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Muskan murder case solved
Chandigarh, December 14 This came to light after the Chandigarh Police arrested Sita, alias Shruti, alias Sheetal, alias Mani, alias Poonam Chauhan, and her boyfriend,
Dildar.
Shruti hails from Rohini, Delhi, and Dildar from Najafgarh. Shruti came in contact with Muskan in June, last year, after which they started staying and even visiting customers together. Shruti, along with Neha, was arrested by the Crime Branch in November. Before their arrest, Muskan had called them to her house. Shruti suspected that Muskan had set her up for the police. She held a grudge with Muskan but continued her relationship with her. In August, 2004, Dildar and Shruti fell in love and moved in together in Rohini, but Muskan kept contacting Shruti and giving her number to customers. Shruti had decided to live a settled life. She told her live-in partner about Muskan’s mischief. To avenge Muskan’s intrusion in their lives, both reached the city on December 9 and checked in the Hotel Parkview. The next day, Dildar contacted Muskan and offered to spend some time with her. Muskan struck a deal for Rs 5000 with him and called her auto-rickshaw driver, Kulwinder. They first went to Hotel Southend, had snacks and then proceeded to Hotel Shivalikview. Muskan went to the bathtub and Dildar followed her. Dildar drowned her and hit her with his “kara” (bracelet). He removed cash and mobile phone from Muskan’s purse and rang up Shruti, asking her to reach the bus stand. They reached the Tribune Chowk by an auto-rickshaw and took a taxi to Ambala. On their way to Rohini, they changed taxis several times. The murder mystery was solved by a team of police officers comprising DSP Subhash Sagar, SHO Nana Rama, SHO Maniram, SI Jaswinder Singh, SI Charanjit Singh, SI Nasib Singh, SI Dalbir Singh, SI Jagdish Chander, ASI Devinder Singh, ASI Amanjot Singh and ASI Jaspal Singh.
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City beautiful or city of sleaze!
Chandigarh, December 14 Muskan had freely shared a number of names of call girls, operators and customers with this correspondent in her first and last exclusive interview. She had also talked about the nexus of the police with call girls and ironically lamented that changing values had led to promiscuity that was being encashed through sex. The interview had lasted about 90 minutes and Muskan was very forthcoming on all issues. Perhaps, her habit of speaking 'too much' ultimately proved to be the reason behind her murder on December 10. The interview How rampant is the trade in the city? Proportionately, it is more than that in Delhi and Mumbai. It is there in the (city's) periphery and in the sectors. Money seems to have become so important that husbands and mothers are allowing their wives and daughters to sell their bodies. What kind of girls are coming into the trade? From the very poor to the rich and famous, including dancing girls and models. How much do they earn? Those working through pimps earn between Rs 15,000 and Rs 25,000 and those on contract earn higher amount. A first timer could even charge Rs 30,000 for a night if she is beautiful. Who are their customers? Policemen, bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians, professionals and tourists. These clients look for high-class call girls, including models. They are ready to shell out even Rs 30,000 for a night. The customer has to arrange for drinks and hotel apart from this. How many girls get into the "profession" willingly? About 50 per cent. How many of them get married? More than 50 per cent. It is said a girl on contract has to cater to many clients in a day? A girl normally caters to four customers in a day and to do that she takes drugs. It is said girls could also be in the drugs business? Few of them may be but they certainly know about the sources from where drugs could be procured in the market. It is not difficult to get drugs. Where do these girls come from? Delhi is the biggest 'mandi' in the country. Girls from Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Karnal, Delhi, Mumbai, apart from cities and towns of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal also enter the trade. Small town girls from are flock the city during daytime feigning as employees and get back home by night. How much is the demand and how much supply? There is an insatiable demand and equally free supply of girls. Call girls are tied up with several city hotels which supply them on demand to clienta. How are girls recruited in the business? The call girls befriend new girls by first helping them and making them habitual to a lavish life. Once it is done, it is very easy to usher in a girl into the trade. Is there any forced initiation of girls into the trade? Very little but the persuasive method of pimps is very strong. Are there any policemen involved in the racket? Policemen have been using these girls to extend favours to their seniors. A call girl cannot function with out having some understanding with the police for long. The nexus is very strong. Do business establishments also hire them as their employees? There are many establishments which straight away offer a higher salary to a girl if she is ready to be sent to those which a private firm wants to please. Are there also any foreigners in the racket? A few Russian girls are working near Zirakpur and the man who had brought them is a government official. These girls charge heavily. Black girls had earlier been active. (These Russian girls were later arrested by the Chandigarh Police in a separate case.) These Russian girls are coming from Karol Bagh, New Delhi, and some elements in the embassies are behind them. How much can a pimp earn? About Rs 3.5 lakh per month. Why are the girls entering the trade? A large number of them for fun and an equal number to live a lavish life. What age groups of girls are in the trade? Between 13 and 35 years of age. It is heard girls in video albums are also into the trade? Yes, they are there. Any other interesting aspect of the trade? Girls are going from paying guest accommodations, schools and colleges. There is an operator in Dhanas who shows you girls on a CCTV screen before striking a deal.
