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jyoti murder case Staff of a hotel in Baddi where the accused reportedly used to meet the victim questioned; police claims it has got vital clues Hina Rohtaki Tribune News Service
Panchkula, January 11
The police is looking for clues at a hotel in Baddi where Jyoti reportedly used to meet some of the accused quite often before she was murdered. The Panchkula police had sought assistance from the Baddi police to recover the vehicle from the MLA's house. “The vehicle was recovered from the MLA’s house last night. The vehicle is believed to have been used in the crime. As of now, we can't say who used it,” a source in the Panchkula police said. The Panchkula police has also questioned a few persons, including the staff of a hotel in Baddi where the accused reportedly used to meet Jyoti often. “We have got some vital clues after we questioned some staff members of a hotel in Baddi. The murder mystery will be cracked soon,” said a Panchkula police official. The MLA, who was elected from the Doon constituency in Himachal Pradesh and was wanted in the Jyoti murder case, had surrendered before the Panchkula court on Tuesday. The Panchkula police had secured the arrest warrants of four accused, Chaudhary, Gurmeet, Dharampal and Paramjeet, in the murder case. The other three are still at large. Jyoti (24) was found murdered on November 22 near Sector 21, Panchkula. The victim, who hailed from Hoshiarpur, was reportedly in touch with the MLA and the other accused. The postmortem had revealed that the girl had recently undergone an abortion. Himachal MLA RK Chaudhary’s house in Baddi from where the car was recovered by the police on Thursday night. A file photo
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Factionalism in UT police may end
Chandigarh, January 11
With transfers of inspectors as well as sub-inspectors to other union territories (besides those of DSPs) also being proposed once the merger with DANIPS takes place, the development is likely to bring about many changes in the overall functioning as well as efficacy of the force. Verbal spats in public between DSPs, inspectors and IPS officers posted in the city have been a regular occurrence in the force over the years. While it was a senior IPS officer who was openly seen reprimanding a DSP in public in 2011, the issue of internal politics once again came to the fore with the arrest of suspended UT SP Deshraj in a bribe case by the CBI last year. The SP faced allegations from none other than a UT SHO who alleged that he was being harassed by the officer.Deshraj's report into the alleged misconduct of two UT police inspectors was also taken note of by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last year when it directed the UT to suspend the two officers following inputs from the Intelligence Bureau. This was the first time in the history of the UT police that the MHA took note of the matter.
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3 labourers killed in mishaps at construction sites in city
Chandigarh, January 11
The victims have been identified as 20-year-old Rawal and 23-year-old Dinesh. They were working on the fifth floor when they fell last night. The police said the labourers were working in a shaft and were removing debris when one of them lost balance and fell. The other labourer might have tried to save him and while doing so he also fell. The police said there was another possibility that one of the labourers might have got tired following which he sat on the edge of the shaft. He might have lost balance and caught hold of the other one for support, resulting in both of them falling on the ground. The incident occurred late last night. Both labourers were taken to a private hospital in Zirakpur where Rawal was declared brought dead by doctors. Dinesh succumbed to his injuries today. Both victims hailed from Uttarakhand.A team of the CFSL visited the spot and all safety precautions were found intact. UT SDM (East) Tanvi Garg also visited the spot. The police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC. The UT Administration has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to next of kin of the deceased. Besides, it has announced Rs 10,000 for the cremation and transportation purposes required by the kin of the victims. A spokesman for Larsen and Turbo Ltd said it was an unfortunate incident and all safety measures were taken. “There has been an untoward incident in which two persons employed by us were found incapacitated at the bottom of the shaft of the hotel building under construction. All safety barricades were in position at the site. Since all safety measures were taken, we are investigating the matter,” said the spokesman. In another incident this evening, a labourer, Yashpal (28), was buried alive after he fell into a pit at a site at a hotel in Sector 42 where construction work was under way. The labourer fell as the earth beneath him caved in and he fell into the pit. He was coming out from the site when the incident occurred. The fire brigade was called for the rescue operation and his body was recovered by a JCB machine. He was taken to the PGI where doctors declared him brought dead. The victim was married and is survived by a son. The police has registered a case of death due to negligence under Section 304-A of the IPC against the contractor concerned.
