Man murders wife, shoots at stepdaughter
Six-year-old son escapes from bullets
Tribune News Service

Gurvinder Kaur

SAS Nagar, August 21
A 45-year-old man, Rajinder Singh Sandhu, shot dead his wife before shooting at his teenage stepdaughter and six-year-old son in his house in Phase X here early today.

He shot his wife, Gurvinder Kaur, twice in the neck while she was asleep. His daughter Komal, who was also shot twice, is battling for life at the PGI. Paras, his son, had a miraculous escape with the bullets directed towards him hitting the wall. The man is still at large.

Rajinder Singh Sandhu, a resident of Phase X, who is on the run after killing his wife and shooting at his daughter and son.

Komal, the teenaged daughter of Gurinder, who is battling for life at the PGI after being shot at by her stepfather at SAS Nagar on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Stating that a marital discord led to the murder, the police stated that Sandhu and his wife, both married for the second time, did not get along well and used to fight over Komal’s career. “Komal, who is Gurinder’s daughter from her first marriage, works as a professional model and was being encouraged by her mother. But Sandhu did not approve of this,” the SP, Mohali, Mr H.S.Bhullar said.

Relating the incident, Anmol, the 11 year-old-daughter of the couple, who was sleeping in another room told TNS that her parents had a fight last night and afterwards her father took some hard drink. “Papa was sleeping in the room next to me. I heard gun shots and woke up to find that Papa had shot my mother who was sleeping in the drawing room and was also shooting at Komal and Paras. He did not speak anything and left the house with the pistol in his hand. He was wearing a black pyjama and a yellow shirt. He seemed to be still under the influence of alcohol,” she said.

Komal’s note

Komal, despite bleeding profusely, managed to scribble on a piece of paper that her father was the murderer of her mother. “Fearing that she might die before the police reached, she wrote everything she could,” said a neighbour.

An alarm was raised by Paras, who ran to the house of their tenants who then informed the police. A doctor, Manvinder Singh, who is leaving nearby, was called in. “Gurinder Kaur was dead by the time I reached. Komal was in her senses and was trying to speak. She was bleeding profusely from the mouth. A bullet had passed through her cheeks and another had passed through her stomach and chest. We rushed her to Government Medical College, Sector 32,”said Dr Manvinder Singh.

Black magic

Within an hour of the incident the police received calls from commuters near the YPS School here that a body was lying on the road. Assuming that Rajinder Singh Sandhu had ended his life, the police reached there only to find a dummy. “We realised later that someone had performed black magic there,” the SP, Mr Harcharan Singh Bhullar said.

Fortytwo-year-old Gurinder was working as a junior assistant at the Mandikaran Board in Chandigarh and was the bread earner of the family. Sandhu was unemployed and most of the time used to drink.

Sources in the police stated that some years ago a fight between the couple had led to Anmol’s face getting burnt. Anmol, however, denied it. “My mother loved us all,”she said, while fighting tears.

Their relatives, who live in Amritsar, were informed by the police. They arrived here late in the evening.

A case has been registered against Rajinder Singh Sandhu in this connection.

Woman dies after setting self, husband on fire
Tribune News Service

City to have power regulatory panel soon
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

The commission , if it desires shall constitute a committee to represent the interests of commerce, industry, transport, agriculture, labour, consumers, non-governmental organisations and academic and research bodies in the energy sector.

Digging at human emotions, with dance
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21
Sometimes the interplay of human emotions is so well brought out on the stage that the viewer is led into putting fictional elements of a drama behind him and living the characters himself. The power of a dramatist to reflect life through the written word, complimented with the prowess of a theatre director to tell tales as extensions of reality, make a good drama. That’s exactly what “Dance Like a Man”, tonight’s presentation at Tagore Theatre was — good and classic.