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Immoral trafficking a ‘thriving business’
Panchkula, December 14 From local men getting girls from Mumbai and Delhi on monthly contracts to the staff in hotels along the periphery themselves keeping the "girls on call" — the flesh trade business is no longer disintegrated or restricted to the lower strata of the society. Wives of government employees, including lower-rung cops, students and aspiring models are increasingly getting involved in the sleaze business. A rough financial estimate puts the annual turnover of flesh business at Rs 10-12 crore. This does not include the hospitality segment which includes hotel rooms, food and drink. The size of the business can be estimated from the fact that the Panchkula has busted 16 'call girl rackets' in the last 11 months. Ninty one persons, including 62 women, were arrested in these raids. Police sources, despite the drive to eradicate the flesh trade menace and the success notched up by them, maintain that the arrests only reveal the proverbial tip of the iceberg. According to police sources, the volume of traffic in the township, and adjoining Zirakpur, if estimated on the basis on the arrests made, is likely to be in the range of more than a 1000 women who are on call at any given time. With average price charged by a girl varying between Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 per deal, the annual turnover is estimated in several crores. These girls are a part of an organised network and the actual figures may be five times more if one takes into account the 'freelance sex worker,' which includes collegiates and housewives wanting to earn some extra cash on the side. This segment of the business operates between 10 am to 4 in the evening, inform sources. Police sources also say that some Russian girls are also in the trade, and visit the town frequently. "They are the highest paid sex workers, and command anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. They operate through a Chandigarh-based event manager, and do not entertain any customer other than the one who has been roped in by this event manager. They stay only in the best hotels in town, where chances of a police raid are minimal," informed a police official. Another aspect that has led to the flourishing of this business is the increasing use of women as 'bribes'. Police officers say that they have often got intimation about these call girls being supplied to top bureaucrats, politicians by junior officials or contractors in order to get their odd jobs done. Last month, the police had raided a house in Sector 11 here, and arrested a contractor, who was supplying women to officials of HUDA for getting contracts. During several other raids, the police has found cards and photographs of politicians and senior government officials in possession of women arrested for immoral trafficking. Recently, the police had busted a flesh trade racket being run by three Zirakpur based men, who enjoyed the patronage of senior police officials in Dera Bassi and Patiala.
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5-year term for SI,
3 others
Chandigarh, December 14 According to information, Babita, the wife of the deceased Dilbagh, and Ved Parkash, a relative of Babita besides her son, were the other persons sentenced by the court. Dibagh, a resident of Dadumajra village, allegedly committed suicide in August 1995 after being harassed. He was also allegedly tortured by Karnail Singh, then posted as an ASI at the Maloya police post. In his dying declaration before a magistrate at the PGI, Dilbagh had blamed the three for the suicide.
