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Student hurt in college shooting, 1 held
Chandigarh, April 13 Harsher Singh, a BA (2nd year) student, was fired upon minutes before he was scheduled to take his final exam in sociology at about 2 pm in front of the college gate. He later entered the examination hall calmly, about 15 minutes after the exam had begun, after obtaining special permission from the college principal. The police said it had arrested one of the suspects, identified as Nikhil Sharma, also a BA-II student of the same college. Of the four other suspects three have been identified - Satbir Singh Sattu, Gagan and Aman - all students of the same college, who were last seen fleeing the scene in their Maruti Zen car. While Sattu and Gagan are MA-I students at the college, Aman is a BA-II student. The identity of the fifth suspect had
not been established at the time of filing this report. Narrating details of the incident, Harsher, son of a farmer from Talwandi Sabo, said he along with his friends Raman and Mandeep was having coffee at the coffee shop on the premises of the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association, opposite the college’s main entrance, when the suspects allegedly attacked them without provocation. “The suspects suddenly pulled up in a Maruti Zen car. At first three of them came out of the car and began threatening us, alleging we had been staring at them. This resulted in a verbal argument. They then started beating us up following which the remaining two students, who until then had been seated in the car, got out and came rushing towards us. Gagan, who held a pistol in his hand, fired two shots. While the first shot missed me, the second grazed my left thigh,” Harsher said. Harsher’s friend, Mandeep, had to be rushed to the Government Multispecialty Hospital in Sector 16 for a dislocated shoulder. DSP (centre) Jagbir Singh told reporters “We found a live cartridge from the spot and it shows the weapon was not standardised.” Despite the victims’ claim that there was no past rivalry between them and the suspects, the sequence of events indicated otherwise. According to sources, both groups were also seen involved in arguments at the Indian Coffee House, located on the college premises, sometime before the incident occurred. The victims are members of the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) while the suspects appear to be members of the newly formed Students Association of Punjab. “Political rivalry between the two groups could be the main reason behind today’s attack”, said a college student. However, Harsher was vehement in his denials. “No we have no kind of rivalry. These guys (suspects) are rogues and often create a ruckus,” he added. His cousin, Harpal, alleged the same group had been involved in a firing incident at a local lawyer’s house in Sector 10 and had also damaged the college canteen during the student elections last September. The police have registered a case under section 307 of the IPC (attempt to murder) and sections 25/27 and 54/59 of the Arms Act against the suspects at the Sector 3 police station on a complaint filed by Mandeep. The DSP (centre) said the police would seek access to college records to obtain photographs of the suspects. Rounded up
About two hours after the DAV shooting incident, the police rounded up four boys sitting in a car in front of the college gate after a tipoff. The boys were found to be carrying a plastic gun. All of them were taken to the police station for questioning. College principal’s comments
DAV College principal BC Josan said the college administration would first verify whether those involved in today’s incident were students of the college. “If yes, the college would not come in the way of police proceedings”, he stated.
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A big no to mainstream politics
Chandigarh, April 13 Hailing mostly from non-political families, many student leaders confess to have been actively discouraged by their families to join politics. A student leader admits to have been turned out of his hometown in Punjab after his family found that he was involved in campus politics. Despite their penchant for student politics, all but one student leader said they never intended to join mainstream politics. Nor did they believe that “career” as student-politicians
would be a precursor to subsequent success in mainstream politics. “I have no interest in mainstream politics. Rather, my family is against politics and they found out my involvement in PUSU only through newspaper reports,” said Simranjit Singh Dhillon, campus PUSU. Echoing similar sentiments, the PUCSC president, who is also a supporter of SOPU, Amit Bhatia, said: “If I get a good job, I will prefer to join the corporate sector. Not a single student leader from the university has emerged as a prominent face in mainstream politics recently.” Then what is the reason behind entering student politics? “Instant recognition,” say some, while others say it is because of peer “suggestion”. What do they think about the rising incidence of violence on and off the campus? “I feel scared,” admitted a student leader who has been “falsely” accused in a case. “I thought politics was possible without violence. But the rivalry between two prominent student groups is very disturbing,” said Sukhdev Kundu, campus president of INSO. But some hardcore student leaders, who declined to be identified, said violence had now become an action-reaction syndrome. “If someone resorts to violence, one has to reply in the same coin,” said a student leader. Contrary to popular belief that these leaders hail from a political background or have inherited abundant wealth, queries revealed that parents of most of them are either in the teaching profession or are government employees. “My father is an educationist and none of my family members had any connection with politics. Instead, they all had been against this move,” Kundu said. Most of them have planned their career well and aim to become professionals. “I am preparing for the entrance exam of MDS and I do not intend to join politics,” Udey Singh Wirring, PUSU’s presidential candidate, stated.
