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student’s rape Police failed to notice the movement of GPS-fitted vehicle used in crime Amit Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 21 Despite the PCR vehicles being equipped with the global positioning system (GPS), the monitoring cell of the Police Headquarters in Sector 9 failed to notice the movement of the erring policemen who repeatedly used the vehicle to stalk the girl and take her to secluded places. The recent incident has once again exposed the lack of supervision on the part of the monitoring authorities in the Police. "The PCR vehicle can not go off the track and after two hours, the position of the vehicles and the staff is supposedly checked by the monitoring officials. Still, the erring policemen managed to take the law into their own hands and abuse the victim repeatedly," said sources in the Police. The sources stated that the PCR staff had to report to the Control Room every time they change their location and had to maintain a logbook to keep a record of the vehicle's movement. The victim, while recording her statements before the Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC on Friday, stated that constables Akshay and Sunil Kumar both would pick her up on the way to the school and would take her to some house or would rape her in the PCR Gypsy after parking it in an isolated area. They were often joined in by the other three accused, Himmat Singh, Jagtar Singh and Anil Kumar. The UT SSP, Sukchain Singh Gill, admitted that a GPS system was installed in the PCR vehicle. He stated that they had initiated an inquiry into all the facts. Action will be taken if any kind of negligence is found on the part of any police personnel. "We have constituted a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe the lapses on the part of the police," the SSP added. Meanwhile, the department shifted the staff of the Khuda Lahora PCR vehicle.
Not all PCR vehicles equipped with GPS
There are a total of 59 PCR vehicles deployed across the city, of which the GPS system has been installed on 35 vehicles. The system helps monitor the location of a vehicle.
CFSL team confiscates bedsheets from accused's house
A team of the CFSL visited the accused's house in Khuda Lahora. The team confiscated bed sheets and a few clothes from the house. The PCR van and the motorcycle used in the crime will also be inspected by the CFSL staff.
Call details to be scrutinised
The police will scrutinise the details of calls made between the accused and the victim.
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Dismissal of cops: Opinion divided
Chandigarh, December 21 The police undoubtedly have the powers to do away with the services of “erring” police personnel straightaway, and the accused may not deserve sympathy for allegedly raping a minor. However, the move to remove them merely on the basis of allegations in the FIR without holding a departmental inquiry is being described as unjust. The action has also brought out dual policy of sorts followed in disciplined forces, where seniors facing serious allegations, even charges of amassing wealth and moral turpitude, go scot-free, while “small fish are caught in the net”.
The case
The police proceeded against the policemen after the 17-year-old victim named and identified them. While one of them was posted with the crime branch, the rest were with the police control room. All the five accused were dismissed from service on Friday without holding an inquiry on the departmental side. Recommendations for placing the trial on the fast track have also been made by Chandigarh IGP RP Upadhyay.
Police powers
Police rules do provide for dispensing with the inquiry. RTI activist-cum-Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate HC Arora says the competent authority can pass the dismissal order after dispensing with departmental inquiry contemplated by Article 311(2) of the Constitution. The issue has been dealt with in detail in the case of Jaswant Singh versus the State of Punjab and others, decided on November 27, 1990. The appellant, a policeman, was dismissed from service on the basis of allegations that he The Assistant Inspector-General of Police, who passed the dismissal order, dispensed with the departmental inquiry on the ground that it was not feasible to hold the same in view of threats that he and his associates would cause physical injury to witnesses and inquiry officer. His writ petition before the High Court challenging the order was dismissed in limine (or at the threshold). The appellant then preferred appeal by special leave. Allowing the appeal, the Court held “Clause (b) of the second proviso to Article 311(2) of the Constitution can be invoked only when the authority is satisfied from the material placed before him that it is not reasonably practicable to hold a departmental enquiry”. It was also held that decision to dispense with the departmental inquiry cannot be rested solely on the ipse dixit or unsupported assertion of the authority concerned. When the satisfaction of the authority concerned is questioned in a court of law, it is incumbent to show that the satisfaction is based on certain objective facts and is not the outcome of whim or caprice of the officer concerned.