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Mullanpur SHO shifted, ASI suspended
Mohali, December 14 Sources said action against SHO Raka Ghira and ASI Gurcharan Singh has been taken following an armed clash between two groups at Ratwara Sahib Gurdwara in Mullanpur on December 10. According to SSP (Ropar) S.P. Singh, a departmental inquiry had been ordered against the two for not being able to defuse the situation that had developed on the gurdwara premises. Mr S.P. Singh said over 300 men, led by Mr Karnail Singh, alias Shiriman, a former vice-chairman of Ratwara Sahib Trust, tried to enter the gurdwara premises. While Mr Karnail Singh had claimed that he had the permission of the Deputy Commissioner, Ropar, to hold a religious meeting at the gurdwara, police sources contended that the permission was granted to hold the meeting with a limited number of persons only. The ruling group at the gurdwara prevented the group led by Mr Karnail Singh from entering the premises. Following heated sloganeering, the two groups clashed, said the SSP. “Bricks, stones and clubs were used by the groups against each other. The police had already made security arrangements at the gurdwara but the situation was brought under control only after the situation had reached avoidable proportions,” he said adding that Mr Karnail Singh’s group had come with firearms, which were taken away by the police before allowing them to hold the meeting. Mr Karnail Singh’s group is spiritually led by Baba Lakhvir Singh, who was expected to succeed Baba Waryam Singh, president of the Ratwara Sahib Trust. However, following a schism within the trust after the death of Baba Waryam Singh, his wife, Ms Ranjit Kaur, was made the president of the trust. Baba Lakhvir Singh left the gurdwara along with his followers and settled at Balongi village. Ever since, his followers have been demanding the control of the gurdwara and its allied institutions, claiming that Baba Lakhvir Singh was a legitimate successor to Baba Waryam Singh. This is not the first time that members of the two groups have clashed with each other.
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Rise in molestation cases
Officials admitted that the figures only reveal the tip of the problem as amajority of cases either go unreported or are not registered by the police. They said for every one case registered, at least 20 offenders were let off because of “family pressures” brought on policemen not to book the offender and “spoil his future.” As per the police records, 11 cases of molestation were registered in the city last year. However, the figure shot up to 18 this year, marking a dramatic increase of above 50 per cent. On the other hand, the cases of eve teasing went down by a similar proportion. As compared to last year, the cases halved to 24 from 47. According to a city psychologist, Ashupriya: “The significant increase in molestation even from the police records point of view shows that the offenders neither fear the law nor are they cowed down by social pressure to desist from such cowardly acts. Perhaps, men see it as a macho thing to do and we as a society have failed to contain this menace.” Ms Ashupriya, who is a student counseller with many schools in the city, said:“ Molestation of girl students is rampant in the city. Of the sessions I have held, girls have reported that one out of two students has either been sexually harassed or molested. The figure is shocking as it means that our young girls are not safe.” She said during the counselling session the girls admitted that though they went through a trauma when faced with explicit harassment, a neglible number reported it to their parents or even to rthe school authorities. According to a spokesperson of theWomen Helpline of Chandigarh, “Very few such complaints are received by us. Many schools girls calls up and tell us that their teachers were harassing them. But they do not disclose their identity. Sometime they just inform us about the place and then we pass the information to the Police Control Room ( PCR) which takes care of it.” However, bringing in the police does not give girls any confidence. A cross-section of college-going girls were of the view that policemen, including those posted at nakas, checkposts and on security duty, have the ‘worst senseof respect’ for women. According to Nisha Malhotra, student of GCG ,Sector 11 here, most of the times police help is not available when the crime is being committed. If a case is registered, it does more harm to the victim than the offender. The ‘social cost’ the girl and her family has to pay is very high. “Our moralistic-minded society takes little time in labelling the girl who dares to take the offenders head-on as ‘bad’. Citing an example of her friend who had lodged a police complaint against the molestation attempt , she said she was more traumatised by question marks that were put on her character than the offender himself. As a result the culprit managed to go scot-free,” she lamented.
