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August 25, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Cops’ involvement in crime on the rise SAS Nagar, August 24 On July 19, an 11-year-old boy Gagandeep was kidnapped here allegedly by a former Punjab police employee Balwinder Singh. While the child was sent home after two days by the gang, Balwinder Singh along with a woman accomplice is still on the run. Balwinder Singh is leading one of the most dreaded kidnapping gangs operating in and around Chandigarh. On July 22, three occupants of a car allegedly escaped an attempt on their life when a security guard attached to a Punjab Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) fired six rounds of bullets at the car outside the SSP’s residence in Phase V here. The cop was booked for attempt to murder but according to the police sources, the cop mistook the occupants of the car as someone who was trying to attack the SSP’s house. Bhupa, one of the five accused in the February 17 murder of executive engineer V.K. Chopra, too, had served in the police. According to sources, he was thrown out of the police after which he tried his hand at other jobs before taking to a life of crime. In September last year, two persons shot at a shopkeeper in the booth market in Phase IX here with a service weapon. The weapon was later found to be belonging to a suspended policeman posted in Fatehgarh Sahib. The police heads in the township have been taking a strict note of indiscipline within the police ranks. On March 27, the police here arrested four commandoes from the III Commando Battalion serving in the Commando Complex, Phase X, for being absent from duty for months. The police registered a case against the four on the recommendation of their Commandant under Section 29 of the Police Act. On February 29, the Lawyers for Human Rights International, an independent human rights organisation functioning in Chandigarh had recommended registration of cases against the former SHO, Mr Rajinder Singh Sohal here and Head Constable, Happy Singh of Police Station, Phase I, for causing a truck driver living in Phase V to commit suicide. Two days ago, two cops posted in the township allegedly misbehaved with a young woman of Sohana village and following her written complaint to the SP here, the two cops were suspended. However, this time the police head went a step ahead and got both the cops arrested after booking them on the charges of trying to outrage the modesty of a woman. |
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Sword-wielding Togadia’s men ruled the day Chandigarh, August 24 It was virtual chaos at the railway station for over 30 minutes, as the sword-wielding supporters laid siege to the railway station, raising slogans. Passengers had a harrowing time till the VHP supporters left the station. Though in Chandigarh, the administration and the police ensured that no arms reached the venue of “Sri Ram Janam Bhoomi Sankalp Samaroh” in Sector 37, the supporters from the VHP and the Bajrang Dal brandished swords during their rally in Sectors 7, 8 and 9 in Panchkula. The Panchkula administration and the police stood as mute spectators, as almost 100 supporters went around on scooters, motor cycles and cars. At the Sector 37 venue, amidst a heavy police deployment, the DSP South, Mr B.S. Randhawa, and the SHO, Sector 39, Mr K.I.P. Singh, ensured that swords were not carried to the premises where the “Nirman Sankalpm Sutra Abhiyan” function was being held. A similar arrangement was seen around the venue of the press conference of Dr Togadia at a private hotel in Sector 22. Sources in the police said the organisers were not allowed to hold a function at Bapu Dham as the area is largely inhabited by members of a minority community. A senior police official said due to security reasons, Dr Togadia was taken in a bulletproof car,
esquired by an escort vehicle. The VHP supporters were not allowed to hold a procession in Chandigarh. In Panchkula, there was a heavy police deployment all along the rally route. Besides the local police, a company of the Chandigarh Police and a riot-control vehicle were also called in. Even at the Pracheen Shiv Mandir in Sector 9, where the samaroh was held, the supporters openly brandished swords. It may be mentioned here that Dr Togadia was given permission to participate in the samaroh in Chandigarh and Panchkula on the condition that his speech would not be provocative. However, Mr Togadia, chose to give vent to his pro-Hindu feelings. The SDM, Panchkula, Mr Inder Singh, when contacted by the TNS at the venue of the samaroh, said since he was far away from the hall where the function was being held, he could not hear the speech. On the issue of supporters brandishing swords, he said the onus was on the police to check arms from being carried openly. |
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Kids evolve plays from their problems Chandigarh, August 24
