voluntarily contribute towards this fund. He said they had today given financial aid of Rs 1000 in cash and another sum of Rs 1500 each in the form of gifts to 20 widows. Of these three were war widows and belonged to Nepal. The regiment was raised in 1815 at Subathu after the British were impressed with the fighting capabilities of the Gorkhas. The battalion earned its first battle honour Bhurtpore in 1826 and later fought in many theatres of war. The regiment has served in Burma, Mesopotamia, Belgium, Palestine, NWFP and Malaya. After independence it has fought in all the wars and recently served with distinction in Sri Lanka, Punjab and continues to do so in Siachen. The medal tally of the
regiment include one PVC, four PVSMs, seven MVCs, one KC,
five AVSMs, 16 Vr Cs, four Scs, one YSM,29 SMs and nine
VSMs. |
Virk national secretary of Janata Party CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Dr Subramaniam Swamy, President, Janata Party, has appointed Mr Gurnam Singh Virk as national secretary of the party. Mr Virk had been the president of the local unit of the party in 1989-90. He will look after party
affairs in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Jammu and
Kashmir. |
3-year course in ophthalmic techniques CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — The Sohana-based Sri Guru Harkishan Sahib Eye Hospital has introduced a three-year diploma course in ophthalmic techniques. The course is approved by the Directorate of Health Services of the Union Government. Bhai Jasbir Singh,
chairman of the trust, stressed the need for service to
humanity with humility. Mr Gurmeet Singh, secretary of
the trust, said that some more courses, including diploma
in ophthalmic nursing training and optometrist shall be
introduced soon. |
Son missing for 5 months: father CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Mr Mohan Lal, a resident of Samana, said today that his 14-year-old son, Mahavir Prasad, had been missing for the past five months. He said his son was last seen with Mr Balvinder Singh, who had taken him to some undisclosed place. He claimed that his elder daughter had seen his son and Balvinder Singh at the Samana city police station. He said the police had questioned Balvinder Singh. However, it failed to trace his son. He added that since Mahavir Prasad was the only son, his wife had gone into depression. He said he had written
letters to all senior police officers but none of them
had responded. |
A different beauty pageant CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — It promises to be a beauty pageant show with a difference. While fashion shows for top models and beginners in this field are commonplace, Indian Arts, a local outfit, has come with a contest of married ladies. The contest has been named as Premium Lady of the Year and will be held at Tagore Theatre on November 14. As many as 18 of the shortlisted participants interacted with mediapersons at the Press Club here today. Some of the women had been married for a decade and had grown up children. Many of them were practising doctors while others were housewives. Besides this, a fashion show by top 10 models of the region will also be held on that day. The models will take part
in sari, casual, ethnic and gowns wear rounds. |
Sambhar ventures into Sector 28 CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Close on the heels of a ferocious leopard that had intruded into a residential area in neighbouring Panchkula, an innocuous sambhar ventured into the residential area in Sector 28 here this morning. The deer, said to be around two years old, was first seen when it entered a house in Sector 28-C. Residents were first frightened to see the animal, and within minutes people had gathered in large numbers. The police soon arrived on the scene to control crowd and to inform forest officials. The latter caught the deer and released it into the wilds near Nepli, just north of the Sukhna lake. Forest officials had no
idea as to how the deer managed to reach the crowded
Sector 28. |
'Apni mandi' for Industrial Area CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — An apni mandi will start functioning in Phase II of the Industrial Area, here from tomorrow. According to the area councillor, Ms Kamlesh, the mandi, which had already been approved by the Apni Mandi Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh last month, will be inaugurated by Ms Indu Mishra, an official of the Punjab Mandi Board. The mandi will meet the
long-standing demand of the residents of the area, Ms
Kamlesh added. |
CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today stayed the operation of the Haryana Government orders reverting five H.C.S. officers to their substantive ranks which they held before their nomination to the HCS (Executive branch). This order was delivered by a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice Iqbal Singh on a writ petition preferred by Mr Bhal Singh Bishnoi, one of the five officers. The other officers whom the government sought to revert are Mr Dalip Singh, Mr JR Chechi, Mr Anil Sharma and Mr Anant Ram Goel. The ground on which the government had ordered their reversion was that they had failed to pass the departmental examination by higher standards within the stipulated four chances. The petitioner pleaded with the court that the state government never invoked rule 21 of the service rules which empowered it to terminate the services of an HCS officer. He pointed out that there were instances of various officers who availed of more than the prescribed chances. Yet no action was taken against them. Why should the government invoke rule 21 in their case? they asked. He told the court that the high court had already set aside the termination orders in similar circumstances in the Geeta Bharti case. Therefore, they were entitled to either exemption from passing the examination or additional opportunities to pass the examination. The new issue that the petitioner raised in his petition was that the HCS officers had sought revaluation of their papers held in April and May, 1998. This request was turned down. He added that rule 9 of the examination rules provided that if an officer passed the examination by a lower standard, he