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Swine flu claims another life
Chandigarh, January 11 On January 6, a resident of Patiala had died of swine flu at the PGI. At present, there are five patients of swine flu who been admitted to the PGI. Sixteen cases of swine flu have been reported so far, of which 13 are from the region and three from the city. Two days ago, in a bid to strengthen surveillance, a meeting of public health experts from the PGI, the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, and Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, was convened. The three hospitals have made provision for setting up isolated clinics for housing infected patients. The isolated clinics help protect other patients, staff and visitors from
contracting the disease. The PGI is the apex referral lab for testing H1N1 cases. Tamiflu vaccine is available with
the UT Health Department for the management of H1N1 cases.
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Relief: Too little, too late
Chandigarh, January 11
The blankets were distributed by the wife of the UT Adviser. The entire affair appeared to be more of a public relation exercise by the society. The rickshaw-pullers were made to wait on the roadside for over 40 minutes as the Red Cross officials waited for the advisor’s wife. Instead of going to other parts of the city to distribute the blankets, the officials preferred to distribute these among rickshaw-pullers in just two sectors. Guddu, one of the rickshaw-pullers, said the blankets should have been distributed in the beginning of January. Till 9.30 pm, the officials were not clear about the venue for the blanket-distribution programme. The Red Cross officials were seen calling rickshaw-pullers from the adjoining markets.
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4 showrooms declared illegal
Mohali, January 11 On hearing loud noise, a large number of people present in the four showrooms moved out of the buildings. Later, they removed their belongings to a safer place. Though the pillars had started giving way, no damage to the buildings was witnessed.
Col SS Sohi (retd), one of the owners, said work was started last evening and it went on during the night also. We had purchased a built-up structure and at that time construction was done without preparing any building plans. Officials of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authoriy (GMADA) and the civic body visited Shahi Majra village. “People are asked to stay out of the two buildings till these are found safe to move in. The buildings have been declared unauthorised as permission wasn’t seeked before constructing them,” said an official. Officials of the engineering wing said the damaged pillars had a width of 9x18 inches and a drain pipe also passed through the pillars whereas by going by technical terms, the thickness of the pillars should have been at least 18x18 inches. GMADA officials said Shahi Majra area was under the charge of the municipal corporation and the required sanctions had to be given by the civic body. Rajneesh Wadhwa, assistant town planner with the corporation, said the buildings in question were constructed in 2003 and
the civic body’s building by laws came into effect in 2007. He said the civic body would check the documents of the owners. The owners of the showrooms have been asked to show ownership proofs and submit the building plans to the corporation. Wadhwa said the civic body, under the law, has all the rights to declare a building unsafe.
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Chandigarh, January 11 The play showcased how corruption has created a niche for itself in our daily lives. The plot revolved around beggars’ gang and dacoits with the police portraying their selfish petty interests. —TNS
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Russian students cast a spell
Chandigarh, January 11 The student spell bounded the audience with their outstanding performances. Their bright coloured traditional dresses complemented the performance, which saw students presenting different folklores from their country accompanied with dances. The delegation is in India for a four-day tour. After their performance in Chandigarh, they will perform in Patiala. School authorities said that the students of the school learned about their traditions and culture.
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City all set to celebrate Lohri
Chandigarh, January 11 The idea of women empowerment is also very loud and strong amid the Lohri celebrations in the city.
Vinod Talwar, president of central club, Chandigarh, said they would send a strong message through their Lohri celebration that the society must be made a safer place for women and children. Their rights to live with dignity should not be circumvented. Yesterday, CITCO invited families with newborn babies to take part in their Lohri celebration and to advocate equal rights for them through a festival, traditionally celebrated for a male child. Sudesh Sharma, founder of Theatre for Theatre, which is organising a winter theatre festival at Tagore Theatre, said they would celebrate Lohri on Sunday evening with the message to the society that they should start showing respect to the women fraternity. The markets are also decked up with all kinds of festival delicacies. Neeraj Bajaj, owner of Sindhi Sweets, Sector 17, said: “This year we have over 15 kinds of Gajaks and other eatables which could be enjoyed during the festival.” As city colleges have opened, there are already plenty informal Lohri parties at their premises. Khalsa College for women has planned their Lohri celebration tomorrow. While the students of Panjab University, Chandigarh, has planed their celebration on Monday. The UT Police SSP is expected to attend their function.
