Panchkula, May 17
Rajat Bir Singh Bajwa, a student of Little Flower Convent School, Sector 14, Panchkula, has topped the tricity by scoring 96.8 per cent marks in the ICSE Class X examinations, the results of which were declared today.

Chandigarh girl Prabhleen Kaur of St Xavier's School, Sector 44, has bagged the second position in the tricity by scoring 96.4 per cent marks.

Trailing behind her is another Panchkula girl, Aastha Rajan, of Little Flower Public School, who has bagged the third position in the tricity by scoring 96.2 per cent marks.

A resident of Sector 17, tricity topper Rajat wants to become a computer science engineer. Rajat feels that a little bit of stress is always helpful as you tend to work harder.

“One should be clear about what one wants to do. I believe a little bit of stress is always helpful as it acts as a motivational tool for you to work hard. Every student is talented. It’s just hard work and consistency that make the difference,” says Rajat.

Rajat’s father Hardev Singh Bajwa is a businessman while his mother is a housewife.

For Rajat, interest in various subjects played a key role in his success. “I feel the message of the Hindi movie, '3 idiots', was apt. If you have interest in a subject, you will definitely excel in it,” says Rajat. He attributes his success to regular studies and hard work.

“I never took studies casually and didn't bother about how much percentage I'll get. I just knew that I have to give my best in each subject,” says Rajat.

Asked about his stress buster, Rajat says he used to relax by listening to music and painting.

Prabhleen’s mantra of success is her zest for perfection. She depended on self-study and did not take tuitions. Fond of reading and watching cricket, Prableen spent around five hours everyday on studies. “Whenever I studied, I put in my best. That bore the results."

A mechanical engineering aspirant, Prabhleen feels that being good in academics should be one's priority.

Daughter of a businessman, seriousness in studies bore fruit for Aastha. She scored the 100 marks in the computer subject.

“I wasn't expecting that I would come out with flying colours. I believe that one should be serious, but not to the extent of getting stressed,” says Aastha.

Aastha wants to become an economist. “I have immense interest in economics and want to study this subject from a US university,” says Aastha.

Chandigarh, May 17
For the third time in a row, the tricity topper in the ISC Class XII results is from the commerce stream. The results of the ISC Class XII examinations were declared today. This year, a student of St Xavier's School, Sector 44, Chandigarh, Riya Sharma, is the overall topper in the tricity by securing 91.25 per cent marks in the commerce stream.

She is followed by Arshdeep Kaur and Gurneet Singh, also students of St Xavier's School, who stood first in the non-medical and medical streams, respectively, in the tricity by scoring 88 per cent and 87.25 per cent marks. In the humanities stream, a student of the YPS, Mohali, Simardeep Kaur, has stood first by securing 81.25 per cent marks. There are only two ISC senior secondary schools in the tricity: the YPS and and St Xavier’s School.

Riya wants to become a chartered accountant

Riya Sharma (17), whose parents are in government jobs, says she is extremely satisfied with her performance and will take it as an inspiration to do well in life.

“Consistency and regular studies helped me score well," says Riya, adding that she wants to become a chartered accountant, for which she is ready to put in the required efforts. She said interest in all subjects played a vital role in her success. Rather than cramming, she tried to understand various concepts, which helped her score well in the examinations. She is now planning to pursue a bachelor's degree in commerce from a good college in the region.

Could have done better, says medical topper

Gurneet Singh (17), a student of St Xavier's School, says he is satisfied with his result, but could have done better.

“I did not perform well in chemistry and English. Otherwise I could have scored around 4 per cent more," he says. He, however, says he is not disheartened and has the AIIMS entrance exam lined up next month. He wants to become a doctor.

Precise approach helped, says non-medical topper

For Mohali resident Arshdeep Kaur (18), who topped in the non-medical stream, precise approach towards studies helped her score well. She says she avioded last-minute preparation and regularly prepared her lessons. “Non-medical is a difficult stream. I gave equal attention to all subjects.” She says she is satisfied with her result and plans to purse higher studies. “I am planning to appear for the NDA entrance exam," she says.

Humanities topper wants to join Civil Sevices

Daughter of a businessman, Simardeep Kaur (18), humanities topper, says seriousness in studies helped her score well. “I wasn't expecting to be the topper, but I think my hard work paid,” she says.

She, however, feels that the road ahead is difficult. "I want to join the Civil Services and know it is a big challenge. However, I am taking one challenge at a time," she says.

