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A street full of electric shocks
Chandigarh, September 6 Kanchan is not alone. Residents of the entire stretch of the street are full of harrowing experiences they have had from the electricity shocks in their houses, particularly on the days it rains. The story of Kanchan, inhabitant of H.No 1424, requires a special mention because the family is having a tough time in managing her care. She is the daughter of a rickshaw-puller. “Last Saturday, after the rain, Kanchan was playing in the street when she accidentally touched the trouble spot near the ground. She stuck on to the iron handle at the spot. Another boy rushed to help her. He received a major jolt,” Ms Nirmala Devi, aunt of the victimised girl said. She said, “The girl was taken to the hospital with a burnt hand. Her body had nearly gone numb.” The compound of Kanchan’s house has an electricity pole which neighbours say had been bent to accommodate a tree by the administration officials using tractor sometime back. The wires are now dangling on the building premises. My house number is 1431 and you can feel the current even on the floor on a rainy day”. Mr Amarjeet Singh, another local resident, said, “We have tried to get the local councillor here several times but to no avail. Our tenant on the first floor often does not go up to his room on the first floor on a rainy day because the rain brings current in the stair floors”. Ms Shanti Kumari, a resident of H No 429, at the far corner of the street shows the wires dangling in her compound. “We people experience shocks several times and have complained to the MC authorities. Once the officials came and said they were helpless because they had no wires to replace the old ones”, she said. Mr Ram Narain, another resident, said, “The wiring in the entire locality is faulty. It is unfortunate that Kanchan had to pay the price for the problem that has been hanging fire for a long time. At the moment we only pray the administration should interfere and take care of the medical expenses of the poor girl first and address the problem of the area.” Mrs Renu Kumari, a housewife, said, “It is difficult to even touch the utensils in the kitchen and the gas stove on a rainy day, sometimes. The touch gives mild shocks on certain days. We have highlighted the problem several times to the authorities, but, to no avail.”
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SOPU loses 6 candidates due to wrong filing of nominations
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 6 Even as SOPU supporters protested against the decision staging a dharna outside the VC’s office this morning, by the evening, the party had announced its support to an independent candidate contesting for the post of the general secretary. In place of Sahil Goel the party is now supporting Naushad Ali of the Department of Computer Science and Applications for the post. While the university tribunal members took into consideration the fact that the candidates who had submitted their nomination forms in the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) had not been “guided” properly by the teacher in-charge of elections, they felt that the candidate themselves should have been careful in filling their forms. Showing grace and restraint, SOPU president Dalveer Singh Goldy following a meeting with Vice-Chancellor R.C. Sobti bowed to the orders of the tribunal bringing an end to the protest. SOPU was not the only party to have lost candidates this way. The final list of candidates put up by the Dean Students Welfare Naval Kishore did not include the names of many candidates in the fray. Other than the six SOPU candidates, the nomination of the presidential candidate of the Students Federation of India (SFI) candidate Bhuvan Azad was rejected. Papers of Sandeep Negi of the same party contending for the post of general secretary too were rejected. The party did not have covering candidates and would be now contending only for two posts. The papers of Sumit Malik, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidate, for the post of joint secretary too were rejected and the party would now be contending for three posts. Nomination papers of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) vice-presidential candidate Sukhraj Singh were rejected and the party was now contending for only three posts. The final list of candidates is: President: Abhilasha, student of the Department of English being fielded by the NSUI, Dalvir Singh Goldy, Fine Arts, by SOPU, Nakul Kundra, English, by the ABVP and Rupinderjit Singh Mann, Economics, by PUSU. Vice-president: Amit Kumar student of Geology is being fielded by the ABVP, Divya Gill, Law, by the SOPU- INSO, Harmeet Kaur, Psychology, by the SFI-AISF and Neha Yadav, Geography, of HSA, by the PUSU alliance. General secretary: Gagandeep Singh Brar of the Department of Laws is being fielded by NSUI, Mohit Bhardwaj, Law, by the ABVP, Parvinder Singh Pallu, UIET, by PUSUbesides Naushad Ali. Joint secretary: Pulkit Jindal of UILS by NSUI, Ravinder Kamboj Computer by SFI-AISF and Sukhjit Singh ,Botany, by SOPU and Varinder Singh Negi, Geology, by PUSU.
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Three parties release manifestos
Chandigarh, September 6 The ABVP conducted a press conference, presided by Nakul
Kundra, the presidential candidate. While releasing the manifesto for the PUCSC elections, he highlighted various issues which needed to be addressed through better leadership on the Panjab University campus. Candidates moved around the campus for campaigning in departments and hostels. The ABVP demanded construction of university auditorium, coaching for GRE GMAT etc on the campus, regular revision of syllabus in computer and IT-related courses and designation of PUCSC president as PUSU also released its manifesto. The demands ranged from change in library timings, better food, convocation hall, allocation of more funds for educational trips, declaration of results on time to opening of canteens in departments, timely declaration of results etc.
