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1.11-kg gold seized from Ghirra’s lockers
Chandigarh, July 26 A senior CBI official said that they discovered the jewelry after Ghirra revealed during investigation that she maintained four bank lockers in State Bank of India and the Punjab National Bank at Chandigarh. In these bank lockers, Ghirra had kept 111 tolas of gold jewellery. The CBI official further said documents pertaining to considerably large investments made by Ghirra in Real Estate, Bank Fixed Deposits, Bank Accounts, Insurance Policies and Mutual Funds etc were also recovered during the house search. He further added that they were interrogating Ghirra to determine the source of Rs 87.5 lakh recovered from her house. The CBI is also questioning her about the source of various investments made by her in her name as well as in the name of her family members, the official added. Sources said that CBI is also checking the involvement of other Punjab police officers in the case. On July 24, CBI had recovered ammunition from Ghirra’s house, included 1,237 cartridges, a revolver 32 S&W (Made in Germany) and a double-barrel gun made in West Germany. Besides, a total of 43 live cartridges of.32 bore, 22 empty cartridges of .32 bore, 14 S&W live cartridges (small), another 18 (.22 bore) live cartridges, a total of 114 .38 bore live cartridges, 76 AK-47 live cartridges, another 114 (7.62 SLR) live cartridges, two 7.72 sniper live cartridges, five Carbine Cal 30 live cartridges and a total of 831 (12 bore) live cartridges. Following recovery of arms and a huge haul of liquor from Ghirra’s Sector 15 residence during the CBI raid on July 24, the UT police had registered two cases under the Arms Act and the Excise Act against her at the Sector 11 police station.
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Transcript 1
Excerpts translated from Punjabi Ghirra: I think the case is now settled. Malhotra: No. No. No. I and you both know now what is wrong. Lets finish the issue. Get it out of the spotlight. Ghirra: Even I want to sweep it under the mat forever. I have been telling you from day one that…brother! There should be no two thoughts about the issue…..Now, the matter stands…… Malhotra: I have come to know about certain transfers. With the transfers…oh….please get my job done before you move out, madam. Ghirra: That is what I told you. What else am I saying from the past such a long time? Transfers are bound to happen and I have spent four-and-a-half years in Mohali. Malhotra: Really? Ghirra: Election Commission is already saying that officers who have spent three years at a place need to be shifted out.---------------------------------- Ghirra: Listen to me. The report that I have prepared on you has given you an ample “safe side”. You will always remember what madam did for you. You know, I too owe some money to someone and it is very important to pay back. Have I ever troubled you for money. No. No, I know……. I have to do your job and I have prepared the report, already. Malhotra: Really? Ghirra: You will remember how your madam made you ‘safe”. Ghirra: No. No. Please hand over the amount now because I have promised the amount to someone. I waited for you and called you thrice. Malhotra: What time is it? Ghirra; Look at the watch. It is 6.15 p.m.. Malhotra: It is 6.15. I will pay you by 8 pm.
Transcript 2
Ghirra: Hello. Why haven’t you come. Malhotra: You know madam, I was making arrangements for….what you call…you know that money, with great difficulty I could manage only 30,000 to 40,000. Then I thought, I should arrange full one lakh. You know what, I am very tense. I tell you. Ghirra: You know what, give me just this amount, rest we will manage tomorrow. Nothing to worry. Malhotra: You know what. I am so tense and I was talking to my Mrs who said….. Ghirra: Nothing to worry. You just arrange for One (lakh). The rest we will talk later. Malhotra. You know what happened when I told my wife that I was very tense. She said be careful before paying because another case might be filed against me. I told her she (Ghirra) has taken………….. Ghirra: No. I have already called for that file at my home. I was just finalising the report. Malhotra: You know that I already have five cases pending against me. None of the issues has been settled till date. Ghirra: This way you…you…Listen to me clearly. I just want to tell you one thing. If you trust me. Malhotra: No. I am fine only because I trust you. Ghirra: Stop. Stop. Malhotra: See…..No...this way…..if I can manage, it is fine, otherwise tomorrow at 10 or 11 a.m., I will give you. I will get one (lakh) full. I will get (it at) 10-11 (am) today and tomorrow about 11.15 a.m. I will give you one lakh. Ghirra: So, it is final. Malhotra: Absolutely sure.