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PGI submits evasive affidavit to counsel’s questionnaire
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 11 Chandgothia contended that the reply was incomplete and evasive. He had filed an application under Section 13(4) of the Consumer Protection Act, accusing the PGI of concealing material facts and for production of inquiry reports. Justice (retd) Sham Sunder, president of the commission, heard the application and directed the PGI to file detailed reply and produce both the internal inquiry and external inquiry reports, along with annexure, before the commission within 10 days latest by January 21, 2013. Aggarwal has, however, admitted in his reply that Anupama did not have infection or sepsis or gangrene at the time of admission. He said the antiseptic dressing was done on July 17, 18 and 19 but could not give the details of materials and medicines used. He has attached his statement, which he gave before the inquiry committee. After giving details of the facilities available, he said: "In view of above there is always a delay in the management of these orthopaedic emergency cases." "There is acute shortage of nursing staff and residents in ATC...even the space provided in ATC is inadequate. All the major and minor OT should also be made functional so that delay in surgeries may be shortened." In reply to a question regarding the doctors involved in the treatment of Anupama, he has given a list of as many as 32 doctors, including junior and senior residents, consultants and anaestheologists. It may be recalled that a Rs 85 lakh compensation claim has been filed on behalf of the distraught parents of Anupama, before the UT State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh.
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Mayor skips Lohri function
Chandigarh, January 11 Earlier, the Mayor had agreed to take part in the Lohri celebrations. He skipped the celebrations after he come to know that area councillor Mukesh Bassi was not invited to the programme. The president of the association is a Congress rebel, who had independently contested the MC elections in 2011 against Bassi, the official candidate of the Congress.
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Sealing notices issued to 22 shops
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 11 The occupiers, who have been served notices under the Chandigarh Estate Rules-2007, have been given 15 days time to stop the misuse of their buildings or face sealing. A few days ago, the Estate Office had issued notices to several hotels in Sector 35, including Hotel Orange and Captain’s Retreat. In all the cases, the penalty for the misuse or building violations runs into crores of rupees. “Earlier, they had been given penalty notices. But, the amount has to be calculated till date. The notice for the penalty amount to be recovered from the defaulters will be issued later,” said Assistant Estate Officer, Rahul Gupta. There are around 2,900 buildings, commercial and residential ones, which stand resumed in the records of the Estate Office. In many cases, the occupiers have managed to get a stay on the recovery of penalty imposed on them by the Estate Office. In other cases, the appeal against the resumption of buildings was pending in different courts. In many such cases, eviction of buildings has been pending for more than three decades. Though the Estate Office has resumed the buildings, certain traders continue to violate the building bylaws.
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From dancer to running flesh trade racket
Chandigarh, January 11
The police said Seema, who is a mother of two children, used to send girls to a hotel in Mohali for flesh trade. The hotel is under the scanner and the police is probing all the aspects to unearth the entire racket. Both the accused, Naresh and Seema, were today produced in a court, which remanded them in four-day police custody. The police said Seema’s husband had died in an accident in Mumbai some time back when she shifted to Chandigarh. She initially worked with a dance troupe. She then shifted residence to Mohali where she started deploying girls for work and used to send them to hotels for flesh trade. It was during her work as a dancer that she met ‘Raja Bahiya’, who lured her into bringing girls for flesh trade to earn more money. The police is yet to arrest Raja Bhaiya, who is also an accused in the FIR, as he brought the girl from West Bengal to Delhi and handed her over to Seema, who brought her to Chandigarh. Both Seema and her live-in partner Naresh had then sexually exploited her. The police said it had to recover the mobile phone with which they had made a video of the girl and also the mobile phone, which was robbed from the victim at the time she was assaulted in Sector 41 yesterday. The 20-year-old girl from Siliguri in West Bengal was stripped and brutally beaten up band by the accused couple at their rented accommodation in Sector 41. The girl, who resisted going to a hotel for flesh trade, was also captured nude in a video by the accused, who blackmailed her and forced her into flesh trade. The incident came to light only when the victim tried to escape from their clutches in the morning by tying herself with a bed sheet and jumping off the second floor of the house where they resided. She suffered injuries. She suffered multiple injuries. The neighbours called the police and informed it about the incident after a hue and cry was created at the scene. It was deemed that the girl had attempted suicide. Victim’s backbone displaced
The victim’s condition revealed how brutality she was beaten up by the couple at their house in Sector in Sector 41. Her backbone has got displaced and she has suffered injuries on her head. The girl has been admitted to the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16.