Chandigarh, May 17
In a major demolition drive today, the UT Estate Office razed 13 illegal structures outside the lal dora of two villages. Twelve of these structures were razed in the residential area of Kaimbwala and one in Ali Sher Khudha.

Duty magistrate Balbir Singh Dhol, who was leading the team of inspectors, said the action had been taken against the constructions outside lal dora after the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

An inspector said when the drive began at Kaimbwala, the villagers protested against it. However, after the intervention of officials, the drive continued peacefully.

The official warned the protesting residents that the authorities were videographing the drive and FIR would be registered against those found creating ruckus.

The officials said 13 illegal structures were shortlisted to be demolished at Kaimbwala, but only 12 could be demolished as JCB could not reach one of the concrete structures. The villagers assured the officials that they would soon demolish the structure on their own.

The officials said out of the three illegal structures at Ali Sher Khuda, the authorities only demolished one. They said during the drive it was found that only minor additions had been made in the structure on the first floor, while the ground floor was constructed before 2012. The duty magistrate gave directions to the officials to check the records and take necessary action. While another violation was not removed today because some tragedy happened in the owner’s family recently. The villagers assured the authorities that they would demolish the structure later.

Chandigarh, May 17
The direct cash transfer scheme through Aadhaar-enabled bank account commenced in Chandigarh today. UT Administrator Shivraj V Patil inaugurated the disbursal of pension scheme through Aadhaar-enabled bank account and disbursed pension to beneficiaries by using micro ATM.

Records of the Social Welfare Department revealed that all types of beneficiaries covered under this scheme, including 10,456 old-age pensioners, 5,706 widows and destitute women, 3,047 disabled persons and 1,474 dependent children of widows, would get direct benefit.

Patil said this would help in reducing delay in delivery of benefits, besides curbing wastages and leakages. The pension would be credited to the bank account and the bank would be reaching out at sampark or gram-sampark centres across the UT through their business correspondents so that the beneficiaries could withdraw their pension in a hassle-free manner.

Keshni Anand Arora, Deputy Director-General, Unique Identification Data (UID), said the department had around 94 per cent Aadhaar enrolment coverage with 8.18 lakh Aadhaars issued to the residents.

Rajesh Jogpal, Director, UT Social Welfare Department, said after the introduction of the direct cash transfer scheme there would be no need to fill up any slip or form by the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries could withdraw partial amount also as per their need and balance amount would accumulate in their bank account. This system would also enable the department to disburse pensions on a monthly basis instead of quarterly disbursements earlier.

Chandigarh, May 17
To clear the rush of passengers travelling to Lucknow from the city, the authorities have augmented an AC 3-tier coach in the existing Chandigarh-Lucknow Express for one month.

As per the schedule, the augmentation of the extra coach in the train will be from May 21 to June 30 from Chandigarh and from May 22 to July 1 from Lucknow.

Official records revealed that in a majority of the trains, waiting list is above 100 from the next week due to which the temporary augmentation and special trains have been introduced for various destinations.

Officials said after May 20 booking in all trains from the region had a long waiting list due to heavy rush. Alter monitoring the demand and sale of tickets, a proposal for new special trains would be chalked out. — TNS

Chandigarh, May 17
In order to enhance the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park further for IT companies, their employees and the visitors, the Department of Information Technology, Chandigarh Administration, organised an interactive session to listen to the concerns of IT companies operating from the IT Park.

It was the first-of-its-kind special interaction between senior officials of the Chandigarh Administration and representatives of IT companies.

During the meeting, representatives of the IT companies discussed their concerns regarding the desired improvements in the infrastructure at the IT Park. The discussions covered various aspects, including the issues pertaining to the parking of vehicles. From the safety point of view, the representatives requested Chandigarh Administration officials to increase illumination in the streets by putting up more streetlights. They also highlighted the need for a better sewerage system at the IT Park.

UT officials said the Administration was in the process of selecting a contractor to manage the parking space at the IT Park. The officials also assured that they would come up with a plan for food kiosks and a multilevel parking facility at the IT Park.

The interactive session was attended by Prerna Puri, secretary (IT), Tanvi Garg, director (IT), SK Setia, joint secretary (Estates), and Rajiv Gupta, Additional Commissioner, MC.