After a year of workshops to help children understand maths, science and language through theatrical learning techniques, the CEVA is ready to hold its fifth annual Children’s Community Theatre Festival, that will roll under the genre of street theatre at Sector 17 Piazza from tomorrow. The CEVA has managed to get the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Justice O.P. Verma (retd), to inaugurate the festival. This will be the first time when a Governor, setting aside security concerns, will inaugurate and attend a street theatre show, presented by kids. Each of the six plays have been conceived, improvised and presented by school children of GMSSS, Sector 16; GMSSS, Sector 18; St John’s School; The Tribune School ; and Green Shivalik School of Khuda Ali Sher. The plays — ‘Dil Ka Mamla Hai’, ‘Sab Ko Sab Kuchh Aata Hai?, ‘No Marks no Tension’, ‘Harry Puttar’, ‘Mera Kamaal Dekho’ and ‘Aur Ek Din” — have emerged out of real-life problems. Sab Ko Sab Kuchh Aata Hai’ deals with the problem of rejection of a single child by a group of students. Talking about this play, facilitator Harleen Kolhi, said: “One girl in the group was used to being rejected just as the group was used to rejecting her. We picked up the concept of rejection, bared its dark side before kids, reminded them, through situations, that no one is perfect. When each one of us have our infirmities, why should we single out children? Through the play we managed to integrate the group. That girl is a happier child now.” |
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Ropar resident held with 31 kg of poppy husk Chandigarh, August 24 The 55-year-old man, Sohan Singh, who is a truck driver and resident of Dungwal village under Nurpur Bedi police station, was allegedly carrying the contraband in two bags when he was arrested on tip-off, the police said. The Crime Branch station house officer, Mr Satbir Singh, said Sohan Singh was smuggling the poppy husk from Kotputli in Alwar district, Rajasthan, into the district. He said during the interrogation, the accused revealed that poppy husk was bought between Rs 150 and Rs 200 per kg from Rajasthan and sold in Punjab for around Rs 500 a kg. |
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Minor rams car into house The car was allegedly being driven by a minor, who managed to run away from the scene immediately after the accident. Another occupant of the car was nabbed by residents. The car also damaged the gate of the house. The car first hit the wall of an adjoining house. In panic, the driver probably pressed the accelerator instead of the brakes and the car rammed into the gate of house number 2125. Ms Avneet Thind, house owner, said a compromise was reached between the parties. |
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As the drama progressed under the garb of general introduction of seniors to juniors, one of the freshers was sent over to a group of girls to enquire the name of one girl. As the poor boy, draped in a somewhat rural fashion, approached the girl in question, she scolded him back, saying, “Do you know you can be booked by the police if you are a party to a ragging exercise.” The boy, already tutored by the wily seniors, who were expecting a similar reaction from the girls, retorted, “Who told you I was being ragged. I am simply attending a personality development workshop!” The students burst into laughter! The Australian bug! Mast Aristocrat girls may have some sort of market value for the brand that is promoting them, but they still cannot appeal to an Indian audience the way Indian girls can. Being promoted as faces for its new music album by Aristocrat, the six Australian girls did their best to impress the gathering at a music store where a special album release function had been organised recently. As the function started, the girls began gyrating sensually to rich traditional Indian melodies, rendered by legends like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle. And no matter how hard they tried, they just could not justify their role so much. While the youngsters enjoyed every bit of the occasion which was all about alien girls trying to lip synch Indian songs, many family people felt a bit embarrassed. While the girls danced, some people moved out of the music store, complaining about the corruption of classic tunes, created by maestros. The organisers, however, were hopeful. “By getting Australian girls to perform on Indian songs, we are only widening the appeal of our own music,” said a music store member. Never mind the “unjustified roles”! DVD library The British Council Library has become the hottest spot in the city for something other than books. With the library opening a new section for issuing latest DVDs to its members, there are longer queues for DVDs than books. What’s more the library has also asked its members to suggest to them which movies they want to see. So if you missed watching “Sound of Music” or “Top Gun”, go to the British Council Library for the movie if not a book! Boy who made