The basic principles
At the same time, it is well established that “not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done”. While their dismissal from service may have sent across the message of zero tolerance towards moral turpitude and justice for the victim, the action has given the accused an opportunity of projecting themselves as sufferers too. Referring to the basic principle of natural justice, Punjab and Haryana High Court’s senior advocate SK Garg Narwana says the crux of the “higher law of nature” is “audi alteram partem” or the rule that no one should be condemned unheard. Drawing a parallel between criminal and departmental proceedings in such matters, Narwana says the accused cannot be condemned to a jail sentence without facing a trial. Similarly, they should not have been deprived of their livelihood without following the due process of law. In fact, the concept of “due process” has its origin in English Common Law. The rule says that individuals shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without notice and an opportunity to defend themselves; and the concept predates written constitutions. Narwana adds any move to remove an employee from service should essentially be considered from the viewpoint of not infringing the fundamental right to livelihood; and should be resorted to after giving a fair chance of hearing to the person concerned, lest the order is dubbed as bad in law.
Punjab’s former Director-General of Police Shashi Kant says that the instantaneous action against the policemen can easily be construed as an image-building attempt, rather than a move to apply balm that may have been the real intention. “Generally, in such cases, efforts should be made to clearly show that no attempt has been made to take advantage of the situation,” he suggests. Kant says a better way of dealing with the situation was to place under suspension their services before taking them in custody and then follow the due process of law.
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No respite from weather woes
Chandigarh, December 21 The cloudy weather today reduced visibility considerably on the runway, resulting in the cancellation of nine flights. More than 1,000 passengers had tough time getting their flights rescheduled. The day began on a positive note with sun fizzling out the early morning fog. However, the visibility did not come up to the desired level after the weather turned cloudy. Visibility was below 1200 metres throughout the day. The runway visibility improved only for two hours between 1.30 pm and 3.30 pm during which three flights took off. Both the flights of the Indigo Airlines for the Chandigarh-Mamba route took off after the delay of approximately one hour. Chandigarh-Mumbai flight of Jet Airways took off three hours late at 3.30 pm. The Chandigarh-Delhi-Mumbai flight of Air India was the first flight to get cancelled. After this, Spice Jet cancelled its Chandigarh-Delhi flight, scheduled for 10.25 pm and also its evening Chandigarh-Delhi flight scheduled for 5.10 pm. Both the two flights of the Go Air from Chandigarh to Mumbai could not operate at the scheduled timings of 11.15 am and 5.45 pm. Jet Airways’ Chandigarh-Delhi flight (11.40 am), Chandigarh-Delhi (5.15 pm), Chandigarh-Delhi-Bangalore (5.40 pm) and Chandigarh-Jaipur-Ahmedabad (6.10 pm) remained grounded because of poor visibility. The visibility had remained between 600 and 900 metres throughout the day, except for two hours when it went up to approximately 1,200 metres and the Air Traffic Controller allowed three flights to operate. Since the navigational system of the Chandigarh Domestic Airport operates at the basic CAT-I level, flights are not allowed to operate if visibility on the runway goes down below 1,200 metres. For the last one week, the bad weather has been keeping visibility between 500 and 800 metres, resulting in frequent cancellation of flights. Airlines, meanwhile, have no major hope of improvement in the weather even for tomorrow. Meanwhile, a railway official said the Howrah-Kalka train delayed by five hours, Lucknow-Chandigarh Express by two hours, Sadbhawna Express by one hour 15 minutes and Unchahar Express by 40 minutes. He said that as the region experienced rain today, it was expected that the density of the fog would decline in the coming few days. The trains, including Kalka-Jammu-Udhampur and Indore Chandigarh Express, which were announced for the city, are expected to start operations next year.
Dip in temperature after rain; colder Christmas this year
The city received its first winter rain on Saturday evening, which led to a dip in the temperature. The Met Department said rain led to a dip in the maximum temperature by five notches in the region. Director of the Met Department Surinder Pal Singh said this Christmas would be colder than the last year as the minimum temperature will hover around 6 degree Celsius whereas it was 7.5 degree Celsius in 2012. Surinder Pal Singh said in the next 24 hours, there will be generally cloudy sky with likely thundershowers.
