Thursday, April 22, 1999
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N E W S Thursday, April 22, 1999 |
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Jewellery
shop looted in Panchkula PANCHKULA, April 21 — In a daylight dacoity, four armed men struck at a jewellery shop in Haripur village near Sector 4 here and seriously injured the owner of the shop before decamping with jewellery worth lakhs of rupees this afternoon. The victim, Paramjit Mittu (33), was rushed to the PGI in Chandigarh where he is reported to be recuperating. The dacoits fired at the jeweller, injuring him on the left cheek. The bullet, apparently fired from a country-made pistol, after hitting his cheek deflected towards his shoulder. The wife of the victim, Saroj, who was a witness to the incident, was in a state of shock when TNS tried to talk to her at the PGI, where she accompanied her husband. According to Saroj, four stoutly built youths — all apparently in the age group of 25 to 30 — came to the shop at around 2 p.m., asking for a finger ring for men. The unsuspecting woman, who was alone in the shop, showed different designs of finger rings available in the shop to the men. In the process, one of them slapped her on face and directed to hand over all jewellery items present in the shop. Two of the youths who were carrying the pistols then jumped over the counter and searched for the keys of the cash box. The woman was forced by the youths to squat behind the counter to evade public attention. In the meantime, when the husband of the woman, who was upstairs in his house, came down he was pounced upon by the robbers, who forced him to face the wall. In the ensuing moments, the robbers lifted all possible jewellery items. When Paramjit tried to escape towards the exit of the shop, he was fired upon by the robbers. Interestingly, the shop is located in a busy area of Haripur village behind Sector 4. The woman said the robbers were well-built and one of them was speaking Punjabi. She said soon after the incident she shouted for help as the dacoits escaped on foot but nobody came forward to help them. The bleeding jeweller was moved to the Sector 6 General Hospital where he was given first-aid before he was moved to the PGI. Mr Tarun Bhandari, President of the Youth Welfare Council of Panchkula, alleged that the police control room No. 100 was out of order. The Vice-President of the Panchkula Beopar Mandal, Mr Mukesh Malhotra, said shutters of all shops in the Sector 4 market were downed to protest against the lack of police patrolling. A dog squad which
arrived late this evening picked up scent of the dacoits
up to a few yards after which, the youths apparently
escaped in a four-wheeler. The police has registered a
case under sections 307 and 394 of the IPC. |
5 injured
in road accident DERA BASSI, April 21— Five persons were injured when a private bus ( PB-11-J-2541) collided with a tractor-trailer near the petrol station, here this evening. The bus was on its way to Panchkula with over 45 staff members of a company when it met with the accident. The injured have been
rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, while the conductor of the
bus has been admitted to local Civil Hospital. |
14 hotel
sites resumed CHANDIGARH, April 21 — The UT Estate Office has resumed the sites of 14 hotels in Sector 35 following major building violations, which were neither compoundable nor sanctionable. Sources revealed that orders to this effect were issued by the Estate Office following a direction by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a writ petition filed by the Residents Welfare Association, Sector 35. The High Court had, in its order dated July 13, 1998, given the owners of these sites a period of nine months to rectify the building violations in their respective hotels. This notice period expired on April 12, 1999, and the Administration subsequently decided to resume these sites. The major building violations which were found in most of these sites were construction of basements under public verandas, changes violating architecture control in front and rear elevations, structures above the prescribed limit and modifications in internal planning. Some sites of hotels in
Sector 35 and 22 had been resumed earlier for similar
violations, besides non-payment of large amounts which
were due to the Administration. |
Students