it big A former student of DAV College and Panjab University Chandigarh, Ajay Sethi, has made it big in foreign land. Sethi, settled in Dubai since 1993, has started a successful channel which will cater to the expatriate Indians. It is called ‘‘7 to 9’’and was opened recently. Sethi, a Punjabi, says he saw the opportunity in media in the Gulf countries because more than 60 per cent of the population is of Asian origin, primarily India and Pakistan. “I entered into a cooperative venture with Mr Abdullah Mohammed Al Murad, Chairman of Ajman Independent Studio, which has state-of-art production facilities”, says Sethi. The start was auspicious as Sethi got the entire team of the popular serials like ‘‘Kahani Ghar Ghar ki’’. It will have two-hour Punjabi programmes, probably a Punjabi weekly movie and also Malayalam, Tamil and Bengali segments in the near future. It is the first free-to-air terrestrial Hindi entertainment channel outside India. The channel can be viewed in Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, W.Sahara, Iraq, Iran, Cyprus, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arab, Yemen, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Apart from the channel he also chairs several other companies and has been actively involved in the UN ‘‘Food for Oil programme.’’ He has also added a new hotel and a duty free project in Yemen to his repertoire. — Sentinel |
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Common civil code opposed Chandigarh, August 24 They called upon the political leadership of the country and judiciary not to tamper with the ‘spirit’ of the Indian Constitution that had given freedom and protection to the minorities to propagate their religion, culture and languages without any fear and intervention of the state. The Speakers had gathered at a seminar on “The future of minorities in the present Indian scenario”, organised by the Shiromani Khalsa Panchayat. Condemning the intolerant attitude of some sections of the majority community, the speakers called upon the minorities to join hands with the right-minded forces of the majority to protect their rights. Condemning the murderous attacks on the minorities in Gujarat, Mr Tarlochan Singh, Chairman, Minorities Commission, lamented that due to limited statutory powers, the commission was unable to protect the rights of Muslim and other minorities. He said the commission had recently urged the government to give it more powers to protect the fundamental rights of the minority community. At the same time, he said “We should also take care of the sensibilities of the majority and learn to live with them”. Questioning the whole thesis of majority-minority, Prof Imitiaz Ahmad from JNU, Chairperson, Equal Opportunity Trust and Lakayan, said, “In India every individual and group is in minority in particular state and area. There is no homogeneity among Hindus or other religious groups that were divided along caste, language and cultural lines”. Instead of forming separate political parties based on religion, he said, the Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and other minorities should tie up with the secularist forces among the majority. Mr John Dyal, General Secretary, All-India Christian Council, said, “Muslims and Christians are the main targets of hate campaign and are branded as alien religions. The minorities have not been given due representation in the executive, judiciary, educational institutions. Even banks discriminate against them while sanctioning loans”. Mr Karam Singh, President, the Federation of SC/ST organisations, Dr J.K. Jain, Chairman, Jain TV, Dr Gurdarshan Singh, Professor of History, Panjab University also spoke on this occasion. |
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Bawa-Sisodia row gets murkier Panchkula, August 24 Mr Bawa yesterday claimed that Mr Chautala, was using the police to frame him in false cases in Pinjore and Panchkula because of political rivalry. On the other hand, Mr Sisodia alleged that Mr Virbhadra Singh was supporting Mr Bawa and had get cases registered against him and his supporters in Solan and Shimla. The Panchkula police had registered a case of kidnapping and assault against Mr Bawa’s brother, Jagjit Singh and nephews on August 21 — a day after the attack on Mr Sisodia allegedly by Bawa’s men at Shimla, and after six supporters of Sisodia were booked by the Solan police in a case of assault. This immediately led to the Himachal Police registering a case under the Arms Act against Sisodia. The Shimla police has now booked Mr Sisodia by alleging that on August 20, when Mr Sisodia was attacked on The Mall, Shimla, they recovered a sword from his car (Scorpio with registration number CH-03K- 5979), even though this car was brought back to Pinjore on the same day. Claiming that he was fearing a threat to his life, Mr Bawa accused the Panchkula police of falsely implicating him in 12 cases since March this year allegedly at the behest of Mr Chautala. He said since he was a Congressman and a political rival of the CM’s son, Mr Abhey Chautala — who wants to contest the next Assembly elections from Kalka — he was being framed in false cases. He said he now feared threat to his life and had given representations to the Chief Justice of India, the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh, demanding security from any agency other than the Haryana Government. Mr Sisodia, who held a press conference last evening at Panchkula, alleged that the Himachal Chief Minister had taken Mr Bawa’s help in “tackling his political rivals.” He alleged that in several incidents, Mr Bawa’s help had been sought by the Himachal CM to settle scores with the latter’s political opponents. He denied Bawa’s charge that he enjoyed the political patronage of the powers that be in Haryana. “Before February 20 this year, I had no rivalry with Mr Bawa. It was only when I intervened in a street fight between Mr Bawa’s men and another person in Pinjore, right outside my office and got an FIR registered against Mr Bawa, that he started treating me as his sworn enemy. He threatened me after I got an FIR registered and I approached the Panchkula Superintendent of Police, Mr Ranbir S. Sharma, who arrested him. Since then, Mr Bawa and his men have made several attempts to attack me,” he said. |