Chandigarh, May 17
The 17-year-old girl, who was reportedly raped by godman Mahavir, alias Sant Ram Rishi, in an ashram inside the PGIMER campus two weeks ago, had sought shelter in the ashram in pursuit of peace and emotional support as she lost her parents long ago.

Deprived of parents’ love and emotional support and fed up of her drunkard brother, she started visiting the ashram earlier this month. Little could she foresee the intentions of the godman who “charmed her” and later raped her on the pretext of marrying her.

“My brother is an auto-rickshaw driver. He never allowed me to work anywhere to earn livelihood. Earlier, he used to share some part of his income with me for running the household. But, his addiction to alcohol and drugs increased with time and he started wasting all his earnings on alcohol and drugs. There were days when I could not find anything to eat as he remained away for home most of the times,” she said.

In her complaint to the police on Wednesday, the girl had alleged that she was coaxed by her friend to meet the godman as he had a huge following and had “a solution to all problems”.

The girl went to meet the godman on May 3, who “charmed her” by saying that she would soon get married and her life would be a bed of roses as per his predictions. Mahavir then forcibly took her inside the ashram where he raped her thrice, she said.

The girl also said when she pleaded before him to let her go, he promised that he would marry her after a few days. To make it evident to her, he showed her a set of “chura” and “mangal sutra” lying in his room, which he claimed he had brought for the marriage.

The UT police had arrested the godman on Wednesday. The accused was threatening the girl all these days and went to her home in Daddu Majra to pick her up on Wednesday when she finally reported the matter to the police.

A case under Sections 376 and 506 of the IPC and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was registered against him. He was sent to 14-day judicial remand on Thursday. A medical examination of the girl has confirmed rape.

Sub-inspector Usha Rani, in charge, PGI Police Post, said: “We are trying to trace his past records to see if there are any other victims abused by him”.

Chandigarh, May 17
Students from the Interaction Club of Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36, Chandigarh, visited the Paediatric Oncology OPD of the PGI here today.

This was a part of the drive organised by NGO Sahayta to provide social and emotional support to children undergoing treatment for cancer at the PGI. Paediatric oncology clinics at the PGI are run by Sahayta.

Students from Guru Nanak Public School interacted with the cancer-affected children to boost their morale and bring happiness.

The initiative was taken by principal Gurnam Kaur Grewal. The students also distributed gifts among children at the Advanced Paediatric Centre of the PGI. — TNS

Chandigarh, May 17
It was a win-win situation for the Sekhri group in the Central Club elections as after all the five office-bearers were elected unopposed. There are only six-candidates left in the fray for the post of five-executive members and except one, all the other candidates are from the Sekhri group.

There were total eight contenders for the five posts of executives, out of which two were from the Chopra group and one was an independent candidate. With Puri and Manjit Bhalla of the Chopra-group deciding to step-down, there are only six candidates left in the fray.

There was one seat reserved for the women candidate and with Manjit Bhalla deciding not to contest the elections, Anju Menon of Sekhri group would emerge as the winner of the reserved seat. Major JS Sekhri (retd), who has been elected as the president of the club, is hopeful of winning all the executive posts. He stated that their group was going to dominate these elections. "The members of our group are going to win a minimum of four executive seats out of five as there are only five candidates for the remaining four executive posts," Sekhri said. He stated that the decision on the fifth-seat would be made on May 19, when the voting would take place.

Others who are contesting for the remaining four seats from Sekhri group include AS Mehndiratta, I Moudgill, Jaspal Singh and GS Kalsi. Meanwhile, Dr SK Punia is contesting independently. The results of the elections will be declared same day followed by the official announcement of the new panel at the club in Sector 9.

Mohali, May 17
The Mohali administration has constituted committees at the subdivision level to check illegal mining.

The decision was taken at a meeting of senior officials of the administration held yesterday. The committees, constituted by the Deputy Commissioner, will check the activities of those indulging in unauthorised mining round the clock.

The Deputy Commissioner asked officials to undertake surprise checks and said strict action should be taken in accordance with the directions of the state government. Vehicles used to the illegal work should also be impounded.

The SDMs were directed to check the stocks available with stone crushers in the area, and if not found okay, the crusher should be sealed and action initiated against its owner. It was decided that police nakas would be set up during the night also to nab offenders. The Deputy Commissioner said a monthly meeting of the monitoring committee would be held where a progress report would have to be given by the officials concerned.