would be given opportunity in the succeeding examinations to pass the same by higher standards without restricting the number of chances. The judges issued notice to the state government for November 26. Sugar mills case adjourned Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar today adjourned the Punjab Sugar Mills sale case to November 11. Earlier, the judge heard brief arguments from counsel for the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation. He pointed out that there were three reports that the Investigation Officer had failed before the court. The conclusion the I.O. had drawn that the money which the P.S.I.D.C. had to return to the government had been embezzled was incorrect, counsel pointed out. This money was given to the Punjab Rural Development Board on government instructions. Therefore, there was no question of any embezzlement. Counsel contended that the I.O. could not pass judgement. He was only to supply material to the court after conducting the investigation. The chargesheet was to be framed by the competent magistrate. He repeated what other counsel had said on earlier occasions that the high court could not express its opinion on the merits of the case. At this stage the judge
observed that he had received several letters from
individuals alleging that they were being pressurised by
senior functionaries. He further observed that the court
had taken judicial note of these letters. |
CHANDIGARH, Nov 5 — Two Panchkula-based brothers were injured when they were attacked by a sword-wielding son of a Punjab bureaucrat and his three accomplices on the busy Madhya Marg, dividing sectors 7 and 19 around noon here today. The incident occurred in full public view as the brothers, Sunil Malik, alias Aaloo and Akshay Kumar, alias Monu, were waiting for their friend Ketan to come out of a bank in Sector 7. Ketan had gone to the bank to withdraw money while the two boys, who run an automobile sale-purchase business in Sector 21, were sitting in their white-coloured open-roofed Maruti Gypsy. They were allegedly attacked with swords by Khuspal Singh Jattana, Mandeep Singh, Laddi and Rouble. Unknown to the injured persons, the four attackers had been following the Gypsy in a Maruti Esteem (PB-10-R-0542) owned by Jattana, according to police sources. Members of the public nabbed Mandeep Singh, a resident of Sector 2, on the spot while the others managed to flee. The injured were first rushed to General Hospital in Sector 16. Doctors at the GH referred them to the PGI. The two have sustained head injuries and their condition is stated to be stable. Jattana lives in Phase III-2, SAS Nagar, Laddi lives in Phase I in the same township while Rouble lives in the same area where Mandeep lives. Police parties have been sent to their respective homes, according to sources. The fight was due to some old college-day tiff between the two parties. Before the incident the injured persons had visited Panjab University and were reportedly "spotted" by the alleged attackers. The police has registered a case under Section 307 of the IPC. Purse snatched: A woman's purse, containing newly purchased gold jewellery worth Rs 18,000 and Rs 2,200 in cash, besides other documents, was snatched by two motor cycle borne youth in Sector 21 on Wednesday evening. The purse was snatched around 8 p.m. The woman, Ms Anu Bhasin, a resident of Sector 27, along with her mother was returning after purchasing jewellery from a leading shop in Sector 22. The two women were on a Kinetic Honda. While Ms Anu was driving, her mother was sitting on the pillion. After the purchase Ms Anu turned the scooter towards the inner road in Sector 21 en route to Sector 18 and beyond to her house. She says, it was in Sector 21 that two youths on a motor cycle, snatched the purse and sped off. A hot chase on her scooter proved futile as the boys disappeared in the inner roads of Sector 18. She along with a friend and her brother approached the Sector 19 police. Vehicles recovered: The Anti-Auto Theft Cell of the Chandigarh Police has recovered four stolen cars, two motor cycles, five scooters and two mopeds worth nearly Rs 8.50 lakh. The in charge of the cell, Inspector Mani Ram Kadian, said a habitual automobile thief, Raghbir Singh, of Burail village was also nabbed and one motor cycle, two scooters, one moped and four cycles were recovered from him. Raghbir was arrested last night on the road dividing Sector 45 and 46. The cars that have been recovered are: PB-02-F-6775 stolen from Industrial Area, Phase II, in July 1996; CH-01-L-0042 stolen from Sector 17 in November, 1995; CH-01-L-4060 stolen from the district courts, Sector 17, in February this year and CH-01-W-7517 stolen from Sector 8 last month. From Raghbir Singh the police has recovered motor cycle CH-01-C-6707 and scooter CH-01-Q-3592. Raghbir's modus operandi was to stock the stolen vehicles. If he could not manage to sell them off, he would leave them in parking lots at railway station or at the ISBT. For months, the vehicles would remain there unnoticed, according to police sources. Hit by scooter: A pedestrian, Nanki Devi, was injured when a scooter hit her in Khuda Lahora village. She has been admitted to the PGI. PANCHKULA Four burglars held: The local police has arrested at least four members of a gang of burglars who were active in the township in the last few months. According to police sources, the arrested burglars — Mukesh, Vinod, Dara and Satish — have confessed their involvement in at least six local incidents of thefts. The thieves hail from Jind. The value of stolen goods recovered from them is worth around Rs 40,000. Dead: An unidentified person who was brought in an unconscious state to the local general hospital after he reportedly fell from a scooter in Sector 11 on Wednesday night was later declared brought dead. His autopsy was conducted at the local general hospital on Thursday. The cause of death could not be ascertained. According to the information a strip of tablets was found in one of the pockets of the deceased. Stolen: In two
separate incidents, two cars were stolen from near Nadha
Sahib gurudwara here on Wednesday evening. The police has
registered cases. |
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