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Excise Dept warns liquor contractors
Chandigarh, January 11 The Deputy Commissioner, Mohammed Shayin, took the decision at a meeting of liquor contractors. It was decided that vends found selling liquor below the MRP would face stringent action like challaning and then the closure of shops. During the meeting, the contractors complained that they were at the receiving end due to illegal practices followed by certain contractors to increase their sales. In order to finish their stocks, certain contractors sell the bottles of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) and country liquor at the rates 50 per cent below the MRP in labour colonies and rehabilitation clusters dotting the city. The issue of certain liquor contractors smuggling liquor within the city was also highlighted. Advisory issued to hotels Following the recent detection of a case of VAT evasion by an exhibitor at Shivalikview Hotel, the Excise Department has issued an advisory to the hotels to make sure that the permission for holding an exhibition on their premises be given to firms after verifying the permission of the Excise Department. The matter has also been taken up with CITCO.
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Shanties removed at Mani Majra
Chandigarh, January 11 A team of the enforcement wing removed around 60 shanties at pocket no. 8, New Indira Colony, 10 near Subhash Nagar and seven near the level crossing at Mani Majra. The drive was carried out peacefully under the supervision of Rajiv Gupta, Joint Commissioner. The team comprised Kashmira Singh and other Sub-Inspectors of the enforcement wing. — TNS
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PU-affiliated colleges Amit Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 11 Dalip Kumar, a Senator and a member of the College Development Council, said the university had also decided to rope in the corporate sector to sponsor scholarships for the college students. “The move will lead to a further hike in the amount being offered as the scholarship,” he said. The university has also decided to earmark separate scholarships for each class. Earlier, the first year students, on the basis of their class XII marks, which are generally higher than the marks obtained during the graduation and postgraduation, used to bag majority of the scholarship. The scholarship amount, moreover, will be equally divided among the students pursuing graduate and postgraduate courses. Suggesting innovative ways to help students studying in rural parts of Punjab, a PU official said that the girl students who excel in academics can also be given bicycles and books apart from the scholarship. “The university should also have different amounts of scholarship for the meritorious students from the economically weaker section (EWS) and other sections of the society,” the official said. Every year the university gives scholarships to 250 students. Due to the lack of awareness, however, many meritorious students fail to avail the benefit. Only 42 colleges out of the 188 colleges affiliated to the university availed the scholarships in the present academic session. Dean College Development Council (DCDC) Naval Kishore said that the college principals have been asked to create awareness about scholarships. “We are willing to provide scholarships to more students if they apply on time,” he said.
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Limited seats add to admission anxiety
Vivek Gupta Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 11 “I am tensed whether my child will be admitted to a good school,” says Vijay, who along with hundreds of parents is spending anxious moments as the admission process for the entry-level classes in private schools reaches its final leg. A parent, Vikas Singla, says that another year has gone by but the problem of inadequate seats still remains. “There is hardly any increase in the number of seats in schools as compared to the last year. To add to our woes, the cut-throat competition has made it extremely difficult for us to find a good school for our children,” As per a rough estimate, over 10,000 candidates are scrambling for around 4,000 seats available in the elementary classes of various private schools. The number of seats has not seen much of a change in the recent years. The four missionary schools in the city received over 5,700 applications against a total of 710 seats. In other schools such as St Kabir School, Sector 26, over 1,200 candidates are vying for around 60 seats. Lesser seats available under general category A parent, Asha Verma, says the parents are made to suffer every year because of the limited number of seats. “The preference given by schools to the children of the staff and alumni further dents our chances,” says Asha. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act has further shrunk the number of seats available to the general category, she says. This year, only 62 out of the 150 seats available at DPS School, Sector 40, were filled with students from the general category. Other schools, including Saupin’s School, Sector 32, and Vivek High School, Sector 38, saw a similar trend. Lack of space
HS Mamik, president of the Independent School Association, Chandigarh, says that it is unfortunate that seats available for the general category have hardly seen an increase in the recent years. “The problem will persist unless an effort is made to enhance the space available at schools. It can only be done by increasing the floor-area ratio to accommodate more classrooms. At present, the floor-area ratio in Chandigarh is half the ratio in schools located in Panchkula and Mohali,” School authorities also blame the UT Administration for the limited number of seats at the entry-level in the city schools. “How can the number of seats increase, when the administration has not allotted any land on concession for the educational purposes since 2002,” says the principal of a local private school. No clarity over
selection criteria
The different selection criteria being followed by various schools and the lack of clarity over the provisions of the RTE Act are also adding to the anxiety of parents. A parent, Nikhil Jain, says while some schools are following the point system, many are conducting a draw of lots, leading
to confusion. It is also not clear whether the seats reserved for the economically weaker section (EWS) students under the RTE Act will
be moved to the general category if these remain unfilled. RK Sharma, District Education Officer, said that as per the RTE Act, the government is responsible for the EWS students. The guidelines of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development clearly state that schools are free to adopt their own criteria for the remaining seats, he says. Draw of lots goes smoothly at DPS-40
The draw of lots for admission to the entry-level classes was held at Delhi Public School, Sector 40, on Friday. Sixty-two students under the general category were selected on the basis of the draw. The admission process was conducted smoothly, despite controversies marring the selection procedure being followed by various schools in the last two days. Although the parents said the system was transparent, they said the number of seats were not enough. School principal Reema Dewan said that the school allocated over 50 per cent of the seats available after reserving seats for the EWS category to the general category. Of the total 150 seats, 37 were reserved for the economically weaker section (EWS), and 51 were filled by children of the staff, alumni as well as siblings of students already studying in the school. Gurukul Global School, Manimajra, will be conducting the draw of lots on Saturday. Most of the private schools will be conducting the draw of lots before January 20.