The district police chief, who was also present at the meeting, said that proper coordination was required between the civil administration and the police and illegal mining could be checked by working as a team. 

Chandigarh, May 17
The spot-fixing incident during the ongoing matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has not only stunned the country natives but has also left the local cricketing buffs in shock.

As soon as the news of spot-fixing at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium flashed on television sets, the local fans, who witnessed the match on May 9 between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab, were left stunned. Due to an afternoon affair, the match pulled a fewer number of spectators and after the spot-fixing news, the audiences are feeling cheated.

"The news of a spot-fixing at Mohali came as a real surprise. I was in the chair block and had witnessed the entire match from there. There was not a single hint or moment that made me feel that there was some kind of fixing involved. I was enjoying the match and it was pleasant but the news made it a bit of sour experience," said Sanchit Aggarwal.

"Due to my hectic schedule, I missed the first innings of the match. But it was never like a fixed match for me. For spectators the affair was like a regular-match. I am shocked and disappointed with the fixing-news. I bought a ticket by shelling out money for my pocket but now I am realising that it was a total waste of mone,y" said Kamal.

Leaving a black-spot on the IPL, three players were arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly being involved in spot-fixing. Among the arrested players, the most shocking name was of S Sreesanth, the former Indian team member.

According to the Delhi police, against gaining a heavy amount of Rs 40 lacs, the player agreed to give away14 runs in his second over against Kings XI Punjab at Mohali.Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila are the other two players, who were arrested for the same charges.

"They have tarnished the image of cricket. I am amazed with their extreme step. They are earning good while playing for country and different franchises. But there hunger for money made them a culprit. I witnessed the entire match but the respective players showed no sign of fixing," said Malika Bagga.

Chandigarh, May 17
Tricity is in limelight for wrong reasons. First it was ‘railgate’ scam involving former Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla and now it’s the spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the PCA stadium in Mohali.

It was on May 3, when the CBI arrested Bansal’s nephew Vijay Singla for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 90 lakh from a railway board member Mahesh Kumar, who wanted his help in securing a “more lucrative” position on the board. On May 10, Local Member of Parliament (MP) Pawan Kumar Bansal had to resign from the cabinet due to ‘railgate’ scam. Singla was arrested from his Chandigarh-based office. In this case, his aide, Panchkula-based businessmen Sandeep Goyal and Ajay Garg, were also arrested. In this connection, the CBI team had conducted raids in Chandigarh and Panchkula.

As if the controversy was not enough, tricity’s link with the spot-fixing in the IPL matches has also come to light. According to the Delhi police, the spot fixing took place in the second match on May 9 in Mohali. The match was played between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. According to sources, Sreesanth and the main bookie Janardan Jiju were staying in the same hotel in Chandigarh.

Rajender Pandey, a city-based social worker, said it is bad to see the city beautiful’s name in cases like ‘railgate’ scam and IPL spot fixing.

Echoing similar view, Poonam, a college student, said one feels proud when the native city’s name comes in media for good reasons. But if the city’s name and the MP’s name, who represents your city, crops up in scams then one feels let down.

Recently, Chandigarh was also in news when Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay, who was beaten up by inmates at a Jammu Jail in an apparent retaliation to the death of Sarabjit Singh, died in the PGI, Chandigarh, on May 9. Sanaullah, 52, was serving life imprisonment at Jammu's Kot Bhalwal Jail.

Earlier, Ruchika molestatioin case in which former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore was accused had also brought Chandigarh and Panchkula’s name in national news for wrong reasons.

Panchkula, May 17
Following the controversy of working hand in glove with the bookies in the IPL matches, two Station House Officers of Panchkula, who were accused of taking Rs 10 lakh, have been found guilty in preliminary inquiry conducted by the ACP

Dinesh Chauhan, Station House Officer of the Mansa Devi Complex police station and Sector 20 SHO Surinder Kumar were sent to police lines recently following corruption charges. An inquiry was initiated against them by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Purnima Singh. The inquiry submitted by ACP Purnima stated that the two were guilty and had role in taking money. It has been submitted that apart from a departmental enquiry, departmental action may also be initiated against them.

"In the preliminary investigations, the two have been found guilty but it is only after the departmental enquiry that disciplinary action will be initiated against them if the facts come out to be true," said Commissioner of Police Rajbir Deswal.