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US working on economic dialogue with India: Blake
Chandigarh, December 14 After inaugurating the American Centre at the Central State Library, Sector 17, Mr Blake, talking to mediapersons, said that opening trade with Pakistan could directly benefit Punjab, given its proximity to the border. Expressing satisfaction with Indo-Pak confidence-building measures, Mr Blake said that the two nations had come a long way since 2002 when they nearly came to war. Disclosing that an "economic dialogue" which was high on the American agenda as far as India was concerned, Mr Blake revealed that this would translate into creation of a platform where the public and private sectors of both the countries could interact freely. "The dialogue would entail providing a platform to a panel of CEOs drawn from both countries. These CEOs would be entrusted with task of identifying problems in trade between the two countries and recommending what the two governments can do to remove obstacles which are hampering trade," he explained. Mr Blake maintained that the next four years held a promise of increased trade ties between India and the US. "We have a thriving bilateral trade worth $18 billion. We are expecting it to grow by another 20 per cent in the near future. A very positive sign for increased trade is India's conscious attempt to improve infrastructure, intellectual property, lower tariff and initiate reforms to create a stable and conducive environment in the country," he emphasised. "We, too, are keen on investing the agro and food processing industry as also the IT sector in Punjab and Haryana. America is seeking a greater engagement with the city in terms of exchange of cultural ambassadors, academia and scholars," he maintained. On America's commitment to war against terrorism, Mr Blake said that they were in constant touch with countries all over the world to identify terrorists and terrorist groups. "We will do whatever it takes to get to the root of terrorism, and democracy holds the key. India is the biggest example of a good democracy where Muslims live in harmony with the Hindus. Al- Quaida has not been able to set foot on Indian soil," he emphasised. Stating that India was one of the early supporters of President George Bush's missile defence, Mr Blake held that there was a need to create an understanding between the Indian and US militaries in the light of challenges of the 21st century.
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Residents caught in PUDA-MC row over water
Mohali, December 14 While, the council authorities are quick to point out that the water supply to this sector is the responsibility of PUDA, on the other hand, PUDA officials state that they have already set up eight tubewells in the sector to provide drinking water but the output was inadequate in the absence of a supplementary system. PUDA officials say that they have been virtually begging the council to take over the water supply of Sector 71 and give residents a fair share of the water that the council get from Kajauli. But the council has been refusing to do so, insisting that till PUDA made arrangements for adequate water supply to the sector, the facility would not be taken over by them. Caught in a bind, PUDA officials pointed out that tubewell water supply varied a lot and ensuring sufficient supply was not possible. “We have recently dug two more tubewells in the sector to enhance the supply but there is a limit to how much ground water can be harnessed. The government is discouraging the harnessing of ground water due to environmental reasons and here the Council’s indifference is causing endless problems to the residents,” said a PUDA official adding that during summers the peak demand of water in sector 71 was 11.25 lakh gallons a day against the availability of 7.50 lakh gallons a day. Sources added that out of the 7.5 MGD of water that the township got from Kajauli water works, 5 MGD was being supplied by the council through the Public Works Department (PWD) to Sectors 53 to 61. The newer sectors 70, 63, 64 and 65 were being supplied 2.5 MGD of water from the same source. Thus while there was a glut of water in the newer sectors the older sectors were constantly facing water shortage. “All that is required to be done is for the council to take over water supply of Sector 71 and open the sluice links joining the underground drinking water pipes that connect sector 71 to 70. With canal water augmenting the tubewell supply in the Sector the shortage of water can be easily met,” pointed out an engineer in PUDA.
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Police cane-charges brick-kiln owners, 15 hurt
Chandigarh, December 14 The cops even cane-charged the protesting members. At least 15 protesters sustained minor injuries in the process. They were claiming that the use of fly ash for manufacturing bricks was as of now not feasible. The problem started at about 1 pm. As some of the agitated members raised slogans seeking the presence of "a minister" for accepting a memorandum, the police jumped over the barricades to push back the crowd before using water canon. The members claimed that they were manhandled. The police, however, denied the allegations claiming that action was taken only after the members tried to cross the barricades. Talking to The Tribune, the members said that over 2262 brick-kilns had closed down in the state and lakhs of labourers were rendered jobless. This was because of Environment and Forest Ministry's directions making the use of 25 per cent fly ash mandatory for manufacturing bricks by kilns within 100 km radius of thermal power plants. They sought the Chief Minister's intervention for finding a suitable solution to the problem.