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Clean note policy for banks, not public: Official
Chandigarh, December 21 Meanwhile, ignoring the RBI policy, may banks continue to issue soiled and scribbled currency notes. A senior official of the RBI confirmed that for the past fortnight, they had been receiving a number of complaints from the public that their soiled or scribbled currency notes were not being
accepted during transactions. The official said recently, the RBI Headquarters had sent a fresh communication to all the banks about the clean note policy. The banks have been asked to educate the public that the clean note policy was to be followed by the banks and not by the public. He said there was no deadline set by the RBI for the exchange of soiled currency notes for the public. A resident of Sector 35, Sakshi, said she was in a fix last week when the restaurant she visited along with her family to have dinner refused to accept the soiled currency notes, stating that banks had stopped accepting such currency notes. Her husband had to go to an ATM at 10 pm to withdraw fresh notes in order to foot the bill. A city-based shopkeeper, Arvind Jain, said in the last three days, he had withdrawn currency notes from two ATMs of different banks and a majority of the currency notes were either soiled or scribbled.
What is the RBI policy
On May 10, 2013, the RBI issued a circular about the clean note policy to the banks. It says it has been noticed that at certain branches of banks, the practice of writing or scribbling on currency notes continues. Under the present system of mechanised processing of notes, inscription or scribbling on any part of it would render it to be classified as “unfit’ for “to be reissued”. Accordingly, such notes should be treated as soiled notes and cannot be re-circulated. After the notification, instructions were issued to the banks to direct all dealing officers and staff to stop writing or scribbling on currency notes.
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Police tried to hush-up issue: BJP councillor
Chandigarh, December 21 The councillor, while speaking at a press conference, raised questions over the functioning of the police. He alleged that policemen present at the Sector 17 police station pressurised the victim’s cousin to enter into a compromise with one of the accused. “The victim was asked to take back her complaint and get married to one of the accused,” the councillor said. Joshi said two of the accused were allowed to speak to the complainant inside the police station, when she went there to record her statement. “How can the police allow the accused to speak to the victims?” Joshi said. Joshi demanded that the investigation of the case should be transferred to some independent agency to ensure a fair probe. Saurabh Joshi said the rape victim, while speaking to him, said she wanted justice: not for her but for the pride of being a girl.
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Chandigarh, December 21 A SIT consisting of DSP (Central) Ashish Kapoor, DSP (Women Cell) Kamla Meena, SHO, Sector 3 police station, Harjit Kaur; SHO, Sector 11 police station, Malkiat Singh; and PGI chowki in-charge Usha Rani has been constituted to ensure proper and fair investigation in the case. UT SSP Sukchain Singh Gill will be supervising the functioning of the SIT. The SSP said the SIT would probe the entire case and will also focus on the lapses on the part of the police. “SIT will also look into whether the victim was threatened by the official weapon. The team has been asked to give a report at the earliest, based on which further action will be taken,” the SSP said. The UT Administration has also ordered a vigilance probe into the entire incident, which would run parallel to the police investigation. The officials from the vigilance department also visited the victim’s house on Saturday. — TNS
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Baba Ramdev visits victim’s house
Chandigarh, December 21 Ramdev visited the two-room house of the victim in Khuda Lahora to console the family. Criticising the accused policemen, the yoga guru said he would demand that the case be tried in a fast-track court. He also sought capital punishment for the accused. Ramdev said the family was scared that complaining against the policemen might land them in trouble. “I assured them that the police will ensure their safety as the accused have already been dismissed from service,” he said. Ramdev spent around 10 minutes at the victim’s house. The victim’s father told him that as he earned only Rs 3,500 per month and found it difficult to feed his wife and four children. The family got an assurance from Ramdev that he would not let the girl face any social stigma. “I will bear the expenses of her education and various other needs. I will also provide every assistance for the girl’s wedding,” he said to the aggrieved family.