Transcript 3
Malhotra: Hello. Hello Ghirra: Yes, please Malhotra: Yes, madam. It will be nice in case you did all my jobs tomorrow. Malhotra: No madam…One lakh…… tomorrow…… Ghirra: I will prepare all your report…I will have you read it, as well. Malhotra: Madam madam, just wanted to say I will pay you one lakh tomorrow, but, just wanted to ask you file no other case against me. Just wanted to… Ghirra: Hundred per cent. Malhotra: Fine, that suits me, Madam. Thank You. Ghirra: Now, I will make you ‘safe’. Malhotra: Alright. Tomorrow, I will send you one…Is it fine? Ghirra: This means you will come tomorrow.
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Complainant had approached CBI three months ago
Mohali, July 26 Talking to The Tribune, the complainant claimed that he had approached the CBI three months ago after the constable and an Akali leader took money from him to ensure the cases against him were closed. “I paid around Rs 60 lakh to the politician and the constable on different occasion so that all police cases against me were closed. But the cases were never closed. So I decided to approach the CBI,” he said. Since the money was paid to the constable and the politician in Mohali, the CBI could not lay the trap. While Malhotra was trying to get the economic offences wing constable trapped, another complaint against Malhotra landed with Ghirra and she allegedly started calling him up demanding bribe. “I again approached the CBI and offered bribe to her so that she gave a report in may favour. Her reader Manmohan Singh and gunman Gurbax Singh kept calling me up asking for money. As the DSP readily agreed to accept the money in Chandigarh, she was trapped,” he said. Claiming that he had been falsely implicated in the cheating cases, he said he had filed 147 cases in Kharar and Mohali courts regarding the breach of land agreements by landowners. “In most cases, the landowners refused to honour the agreements for sale of their lands. So I had to move court,” he said. He claimed that there was threat to his life for exposing corruption in the Punjab Police. “I am moving the Punjab and Haryana High Court to seek police protection,” he added.
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DSP’s reader acted as conduit
Chandigarh, July 26
Manmohan Singh had first met Malhotra and then later arranged talks between the two. Considering his role in the case, the CBI today submitted before the special CBI court in Chandigarh that Manmohan Singh, too, was an influential person and was in a position to either or both influence the witnesses or tamper with the documents. According to the CBI’s judicial remand application filed in the special CBI court, a meeting between Malhotra and Manmohan Singh had taken place near Sai Baba Temple in Sector 29 around 15 to 20 days ago. There, Manmohan Singh had told Malhotra that Ghirra had demanded Rs 2 lakh in bribe to settle all cases registered against Malhotra and save him from registration of any fresh FIR in the near future. The CBI sleuths maintained that Manmohan Singh had facilitated talks between Ghirra and Malhotra and that the DSP had told the complainant to follow the directions of her reader, Manmohan Singh. The CBI officials further said after the meeting, Ghirra had telephoned Malhotra and asked him to come to her house in Sector 15 to hand her over the bribe money.
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‘Ghirra was fond of kitty parties, socialising’
Chandigarh, July 26
And so, it is not without a reason that most of Ghirra’s neighbours felt surprised and shocked on learning about her arrest by the CBI from her house (No. 2110). Interestingly, some neighbours in the locality said they rarely, if ever, visited Ghirra’s house and that it was only when they walked past the house that they got a glimpse of her and managed a brief conversation. People residing in the same lane as hers said people in swanky cars often visited Ghirra. “In our row of around 10 houses, hers was the most happening house, with frequent visitors and flashy cars remaining parked outside the gate,” said a neighbour. A woman residing near Ghirra’s house, who did not wish to be identified, said the DSP was fond of attending kitty parties and would even insist that she (the neighbour) join her kitty. “Ghirra used to attend kitty parties regularly and often tried to persuade me to join her,” she said. Another neighbour said Ghirra would purchase vegetables from the “apni mandi” in Sector 15 every Wednesday. “I often used to run into her while purchasing vegetables at the ‘apni-mandi’. That was the only place where we used to interact,” a neighbour recalled. However, there were others who expressed reticence to speak about Ghirra, claiming that they were unaware of who she was, except for the fact that “some VIP was living in the house”.