Sources said that in taking money, Dinesh acted as an instrument while Surinder was the beneficiary in the whole money game. Evidences of the mediators in the case will play a crucial role in holding the two guilty in the final enquiry. It was recently when the action of sending police lines was taken against the SHOs after it was found that the two took Rs 10 lakh from 10 IPL bookies arrested by the crime investigating agency. Source said the two were aware of the IPL betting and took the amount for letting go the accused involved in betting.

Zirakpur, May 17
A woman committed suicide by jumping from the 6th floor of Rishi Apartments at Zirakpur on the Friday morning. The body of victim had been kept in the Civil Hospital, Dera Bassi, for the purpose of postmortem. The victim had been identified as Lovleen Kaur from Zirakpur, though the reason behind her suicide could not be confirmed.

The victim was unmarried and lived at the flat no. E601 at 6th floor of Rishi Apartments, Zirakpur, along with her family. Ironically, no family member was found present at the flat, after the incident. Meanwhile SMO Dera Bassi Dr SK Mittal said that postmortem would be conducted only when any of her family members would come there. 

Chandigarh, May 17
It is not uncommon to note partly red-colour urine, which is mostly indicative of presence of blood. It is called Haematuria, which is an important symptom pointing towards a serious underlying disease affecting the urinary tract (kidney, ureter, urinary bladder, prostate gland and urethra).

“Though some will seek medical advice following an episode of Haematuria, more commonly people tend to believe that this is a result of taking spicy food or exposure to heat, and ignore this. Most often, such bleeding will stop spontaneously and patients do not seek medical advice subsequently. This allows the underlined disease to progress silently to a serious stage,” said experts.

In adults, individual blood in the urine indicates serious urinary infection, stone disease, cancerous tumour in kidney, urinary bladder, prostate and tuberculosis. The timely diagnosis of all these diseases is crucial for cure. Late diagnosis would lead to advanced malignancy and kidney failure.

The presence of blood can easily be diagnosed by routine examination of urine sample, which would confirm the presence of red blood cells. The presence of pus cells in the urine indicates an infection. To diagnose the underlying disease, a medical specialist usually depends on ultrasound, scan of abdomen, IVP (intravenous urography) and a CT scan depending on the seriousness of the condition.

The sixth public lecture in the Golden Jubilee Public Lecture Series on Haematuria by Dr AK Mandal, Head, Department of Urology, PGIMER, was delivered today on the ground floor of the New OPD Block, PGIMER

Chandigarh, May 17
Compared to last year, the highest percentage secured by the tricity toppers has shown a decline in both the ICSE Class X and ISC Class XII results.

Last year, two students shared the first position in Class X by securing 98 per cent. The highest percentage recorded this year in Class X was 96.8% secured by Panchkula boy Rajat Bir Singh Bajwa.

There is a major decline in the percentage in the Class XII results. The highest score in Humanities recorded this year is 81.25 per cent compare to 89 per cent last year. The downward trend is seen in other streams too.

Last year, the toppers in the non-medical and medical stream had secured 93.75 per cent and 91.5 per cent marks, respectively. However, this year there was not even a single student touching the 90 per cent mark in these two streams. Gurneet Singh with 87.25% and Arshdeep Kaur 88% stood first in the medical and non-medical stream, respectively, in the tricity. In the Commerce steam, too, the highest marks reduced from 94.5 per cent last year to 91.25 per cent this year.

The overall passing percentage is also down across the country and in the tricity. While the overall pass percentage for Class X in 2012 was 98.62 per cent, it came down to 98.20 per cent this year. In Class XII, there is a major decline in the pass percentage from 97.25% in 2012 to 95.15% this year.

Experts said change in the subject pattern as well as difficult level of question papers had led to a decline in the the overall percentage.

Vikrant Suri, Principal of Tender Heart School, Sector 33, said the format of the science paper for Class X was differently set this year. Moreover, students used to score well in environmental studies, the exam of which is conducted separately every year. However, from this year, the subject has been merged with the other subjects. "Since marks of students were already touching the higher level, the low percentage this year might be a correction by the board," said Vikrant

As far as Class XII performances is concerned, Anita Sachdeva, vice-president, Yadavindra Public School, Mohali, said stress was the major reason for a decline in students' performance. These days students are extremely burdened with competitive exams and then they have to score well in board exams these days. We need some kind of balance in the education system, she said.