worried over delay in exams CHANDIGARH, April 21 — Students were suffering due to the boycott of examinations by managements and principals of private colleges. Now that the examinations were behind schedule, the university would make concessions and adjust its own students. But those seeking admission in other universities and institutions would be denied entry for want of detailed marks cards, the office-bearers of the Haryana Students Association said at a press conference organised at Panjab University, here today. Moreover, the students appearing in entrance examinations of various courses at the university would have only a couple of days for preparation. They wanted a minimum of 20 to 25 days to be given to students for preparations. Further, they charged the students' council of working at the behest of university authorities and ignoring the interests of students. The association criticised the proposed fee hike announced by the university. "We do not want the hike to exceed the 25 per cent limit set by us. A greater hike will result in an agitation by students, examinations or no examinations. The hostel charges should not be touched,'' Mr Sunder Lal, a senior member of the organisation said. They highlighted the problem of scarcity of water in the university hostels and library. They said no action had been taken on their demand for a photostat machine in every department of the university. There was a move to install these in four departments but the case was pending in the office of the Dean University Instruction in spite of all the formalities being complete, they claimed. They said air conditioners in the main library usually began functioning from May 1. But this year, the file regarding this was held up at certain level. They claimed that the librarian said at least ten days were needed to make the ACs functional. "Either the ACs should become functional or we will force the Vice-Chancellor to shut his AC,'' Mr Chand Singh Madan, Chairman of the organisation said. Protesting against giving an extension to the Dean Student Welfare, Dr R.S. Grewal, the office-bearers said, "Dr Grewal should not, under any circumstances, be given an extension. If he gets it, the VC and the members of the Syndicate will be responsible for what will follow.'' Those who addressed the
conference included Mr Chand Singh Madan, Chairman of the
HSA, Mr Binder Singh, a former Chairman of PUSU, Mr
Bhupinder Singh Bhuppi, President of the HSA and Mr
Sanjay Singh, its General Secretary. |
14
undertrials baptised CHANDIGARH, April 21 — Fourteen undertrial prisoners were baptised inside Central Jail, Burail, here today. It was perhaps the first time that such a ceremony was organised inside the jail here. The ceremony was conducted by “Panj Pyaras” who had come here from Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib. The SGPC team, deputed to conduct the ceremony, had also brought with it “kirpans” and other “kakars” required by an “amritdhari Sikh” after the baptism ceremony. The “kirpans” were inspected by the Jail Superintendent, Mr R.D. Sharma, before they were allowed in. According to sources, those baptised included five main accused in both Beant Singh assassination case and the Burail jail break case. Eight of the undertrials had been on a fast unto death inside the jail to demand permission for baptism. According to jail authorities, they have also ended their fast. Paramjit Singh and Jagtar Singh, main accused in the Beant Singh assassination case, had started fast unto death inside the jail on April 5 in support of their demand for baptism. They were later joined by six others. All eight, besides six others, underwent the ceremony today. Those baptised today
were Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara, Paramjit
Singh Bheowra, Baljit Singh Khalsa, Jaspal Singh Dhillon,
Navjot Singh Khalsa, Baghel Singh Khalsa,, Subegh Singh,
Nand Singh Baba, Gursharanjit Singh, Shamsher Singh,
Satnam Singh, Jaswant Singh and Balwinder Singh. |
Exhibition
of photos from April 23 CHANDIGARH, April 21 — It was more than a month back that the Chandigarh Administration had written to all the local akademis and the Art Museum to draft proposals for organising the tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa in the city. Though the three akademis expressed their willingness to be part of these celebrations, they had earlier expressed their concern to the TNS on the short notice and the insufficient budgets for holding any such event. On this occasion, the Chandigarh Administration, in collaboration with the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, will now hold a travelling exhibition of photographs, 'Rooh Punjab Di' , starting on April 23. The akademi has been allocated about Rs 2 lakh by the Administration to hold this exhibition, which will include about 200 photographs by Diwan Manna, showcasing the folk performers of Punjab. Photographs documenting the life and times of folk artists of Punjab, like the 'Naqqals', the 'Dhadis', the 'Bhands',the 'Kavishers', the 'Saperas', the 'Bazigars' and the 'Malangs', and their performances, will also be displayed. Dr (Mrs) Alka Pande, the Chairperson of the Lalit Kala Akademi, says, "The exhibition may be taken to be the seminal representation of a dying tradition or the last flash of the embers". The exhibition will be
open at the Sector 17 Plaza on April 23. It will open
with the performance of 'Malwai Giddha', a folk dance
performed only by men, particularly old men.