The engaging production by Lilette Dubey and her group told the tale of human hearts, trapped in conflicting situations. Running at two levels, represented by two generations, the play stood on the platform of tradition, and yet transcended the limits of time and space to expose the cracks in the contemporary socio-cultural setting. One of India’s most successful contemporary theatre productions, the play was presented by the Durga Das Foundation, The Tribune and Spice Telecom in association.

First produced by Lilette in 1995, “Dance like a Man” is yet another exemplification of dramatist Mahesh Dattani’s absolute indulgence with tradition and continuity. Where on the one hand the writer weaves the magnificence of bharatnatayam, the oldest dance tradition of India, into the story, on the other the director picks up sequences most suitably translated in the language of theatre. Finally what we see on the stage is an expose of the social scene of Indian culture, which often finds itself stifled by the forces of fundamentalism, busy deriding traditions.

The two generational levels are formed by two couples — Ratna and Jairaj Parikh, the older couple, played by Lilette and Vijay Crishna; Lata and Vishwas, the younger couple played by Suchitra Pillai and Joy Sengupta. The story revolves round the lives of Jairaj and Ratna — the two dancers, who have lost their glory — juxtaposed with that of their daughter Lata, who outshines her own mother in wit, strength and intelligence.

With bharatanatyam providing the much-needed peg, the plot reveals untold facts of the family, its dark secrets, its pains, travails and tribulations. Thoroughly comical in tenor, the story makes a serious impact on the viewer, who is at once full of laughter and pain. The melancholy undertones are furthered by deep musical tones, specific to bharatnatayam — a dance tradition that seems to have been specifically chosen by the dramatist to show the inherent weaknesses in the Indian system that, at one point in time, did not have the courage to give this dance of devadasis its due. Using the dance tradition as a cause, the dramatist makes a point, while the director underlines it further with her technique.

In totality, the play brings out realistic and universal conflicts between two generations of a family. With music, presentation, cast and setting to its full credit, no wonder this play has toured India to sell-out audiences and was awarded the prestigious Sahitya Kala Parishad Award for Best Play in 1995. It also toured to the Bloomsbury Theatre, London, in June, 1999, New York in July, 2000, and, later to Dubai and Colombo.

Conveying universal message through theatre
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21
Lilette Dubey plays many parts with an equally admirable ease. A quintessential charmer and a fabulous actress, she blends her roles to perfection, so much so that she manages brimming auditoriums even when she is presenting a production for some 119th time in a row.

As director of the highly-acclaimed play “Dance Like a Man”, written by Mahesh Dattani, Lilette is known for loading her play with some sort of an essence, that fails to lose its worth. Small wonder then that whenever she presents the longest running Indian English play on stage, she manages a classic audience, which carries home the universal message she gives through the medium of theatre.

In the city to make another presentation of her magnum opus, Lilette was accompanied by her cast — corporate honcho Vijay Crishna, who walks the path of theatre and business simultaneously, Suchitra Pillai, whose charms never seem to fail her and Joy Sengupta, who is credited with enriching theatre with his engaging stage presence. Before the artistes got their act together, they shared with The Tribune their concerns for art, their association with “Dance Like a Man” which won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1995 and their evolution as better human beings, courtesy theatre.

The discussion began with Lilette, who recalled her childhood days when she drifted between passion and pressure. “Everyone in my family was a professional. I was the only one who took to arts. My father would often question my zeal for theatre. It was his non vocal persistence that led me to justify my passion. My answer was simple — all art gives us an understanding of life by helping us to mirror reality. I am seeking sense in life through my company Prime Time Theatre, which has produced plays of all shades from ‘Siren City’ and ‘Jaya Mahabharata’ to “30 Days In September” and “Dance Like a Man.”

Ready to direct a film being written by Mahesh Dattani, Lilette credits theatre for her ability to play disparate roles to perfection. “Theatre trains you to approach another medium with class. Cinema offers the tremendous advantage of wide exposure, but theatre helps you sustain your individuality through the many films you do. It’s because of the enormous range of roles theatre offers that we refuse to be docketed.” Lilette has at hand a film titled, “Pinjar”, based on a story by Amrita Pritam, besides “Bagban” and Karan Johar’s “Kal Ho Na Ho”. She is also taking “Dance Like a Man” to London later this month.