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Match-making goes mobile
Chandigarh, August 24 India’s first “cellular” marriage got under way today with the engagement ceremony of Ish Bajaj (26) of Chandigarh and Poonam Thapar (24) of Ludhiana, thanks to an innovative matrimonial service launched by a cellphone company. Ish runs a store in Sector 23, Chandigarh, while Poonam manages her own boutique in Ludhiana. Both of them are thrilled at the prospect of getting married and scoring a “hi-tech first” in the process. It was on June 24, 2003, that AirTel launched the unique matrimonial service for its Punjab customers. Four days after the service was launched, Ish Bajaj had registered himself in the database. A few days later, he got a call from the Thapars. The families met and after a couple of meetings between the families of Ish and Poonam, the marriage plans were finalised. The marriage will take place in November. Both Ish and Poonam were very happy. “I am a manglik and my parents wanted a manglik bride. The matrimonial service matched us perfectly,” stated Ish. “ In fact, we got quite a few other referrals from the company but we clicked instantly the first time we spoke on the mobile” added a radiant Poonam. The parents of both Ish and Poonam were equally happy. “Initially,” said Ish’s parents, “we were quite surprised when Ish told us that he had entered his particulars in the cellphone matrimonial database but as the response started coming in, we were very pleased.” The reaction of Poonam’s mother was the same. “I am very happy with the results of the new cellphone service. In fact, after this, we have entered the particulars of our son also in the database,” she added. Mr Vinod Sawhny, CEO, Bharti Mobile Ltd., says the matrimonial service is a personal call handling service. All Punjab subscribers can call 686 and give information to the executive who answers the call regarding religion, caste, age, height, qualification, contact details etc. The subscriber can search for a bride or a bridegroom as per his/her preferences from the available database. There is no extra charge levied for this service. The call charges for calling 686 are Re 1 per 30 seconds pulse.  |
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Aviators line up for national air race Chandigarh, August 24 The chairman of the society’s Chandigarh chapter, Air Cmde S. B. Prashar told ‘The Tribune’ here today that the first list showed 57 participants who have registered for the race. Of this,14 are from the Chandigarh region. “We had initially desired that there should be 10 participants from each of the four regions,” he said. Participants will be divided into four regional groups and will take off from Chandigarh (north), Goa (west), Bangalore (south) and Barrackpore (east) and will culminate at Nagpur India on November 22. Fliers from Chandigarh will have to traverse about 800 nautical miles (1300 km), touching down at Hindon, Agra, Barailley, Kanpur, Khajuraho and Jabalpur en route to Nagpur. There would be night halts at Agra and Kanpur. The participating aircraft have been divided into four categories — microlites, helicopters, medium (1000-2500 kg) and heavy (2500-5700kg). Participating aircraft from the Chandigarh region include six microlites and two choppers, with the others being various light aircraft. The participants, so far, are from civilian flying clubs in the region and the armed forces. While no corporate house or individual in the region has come forward, the Punjab and Haryana governments, which also own light aircraft, have been approached for their participants. The maximum cruise speed of each aircraft will be established prior to the race and depending upon this, they will be given handicaps. A small-scale air race was held earlier in Bangalore during Aero India — 2001, but it was a localised event which started and culminated at Bangalore. The entire event is being sponsored and the participants will not be required to pay for anything. |
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Calf’s head as bait for cow! In a gory incident that came to light here yesterday, a resident of Madanpura village had for many days hung outside his house the head of a dead calf, claiming that it would ensure that his buffalo started giving milk again. The house owner said his buffalo had given birth to a calf some weeks ago, but it died. The buffalo stopped giving milk. Someone advised him to hang the head of a dead calf in front of the buffalo so that it started giving milk. He said the trick worked and the animal started giving milk again. The local municipal councillor expressed ignorance about the incident. Such incidents, though rare, are not uncommon in Punjab villages, where, at times, animal sacrifice is made and the head is hung in the field to use as a scarecrow. |