Interestingly, the name of Diwan Manna, who has been
assigned this project, does not appear on the invitation
card. |
Tennis
players do city proud CHANDIGARH April 21 — Two tennis players of Chandigarh Sunil Kumar and Chattwinder Singh have done the city proud when they were recently selected for two major international tournaments. Sixteen-year-old Sunil is currently in Hiroshima (Japan) for the World Youth Cup while 14-year-old Chattwinder Singh will participate in the World Junior (under 14) meet to be held in May. Both are products of the ambitious rural area tennis scheme of the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association whose Chairman, Mr Rajan Kashyap, is the inspiring force. Mr Kashyap says, “it is only after a long patience and hardwork of the players and the coaches that this scheme, which started a few years ago has begun to yield results.” Sunil Kumar, who hails from Punjab and is son of an accounts officer with the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala was spotted by the CLTA and groomed to be a hard-working tennis player. Sunil has to his credit the prestigious ITF junior tournament title (under 18) which he won a few months ago at Delhi by surprising top tennis star like Kedar Tembe of Maharashtra. In this meet, Sunil played one of the best matches of his life against Mark Weaver of Great Britain, about which he said, “I really never expected this achievement from myself and after the win, it gave me more confidence”. Sunil is ranked number one in the country in under 16 category and his ideals in tennis are Marshall and P. Sampras. The Director Coaching of CLTA, Mr Kawaljit Singh and the coach of Sunil, says Sunil requires more power to as at present he weighs only 50 kg. Apart from Sunil, Robin Kumar of the rural scheme had won the ATF Juniors title in 1994 and another youngster following the footsteps of Sunil is Chattwinder Singh, who is currently the Under 14 National Tennis champion, and has been selected in the three-member team to represent the country in the World Junior Tennis meet to be held at Jakarta (Indonesia) in the first week of May. It is noteworthy that the game of tennis, till now the game of the rich, has been taken over by players of the middle-class families, who if given some sponsorship can do wonders. Mr Kashyap said the corporate sponsorship of the rural tennis programme was being contemplated to provide increased international exposure to players. Unbridled energy of the rural trainees along with the exposure have made it easier for them to cope with the pressures of the competitive world of tennis where Indians are now slowly making their presence felt in international circuit. Mr Kashyap said seeing
the success of the scheme, it would now be extended to
areas of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh. So far it was
confined to Punjab and peripheral areas of Chandigarh
only. The students from the rural scheme get free hostel,
playing facility and free educational facilities. |
Bhupinder,
Karamjit strike gold CHANDIGARH, April 21— Bhupinder Banta Singh in the 70 plus category bagged gold in 100 metres while Karamjit Kaur in the 40 plus category got gold in 80 metres hurdles in the women section of the XXIth national veterans athletic meet concluded last week in Delhi where Chandigarh won the overall second position. In men category, the gold medal winners include CP Verma, Hardip Singh, Ramesh Chander, Gurdial Saini, Ajmer Singh, Rati Ram, Ajit Singh Daulat Ram, Babu Ram, Joginder Marwaha, Teja Singh and Dharamvir Sharma. Result: men-(above 40) — CP Verma (100 mtr) 2, 4x400m Ist; Sukhwinder Singh (100m) 3, Massa Singh (800 m) 2, Faqir Chand (long jump) 2. Above 45: Sada Ram (800 m) 1, (1500 m) 2, Ramesh Chander (1500 m) I, (1000 m ) I; Surinderpal (800 m) 3; Jagdish Kumar (discus) 2; Charan Singh (long jump) 2; Harchand Singh (javelin) 3. Above 50: Gurdial Saini (5-km walk) I, 20-km walk; Navjot Singh (20-km walk) 3; Joginder Singh (5-km walk) 2. Above 60: Rati Ram, Ajit Singh, Daulat Ram, Babu Ram (all first in 4x 100 m relay); Joginder Marwaha (5000 m) I (1500 m) 3; Teja Singh (800 m) I. Women: Above 35: Kiran Bala (10km walk): 2. Above 40: Karamjit Kaur (80 m hurdles) I, Charanjit Kaur (5000 m) 2nd. Above 45 — Bimla
Saini (5-km walk) 3rd; Bhupinder Banta Singh (100 m) I,
and 200 m 3. |
All-India