For her part Suchitra Pillai, who earned a name for herself by slapping Saif Ali Khan in Farhan Akhtar’s “Dil Chahta Hai”, is absolutely in love with the play, which enabled her to pursue her passion. “I always wanted to learn Bharatnatyam, but it was after Lilette approcahed me with the script that I got down to learning the dance tradition. Theatre remains an inseparable part of my life, even as radio jockeying, films and television continue.”

Talk of Vijay Crishna, MD, Godrej-GE, and he had done 120 plays, using theatre to push business. He reasons, “Theatre is about people, so is business. The confluence is paying.” It’s the same feeling which Joy Sengupta shares. Lined up for him may be many prestigious assignments, but his heart is in theatre. A part of “Dance Like a Man” ever since 1995, Joy says, “The play is strong and deals with the history of India, analyzing many generations of conflict. In the backdrop runs the oldest dance tradition of India — Bharatnatyam, which has kept its soul through generations.”

COMMUNITY

120-kmph squall lashes region

Chandigarh, August 21
Chandigarh and its surrounding areas, Ambala in Haryana, Adampur and Bathinda and a few other places in Punjab, were lashed by high-velocity squalls, at times touching the speed of 120 km per hour, reports said.

The squall and heavy downpour snapped tree branches, twisted hoardings and flooded roundabouts and low-lying areas in the city.

A report from Bathinda said the town and its surrounding areas were lashed by torrential rains for an hour and a half, throwing the normal life out of gear.

The rains brought the much-needed respite to the people smarting under torrid humid conditions.

Most of the rivers in the northwest region, which were nearly in spate yesterday following rains in their catchment areas, were having a markedly less discharge today, reports said.

The Yamuna, upstream Tajewala headworks, near Yamunanagar, bordering Uttar Pradesh was today flowing with a discharge of 15,547 cusec against 23,861 cusec yesterday.

The inflow from the Sutlej in the Gobind Sagar reservoir of the Bhakra dam in the past 24 hours hovered around 43,600 cusec and of the Beas in the Pong dam reservoir at 39,800 cusec. The level in the Bhakra reservoir has risen to 1652.31 feet and of the Pong dam to 1347.87 feet, Bhakra Beas Management Board sources said.

Chandigarh and its surrounding areas were lashed by 9 mm sharp showers late last night, catching the devotees celebrating Krishna Janmashtami, unawares.

The people sweated during the day as the mercury hovered around 34°C and the relative humidity stayed at 95 per cent in the maximum and 60 per cent in the minimum.

Panchkula, skirting Chandigarh recorded a 7-mm rainfall while Kalka, the gateway to Himachal Pradesh had 9 mm of rain till this morning.

Shimla reported 8 mm rainfall during the day today, while Nahan was deluged with 63 mm rainfall till this morning. Mandi, Bhang Manali(11 mm), Sundernagar (2.3 mm) and Solang Nullah (0.2 mm) were among the Himachal stations reporting rains during the past 24 hours.

Jammu reported 23.2 mm rainfall and Srinagar 4 mm.

The weather Bureau here has warned of heavy rains at isolated places in Himachal and Punjab and light-to-moderate rains or thundershowers at a few places in the region over the next 48 hours. — UNI

Our correspondent adds from Phagwara: A squall lashed this area afternoon throwing life out of gear. Low-lying areas were inundated and rainwater entered into houses and shops in Gaushala bazar, Onkar Nagar, Shivpuri, Bhagatpura, Ratanpura, etc.

At certain places, one to three feet deep water had collected. Roads were turned into rivulets as water overflowed them. Many areas were also waterlogged with knee-deep water. Many vehicles, especially scooters and cars broke down due to the heavy downpour.

