Chandigarh, April 21
It has been over a year when 28-year-old Harminder Singh, who had returned from Australia, was killed following a clash with a group of youngsters near the Aroma light point in Sector 22. With the Punjab and Haryana High Court granting bail to five of the seven accused last week, the victim’s family is crying foul over the police going soft on the case.

The deceased’s father Charan Singh Mann, too, died this year following an illness as he used to be constantly under stress after his son’s sudden death.

“Our life has been wrecked. With the police going soft, my husband used to remain tense and he died this year. We are not getting justice. The police did not register a case of murder and charged the accused with culpable homicide. We will fight for justice, but the police is adding insult to our injury,” said Harmeet Kaur, Harminder’s mother.

In April last year, the police had changed the charges of murder against the seven accused to culpable homicide in the chargesheet. The family had moved an application in a court stating that the police was shielding the accused. However, the court fixed charges of culpable homicide under Section 304 of the IPC against the accused.

The family suffered another setback after the complainant in the case, Dilshad Ali, who was the security guard at Aroma Hotel, turned hostile in September last year and retracted from his statements given to the police. He told the court that he was never a witness to the murder, even as the case was registered on his complaint only.

Last week, the Punjab and Haryana High Court described the occurrence as a ‘chance encounter’. Dismissing the Chandigarh Administration’s claim that the assailants were a part of an ‘unlawful assembly’, Justice Paramjeet Singh of the High Court also said common intention to cause death could not be inferred from the evidence on record.

The court granted bail to five of the accused. “The occurrence was a chance encounter and the fatal assault was a sudden, unanticipated and individual act of the unascertained assailants. Such a situation does not become an unlawful assembly. So, the contention of the counsel for the UT Chandigarh that the accused formed an unlawful assembly therefore they are equally responsible cannot be accepted,” the court stated.

The complainant, Dilshad Ali, had told the police that he was on duty outside the hotel when the victim came out and stood near his car at midnight.

After a while, six to seven youths, who were having ice-cream, also came out of the hotel and entered into an argument with the victim before beating him up.

The assailants then started running after crossing the main road opposite Aroma, but the victim chased them. One of the assailants then hit the victim on his head and others kicked and punched him.

Chandigarh, April 21
A 36-year-old realtor was robbed of his valuables on Saturday after being drugged by two unidentified women.

The victim was found in an unconscious state near his office in Sector 22 at night.

The police said two women approached the victim, identified as Kulwinder Singh, on the pretext of buying a property. “The women asked Kulwinder to meet them in Sector 43 from where they came to a Sector 42 hotel,” said a police official.

Kulwinder told the police that the women gave him something to drink at the hotel after which he fell unconscious.

Kulwinder a resident of Sector 38, Chandigarh, was found unconscious near his office. His business partner rushed him to the GMSH, Sector 16, and informed the police.

DSP (South) Surjit Malik said the victim was still unconscious.

The police said the property dealer’s vehicle was recovered from Sector 42 and an inquiry had been initiated.

Sources said that the mobile phone records of the victim were also being scrutinised to trace the accused.

The DSP said a case would be registered after recording the statement of the victim.

Chandigarh, April 21
Owners of Bolero SUVs in the city beware! These have become the favourite pick for the car thieves who rake in good profits by selling these vehicles in the neighbouring states and in rural areas where they fetch good price in the second-hand market.

The interrogation of Parveen Kumar, a Sonepat resident, and the kingpin of an inter-state car-lifting gang busted by the crime branch earlier this month, revealed that Boleros were the most sought after cars for auto thieves. These vehicles are in great demand in the rural and hilly areas of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

Parveen, who was arrested on April 3, told the police that thieves were targeting Boleros. These SUVs fetch good price ranging between Rs 1 and Rs 1.5 lakh in the market.

The police has recovered eight Boleros out of the total 35 vehicles from a seven-member gang. Three of these vehicles have been stolen from Chandigarh. The accused used to change the engine and chasis number and then prepare fake documents to sell the stolen vehicles.

Besides, the police has recovered a number of Boleros from three vehicle lifter gangs busted by the UT police in the past two years.