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Fired up for what?
Employee’s kin await relief Aarti Kapur Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 13 Ironically, his family has not been invited for the Fire Services Day to be observed tomorrow. Also, the family has, to date, neither received the pension nor the gratuity. They have not even received a fraction of the special compensation of Rs 5 lakh approved by the house in October 2008. The Fire Services Day is observed on April 14 throughout the country since 1944. More than 500 persons, including 66 fire brigade personnel, lost their lives in a major fire in Mumbai on that fateful day. Mavi’s family of four, including 85-year-old mother and two sons, residing at Dhanas Milk Colony are now living at the mercy of relatives. Mavi was the lone breadwinner. Manjit Kaur, his widow, said she was not aware of any such function. His family has been trying to get their dues, including a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a job for the next of kin, for long. “We need to be given the pension at least,” she said. Manjit Kaur said the MC authorities had tabled the agenda in the house for giving the compensation. A letter earlier this year read that the MC could not give the compensation because there was no provision for it in the corporation accounts. “I have to repay the loans that I took for the education of my sons,” Manjit said. Her elder son is studying in DAV College and the younger one at an engineering college in Mohali.
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Farmhouse that hosted Majithia’s
wedding party to go
Mohali, April 13 Also, notices have been issued to 11 other farmhouse owners for violating the Periphery Act. Passing orders under Section 12(2) of the New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, the regulatory wing of GMADA has given 42 days to Gurbakshish Kaur, who owns the farmhouse located at Seonk village behind the PGI, to demolish illegal structures constructed at the farmhouse, failing which these would be pulled down. The GMADA’s order follows two earlier notices issued to Gurbakshish Kaur, one in November 2009 (the same month the wedding reception was held) and another in March 2010. Confirming the orders, GMADA’s Additional Chief Administrator Balwinder Singh Multani said: “We are regularly carrying out surveys and identifying violators.” Since the area also falls under the purview of the forest department, GMADA officials said they would be taking up the cases with it. The action follows a detailed survey of farmhouses in Chandigarh’s periphery. GMADA sources said 11 other violators had been served notices under the Act. Those who had served notices included a judicial officer, a revenue official and a businessman who had developed farmhouses along the Chandigarh-Siswan road. About a month ago, The Tribune had highlighted that illegal farmhouses were being turned into lavish retreat for the rich and influential. These “zones for unwinding” were also being used to host expensive weddings. Sources reveal that since an ADGP of the Punjab Police, Chander Shekhar, was also
To save itself from embarrassment, GMADA officials are now trying to identify the actual owners from the revenue record. Violations have been noticed at Seonk, Perch, Jyanti Majri and Kasauli villages.
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Dial 102 and be patient!
Chandigarh, April 13 While the GMSH has a three-digit emergency number, other government-funded hospitals (see box), including the coveted PGI, is even worse. None of these hospitals have a number for their respective ambulance services. The PGI’s fleet of six ambulances are used more to transport indoor patients between various centres on the campus while the GMCH-32 utilises its eight-ambulance fleet for transporting patients for diagnostic tests and referrals. In other words, dialling 102 on the presumption that it is a centralised ambulance service is misleading. A patient living in Sector 32, where the GMCH is located, will end up contacting the GMSH in Sector 16. So what does a patient do? Simple. She or he would have to dial non-hospital agencies such as the Red Cross Services of the UT, Punjab and Haryana or private services
rendered by organisations such as the Sector 34 gurdwara, Seva Bharti and Karuna Sadan. The “VIPs” of course need not worry. There is a special ambulance reserved for them at both the GMCH and the GMSH with senior doctors in top administrative positions always a call away. The UT Administration has in vain been trying to create a centralised ambulance system. As far back as 2005, the administration had mooted a proposal to create such a system, which remains a non-starter on paper. Interestingly, UT health officials do not remember any such proposal. The GMSH deputy medical superintendent, Dr G Verma, said: “We don’t have any information regarding this.” He acknowledged that the GMSH ambulances were only used for ferrying patients to only “this” hospital.