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Raka Ghirra became the first woman Punjab Police officer to be posted as a DSP in Mohali district in 2007 Was recruited as an inspector in 1999 on compassionate grounds following her husband Ranbir’s death in a road accident in 1994. He was then a DSP in Sangrur Past postings as SHO were mostly in Mohali district which included SHO of Phase VIII police station in Mohali and at Mullanpur, Sohana and Matour police stations between 2000 and 2007 Was briefly posted in Fatehgarh Sahib district in 2005 before being promoted to DSP and posted as the In-charge of Mohali traffic wing Senior police officers avoided handing her investigations of sensitive cases. There were specific instructions not to give her any major investigation. Other than handling routine paperwork, no major case had been handed over to her in the last eight months Even the case involving fraud with NRI woman Nirmala Brar regarding her three-kanal plot at Kansal village (in which Rakka had been trapped while taking bribe by the CBI) had been handed over to Rajwinder Singh Sohal, who was earlier posted as Mohali (City-II) DSP. The case was later “inadvertently” referred to her for investigation While posted as Sohana police station SHO in 2003, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau received a complaint of her being unfair while investigating a case but did not proceed against her. Another complaint surfaced against her when she was posted as Mohali DSP. The bureau again chose to overlook the complaint Was transferred thrice out of Mohali but managed to return Being the only woman DSP to be posted in Mohali, Ghirra was honoured during the district-level Independence Day function in 2005. The Bharat Vikas Parishad had honoured her on Women’s Day. Social organisations often invited her for seminars, especially on women empowerment
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DAV forgets its Kargil heroes
Chandigarh, July 26 On the 12th anniversary of “Vijay Diwas”, it was not less than ‘a shock’ to find that the authorities were not aware of the significance of the day as not even a single flower was offered to pay homage to the martyrs on the college premises. Most notably, the recipients, all of whom were ex-students of the college, include Capt. Vikram Batra (famous for his “Dil Maange More” remark during the war) and who was awarded the country’s gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra; Lt Vijayant Thapar, who was awarded the country’s second highest gallantry award, the Maha Vir Chakra; and Maj Sandeep Sagar.When asked if they had any plans for organising any function in the memory of the martyrs, the officiating Principal Shashi Gupta said, “The admission procedure is still under process and the administration is also busy in taking interviews for filling the vacant posts of teachers, but we will organise some function.” Interestingly, the student union leaders, who claim to be the representatives of the students and future politicians, were also unaware of the day and were seen busy promoting their party’s interests among the students. “There was no function organised by the college but we will discuss this with our party president and will do something,” said member of the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU).
Neglected memorial
The four pillars, which form the memorial for the slain soldiers, are not being properly maintained. Bee hives and dripping water can be seen at the memorial
Floral tributes?
Dean Instructions of College Dr Vermani called up in the evening to say that a function had been organised at 11.30 am wherein floral tributes were paid to the martyrs. However, not a single flower was found at the memorial when this reporter visited the venue at that
time.
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Tricity scan
Help needed Orientation programme
Saplings planted Studio opened BJYM function Homage paid
Mohali Scan Book released
The Quest Group of Institutions organised a faculty development programme for its faculty and other staff members. Group chairman DS Sekhon unveiled the book ‘Essentials of Organisational Behaviour’, written by Rajeev Prasher, professor and dean, faculty of management.
Sports winners
Students of Shemrock Senior Secondary School won the under-19 basketball competition at an inter-school zonal tournament, defeating St Soldier’s School. They also stood first in the girls’ under-14 table tennis competition.