“Boleros have become the latest fancy of car thieves as it easily gets disposed of in rural areas. There is a huge demand for this vehicle as its road clearance is good,” said DSP (Crime) Satbir Singh.

The data available with the UT police reveal that out of all the vehicles stolen in the city last year, 70 were Boleros. This year too, as many as 13 Boleros were stolen.

Chandigarh, April 21
If a child aged between 0 and 3 seems lethargic, does not take the feed, shows difficulty in breathing, passes blood in stool or remains extremely irritated, one must see a doctor.

Holding breath, refusing meals, hyper-activity and learning or speech disorders are the symptoms of behavioural problems in children, say experts. A number of parents gathered at Jindal IVF and Sant Memorial Nursing Home today to discuss the challenges of parenthood and shared their difficulties in understanding the behaviour of their children.

“Giving birth is much easier than actually bringing up the child. Dealing with diapers and spending sleepless nights, parents always have a task at hand. The problem has increased manifold due to the growing trend of nuclear families,” said Dr Umesh Jindal, gynaecologist and director of Jindal IVF and Sant Memorial Nursing Home.

“My child is not burping after taking feed, my baby often spills out cuddled milk, my baby has not passed stool for the past three days or my 10-day-old baby sleeps more than four hours after having feed. These were the major queries of parents during the interaction.

“Parents should continue with immunisation properly and not panic on baby’s reaction till the warning signs appears,” said Dr Mahesh.

Dr Mahesh said no traditional methods should be used on newborns like giving gutthi or applying kajal in baby’s eyes.

A parent from Sector 21 said she was going through a difficult time and the grandparents of the child were also annoyed with her. “The best way to deal with this problem is to talk it out, listen to the children and visit an expert if early signs of physical or behavioural problems are seen so that intervention starts as soon as possible,” said Dr Ruby Ahuja, clinical psychologist.

“Conflict at home between father-mother, in-laws or grandparents can lead to psychological disorders,” warned Ruby Ahuja.

Mohali, April 21
Looking for some adventure! Start your vehicle, zoom through Mohali roads and the ride will leave you awestruck.

Damaged roads in and Industrial Area, Phase II and (below) Industrial Area, Phase VII in Mohali. Tribune photos: Vicky Gharu

Not even a single road in the town is in a good shape.

Potholes on the roads have failed to catch the eye of the civic body officials.

Despite residents expressing resentment over the state of affairs, nothing has been done so far.

Ride on the roads is not less than a nightmare for the residents.

A survey revealed that pits on the stretches had resulted in fatal mishaps in the past.

The road separating Phases 10 and 11 (leading to Chandigarh) is full of potholes.

Several accidents have taken place on the stretch.

"Even the streetlights have been lying defunct for long. The authorities have chosen to turn a blind eye to the mishaps. Pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The situation is even worse at night," said Jaspal Singh, a resident.

The condition of the road separating Phases 3A and 3B1 is no better.

"The roads are a blot on the town. It is a challenge to drive on the road," said Deepak Verma, a resident of Phase 3B1.

In Industrial Area, most of the roads are in a bad shape. "Why can't the civic officials get the roads repaired? Every month I send my car for repairs. The authorities should do something to solve the problem," said Gurmeet Singh, who owns a shop in Industrial Area.

Sources said the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority had earmarked Rs 30 crore for upgrading the road infrastructure in the town. "The work will begin soon," said a GMADA official.

Chandigarh, April 21
As many as 60 stray cows were shifted from the city to a gaushala in Delhi on Saturday night, following the orders of the Mayor. The move has raised many eyebrows as it was allegedly done without informing members of the Finance and Contract Committee (FCC).

Pointing towards controversies, opposition councillors today called a meeting to look into the reason behind the “secret” shifting of the cows, which was earlier scheduled for today.

Arun Sood, Leader of Opposition, said, “The Mayor did not inform any member from the FCC about the move and shifted as many as 60 cows to Delhi. What was the need to carry out the operation secretly? Nobody knows who got the tender for shifting of the cows and what was the procedure followed during the shifting.”