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Unprecedented security for PU elections
Chandigarh, September 6 Highly placed sources in the police said as many as 700 policemen would be deployed in various colleges, including the university, on the election day. Officers not below the rank of inspectors would remain present at each college and Panjab University campus. While the DSPs would supervise the entire security set up, over 50 persons from the university staff and campus security personnel would assist the police. An NGO with six jawans would be at each of the 23 elections centres on the campus. The DSP (Central), Mr S.S. Randhawa, would supervise the security. Besides, a reserve police force headed by DSP (Police Lines) Arjun Singh Jaggi would also be present on the campus. The police said after the slapping incident that took place last night on the campus, two policemen had been put on duty outside every hostel. Besides, an inspector-level officer along with 60 jawans had been deployed for round-the-clock patrolling of the campus. Tomorrow being the open house session in the university, 300 policemen would be on duty. Besides, a special force comprising 150 policemen had also been kept on the alert. About the security arrangement in different colleges, a police officer said an inspector rank officer along with strength of 40 jawans has been given to each college.
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Brothers are political rivals
Chandigarh, September 6 While Rajay Deep is the
candidate for the post of press secretary of PUSU, Archit is that for
the press secretary of SOPU the two arch rival parties of Panjab
University. And how do they manage? “We don’t talk much to each
other. Just the routine is exchanged. We have never had a fight
regarding politics, but we choose not to discuss it,” said Archit who
is three years younger to Rajay and is in the IInd year of law. Rajay,
already a lawyer, is pursuing masters in history at the university.
“Its’all in the game. He is younger to me so I try to be
magnanimous and let him use my care for campaigning for his party,” he
says.
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Department representatives elected
Chandigarh, September 6 PUSU claimed that 21 of these were its candidates while SOPU members stated that two of these were their candidates.
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Girl framed me, PU teacher tells VC
Chandigarh, September 6 Mr N.K. Sehgal, a commerce teacher of the Department of Evening Studies, was arrested yesterday after the father of the girl, a 11th standard student, complained to the police that Sehgal had called his daughter to his residence to discuss syllabus for her examination on Monday evening and tried to molest her. The girl's father, a resident of Sector 41, said his daughter went inside Mr Sehgal's house, while he kept waiting for her in his car. His daughter had told him to wait for about 15 minutes. Mr Sehgal was reportedly alone inside the house at that time. Within minutes, a shocked girl rushed out of the house and sat in the car of her father. Sensing something amiss, her father asked her about it, but did not elicit any response. After much persuasion, she told her father about the shocking incident. Taking cognisance of the complaint filed on late Tuesday night, the police arrested Sehgal after booking him under Section 354 of the IPC. He was later released on bail. Today, in his explanation to the VC, he claimed that he had been framed by the girl at the behest of his enemies and he had not committed any crime. The VC said further action would be initiated against the teacher once a copy of the FIR is received by the PU.
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HUDA plot draws on Sept 18, 19
Live telecast of
draw The draws for plots will be telecast live so that the public can watch the entire proceedings in the comfort of their homes. Also, the venue of the HUDA complex is not big enough to accommodate the large number of applicants who have applied for the plots.
Telecasting the draw live on both days is an effort of the authorities to check any ugly scenes which may arise on account of presence of large number of people as was the case in the draws held for societies on August 25.
Panchkula, September 6 Registration cards to all applicants of the general category have been dispatched. Also, the list showing the registration numbers issued to applicants has been put on HUDA website
www.huda.nic.in . If there is any discrepancy in the registration card, an applicant can contact the Estate Officer alongwith a proof on any working day between 2 am to 5 pm upto September 12 after which no query will be entertained. During the scrutiny of applicants for the reserved category plots, a large number of shortcomings of required documents were found. The Estate Office will entertain all such completions on any working day between 2 pm to 5 pm upto September 12.