Visit reveals victim, family’s identity
Although Baba Ramdev visited the rape victim’s family to lend them his support, his move revealed their identity to the entire area. With Baba Ramdev’s visit, scores of residents assembled outside the house. Also, though the yoga guru promised to provide financial assistance to the girl, he did not lend any immediate monetary support. This annoyed the victim’s father.
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Have lost faith in police, says father
Chandigarh, December 21 Victim’s father, while speaking to The Tribune, said the police had failed to trace his 12-year-old son. Now, the gang-rape of his daughter by policemen had broken his faith in the police. “I have lost faith in the police force, as I never expected that policemen would exploit a minor girl, that too repeatedly,” said the father. The inconsolable victim’s mother said her 16-year-old daughter was the eldest child, after the loss of their eldest son. She said they had big hopes from her. “We wanted her to study and take a good job, so that she could support the family. This incident, however, has shattered our hopes and our life will never be normal again,” she said, with tears rolling down her cheeks. The family said it did not want any money as compensation, but justice for their daughter. “The accused policemen should be hanged till death to send a strong message to other personnel,” said the family. Afraid of men in khaki, the family said policemen visiting their house sent shivers down their spine. They said they suspected that the police would try to harass them for complaining against their staff.
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Yoga guru roots for Modi
Chandigarh, December 21 In the city to address a gathering for the campaign "Dharam Yudh 2014", Ramdev said he would ensure that Modi became the PM. He said he would be organising yoga camps to mobilise support for Modi. Not denying that he would be indirectly working with the BJP in the coming elections, Ramdev said he would launch a yatra from tomorrow to oust the UPA government. — TNS
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9,357 cases disposed of at Lok Adalat
Chandigarh, December 21 A total of 210 cases were settled down under Section 138 of the Negotiable instrument Act, considering the settled amount of Rs 2.6 crore. Compensation of Rs 4.15 lakh was awarded in the settled 7 Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) cases and 817 civil suits, rent dispute litigation, appeals, claims and arbitration matters were settled down. In labour cases, Rs 1.42 lakh was awarded. Besides, traffic challans amounting to Rs 23.40 lakh were imposed and realised. In all, 20 Benches were constituted today here at the court. District and Sessions Judge SK Aggarwal went around several courts and resolved the matter with mutual consent of the parties concerned. He said this year the district court organised as many as six Lok Adalats that helped in solving several cases pending for the past many years. Besides cases that were pending for over five years, a 17-year-old defamation case was also settled today. He said similar efforts would remain continue for the next year as well. “We will have a Lok Adalat after every alternative month. The next adalat will be held on the last Saturday of February,” he said. The Lok Adalat was held under the leadership of Justice Hemant Gupta, executive chairman, State Legal Service Authority, he added.
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AIDS awareness workshop
Chandigarh, December 21 Air Force personnel and their families, civilian employees as well as students from the Air Force School and Kendriya Vidyalaya attended the workshop. Lectures on associated topics were delivered by Wg Cdr R Mohanty, Wg Cdr S Yazdani and Medical Officers posted at 3BRD as well as Kamalijit Singh, Manpreet Kaur and Anil Kumar Yadav, all three experts in the field. An interactive session was also held to address doubts among the participants. A street play filled with humour and message on AIDS awareness was also staged. The workshop was inaugurated by Tanuja Barik, president, Air Force Wives’ Welfare Association (Local). Seven-day NSS camp ends
A seven-day NSS camp organised by the NSS unit of NINE, PGI, Chandigarh, at Sarangpur village concluded today. A cultural programme was also organised by
volunteers and students of Government High School, Sarangpur. Bikram Rana, state liaison officer, NSS, congratulated the volunteers for organising the camp.
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Quiz on road safety held
Panchkula, December 21 As many as 36 teams consisting of 108 students of various schools of Panchkula, Ambala Rural and Ambala Urban police districts participated in the quiz test. DAV Senior Secondary School, Surajpur; Hansraj Public School, Sector-6; Valley Public School, MDC, Panchkula; and Shishu Niketan were declared the winners of third round.