“Moreover, they did not even check the status of Dabur Gaushala where these cows are learnt to have been sent. The move is fishy. We need to get to the root of it. We have called an emergency meeting to decide our line of action,” Sood said.“The MC has been publicising every small activity taken up by the Mayor. However, it apparently chose not to place any information on shifting of the cows in the public domain, this time,” said Sood.

When contacted, Mayor Subhash Chawla said, “It is an administrative decision. It does not need any consultation. The job of a Mayor or the FCC members is only to formulate policies and we have already done that. Beyond that, the concern is that the cattle should reach their destination safely and we have ensured that. This is not a political issue.”

Recently, the FCC had sanctioned Rs 20 lakh for the shifting of unclaimed stray cattle from the city to the gaushalas of other states.

After the death of a 33-year-old man, Harpreet Singh Sodhi, who died in an accident involving stray cattle, the MC was under immense pressure to speed up the process of shifting of stray cattle from the city to gaushalas of other states.

The MC had decided that they would shift the stray cattle to a Delhi-based Dabur Gaushala and Garshankar-based Gau Sewa Mission. It was decided that the MC would pay one-time charge of Rs 2,000 to these gaushalas for every stray cattle. Recently, the Mayor had written letters to various gaushalas of the country regarding shifting of the stray cattle to their gaushalas. Thereafter, two gaushalas had agreed to house the stray cattle.

Chandigarh, April 21
The Union Railway Minister, Pawan Kumar Bansal, today assured the residents of Sector 50 that basic amenities would be provided in the area. He was addressing a public gathering organised by the Resident Welfare Association of Sector 50 here.

The MP after listening to the demands of the residents said he would provide MPLAD funds to improve the state of basic amenities in the area. Kamal Gupta, president of the society, said the area had been devoid of basic amenities like streetlights, roads and regular water supply.

He said despite the societies giving transfer fee to the administration, the amenities provided were poor. Mayor Subash Chawla and BB Behl, CTCC president also spoke on the occasion.

Chandigarh, April 21
The Chandigarh Police went into tizzy on Saturday after it received a phone call from their counterparts in Australia, who informed them about the death of an Aussie woman in Chandigarh. Different branches of the police were put on alert to trace the woman. The woman has been traced and is alive.

During the probe, the Chandigarh police traced the location of the woman to Solan in Himachal Pradesh (HP), 80 km from Chandigarh, with the help of her mobile phone number. DSP (Central) Ashish Kapoor said that an Australian woman had come to Chandigarh on a vacation and when one of her relatives called her on her phone from Australia some unknown person picked up the phone. “The receiver of the call informed him that the woman had died in India. The caller then approached the Australian police, who further intimated the Chandigarh police control room”, the DSP said. Police officials said that the Solan police was immediately informed about the call received from Australia and they were asked to trace the woman. “The woman has been traced and she is alive, her mobile phone has been recovered”, the police said.

The number of vehicles has increased over the years in Chandigarh. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Satish Chandra Sharma, Chandigarh

Residents' woes aggravated

The prices of essential commodities are going through the roof. The Administration is levying new taxes and hiking the existing ones, which is aggravating the woes of the poor and lower middle class. Raising funds by taxing the common man should not be the objective of the government.

Baljinder Kaur, Mohali

Hike unjustified

The hike in power tariff is unjustified. Taking a cue from Gujarat, the Administration should reduce power transmission losses. Kundi connections should be checked. Residents should not waste water by watering lawns and washing cars.

Tarsem Bhardwaj, Chandigarh

Policy needs to be reconsidered

The imposition of property tax and hike in road tax have come in as a shock. It has become difficult for the common man to meet both ends. In Chandigarh, the cost of consumer goods is much higher as compared to Mohali and Panchkula. The taxation policy needs to be reconsidered.

Ajit Singh, Canada

Electricity dept's petition rejected

Being a UT, bureaucrats rule the roost in the city. Giving relief to residents, the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission has turned down a petition filed by the UT Electricity Department proposing a hike in power tariff. Representatives of welfare associations, industrial bodies, trade unions and political parties approached the commission seeking help.