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Brutalised in ’97, Kiranjit inspires film
Chandigarh, September 6 The movement and the backbreaking struggle that went into making it worthwhile has now been chronicled as a documentary by Daljit Ami. He screened it in Sector 46, here, this evening. For the first time since Kiranjit was gangraped and murdered in July 1997, her tale has being told as it is – unadulterated and crass. For Ami, who has a penchant for portraying social realities with conviction, the documentary “Not Every Time” is an attempt to trace the history of a case that changed the way people perceived crimes and reacted to them. The documentary begins with the violent memory of July 29, 1997 – the day 17- year-old Kiranjit went missing from her college at Mehel Kalan in Sangrur. Her underclothes, books and cycle were recovered from a nearby field but the police did not take possession of the items. The girl’s body was also not traced. It is at this point that seeds of “Not every Time” are sown. Dejected with police indifference, the girl’s father inspires the formation of Kiranjit Kaur Agva Virodhi Action Committee. The village jumps into the movement, screaming for justice. “The event formed the basis of a movement that was to define several others in the future. From 1997 to 2001 when four of Kiranjit’s killers were sentenced to life, the committee held 25 rallies, each attended by thousands. It is not everyday that you encounter such an awakening. The
action committee gheraoed Mehel Kalan police station, forced the police to exhume the girl’s body and get a post-mortem done,” says Ami, who has also traced the influence this movement has had on other similar cases in Mansa, Barnala and Sangrur. His film is replete with footage of rallies which Kiranjit Action Committee held against the system. It follows the case to the portals of Kiranjit’s college. It shows how for two months following Kiranjit’s death, her friends remained absent. It documents how her rape and murder influenced the lives of five other college girls – also named Kiranjit. “Some sought transfers; others lived with the trauma the name begot. The aftermath of Kiranjit’s rape was shattering. Kiranjit’s parents could never rise from the ashes of their daughter,” says Ami, who has documented how in Kiranjit’s case, agitation was used as a tool to grab justice. From the discovery of the girl’s body and registration of an FIR to conviction of four of the seven accused – the action committee members carefully guided every effort for justice. “Not Every Time” shows all of that, besides giving rural agitation its due. Ami says, “My attempt is to bring rural struggle to an urban space and make it a part of public discourse. The movement seeking justice for Kiranjit has built in its fold strong critiques against the establishment. It inspires.” A vital part of the documentary is the recent conviction of three members of theKiranjit Action Committee in a case which villagers believe is a frame-up. It involves the murder of Dalip Singh, grandfather of one of the convicts in Kiranjit case. In the case, three members of Kiranjit Action Committee are facing life imprisonment – something the villagers are fighting against. They say, “These are the very persons on whose call 29 witnesses came in to depose against the murderers of Kiranjit. Now they have been targeted.” The struggle for justice is on, shows “Not Every Time.”
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GCM finds lady doctor guilty of abetting airman’s suicide
Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 6 The GCM, presided over by Station Commander of the Thoise Air Force Station, Gp Capt P. Jaiswal, was held at the Chandigarh Air Force Station. The findings and verdict of the court have been sent to the convening authority for confirmation. The doctor, Sqn Ldr Priya Jairaj was tried on charges of abetment to suicide under provisions of the Air Force Act and the Indian Penal Code. The officer has now been posted out to Bangalore, sources said. It may be recalled that a 32-year old Air Force sergeant, Srinivasan had committed suicide in September last, by hanging himself from a tree near the Air Force Station. According to reports, the police had recovered a suicide note, in which he had blamed his superior officer, Priya, of harassment. Both were then posted at the medical section of 12 Wing here. During the trial, it was brought out that the airman had been suffering from a psychiatric disorder. The deceased airman’s family, which included toddlers, had moved out of Chandigarh thereafter. The Chandigarh Police had registered a case and booked the officer on charges of abetment to suicide. The IAF had initiated its own investigations into the incident and a court of inquiry (CoI) was ordered by the Western Air Command. The CoI, evidently held the lady doctor blameworthy for certain acts on her part which had allegedly led the airman to commit suicide. The CoI was presided over by a wing commander from the IAF’s medical branch. Thereafter she was attached to Air Force Station, Suratgarh for recording of summary of evidence. Squadron Leader Priya is the second woman officer in the Air Force to be tried by a court martial. Last year, the IAF had dismissed Flt Lt Anjali Gupta from service after trial by a general court martial on various charges of corruption.