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Panels
to advise DSPs on immoral trafficking Chandigarh, August 24 The committee attached with the DSP Central comprises Ms Kulwant Dhaliwal, Ms G.K. Mangat, Mr Tejinder Singh and Mr Sham Lal Arora, that attached with the DSP East has Ms Sharestha Mehta, Ms Harpreet Kaur, Mr P.S. Sanghi, Mr Kirpal Singh Gandhi and Mr Bahadur Singh, while the one attached with the DSP South has Ms Neelam Sharma, Ms Sarla Gupta, Mr Kewal Krishan Kapoor, Mr Brij Mohan Khanna and Mr Harish Kapoor as members. Besides functioning in tandem with the DSPs concerned, these committees will also associate with the DSP (Crime) and the DSP (Detective), whenever need arises in their area of operation. |
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Dappar, Lalru come under Shop Act Lalru, August 24 Under the provisions of the Punjab Shop Act and Commercial Establishment Act, 1958, the shopkeepers have also been directed to open their shops at 9 am and close these at 7.45 pm. While talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Mr Ajmer Singh, Labour Inspector, Dera Bassi, said to enforce the Act the shopkeepers had been directed to get their establishments registered with the Labour Office in Dera Bassi and obtain licences for their establishments. Those found with their shops open beyond the permitted time will be challaned under Section 9 of the Act and shopkeepers running their shops on Sundays will be penalised under Section 10 (1) of the Punjab Shops Act, added Mr Ajmer Singh. He claimed that the notices were served on the directions of the Dera Bassi Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mr M.S. Sandhu. The Act had been enforced on the request of some shopkeepers of the area. However, resentment prevails among majority of shopkeepers with the issuance of the notice. |
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LIC officers stage dharna Chandigarh, August 24 Addressing the gathering, Mr R.C. Chaudhary, Divisional Secretary, LIC Class I Officers’ Association, said: ‘‘We are working hard to compete with private players. Though officers even work on Sundays and holidays, the salary packages are substantially lower than their counterparts in the private sector.” TNS |
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Rakesh Gupta is
Lions Club chief Chandigarh, August 24 The past multiple-district governor, Mr K. K. Sahni, was among the distinguished guests. Also present at the ceremony was the regional chairman of Lions Club District 321-F, Mr N. K. Aggarwal. He was also installed as the new director. The outgoing president, Mr S. K. Khanna, welcomed his successor, Mr Gupta.
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Unauthorised structures removed Dera Bassi, August 24 The enforcement team of over 25 persons with the assistance of fire men of the local fire brigade and removed the structures constructed by residents in violation of the rules. |
Man succumbs to injuries Chandigarh, August 24 Garg was riding pillion to a scooter being driven by Mr Punit Garg, when the scooter was hit by an unidentified vehicle near the bus stop of the village. A case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered at Sector 31 police station.
Stolen Mr Surinder Singh of Sector 69, SAS Nagar, reported to the police that his Maruti car (PB65 6070) was stolen from a Sector 34 market on August 28 here. A Yamaha motor cycle (PB11H 2730) of Sector 30-A resident, Mr Saun Preet Singh, was also reported to be stolen from a market of Sector 8. Two cases under Section 379 of the IPC have been registered.
Dowry cases Ms Kamal of Faidan village here reported to the police that she was being harassed and maltreated by her husband Sushil Kumar to bring more dowry. She was married to an Ambala-based Sushil Kumar in April last year. Ms Geeta Verma of Sector 20 has also levelled almost similar allegations against her Sonepat-based husband, Raj Kumar. Two cases under Sections 406 and 498-A of the IPC have been registered.
Junk dealer held A Ram Darbar junk dealer was arrested by policemen of the Industrial Area, Phase I, police station for allegedly buying a stolen bicycle here today. The police said the stolen bicycle was recovered from the possession of Om Prakash, a resident of 148 Ram Darbar, Phase II, who also owns a shop (No. 34) in MW Market Industrial Area, Phase I. The name of the junk dealer was revealed by the alleged thief, Jasbir Singh, during an
interrogation. Somia Akhtar, a foreman of a contractor working in a private school in Sector 29, had complained that his bicycle had been stolen. |
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Woman crushed to death Chandigarh, August 24 Her husband however survived the accident. Sahib Kaur was taken to the Government Hospital, Sector 16, where she was declared brought dead. |
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Chandigarh, August 24
TRUST
youngsters to go to any length to gratify their passions. The other day a group of seniors from some department of Panjab University were busy grilling a section of freshers to the same course. Gathered in large numbers, the seniors were guiding the freshers through the normal ragging schedule. The only difference was that they were not being too rude in their dealing.
SAS Nagar, August 24