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No draw of lots in govt schools
Chandigarh, January 11 The popular government model schools in the city have failed to receive adequate number of applications, sources added. Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16, has received only 55 application forms against the available 90 seats. A school principal said that the department should not have announced a common admission schedule. Parents generally apply to the government schools after having tested their luck in the private schools. “Admission forms will start flooding the government schools once the admission process gets over in the private schools,” she said. Another principal asked for a relaxation in the “neighbourhood” concept applicable to the government schools. As per the The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, the schools can only admit children residing within a radius of one km around the campus. Ram Kumar Sharma, District Education Officer, said the government schools had already been instructed to continue with the admission process even if they are unable to hold draw of lots. Admissions will remain open till the government schools fill all their seats, he said.
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30 tricity students get calls from IIMs
Chandigarh, January 11 Only those students who managed to score over 99 percentile managed to get the calls. Out of the 30, who have received a call from IIM, Shillong, 15 have also managed to get calls from IIM, Ahmedabad, and IIM, Bangalore. The students, after receiving the calls, have started preparing for the group discussion round which will be followed by the preparation for personal interviews. The students who have scored below 99 percentile are also anxiously awaiting calls from other topnotch management institutes. Hirdesh Madan, head of a reputed coaching institute, said that more calls are expected to come from the remaining IIMs in the coming days. “The number will certainly go higher, as there are many students who have scored well and are optimistic of getting calls from the other IIMs,” he said. Madan said that most of the IIMs have started asking the candidates to write an essay instead of conducting group discussions. Many other leading business schools have also started adopting a similar admission process. The admission process for over 3,000 seats in various two-year programmes at the 13 IIMs across the country is spread over three months. The final results will be declared in April.
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Display separate rate lists or pay penalty: PU to eateries
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 11 The university today issued a circular to all the shopkeepers asking them to display both the rate lists outside the shops before 5 pm to avoid penalty. The university has also decided to display the rate of food and beverages for students on a separate board. “We will install the board, displaying special rates for students, on our own, as we don’t want any student to pay more than required,” Dean Student Welfare (DSW) AS Ahluwalia said. Some of the shopkeepers failed to follow the directions and had not displayed the separate rate lists this evening, said NSUI leader Sunny Mehta, who had made the representation yesterday.
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Lohri celebrations
Mohali: Ashmah International School, Sector 70, celebrated Lohri on the school campus on Friday. A huge bonfire was lit and children presented a cultural function on the occasion. Student shines Anmoljeet Singh has brought laurels to Sant Isher Singh Public School by getting selected to the under-19 cricket team of the School Game Federation India. Anmoljeet had led Punjab to victory in the "School Nationals of Cricket" held in Mumbai recently. Prize distribution function Sherwood Convent School organised its annual day function on Friday. The evening started with "Ganesh Vandana". Students presented a cultural programme on the occasion. They performed Rajasthani, Gujarati and Arabian dances. The event concluded with a "bhangra" performance. — TNS
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The UT police has been blemished with accusations faced by several police officers, known as property sharks and also known to have amassed wealth through unfair means. Over the years, the UT police has developed an image of a divided force with some of the DSPs openly seen arguing to the point of defiance with their seniors. 