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Cross-examination of Sahgal continues
Chandigarh, December 14 The prosecution also emphasised that the accused had known before hand that callgirls were waiting for him in a Delhi hotel, though several suggestions in this regard put to the accused by the prosecution were refuted by him. The prosecution counsel, Mr Arvind Moudgil, quizzed the accused about his sexual habits and past
experiences. The video tapes where the accused allegedly features having conversation in regard to call girls with operatives of tehelka.com was also screened in court. Conversation caught on the tapes repeatedly referred to “saman” (luggage). On being questioned about the word’s implication, the witness gave varying answers, stating that it meant equipment or food, before conceding that the word was used to refer to callgirls. The tape also revealed those featuring in it, including the accused, haggling over the number of calls girls available not being equal to the men who wanted to use their services.
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RVC anniversary celebrated
Chandigarh, December 14 In his message, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lieut-Gen J.J. Singh has greeted all ranks, civilians and ex-servicemen of the corps and has lauded their performance. Director RVC, Western Command, Col N.S. Kanwar has also extended his felicitations on the occasion.
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Police records to be on website
Chandigarh, December 14 Adviser to the Administrator Lalit Sharma, Home Secretary Krishan Mohan, IG Rajesh Kumar, SSP Gaurav Yadav, IGP Patiala Rajinder Singh, P.K. Aggarwal DIG Crime and Security Haryana, B.K. Uppal, DIG Intelligence, Punjab, Regional Passport Officer, Arvind Kumar. SSPs of UT, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ropar, Ambala, Panchkula, and Solan districts also attended the meeting. There will be co-ordination meetings after six months at the level of IG, quarterly of SSPs and monthly of Crime branch incharges of adjoining areas. Coordinated vehicle checking jointly once a week on a rotational basis will be held. Wireless messages of SSPs and SPs of Chandigarh, Patiala, Panchkula and Ropar will be flashed for holding joint vehicle checking in all four districts for a specific period. Four joint vehicle checking operations will be conducted every month. A sub-inspector-level officer from the Crime Branch of the UT police control room will be appointed for giving on crime information for adjoining districts. Chandigah, Panchkula and Mohali police will carry out joint operations and patrolling. Interrogation of arrested persons or suspects will be done jointly if the accused is wanted in more than one district. Crime Branch in charges would be nodal officers in this regard. The IGP, Patiala, proposed the establishment of four check points in Chandigarh, Zirapur, Landran, Mullanpur and Balongi. They would be in touch with the UT control room. Mr Arvind Kumar suggested to reduce verification period of passports.
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Dharna by Forest Dept employees
Mohali, December 14 They will start relay fast in front of the Department’s Range Office here from January 4, 2005, if the demands of the Union were not met forthwith, threatened union district president Mela Singh in a press release here this evening. According to press release, the union leaders, addressing the protesters, condemned the relieving of senior workers and recruiting new workers in their place. The Forest Guards concerned were recruiting their near and dear ones in place of relieved workers, alleged they. The union, besides demanding re-induction of the relieved workers, demanded preparation of seniority list as per court orders of 1996-97, distribution of financial awards as per court orders, regularising the workers with over 20 years service and weekly off without deducting pay to the workers. The press release added that the union district vice-president Kesar Singh, local president Mohinder Singh and AITUC state general secretary Mehnga Ram also addressed the dharna.
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UT Youth Cong reconstituted
Chandigarh, December 14 The chairmen of various cells are Mr Sandeep Mago, Mr Mashwinder Singh, Mr G.P. Pal, Mr Shambhu Banerjee and Mr Kiran Pal.
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Mishap averted
Panchkula, December 14 Mr Kuldeep, who owns the flat said he had taken possession of the flat in 2001, but was always perturbed over the poor quality of construction. “I have informed the society president of the damage. But it is surprising that in such a short span of time after construction the plaster fell off. Somebody could have been hurt in the accident,” he said. Mr Kuldeep has demanded a probe into the quality of material used for construction.