Downpour floods city roads
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21
An hour long heavy downpour in the city threw the normal life out of gear. Within minutes of the downpour, low-lying residential and commercial areas in the city were flooded with rain water.

Officers at the Meteorological Department said as part of the south-west monsoons lashing the region, 0.2 cm rainfall was recorded at the Air Force Station observatory. Since the observatory is located at the southern brim of the city, the extent of rainfall in other parts of the city not be recorded. The rainfall in other parts of the city could be high.

As it started to rain at around 7 pm, the traffic moving towards the commercial centres of the city was badly affected. Several people travelling on the roads leading to the city was caught unaware in the heavy showers. The worst affected were the two wheeler riders, who could seen taking shelter under trees and other road side structures. There were chaos at main roads leading to the city from Panchkula and SAS Nagar.

A traffic jam held up residents near the Piccadilly roaundabout, the Aroma traffic lights and also on the road to Panchkula.

All roads were like small rivulets and each had more than two to three feet of water. The markets in Sector 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 were flooded with water. A shopkeeper of Sector 37 complained that the parking area was under three feet of water due to a blocked storm water drain.

Late delivery of passports causes concern
Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21
The Regional Passport Office here has taken note of delay in the delivery of passports processed through the application collection centres in the office of the Deputy Commissioners in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

Certain procedural shortcomings have also been pointed out in the applications being forwarded through the speed post.

To ensure that the passports were delivered within the stipulated time period prescribed by the Ministry of External Affairs, the Regional Passport Office has shot off letters to the Deputy Commissioners to ensure that the applications were sent at regular intervals rather than being sent in lots.

Sources in the passport office said it had been noticed that the police verification of the applications scrutanised at the office of DCs was not being done within three months. Several cases had been noticed where the police verification was done several months after the submission of the applications. Now it has been pointed out that before forwarding an application to the passport office, the staff concerned in the office of the DC’s office ensured that the police verification was done within three months of the submission of an application.

Due to delay in forwarding the applications to the passport office, the fee draft attached along with it expired by the time a case was cleared by the passport office. In the letter, several other shortcomings like feeding correct data in the computers have also been pointed out.

Under the present procedure started in January, 2002, after an application was received at the collection centre in the office of the DCs, it was sent for police verification and at the same time data about the applicant was electronically transmitted to the Regional Passport Office. The applicants are given a unique diary number.

The sources said to tackle the problem of delay of the applications forwarded by the postal department, the passport office had decided to provide a software through which the postal officials could also electronically transmit the data. A senior officer in the passport office said the postal department was not marking the envelopes carrying the passport applications received by it. As a result the application forms got mixed up with applications being sent directly by the applicants.

However, a senior officer in the Punjab circle of the postal department, said the applications being received by it were sent separately along with the details of the applicants. “ There was no question of the applications getting mixed up”, said the officer.

Inquiries reveal that certain cases were being delayed due to shortage of staff. An effective strength of around 40 employees were managing the entire work. Against 1.41 lakh applications received last year, this year the Regional Passport Office expected a minimum of two lakh applications.

Solar techniques to save energy
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21
Energy worth crores can be saved by following simple solar techniques. A unit of energy conserved was equal to 1.4 units of energy generated, said Mr Vivek Pratap Singh, CEO, Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) and additional Power Secretary, Punjab, here today.

Addressing Lighting 2003, CII’s national seminar-cum-exposition on lighting, he called for innovations like solar passive architecture and solar photovoltaic (SPV) modules to reduce the energy spent on lighting buildings and workplaces artificially. Commercial buildings in India, he said, used as much 60 per cent of their total energy consumption on lighting, mostly during daytime.

An exhibition of new lighting techniques was also held during the two-day seminar.

Mr Vivek Pratap Singh said India received 300 sunny days in a year. Already 62 mw aggregate capacity had been installed in the country and there was a need, to adopt solar passive techniques to reduce the energy requirements of non-domestic buildings such as offices, schools and factories. These would not only provide natural eco-friendly lighting, but also ensure optimal insulation, temperature control and minimum glare. Such innovations could result in up to 60 per cent savings in daytime energy consumption, he said, citing the example of PEDA’s first of its kind building.