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Kirtans, giddha mark Baisakhi celebrations
Chandigarh, April 13 The devotees celebrated the festival by participating in the chabeels put up in various sectors of the city. Various gurdwaras’ committees also organised lectures to educate the masses about the significance of Khalsa Panth. The city schools also celebrated Baisakhi with great fervour. At Angel Public School, Behlana village, students were made aware of the significance of the festival through a short play. Punjabi folk songs and a fusion of giddha and bhangra marked the Baisakhi celebrations. The students danced on the foot-tapping beats of “dhol” and popular Punjabi numbers. The function concluded with a scintillating dance performance, “Baisakhiyan Diyan Boliyan” by the schoolchildren. Vandana Kohli, a senior teacher, enlightened the students about the social, religious and historical significance of the day. The students paid homage to the martyrs, who had sacrificed their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. At Manav Mangal School, Sector 11, Panchkula, tiny tots of the school presented a fashion show. The primary section students displayed phulkari and stacks of wheat to add on to the festive mood. Baisakhi was celebrated at Sharda Sarvhitkari Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 40-D, here today. The morning assembly commenced with shabads, which were followed by a foot tapping bhangra. Principal BS Kanwar spoke on the importance of the occasion. He stressed upon the necessity to perpetuate cultural values among the younger generation. A painting competition was also organised. Students of CRB Public School, Sector 7-B, also celebrated Baisakhi today. They came dressed in Punjabi folk attires and performed on traditional numbers. The school also celebrated Dr Ambedkar Jayanti and the students came dressed as Ambedkar to commutate his thoughts on the political system and upliftment of underprivileged classes of the country.
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Preparations in full swing
Panchkula, April 13 Manager Bhupinder Singh said they were expecting over one-lakh devotees tomorrow and had posted 100 sevadars in the parking area for smooth flow of the traffic. He said about one dozen raggis and dhadis would present their programme at the shrine. He said arrangements had also been made at Manji Sahib Gurdwara opposite Pinjore Garden, which was being managed by the SGPC. He said the historic bowlis at the gurdwara had special significance, as people take a holy dip on the occasion of
Baisakhi.
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Diarrhoea: 32 fresh cases reported
Chandigarh, April 13 Nineteen cases were reported at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH) in Sector 16 today, five at the PGI’s Advanced Paediatric Centre, one at the emergency and 12 at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Sector 32. “Most of the gastric infections increase due to hot weather condition causing the bacteria to proliferate more rapidly spoiling the food articles and water, thus increasing the risk of infection,” say doctors. Deputy Medical Superintendent, GMSH-16, Dr G Verma maintained that the situation was under control and a number of patients had been discharged after treatment. “The cases are not much as compared to last year and it could not be called an outbreak as these cases had been pouring in from various sectors and colonies,” said a UT health official. Around 315 cases of diarrhoea and three typhoid cases have been reported in April this year, said health officials. In vector-borne diseases, 12 cases of malaria have been reported so far. However, no dengue case was reported this year.
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High drama outside Tagore Theatre
Chandigarh, April 13 The youth, who was later identified as Puneet Sachdeva, a resident of Sector 44, locked himself in the car and refused to come out. The police was called and it took more than an hour for the cops to persuade him to come out of his car having a red beckon atop. The problem started when Puneet, who had a presentation of his website -Sector13.com - at the theatre today morning, tried to park his car in front of the theatre. When the theatre employees stopped him, asking to park his car at some other place, Puneet parked the vehicle in the middle of the main entrance. Meanwhile, the director of the theatre came, but Puneet refused to move his car. He locked himself in the car and also threatened to commit suicide following which the police was called. Meanwhile, the police challaned him for using unauthorised red beckon atop his vehicle.
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Dhawan may join BJP ahead of MC polls
Chandigarh, April 13 While there has been no official statement about his joined the right-wing Hindu dominated party as yet, what has given credence to the gossip is that both the BJP and Dhawan himself have not denied the reports. In this backdrop political circles in the city are agog with talk about Dhawan joining the saffron party and the likely implications for local politics. Sources said given the performance of both the BJP and BSP in the last municipal polls in 2006 and the May 13, 2009 general elections, only a united opposition particularly the BJP and the BSP--could give a tough fight to the ruling Congress party in the forthcoming elections. In fact, before the last MC polls also, there was a move on a tieup between Dhawan and the BJP. However, that did not materialise and Dhawan threw in his lot with the BSP, obviously in a bid to replicate the success of Mayawati’s “social engineering” formula in Chandigarh. Though he secured only 61,434 votes in the last Lok Sabha polls yet he finished third. At that time Dhawan’s entry into the BJP fold was reportedly blocked by former MP and senior BJP leader Satya Pal Jain. However, with the change in the party’s leadership command after Sanjay Tandon took over as president, the resistance to Dhawan’s entry appears to have eased. This has fuelled speculation about his imminent entry into the BJP. Dhawan, a former minister of state for civil aviation, has virtually changed parties with every successive general elections, having been so far with the Janata Party, the Congress, the Indian National Lok Dal and the BSP. When contacted, Dhawan only said he shared a “personal rapport” with several senior BJP leaders, including Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha, Sushma Swaraj and Rajiv Pratap Rudy. He, however, parried questions on his joining the BJP. Tandon said the matter fell in the purview of the party’s high command and any decision on Dhawan’s entry into the BJP would be binding on the local unit.