SK Khosla, Chandigarh

Steps must to check wastage

Residents should not mind paying more for getting better civic amenities. The prices of the essential commodities have touched an all-time high. The Administration is doing nothing to unburden the residents. The officials have failed to deliver on their promises. The summer has just set in and the water problem has started giving sleepless nights to the residents. The Administration should take steps to check wastage.

Sachin Sharma, Chandigarh

Middle class the worst affected

The life in the City Beautiful is becoming difficult with each passing day because of new taxes being imposed by the city administration and the Municipal Corporation. The proposed hike in electricity charges by a whopping 45 per cent and water by 15 per cent would hit the middle class most. The steep increase in electricity charges is totally unjustified and should be rolled back. Instead, the "kundis" in the colonies must be removed and the theft of electricity be checked by the Electricity Department. The steep increase is not justified. A marginal hike of say, 5 to 10 per cent is tolerable keeping in view the rising prices of all essential commodities. One fails to understand why "congestion tax" on road users should be imposed when the Administration takes road tax on vehicles? It is a shame that many roads in the city are full of potholes which damage vehicles. There is no control over the stray cattle. These result into fatal accidents. Is it not the duty of of the Administration/MC to meet the accident expenses of the victims and financially compensate the affected families. Similarly, the 15% increase in water charges is totally unjustified as people living in upper floors do not get even a drop of water in the afternoons and evenings. Moreover, the quality of water supplied by the MC is not good enough.

RK Kapoor, Chandigarh

Grants should be used judiciously

Merely introducing new taxes is no solution. The Administration should utilise the grant judiciously. Adequate planning is required under the expert guidance. Misuse of transport machinery and electricity should be banned by the authority . The officers should use the government vehicles only for office work. The Administration should cut down the security of political leaders and bureaucrats.

Sumesh Kr Badhwar, Mohali

Regulatory commission brings relief

Chandigarh was made a Union Territory by the Central government under the Punjab Re-Organisation Act on November 1, 1966. Residents have welcomed the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission's decision to reject the proposal on hiking power tariff. The commission has directed the department to pay interest on the security deposit to consumers in accordance with the Electricity Act 2013, latest by September 30,2013. The proposed hike in water tariff has also been condemned. The civic body should act against those who have not paid water bills.

Puran Kant, Chandigarh

Open house question

The recent incident of a city businessman being booked under preventive section of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and having spent a night in the police station after he reportedly avoided collision with an SDM’s car has brought to light the issue of abuse of power by the custodian of law. What should be done to prevent recurrence of such incidents. Write your comments and suggestions to openhouse@tribunemail.com mailto:house@tribunemail.com

Mohali, April 21
The Administration has adopted a traditional way to sensitise residents against water wastage.

The officials are making announcements through public address system.

Message is being spread through auto-rickshaws. The Water Supply and Sanitation Department is urging people not to waste water and stop washing vehicles and watering lawns.

"A ban was imposed on such activities on April 15. We want to spread awareness instead of issuing challans. Making public announcements is one of the most effective ways," said Gurparkash Singh, SDO, Water Supply and Sanitation Department.

Earlier, the department used to issue press notes.

"This time the department wants to reach out to people," said the official.

The department has also constituted teams to check water wastage in the town.

The department will continue the drive if the teams give a good feedback.

"We are mulling over using 'nagada' to make the announcements," said Gurparkash Singh.

In Mohali, water supply is about 13 MGD (million gallon per day) against the demand of 23 MGD. "We are already facing an acute water shortage. Residents should come forward and take the initiative," said RP Gupta, executive engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation Department.

Waste dumped in the parking lot of the University Business School

Chandigarh, April 21
Garbage strewn over various parts of the campus is a common scene at Panjab University. The authorities, however, have turned a blind eye to it.

The lax attitude adopted by sanitation workers and carelessness on the part of students were responsible for garbage being scattered at Student Centre, said a student.

"It is very unfortunate that the PU authorities have failed to keep the campus clean on a priority-basis,” said the student.

The Students’ Organisation of Panjab University leader Rashpal Hakuwala said in order to make the university authorities conscious about the garbage problem on the campus, they had started a cleanliness drive.