Mr S.Venkatramani, President, Indian Society of Lighting Engineers and Director and senior Vice President, Philips India Ltd, said, ‘‘Given that 16 per cent of the country’s energy consumption was used for lighting purposes, conservation measures in lighting would not only release much needed power for users and a cleaner and more healthy environment for the present and future generations.’’

He said over one crore incandescent lamps were sold in India every year. The penetration of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in India was just 3 per cent as against 33 per cent in Singapore and 40 per cent in Korea. Though cost of CFL lamps was marginally higher but these saved substantial energy and proved cost effective in the long term for the users, as well as the country.

Dr Sudhir Kapur, Chairman, Energy and Power Sub Committee, CII (NR), and Managing Director and CEO, Lurgi India Ltd, said the CII seminar had brought together key players in lighting to examine modern trends and technologies in this key resource.

Second IAF team to locate AN-12 wreckage
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21
The IAF has decided to send a second team to locate the wreckage of the AN-12 transporter, which crashed in the upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh 35 years ago. Over 100 troops and crew members were killed in the accident. The team is scheduled to reach Manali tomorrow.

The first team comprising searchers from the IAF and the Himalayan Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports had limited success. After the partially buried remains of an army jawan were found at the Dakka glacier by a team of trekkers, the search team recovered a few pieces from the aircraft. The remains of sepoy Beli Ram were sent for cremation to his home town near Akhnoor in Jammu and Kashmir.

At mercy of bus drivers for an hour
Our Correspondent

Zirakpur, August 21
Over 50 passengers, including children and women, who were travelling in two buses were put to great inconvenience when the drivers of both buses refused to drive their vehicles to the Inter-State Bus Terminus, Sector 17, today.

The vehicles, which were on the Ambala-Chandigarh route, were stopped by the drivers near the Hallo Majra chowk on the pretext of taking them to the workshop for repairs. Putting the responsibility on each other the drivers and the conductors kept on asking each other to carry the passengers of the buses to the bus stand.

While certain passengers had to take other buses to reach the bus stand, some others had to hire autorickshaws to reach their respective destinations, claimed Mr Bakhashish Singh, a passenger.

The remaining passengers were taken to the bus stand after an hour.

Residents’ bodies decry MC proposal on parks
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 21
Several residents’ welfare associations here have expressed their displeasure over the Municipal Council’s proposal to hand over the maintenance of public parks to the associations.

The MC has proposed to hand over the maintenance of parks at the rate of Re 1 per sq metre per month to the associations. The associations would have to follow proper accounting procedures and submit accounts to the MC at the end of the year.

In a press note issued today, the Citizens Welfare Association alleged this system was unorganised and would lead to deterioration of these parks.

A meeting of representatives of various residents’ associations of Sectors 4, 7, 11 and 15 was held today, wherein these representatives raised doubts about the scheme.

WORK SUSPENDED: Work in the district courts remained suspended today beacuse of a strike call given by the District Bar Association in protest against the attack on a lawyer, M.S. Shishodiya, allegedly by the henchmen of the Himachal Pradesh unit of INTUC, Mr Amarjit Bawa, in Shimla yesterday.

The President of the Bar association, Mr Satish Kadian, and the general secretary, Mr Ajay Mehta, decrying the attack on Mr Shishodiya, said a team of lawyers would meet the Himachal Chief Minister and the Superintendent of Police, Shimla, and urge them to bring the culprits to book.

They also said that any lawyer who would represent the assailants of Mr Shishodiya would be boycotted by the Bar.

BAIL DENIED: The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge today denied bail to the MC sanitation contractor, Mr H.N. Sharma, accused of offering a bribe to the MC President for getting his contract renewed.