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PU clerk attempts self-immolation
Chandigarh, December 14 He received 90 per cent burn injuries. The clerk was reportedly depressed after an inquiry was initiated against him by the university authorities. In another incident, a night watchman, Chhajju from Sector 21, today hanged himself to death in his house. He was working as a labourer during the day and a night watchman during the night. Meanwhile, a 16-year-old girl of Colony Number 5, Radha, died when her jhuggi and clothes caught fire. Radha had gone to cook food for her maternal uncle in an adjoining jhuggi when stove burst. The fire spread to the quilts lying in the jhuggi and then the entire jhuggi was engulfed by the fire. Radha reportedly could not come out of the jhuggi. When her mother came to know about the accident, she collapsed after seeing the inferno. DC Arun Kumar today announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the kin of the victims.
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Two arrested in murder case
Chandigarh, December 14 Addressing a press conference, DSP Vijaypal Singh said Vijay Kumar, alias Arjun (21) and Sunny (18) of the same locality were planning to kill Mahesh Gupta’s father, Jamna Prasad, and then escape to Nepal. The duo had earlier been in Bihar, Ropar, Delhi and Ambala to evade arrest. According to the police, their names were revealed to the police by Mohmmed Shahid and Rakesh Singh who were arrested in connection with the murder on December 7. The modus operandi of the accused was to befriend a person and then enter their houses to kill them for monetary gains. According to the police, the duo had also planned to eliminate the blind mother of Mahesh Gupta to take documents of the house and sell it off. The body of Mahesh Gupta was found on November 30. The police trailed the killers after Jamna Prasad said Mahesh had gone along with Arjun and not returned. Arjun had won the confidence of the family by slapping Mahesh in front of his parents for not taking care of his parents. Arjun was a chain snatcher.
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Suicide by woman
Panchkula, December 14 Dead Narrow Escape Held Mohali
Car stolen
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Strengthen S. Asian trade ties, says professor
Mohali, December 14 Stating that there was tremendous potential of co-operation within the South-Asian region, Dr Swarup pointed out that this potential had been tamed by platitudes and cliches. Further, the suspicion, between the countries was also thwarting co-operation. However, the idea of South-Asia co-operation was now re-emerging. He said the idea first emerged in 1950s, when an agreement between India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka not to allow Dutch planes to use air space to reach supplies to Indonesia was done. This was initiated by the first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru and Liaqat Ali Khan, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan. But the first rupture came in with the US assuring Pakistan with defense equipment. This reinforced suspicion among South-Asian countries. He said trade and commerce was not having positive response because India was considered as a regional superior hegemonic power. This had to be answered in positive trade advantages to each country of the region, he said.
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BSNL service centres fail to draw subscribers
Chandigarh, December 14 The scheme was launched by the BSNL recently on the all-India basis to offer several services under one roof for the convenience of the public. The centres offer facilities, like telephone bill
collection, booking of landline and mobile telephones, re-charge coupons, India telecom cards, and Sanchar Net. Currently at least five service centres are functioning in the Chandigarh Secondary Switching
Area(SSA) at the Telephone Exchange in Sector 20, the Central Telegraph Office in Sector 17, the Telephone Exchange in Sector 34, the Telephone Exchange in Phase IV of Mohali and the Telephone Exchange in Sector 5
Panchkula. According to a random survey, no subscriber turned up at the Sector 20 centre on August 15 and on Janamastami on September 7. On November 14, another holiday, only one subscriber visited the
centre. Keeping in view the wastage of the resources, officials of the CSCs have written to the BSNL top brass to discontinue the functioning of certain centres on holidays and Sundays. “What is the fun of opening the centres without a sustained publicity campaign in the highly-competitive telecom industry. At least some of the centres should be closed and their staff utilised in some other departments,” a middle-rung official remarked.
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IT park’s progress assessed
Chandigarh, December 14 Infosys is likely to complete the first phase of construction by February 2005. Sites of 1 acre each are going to be auctioned shortly. Convergys and Wipro Spectramind have also shown interest.
TNS
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Chandigarh, December 23