"Last week we cleaned Student Centre and today we cleaned premises of the Boys’ Hostel No. 6,” said the SOPU leader.

Waste material can also be seen littered near the UBS canteen, English Hut and various other canteens near the sciences departments.

Chandigarh, April 21
Research scholars at Panjab University have been waiting for their stipends for past many months. With the University Grants Commission (UGC) failing to release the fund, students are at the receiving end.

Pooja, a research scholar at University Business School (UBS), said she along with other PhD students had been waiting for their stipends for the past 11 months. “We have approached the university authorities a number of times, seeking the release of funds; however, nothing has been done so far,” she said.

She said some research scholars had not received their stipends for over a year now.

Another research scholar from the same department said he had not received the stipend for the past nine months. “I should have started receiving the stipend from the last June; however, I am still waiting for the scholarship,” the student said.

The research scholars who got enrolled to the PhD programme after leaving their jobs said scholarships were the only source to fund their research and meet various daily expenses.

Himangana Gupta, a research scholar at the department of environment studies, said she had been awaiting her scholarship since March this year.

Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) president Satinder Singh said the authorities failed to take up the matter with the UGC to ensure the timely release of funds. “How can the university expect students to continue with their research work without ensuring that they got stipends on time,” he said.

PU Registrar AK Bhandari said the university did realise students were facing problems due to the non-release of stipends. “In a bid to solve the problem we are planning to create a buffer grant for research scholars. It will be used for providing stipends to students in case of any delay in the release of funds by the UGC,” he said.

Chandigarh, April 21
The National Students’ Union of India today held an awareness drive on the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act at the Sector 25 colony.

The volunteers spread awareness about the seats reserved for the economically weaker section (EWS) in private schools under the Act.

Sunny Mehta, NSUI national delegate, said they had succeeded in getting a stay order against the conversion of EWS seats to the general category in private schools. However, no further steps had been taken to fill those reserved seats which were still lying vacant, he said. “We want to spread awareness among the EWS families to avail of the opportunity by getting their children admitted to schools against these seats,” he said.

The team met residents of the colony and acquainted them with their rights under the Act. During the drive, residents were asked to bring their documents to the camp being organised in front of Vivek High School, Sector 38, on April 23. “We will fill the forms of all the EWS students there,” said Mehta.

Jasvir Singh, another team member, said residents were overwhelmed and could see a ray of hope for educating their children. The team members said they would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the children got their fundamental right of education.

Chandigarh, April 21
Various student organisations at Panjab University will come together to oppose the recent decision of the university authorities to allow the Chandigarh Police to challan students for traffic violations on the campus.

Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) president Satinder Singh said the university, rather than allowing the police to fine violators on the campus, should encourage students to follow the traffic rules and drive safely. Authorities need to educate students; challans would not solve the problem, he said.

“The police challans traffic violators across the city, still there is rampant traffic violations, which proves penalising is not the solution,” the PUCSC president said.

Opposing another decision regarding banning outstation students from keeping four-wheelers at hostels, Satinder Singh said the university should rather restrict the entry of outsiders on the campus in order to ease the traffic. The council has decided to submit a memorandum to the university authorities opposing both decisions.

Echoing similar views, the Students’ Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) leader Vikramjit Singh Meddukhera said the traffic police would harass students on the campus. “The authorities should ask the university security staff to ensure that students don’t drive rashly on campus. For violating rules, action should be taken against students at the university-level,” he said.

Decisions to allow the police to challan students on the campus and ban four-wheelers in hostels were taken following an accident involving two students of the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) department, who were allegedly racing their vehicles on the PU campus.

Panjab University Students’ Union (PUSU) leader Sumit Gokhlaney said the university could construct more speed humps on the campus and install barricades to check speeding on the campus.

The police challans traffic violators across the city, still there is rampant traffic violations, which proves penalising is not the solution. — Aatinder Singh, President, Panjab University Campus Student Council

The authorities should ask the university security staff to ensure that students don’t drive rashly on campus. For violating rules, action should be taken against students at the university-level. — Vikramjit Singh Meddukhera, Students’ Organisation of Panjab University