Monsoon week
In an endeavour to develop multiple intelligence, tiny tots of St Soldier’s School were engaged in a host of week-long monsoon-related activities. These included bringing monsoon delicacies, puddle play, rain dance, folding paper into boats, poem recitation, fancy dress competition, colouring and singing.
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UT Administrator mulls underground parking lots
Chandigarh, July 26 Virtually saying no to the concept of skyscrapers and multi-storey roads in Chandigarh, Patil said, “The solution to some extent was to go underground.” The assertion is significant as the issue of having high-rise buildings in the city’s vicinity has already drawn flak from residents and even architects. In fact, the coming up of Tata-Camelot multi-storeyed project in the city’s periphery is already under the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s scanner. The idea of going underground, to beat the pressure of traffic and parking on the city roads, surfaced during the Administrator’s interaction with lawyers soon after throwing open the multi-level parking at the High Court. “Let’s go underground,” Patil said, while asserting that even the palatial houses in the city had no parking space and owners were leaving their vehicles outside creating traffic bottlenecks. Some of the parks, too, had been converted into open-air parking lots, he said, while making it clear that the green belts could not be used for purposes contrary to the ones perceived. “It is not possible to allow people to park their vehicles in parks meant for spending some relaxing moments. So, we can think of having the parking lots under the parks.” He said the width of roads was an issue in Chandigarh. “Roads cannot be widened as there are buildings on either side. Moreover, it is just not feasible to have multi-storey roads like the ones in Tokyo. Even the setting up of over-bridges is not advisable in Chandigarh,” he added.
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20 additional counters for filing tax returns
Chandigarh, July 26 Following the directions of AK Kaushal, Commissioner of Income Tax-I, Chandigarh, who is also the chairperson of the Sevottam Committee of the Income Tax Department, proper arrangements of drinking water and refreshment for assesses have been made. Kaushal said the department’s objective was to ensure that the transaction time at Aaykar Seva Kendra was not more than 60 seconds. He said nearly 5,000 returns were being received every day at the Aayakar Seva Kendra, and with July 31, 2011, being the deadline, the number was anticipated to increase manifold. He said last year about 1,34,768 lakh returns were filed in Range I to V.
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Commissioner pays surprise visit to MC wings
Chandigarh, July 26 Sources said the Commissioner made a visit to the estate office, establishment, caretaker, house allotment and SO mechanical branches to check the presence of employees and also checked about 25 files of these departments. During the visit to these departments, when the Commissioner inquired about cases lying pending in these departments for so long, the employees failed to give a satisfactory answer. The Commissioner later held a meeting with the heads of these wings and asked them to clarify why all these cases were lying pending in their departments for such a long time. The sources said the maximum pending complaints were of the estate and establishment branches. While checking the files of these branches, the Commissioner found that a majority of the files were with comments “to discuss” from officials and were lying in the department for the last two months. In fact, few of the cases has not even been put up by the employees of these branches. To her surprise, no employee was present in the house allotment branch during the inspection and all files were locked in the almirah of the room. Later the Commissioner directed the staff of the house allotment branch to present the cases of their department by tomorrow. In the caretaker branch, most of the pending cases were of the requirement of stationery by various wings of the corporation.
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Action pending over report
Chandigarh, July 26 A month after it was reportedly submitted, the inquiry report is reportedly still lying in the office of UT Deputy Commissioner Brijendra Singh. “I am examining the report. Apart from detailing facts, the inquiry official has made several recommendations on avoiding repetition of such incidents in the future,” said Brijendra Singh. Two labourers, 17-year-old Sanjay and 19-year-old Arun, working at an under construction site in Phase I of the Industrial Area were killed after a 20-feet mud wall caved in at the site on May 12. The incident occurred when the foundation of the commercial complex, a venture of Mirage Infra Limited “Acropolis”, owned by Vijay Singla, was being laid. Singla is kin of Pawan Bansal, union minister for parliamentary affairs and Lok Sabha member from Chandigarh. During his visit to the site on that day, UT Deputy Commissioner Brijendra Singh had admitted that adequate safety measures were not followed at the site.