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Khushwant Singh’s prose finds a befitting match in White’s images
Chandigarh, September 6 Time after time, it has reminded generations of the brutalities of Partition. The story has remained unchanged, creating in mind vivid images of Mano Majra, the village that sets the plot rolling. What has kept changing, however, is the manner of depiction. A film has been fashioned around the saga of suffering that Partition unveiled. Now comes yet another package — “Train to Pakistan’s” 50th anniversary edition by Roli Books. The edition is significant as it captures the readers’ imagination like never before. For the first time, Khushwant Singh’s prose has been authenticated with heart-rending images of Partition taken by Margaret Bourke-White, one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. One of her most challenging assignments for the Life magazine was Partition of India. As she travelled across the partitioned land, she produced some overwhelming images of the tragedy. Life carried less than a 100 of these pictures in their issues. The rest, found by Pramod Kapoor, who has done research for the 50th edition of “Train to Pakistan”, will be displayed in Chandigarh from September 8 to 17. The rare pictures will be exhibited around Sukhna Lake. As for the book, it is an exercise in perpetuating the memory of those who perished and a lesson for future generations to prevent a recurrence of this tragic chapter in our history, as Kapoor says. Contained in the edition are distressing images which White took as she moved between East and West Punjab. They bring Singh’s prose to life and present an old tale in a new mould. To those who have read the old and the new versions, the effort comes as a welcome surprise. By all means, it is a superb marketing strategy in times when the readers’ attention is being wooed by a host of mediums. Prof Rana Nayar says, “This is essentially a post modernist effort where we tend to mix images with text. The result is a pleasurable blurring of both. This theory was propagated by Roland Barthes, a Frenchman. According to it, the image is seen as text and a text as image. Both can enhance each other’s purpose when the focus is entirely on commonalities. In the new edition of “Train to Pakistan”, the publishers have made a strategic move to hybridise reality by presenting a mixed version of it. Singh’s text has been juxtaposed with White’s pictures and the result has been impressive.” Mohan Bhargava, an avid Khushwant Singh reader, agrees. Having scanned the new edition, he says, “It serves a huge purpose. As you look at the written word and then matching image, you are pained by the difference between what things were and what they ought to have been. The impact is lasting.” As Gulzar Singh Sandhu, the first man to have translated “Train to Pakistan” into Punjabi, says, “Reading the new version is like watching Khushwant’s prose go by. The story of Mano Majra has been retold, thanks to a series of images which capture the brutality of the event very powerfully.” Though unrelated, Singh’s prose and White’s pictures tell a strikingly similar tale. At one point Singh writes: “The sky was full of vultures. They flew down and landed on the carcasses. They pecked till the corpses themselves rolled over and shooed them off with hands which rose stiffly into the air. White’s corresponding image is captioned: “Lying like garbage across the width of the street were the bodies of the dead. Some had been picked clean to the bone by vultures... A few had eaten so much they could no longer fly…
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Mohali to have hi-tech PCR
Mohali, September 6 Work on the ultra-modern control room, being set up at a cost of about Rs 3.5 lakh, is going on in full swing and is likely to become functional in the next 15 days. The control room will be set up in the building housing offices of senior police officials in Phase I. It would have voice loggers and every message to the control room would be recorded to help in fixing responsibility and using it for subsequent investigations. Mr Naunihal Singh , SSP, said the control room would have a three-tier system consisting of landline network, mobile phones and a wireless network. There would be 80 big wireless sets. Messages received on the wireless network would also be recorded. The SSP said senior police officials had telephone operators but this concept would be done away with as the telephones would function from a single control hub. This would help in utilising the services of 48 persons elsewhere who worked as telephone operators. The entire district would function from telephone numbers—5044631 to 5044633. Any police station could be contacted using closed user groups. Closed-circuit cameras would also be installed around the offices of police officials functioning from the Phase I building. These cameras would not only focus on areas around the offices, but also on waiting areas outside the offices. Earlier, the control room was functioning from a small room temporarily constructed outside the police station in Phase I with a single telephone. Meanwhile, the offices of the women’s cell and the Economic Offences Wing have been shifted from Phase I to the community centre in Phase VI due to shortage of space. While the women’s cell is functioning from a multipurpose hall in the building, the EOW office is functioning from other parts of the building.
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Information panel raps HUDA for dilly-dallying
Panchkula, September 6 The State Information Commissioner (SIC) added that a fine of Rs 250 per day would be imposed under the Right to Information Act-2005 if the query remained unanswered even after the stipulated time. As a compensation to the complainant, the SIC has ordered the HUDA to supply information free of cost. The Citizens’ Welfare Association (CWA) had applied with the Public Information Officer-cum-Estate Officer, HUDA, (PIO), to supply the information on ‘Defaulters of more than Rs 10 lakhs in Panchkula’ under the RTI. The requisite fee was deposited on May 26. Under the Act, the HUDA was supposed to provide information within 30 days. A reminder was sent on July 12 and the State Information Commission (SIC) was also informed accordingly. In response, the HUDA sent a letter to the applicants, the CWA in this case, stating that the information sought was “vague and general in character” and added that the same was “not readily available, as there are about 30,000 properties in Panchkula Urban Estate”. A case was registered by the SIC, under Section 18(2) of the Right to Information Act-2005, (S. K. Nayar, President, CWA, Panchkula, verses PIO-cum-EO, Panchkula).