Mr Sharma had been booked by the police on August 16 on the complaint of the MC President, Ms Seema Chaudhary, who alleged that he had offered her a bribe of Rs 25,000.

BLOOD DONATION CAMP: The Haryana Irrigation Employees Welfare Society organised a blood donation camp yesterday to commemorate the first anniversary of completion of Sinchai Bhavan in Panchkula. A total of 50 units of blood was collected. A cultural programme was also organised in the evening, in which family members of employees also participated.

Stranded truck disrupts traffic on highway
Our Correspondent

Dera Bassi, August 21
A truck with punctured tyres on the Ghaggar river disrupted the traffic on the busy Chandigarh-Ambala highway for hours putting scores of commuters to a great hardship.

A bus and a car also collided on the bridge which further added to the jam. This led to long queues of vehicles on either sides of the road.

Motorists were seen arguing with each other as the vehicles moved with a snails’ pace on the site.

The motorists had to take alternate route to reach their destinations. Motorists coming from the Ambala side had to take Dera Bassi-Mubarikpur-Ramgarh-Panchkula route to reach Chandigarh while vehicles heading towards Ambala were diverted from the Zirakpur traffic light point to take Zirakpur-Rajpura-Ambala road to rejoin the Chandigarh-Ambala highway in Baldev Nagar in Haryana.

The locals who were familiar with the area took kuccha link roads to reach their respective destinations. Most affected were the children, office-goers and passengers of long route buses, who were delayed for hours long.

The flow of vehicular traffic was restored by the police removing the truck from the bridge with the help of a crane this afternoon.

Cops on lookout for MC employees
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21
In the case of death of 22 cows at Lal Dangh near Paonta Sahib, a team of the Himachal Pradesh police today came with non-bailable arrest warrants against eight officers of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, who have been named in a FIR registered at Paonta Sahib police station. However, none of the suspects could be arrested, said an officer of the corporation.

Led by the DSP, Paonta Sahib, Mr Bhagat Singh, the policemen held a close door meeting with the Commissioner and the Medical Officer of Health. Senior officers of the corporation refused to divulge details of the meeting. The closedoor meeting continued till evening.

Sources in the corporation said barring Roshan, an employee of cattle pond in Sector 20, who was said to be absent from duty, other persons named in the FIR were on leave.

Man crushed to death by train
Our Correspondent

Dera Bassi, August 21
Mr Surjit Singh of Bhankharpur village was crushed to death by a train on the Ambala-Kalka Railway line beneath the Railway overbridge in Bhankharpur village late last night.

His mutilated body was noticed on the railway line this morning.

Mr Gurinder Singh, in charge, GRB police post Lalru, said the deceased has been identified by his family members. Mr Surjit Singh was working as a driver with the Dera Bassi Truck Union. He was mowed down by the train while was on his way to the union office last night, the in charge said.

The body has been sent to Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for post-mortem examination.

Scooterist killed in mishap
Our Correspondent

Zirakpur, August 21
Mr Dalbir Singh, resident of Bhabhat village, died when his scooter rammed into a rehri on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway near here last night.

The police said Dalbir Singh who was a scooter mechanic in Chandigarh and met with the accident when was on his way back to home. He was admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32, Chandigarh, where the doctors declared him ‘brought dead’. The police has registered a case in this regard.

Tribune employee bereaved
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, August 21
Som Raj Sharma, father of Mr Raj Kumar Sharma, reel-loader with The Tribune, has died. He was 66. The bhog ceremony will take place on August 31 from 1 pm to 2 pm at Mohalla Baba Naga Santoshgarh in Una district.

Man electrocuted
Our Correspondent

SAS Nagar, August 21
One person was electrocuted while at work here last night.

It is reported that Mr Lakhbir Singh (36), an electrician and resident of Balongi village, near here, was electrocuted at a steel factory. He was trying to fix a bulb when the accident took place.

The victim was taken to the Phase VI Civil Hospital where doctors declared him dead.