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Business News
Dell today announced its new enterprise technology to help customers architect new data centres and modernise campus networks while meeting the increasing IT performance and network access demands. The new solutions include highest-performing Dell Equal Logic storage solutions to date and higher-speed wireless and simplified campus networking switches. Marius Haas, chief commercial officer and president, Dell Enterprise Solutions, said the announcements further redefine data centre economics with technology that provides unsurpassed product functionality and lower total cost of ownership to power modern workloads through storage and networking innovation.
Su-Kam joins hands with Trojan Battery Company
Su-Kam Power Systems Limited have join hands with a US-based Trojan Battery Company to launch a co-branded, long-lasting and reliable Su-Kam/Trojan INV-150 deep-cycle battery in Punjab.
Su-Kam’s alliance with Trojan will strengthen Su-Kam’s battery portfolio for solar and inverter applications in Punjab. “With this alliance, we wanted to combine our world-class inverter technology with the long-lasting and reliable
battery technology from Trojan,” said Kunwer Sachdev, founder and Managing Director, Su-Kam Power Systems. — TNS
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Computer teachers hold protest
Chandigarh, December 21 Several protesters, who were holding broomsticks in their hands, cleaned the road to show their resentment against the department’s indifference towards their pending issues, including pay hike as well as timely payment of their salaries. Besides, the computer teachers are demanding regularisation of jobs according to the Punjab Service Rules. One of the computer teachers said recently, the Punjab Government regularised all the computer teachers and since Chandigarh follows the Punjab service rules, it should also initiate process to regularise them. The computer teachers will also hold a candlelight march on December 23 at Sector 17 Plaza. They said they would continue their fight till they don’t get justice. They alleged that even as they had been working in the department for the last several years, their salaries were far less than what contractual teachers had been getting. There are around 200 computer teachers working in the Education Department.
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Magazine released
Chandigarh: Dr SSB University Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (UICET), Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, today hosted an industry-academia interaction and alumni meet at the institute. PU Vice- Chancellor (VC) Prof Arun Kumar Grover inaugurated the one-day programme. In his inaugural address, Vice-Chancellor Prof Grover highlighted the contribution of the university in the academic and industrial sectors. NIPER director Prof KK Bhutani delivered the keynote address. Other speakers guided students and audience on how to address career-related issues and deal with changes in profession. An interactive session with students was also arranged by the PU Alumni Association Chemical Engineering. On the occasion, Tatva Technical Magazine of Dr SSBUICET was also released. The magazine covers almost every technology under the aegis of chemical and food technology. Alumni meet
Celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Indo Swiss Training Centre Old Students’ Association concluded on Saturday. Former principal SK Pyne and principal RC Agnihotri were present on the occasion. Retired faculty of the institute discussed the steps that should be taken to upgrade the institute. Former students also shared their achievements and success stories in various fields. — TNS
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Christmas celebrated
Chandigarh: Christmas was celebrated at Mount Carmel School, Sector 47. The programme started with carols by the school choir. On the occasion, a play by Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”, was staged. Rohan, a Class VIII student, portrayed the character of the mean, nasty and stingy Scrooge. Other characters were played by students of the Senior Dramatic Club. Orientation session
Stepping Stones School, Sector 37, being one of the three schools in the tricity to be accredited for running the CBSE International Curriculum, held its first orientation session for parents on the school premises. Aarti Manuja, coordinator, CBSE International, spoke to the parents in detail about the method of learning, which would be integrated and enquiry-based. Christmas event
Students of pre-nursery to Class V of GN Holy Heart Public School celebrated Christmas. Students decorated their classes with a lot of enthusiasm. They were made aware of the significance of Christmas. NSS camp
A special day-and-night NSS camp was inaugurated in the GMSSS, Sector 20. A colourful cultural programme was also organised on the occasion wherein NSS volunteers presented songs, group dance, solo dance and Gatka. Addressing students, principal Nirmal Singh exhorted them to be useful members of the community. Lake visit