Harold Carver, Director, St Stephen's School, Sector 45, however, said the facts about a decline in the overall passing result might be good for newspapers headlines, but the real education lay in instilling a sense of confidence and right wisdom in students. 

Chandigarh, May 17
Even as a boy topped the ICSE Class- X results, it is the girls who performed better in the overall results in the tricity.

At the national level also, girls have done better than boys securing an overall passing percentage of 98.78 per cent compare to 97.73 per cent in case of boys. Overall 98.20% students across the country passed the exam.

As many as 24 girls, out of 41 students, secured 90 per cent and above in Little Flower Convent School, Panchkula.

All the five students, who scored 95 per cent and above in St Stephen's Schools, are girls. There are three girls in the top five students of Strawberry Fields World School. The officials concerned said the girls had always performed well in the ICSE and this time also there is no exception.

In the ISC Class XII results, too, three out of four toppers in different streams are girls. Among a total of 1,40,878 students, who appeared for the ICSE exam, 62,437 were girls.

Mohali, May 17
A peon's daughter and student of St Xavier's High School here has brought laurels to the institution and her village by scoring 85 per cent marks in the ICSE (Class X) examination.

Hard work and perseverance have no substitute and that is what Kiran Aswal, a Class X student of St Xavier's High School has proved.

The Principal noticed the spark in the child and helped her in all possible ways to achieve her goal. She was encouraged and helped by her teachers and given extra attention.

"I want to become a police officer to fulfil my father's wishes. My father has been doing all he can to make sure that I do not lack anything in my studies," she said. She said even her mother did not burden her with work at home, and she had time to even attend tuition classes. She helped her mother only on Sundays. Her father, Anup Aswal, who is from Garhwal and now resides in Mataur village here, said he had been working at St Xavier's as a peon for around 15 years. He said Kiran was the eldest of his four children.

Chandigarh, May 17
Little Flower Convent School, Sector 14, Panchkula, has emerged a front runner in the ICSE Class X results with two tricity toppers well as the highest number of students securing above 90 per cent.

Two of its students, Rajat Bir Singh Bajwa and Aastha Rajan, are in the top three positions in the tricity. Besides, 41 of its students have secured 90 per cent and above.

Yadavindra Public School (YPS), Mohali, had 20 students securing more than 90% marks. St Xaver's School, Sector 44, Chandigarh, had 13 students featuring in the list of 90 per cent and above. Besides one of its students, Prabhleen Kaur, was ranked second in the tricity.

Strawberry Fields World School, Sector 26, had seven students in the above 90% bracket. Anish Verma of the school topped with 94.2 per cent followed by Mannat Kang with 92.2 per cent. Director of the school Atul Khanna said this was the school's second batch and students here continued to do well in their overall academic performance.

St Stephen's School, Sector 45, had as many as five students scoring 95% and above. Apoorva Jain topped the chart with 95.8 %, followed by Ishita Jain with 95.2 per cent, Megha Kalra with 95.2 per cent, Takshi Sachdeva with 95 per cent and Aayush Bhutani with 95%. Besides, nine of its students have scored above 90 per cent.

Gurjot Singh of Tender Heart School, Sector 33, topped the school with 94.2 per cent, followed by Himani Karwal with 93.4 per cent. Parneet Singh and Tanvi secured 91.6 and 90.4 per cent marks, respectively while Rishbh Malhotra has secured 92.6 per cent.

Mohali, May 17
Girls stole the show at Yadavindra Public School (YPS) here winning the top three positions in the ICSE (Class X) examination.

Kajal Sharma, who topped the school, obtained 95.4 per cent marks. Beeban Rai came a close second with 95.2 per cent marks while the third slot went to Baani Ahluwalia (94.2 per cent).

Kajal Sharma said her success mantra was “work hard and achieve anything.” Her inspiration, she said, was her father, who was heading the Punjab branch of a private company.

Kajal said she put in a good number of hours in studies to excel. She wanted to become an engineer and hoped to get admission later to a good institution.

Principal of YPS RP Devgan said 112 students appeared for the ICSE examination and 20 students have scored more than 90 per cent marks.

The Principal clarified that the method of calculation of percentage at YPS was that authorised by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) for the ICSE examination, i.e. the scores of English plus the best of four subjects.

At St Xavier’s High School here, 45 students appeared for the ICSE examination, of whom two students got more than 90 per cent marks. Isha Saxena scored 91.6 per cent while Rubeena Singh obtained 90.2 per cent marks.