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Footpath gives way to road
Chandigarh, April 13 In a representation of to the Adviser to the UT Administrator, president of the local unit of the Janata Party Ajay Jagga alleged that it was beyond understanding as to who planned and executed the job as
it left no space for the pedestrians. All over the world, people are propagating that vehicles should not be used for short distances and people should walk, but Chandigarh is setting an example which says no place for pedestrians, the representation stated. It seems that in order to exhaust funds, these kinds of jobs are being undertaken, he alleged, adding that for recarpeting roads, contractors were not removing the existing material before laying the fresh one, but were simply laying the premix material, which
is resulting in higher plinth levels. This would create trouble during rains when the water would start flowing into the houses. Demanding an inquiry, Jagga said norms
were being violated blatantly and no one was bothered.
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Kulwant leads the race
Mohali, April 13 With the removal of the president, getting elected to the post of the council chief for any councillor has become much easier as only a simple majority is required. Earlier, two third majority was needed to dislodge Rana from his post. The name doing the rounds for the post of the president is that of Kulwant Singh, former head of the civic body. Executive officer of the council Amna Kumar Goyal said in the present scenario only 16 votes were needed to capture the post of the president of the council. The civic body had 30 councillors. Kharar MLA, who was an ex-officio member of the council, also had the voting right.
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PSEB
Mohali, April 13 For the past over two years, 134 dismissed clerks have been sitting on a dharna in front of the PSEB headquarters in Phase VIII here. The situation turned unpleasant when seven protesting clerks went to the terrace of the multi-storied building, holding bottles of
petrol and kerosene and tried to lock them-selves there. The board chairman, Dr Dalbir Singh Dhillon, along with other senior officials, rushed to initiate a dialogue with the protestors. In the past, the dismissed employees have threatened to end their lives if the state government failed to fulfil their demands. Talking to the clerks, the chairman said they had lost their case in high court and failed to file an appeal before the Supreme Court. A five-member committee of the protesters would now meet the Chief Minister.
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Army looks to pvt players to modernise its workshops Chandigarh, April 13 A significant aspect of the exercise is the roping in of private players for the modernisation process on a turnkey basis, including preparation of detailed project reports. The entire project, which is estimated to run into several hundred crore rupees, would see the workshops donning an entirely new look with completely overhauled infrastructure and work processes. The modernisation process has been conceived in the backdrop of estimates that the Indian land combat systems market is expected to generate revenue of over $ 35 billion over the next 8-10 years. Fresh procurements, bringing in new technology would require updated technical infrastructure for maintenance. Public-private partnership in defence is being seen as a vital element in fulfilling Indian defence requirements. Generally, the trend over the years has been an in-house exercise with bulk of the work being executed by the Military Engineer Service, registered contractors or units. In its request for information issued this week, the Army has listed six base workshops that it intends to modernise. These include 505 ABW at Delhi for armoured vehicles, 506 ABW at Jabalpur for artillery and infantry weapons, 507 ABW at Kankinara for engineering equipment, 508 ABW at Allahabad for special vehicles, 510 ABW at Meerut for air defence equipment and 512 ABW at Kirkee also for armoured vehicles. The vast scope of works defined for modernisation includes demolition of old buildings and structures and construction of new ones, refurbishment of existing buildings, working out the requirements of plants, machinery and equipment, material handling equipment and storage process etc.
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Special task force to visit PU today
Chandigarh, April 13 The team would scrutinise the monitory needs of the university and is expected to review the current status of infrastructure and future needs. A meeting of the chairperson of all departments has also been called tomorrow by the university authorities. In addition to this, a special committee consisting members from various quarters of the university has also been constituted to provide inputs to the team regarding the needs of the university.
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