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Police nabs Scorpio thieves
Chandigarh, September 6 Giving details, the in charge of the Crime Branch of the Chandigarh Police, Inspector Satbir Singh, said Mr Munish Goel of Sector 27-A lodged a complaint
about the theft of his Scorpio SUV (CH-03-W-6746) to the Sector 26 police station this
morning. Elaborating the sequence of events that led to the arrest of the accused, Inspector
Satbir Singh said his staff received information later in the day from a source in Zirakpur that two suspicious persons were looking for a buyer of a Scorpio in that area and their appearance
suggested that they were not the owners of the vehicle. The source also gave the registration number of the vehicle to the police. The police immediately checked the number
with the Police Control Room (PCR) and found out that a Scorpio SUV was stolen from Sector 27-A. Following this, a police team was rushed to Zirakpur which nabbed the accused with the stolen vehicle. The accused have been identified as Mangat Ram and Sharad Kumar, both residents of Vikas Nagar, Mauli Jagran and both are in their twenties. Mangat, who earned
his living by washing cars, told the police that he used to come to wash the vehicle every day. About a week ago he stole keys of the vehicle and was looking for an opportunity to steal it. It was in the wee hours today that he came along with his friend Sharad to steal the vehicle.
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Old man beaten up by migrants
Mohali, September 6 According to information Mr Joga Singh had objected to the hooliganism being created by some migrant labourers at the back of his house. Instead of listening to the old man, they allegedly attacked him . The turban of the old man also fell off. Mr Joga Singh said migrant labourers, living in the Nehru colony, parked rehris at the back of his house and abused each other. When such activities were objected, they often turned violent. Windowpanes of his house had also been smashed. Cases of theft were also frequently reported from the area. Mr Manjit Singh Sethi, former Municipal Councillor, said it was unfortunate that the resident of the area was allegedly attacked by the migrants. He said a complaint to the police was made in this regard. The house of Mr Joga Singh was located next to the colony and as such he faced a number of problems which were brought to the notice of the authorities concerned time and again but to no avail, he added. He said the Nehru Colony fell in the Chandigarh area but residents of Mohali had to face various problems as slum dwellers had broken the boundarywall erected by PUDA around the area to enter Mohali. The problem had been brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner, SSP and the ACA, PUDA, time and again but nothing had been done by them to solve the problems of the residents.
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3 held for indulging in illegal liquor trade
Chandigarh, September 6 Giving details sources in the operation cell said Babul al, Om Parkash and Parkash, all residents of Barmer in Rajasthan, were nabbed from the road dividing Sector 23 and 36 late last night. The search of the vehicle led to recovery of 288 cartons of English wine, which was being smuggled to Rajasthan. Further verification of the documents revealed that the registration number of the truck was also found to be fake one. A case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Excise Act was registered in the Sector 36 police station. Cheating: Mr Rakesh Sharma, a salesman at a sector 34 petrol station, lodged a complaint with the police alleging that an occupant of a Maruti Zen Car (CH-03-K-1765) had sped away without paying after filling petrol worth Rs 1650 in his car on Tuesday. A case under Section 420 of the IPC was registered in this regard. Theft : Mr Rahul Tandon of Sector 8-C reported to the police alleging that five pairs of gold earrings, a diamond necklace, a gold set, a gold chain, gold tops, a diasmond ring and several other ornaments were stolen from his residence between September 2 and 4. A case has been registered in this connection. Held for stealing : Mr Manjit Singh of SCO No. 323-24, Sector 35-B, reported to the police alleging that Kulwinder Singh of Ludhiana had stolen a small table clock, a wrist watch, a bracelet from a shop and was caught red-handed while stealing a mobile phone and other articles from another shop on Tuesday evening. The police has recovered stolen property and arrested him on theft charges.
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LIC celebrates 50 yrs with rally
Chandigarh, September 6 The rally was flagged off by Mr Mahendra Kumar, Senior Divisional Manager, Chandigarh Division. About 150 cars, scooters and bikes belonging to agents, development officers and staff members of LIC, Mohali branch participated in the rally which was led by a pilot publicity vehicle’ carrying messages of various products and remarkable performance, achievements, accomplishments of LIC and awards achieved by it in the last glorious 50 years from its inception.
Connect plan
Connect has launched a combined offer of fixed line and mobile phone connection with unlimited free calling between both the connections. There is no monthly rental on the mobile phone connection and the offer is available at Rs 1990. This also allows free Connect-to-Connect calling across Punjab, and free subscription to Connect tunes on the mobile phone connections for three months.
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