Action awaited
The Chandigarh Administration is yet to take action on the inquiry report in the booth scam by PS Shergill, former Additional Deputy Commissioner. Shergill had submitted his report to the UT Deputy Commissioner in the last week of February.
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Underprivileged, not unskilled
Chandigarh, July 27 Chauhan, founder of Prerna Sahaiyta Society, an NGO dedicated to educating underprivileged children, had been joined by nearly 30 other volunteers to run her evening school at the village. Two year ago, with a humble beginning, Chauhan began locating children at the village whose parents did not permit them to study. These children, between 6 and 16 years of age, were earlier being forced to work for a living by their parents. Gradually, through motivation and efforts of youngsters, including Pooja Gosain and Pushpinder, who trained children to meditate for holistic development, more children began to attend evening classes. “We started this foundation with the aim to serve society and although there were no resources or funds, there was a feeling to serve and contribute to society,” said Chauhan. “When children in the village were approached, we found that they could not go to school since their parents asked them to work till 2 pm and again after 5 pm,” she added. “We motivated them to come and study free at my house between 3 pm and 5 pm, when they were free. When they began coming, they loved learning new skills and books,” she stated. “Kindling that zeal to learn was all that we had to do. After this, we had so many children coming in that space was not enough to accommodate them,” maintained Chauhan. Later, the Satya Narayan Mandir at Sector 70 lent Chauhan a hall to run free evening classes. “We spent hours counselling parents, who became positive after some time and sent their children for two hours,” she asserted. “To begin with, we had a crunch of resources and finances, but once we shifted to the temple premises, a lot of people joined in and began either teaching or sponsoring study material for children,” she further said. Gosain, who had been conducting painting and drawing workshops for poor children to unleash their creative instincts, trained the children to make rakhis and gifts for Rakhi. These children, who had never gone to school before, had been making special handmade cards and gifts during their special evening classes. “The idea is to make them self-sufficient and more creative. They could not study because they had to earn. We now publicise their efforts to our friends and relatives so that the children feel encouraged and the cards are sold,” said Gosain. The foundation was currently in discussion with certain corporate firms, which had expressed enthusiasm in purchasing greeting cards made by these children. Of these children, 45 had already been enrolled in private schools, including Ma Saraswati School at Matour. Their books were being arranged for and fees being paid jointly by the foundation and the school.
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Cautious start to RTE parleys
Chandigarh, July 26 The department has initiated talks with all major private schools, but is being cautious as the previous year’s rounds have not just failed to bear fruit, but have also led to a tiff and the implementation of the Act has hit a roadblock. Currently deciding on the panel to frame the manner of implementation, it has asked schools to decide on their representation. The discussion are expected to start by next month as the department wants to ensure that there is enough time to frame a workable policy. “The RTE had suffered the previous year due to ego hassles. Even six rounds of discussion could not bring them to a consensus,” said a senior UT official. “It will take time to think and discuss each postulate of the Act, seek permission, if required, and provide infrastructure, wherever required,” said the official. “This time, we will ensure that both parties share ideas and problems and we frame a more realistic and practical policy for next year,” added the official. The previous year, the department had started the discussion with schools after preparing a draft. This led to a tiff as schools resented not being taken into confidence for drafting the policy. The schools had also accused the department of forcing those to abide by impractical norms. Six rounds of discussion were held between the then DPI(S) PK Sharma and schools, but to no avail. The implementation had eventually to be shelved after his exit and the shifting of the education portfolio from Home Secretary Ram Niwas to Finance Secretary VK Singh. We have to form the policy and clarify norms, but schools have to implement it. We need to take those into confidence and discuss all aspects. We will have this discussion, but are currently working out the agenda and the panel. VK Singh, Education Secretary
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‘Jamun Day’
Community parking
The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, led by state president Maheshinder Singh Sidhu, organised a programme to commemorate the victory of Indian forces during the Kargil war. BJP leaders Sanjay Tandon, Arun Sood and Ramesh Kumar Nikku spoke on the occasion.
Vijay Diwas