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Five years on deputation: time up, orders Admn
Chandigarh, May 14
In a move which will affect thousands of teachers, doctors, engineers and officials, the Chandigarh Administration has ordered that all those who worked for more than five years in Chandigarh have to be repatriated to their parent cadres. A majority of these deputationists are from Punjab and Haryana cadres and a few from other cadres.

Neerja Bhanot’s parents relieved

Chandigarh, May 14 It is the end of a long wait for members of the family of Neerja Bhanot for justice. Zaid Hassan Abd Latif Safarini, who was responsible for the death of their daughter, has been sent to prison for 160 years. Mr Harish Bhanot and Ms Rama Bhanot, parents of Neerja, at their house in Chandigarh on Friday after hearing the news that their daughter’s killer had been sentenced to 160 years in prison. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

66 cellphones stolen from Sec 35 shop Chandigarh, May 14 Sixtysix mobile phones and their batteries, estimated to be worth between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, were stolen from a distributor of mobile phones in Sector 35-B here last night. The burglars entered the shop through an opening where an exhaust fan had been fitted. A ladder was used to climb up and the exhaust fan was removed by the burglars, the owner of the Akash Agencies, Harish Inder, told mediapersons here today. The ransacked shop in Sector 35 of Chandigarh from where mobile phones were stolen on Thursday night. — A Tribune photograph

Murder case: 2 singers questioned 
Mohali, May 14
Even as the police today interrogated two Punjabi singers based in Mohali in connection with the murder of Harjit Kaur, sources in the police said the deceased had once been booked under Section 109 of CrPC in Ludhiana. The police added that Harjit Kaur was accompanied by Bunty, who had now been rounded up for questioning.

INLD, BJP blame each other for defeat
Panchkula, May 14
A day after the INLD and the BJP suffered a crushing defeat in the Kalka Assembly segment in the Ambala parliamentary constituency, both parties tried to shift the blame for the defeat on the other.

Only 1,000 service votes cast in Punjab, Haryana
Chandigarh, May 14
Just about one per cent service voters of Punjab and Haryana exercised their franchise through postal ballots during the 2004 general elections. Service voters include members of the armed forces and para-military forces, who are registered as voters in their home towns, but are posted elsewhere.

Those who couldn't vote — 4th list

COMMUNITY

Development works restart in city

Chandigarh, May 14 Major development works in the city were back on the rails today as the term Model Code of Conduct, which had put a stop to various development works, ended yesterday. The code had come into force on February 29. This morning, the Chandigarh Administration started work to widen the national highway passing through the city. The widening of the busy Dakshin Marg, separating Sectors 21 and 34, starts in Chandigarh on Friday. — A Tribune photograph

MC office limps back into action
Chandigarh, May 14
The Municipal Corporation office today limped back into action a day after the declaration of results of the Lok Sabha elections. The office work and the corporation activities on ground had come to a virtual halt or the past over two months because of the electoral code of conduct being in force.

Hat-trick of world records
Chandigarh, May 14
The Chandigarh Adventure Association once again gets its name in the Limca Book of Records and also completes a hat-trick of world records. Mrs Vijaya Ghosh (Editor of Limca Book of Records) presented the certificate to Mr Kulbir Singh Gaba for organising this expedition in a press conference at the Press Club, Chandigarh.

CRIME

Youth held for stealing Tanzanian’s money Chandigarh, May 14 The Sector 19 police today, claimed to have recovered $ 2,800 of the money stolen from a Tanzanian’s room a day after a key of Sunbeam Hotel was found from his possession. The dollars were recovered from the Sector 21 house of a drug addict-turned-thief, 25-year-old Inderpreet Singh. He was arrested yesterday morning from Sector 21 and a key of Sunbeam Hotel and stolen belongings of a resident of Sector 21, were seized.  Inderpreet Singh, charged with stealing money and belongings of a Tanzanian from a hotel room, in police custody in Chandigarh on Friday. — A Tribune photograph

Man booked for bigamy
Chandigarh, May 14
The police has booked Vijay Kumar, a resident of Ambala, for bigamy and demanding dowry from his wife. The case was registered on the complaint of his wife, Sunita. According to the complainant, love brought two neighbours close and they entered a wedlock against the wishes of their parents in 1996. But lust for money ruined the relationship and Vijay entered an ‘illegitimate’ relationship with another woman.

Father of three commits suicide
Chandigarh, May 14
An unemployed father of three children allegedly committed suicide at his house in Palsora Colony. Ashwani Kumar’s body was recovered from a public place in the colony and a note recovered from his pocket. 

House burgled

BSNL to provide 10 lakh mobile connections
Chandigarh, May 14
Bharat Sanchar Nagar Limited (BSNL) will provide over 10 lakh mobile connections during the current financial year. Addressing mediapersons here today, Mr G.L. Bhatia, Chief General Manager, telecom circle, said of the total connections 1.3 lakh will be provided in May and June and the remaining 9 lakh by the end of this financial year.

EDUCATION

C-DAC students get diplomas Mohali, May 14 C-DAC, Mohali, today organised a convocation for their February batch passouts of Diploma in Embedded Systems Design (DESD) training program. The program designed by C-DAC, Hyderabad, is a skill-oriented professional programme comprehensively covering embedded programming concepts like real-time operating systems, micro-controllers and digital signal processing and embedded communications.

Mata Sahib Kaur Institute celebrates Nurses’ Day
Mohali, May 14
The Mata Sahib Kaur Institute of Nursing, Industrial Area, and TNAI branch of UT, Chandigarh, jointly celebrated International Nurses’ Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale on the institute campus here today.

Quiz contest on safe driving organised
Chandigarh, May 14
A quiz on safe driving was organised by TVS scooty at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 10, and Shishu Niketan School, Sector 22 here today. The aim of the quiz was to create awareness regarding the cause of road accidents.

Students of Shishu Niketan, Sector 22, participate in a quiz on road safety organised in the school on Friday.

Winners of an inter-school paper-reading contest and quiz competition at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33, Chandigarh, on Friday. A Tribune photographs

Campus Beat
Malhotra is PU Joint Registrar
Chandigarh, May 14
Mr H.C. Malhotra has taken over as Joint Registrar, Panjab University. A seniormost Deputy Registrar of the university, Mr Malhotra has put in 42 years of service.

COURTS

High Court
Jail to have bhog of undertrial’s mother
Chandigarh, May 14
A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court headed by Mr Chief Justice B.K. Roy today ordered that a special bhog ceremony be held in the gurdwara inside the Burail Jail in the memory of the mother of an accused in the Beant Singh murder case.

3 get police remand for dowry death
Lalru, May 14
Manjit Singh, his father Kapoor Singh, mother Hardeep Kaur, all residents of Basauli village, have been arrested in the Amarjit Kaur dowry death case. The three accused were today produced before a court in Rajpura where the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) remanded them to police custody till May 17.

CULTURE

British Council to  promote Indian art

Chandigarh, May 14 The British Council will promote the changing face of contemporary Indian art. Under the project joint exhibitions of Indian and British designers will be held all over the country, said Ms Alice Cicolini, head of the arts and culture division of the council in India, here today. One such exhibition of 14 designers will be held in the city soon. The exhibition will cover fashion designing, graphics, industrial designing and products like ceramics and glass. In city to attend the concluding function of the fourth anniversary of the British Library, Ms Cicolini, who is a designer curator, said the long-term goal behind the whole affair was to increase interaction between the citizens of the two nations on issues of economic and social importance.