Students of Banyan Tree School, Sector 48, visited Sukhna Lake to see migratory birds and the Nature Interpretation Centre. The visit was organised by Yuvsatta, an NGO. Students were apprised of the reasons why birds from different parts of the world like Siberia, Australia etc migrate to India during winter season. Annual show
Students of Petals, the primary wing of PML SD Public School, Sector 32, Chandigarh, put up a vibrant annual show, ‘Cultural Extravaganza’. Chairman of the school KK Sharma was the chief guest on the occasion. The programme commenced with 'Ganesh Vandana' followed by a number of dance items presented by tiny tots. A theme-based choreography ‘Save girl child’ drew a thunderous applause from the audience. Blood donation camp
Ryan International School organised a blood donation camp on its premises wherein parents of students volunteered for the noble cause. A book exhibition was also organised where books of all genres and levels were showcased for sale. Cancer awareness
Mohali: Century Public School, Naya Gaon, in collaboration with Global Cancer Concern India held a medical camp. Sudeb Gupta, executive director of the Indian Oil Corporation, inaugurated the camp, which aimed at creating awareness among people of the area about cancer. A team of doctors from Fortis Hospital, Mohali, screened people for cancer and other ailments. About 150 people participated in the camp. Workshop
Gurukul World School organised a workshop on “Positive parenting” for parents of students of the school’s junior wing. Dilbagh Singh, a city-based psychologist, conducted the workshop touching upon topics such as the role of parents in shaping a child’s future, their personality and behavior etc. Annual fete
Panchkula: An annual fete was organised by Holy Child School, Morni road, on Friday. Various games and contests were held on the occasion. The major attraction of the fete was the Raffle Draw. Mayor Upinder Ahluwalia conducted the draw in the presence of school principal Neena Trehan. — TNS
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Students meet ST panel vice-chief
Chandigarh, December 21 Members of the body alleged that there were irregularities in reservations for admissions and recruitments at institutions in the city, especially Panjab University campus and its affiliated colleges. Ashish Bhandari, a representative of students, submitted that the PU being an autonomous educational institution had not been able to comply with the national reservation policy. On several occasions in the past, recruitment advertisements did not provide for representation of the ST community, which they were entitled to as per the constitution. Ravi Thakur assured the students that their grievances would be looked into and action taken on it.
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Studying entrepreneurship
before taking up family business
Chandigarh, December 21 Fourteen youths have joined the two-year course being run at the GGDSDCC College, Sector 32, here. Nine of the students were boys and the remaining five were girls belonging to small-time business families of the region, including Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Expressing his reluctance in joining one of the renowned institutes in the country to pursue MBA (Master of business administration), Ankit Mahajan, one of the students doing MEFB, said his family does not own any multi-national company (MNC) for which he had to take up expensive courses, adding that he only required basic knowledge to compete in the existing market. Another student Vikul, who belongs to a family trading in garments, revealed that going with the traditional family way of running the business would mean a limited scope for expansion. With such a course, he is learning about the marketing, research, planning, sales and human resource, which have of late become essentials in a business and go a long way in pushing the income graph upwards. College principal Dr Bhushan K Sharma said the aim of introducing the course in the region was to enhance the skills of youths hailing from business families who would have otherwise gone ahead with the conventional way of trading. He added that the course was introduced only in the GGDSDCC College of the region. MEFB chairperson Dr SK Sharma disclosed that the college was also assisting students, who want to set up their own projects rather than joining their family business. He revealed that there were some students in the batch who want to diversify their family business and launch their own ventures.
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Lecture hails India’s contribution
Panchkula, December 21 Professor Suman Beri from the Department of Physics, Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, spoke on the 'Indian Participation in the Discovery of Higgs Boson at the LHC Experiment'. Prof Beri and her colleagues in the Particle Physics group at the university are participants in the experiment and their expertise was extensively used. Members of the SPSTI and distinguished guests such as SD Bhambri, former Chief Secretary of Haryana, attended the event. Society president Dharam Vir, a former Chief Secretary, Haryana, felicitated the speaker.
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