police meet begins Bhanu (Panchkula), April 21 — The 42nd All-India Police Duty Meet, hosted by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP), got off to a colourful start at the basic training centre (BTC), Bhanu, here this morning. As any as 1,100 policemen from various police organisations are participating in the five-day meet. The entire route to the BTC from Chandigarh had been tastefully decorated and strong security arrangements had been made to facilitate the movement of dignitaries and participants attending the meet from various parts of the country and police organisations. The centre had been bedecked with colourful buntings, flowers, flags and balloons. Mr Mahabir Prasad, Governor of Haryana, was received by Mr Gautam Kaul, DG, ITBP, and introduced to the members of the organising committee, members of the jury and team managers. He declared the meet open by releasing several white pigeons amid firing of shots from machine guns and bursting of crackers. Those present on this occasion included the DC of Panchkula, SSP of Chandigarh, senior officers of neighbouring states and the ITBP. Mr Prasad took the salute at an impressive march past by the participating contingents. The contingent members later took an oath of fair play administered by Mr J P Nautiyal, Deputy Commandant, ITBP. A bhangra troupe from the Punjab Police regaled the audience before the close of festivities for the day. The actual events start tomorrow morning at 9th Battalion at Ramgarh and will be inaugurated by Mr Gautam Kaul, DG. Earlier, welcoming the chief guest, the participants and the guests, Mr Kaul said it was an honour to host the meet for the second time. The state police forces should come forward to host such meets so that the paramilitary does not have to fill in as replacement to meet deadlines of the calendar of activities. He said initially the games were confined to a few disciplines but with the advances in technology, more competitions have been included and more will be added in due course. Their force was 37-year-old and was the best in the country. In view of their dedication to duty and special training, they had been handpicked from other forces in the country to guard the Indian Embassy in Colombo, besides the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat. Their role in providing relief to those affected in the recent Garhwal quake had been greatly appreciated by all, he added. He also presented a memento to the Governor. The events scheduled for tomorrow at Ramgarh include observation, crime scene photography, forensic science, police portrait, finger and foot printing, medico - legal aspects, police photography for experts , besides lifting, packing and forwarding of material practicals. Rifle shooting will be held simultaneously at Babiyal Firing Ranges at Ambala in the morning. The veterinary examination of dogs, besides competition in heel walk, distance control and down 10 minutes will be held at Bhanu. The participating teams
are from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Assam Rifles, Bihar,
Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force,
Central Reserve Police Force, Chandigarh, Delhi, Goa,
Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Orissa, Railway Protection
Force, Rajasthan, Special Protection Group, Tamil Nadu,
Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, besides the ITBP. |
Husband,
in-laws arrested SAS NAGAR, April 21—The Sohana police has arrested five members of the in-laws' family in connection with the death of Baljit Kaur who died under mysterious circumstances on April 18 at Sekhan Majra village, near here. The accused, husband of the deceased, Palwinder Singh, and his four relatives have been arrested following a complaint lodged by Mr Balbir Singh, brother of Baljit Kaur, who has suspected foul play in the death of his sister. He has alleged that the death of Baljit was not natural as is being projected by her in-laws, but she was done to death as she was unable to meet the demand of her in-laws to bringing a scooter and a fridge as dowry from her parents. He has also alleged that Baljit's husband and his relatives had been harassing her for the past one and a half years after her marriage to Palwinder Singh. Besides Palwinder Singh, those arrested in the case are Pritam Kaur (mother-in-law), Sukhpal Kaur and Baljinder Kaur (sisters-in-laws) and Shamsher Singh (father-in-law). All have been booked under Section 304-B of the IPC. According to the police, the exact cause of the death is yet to be ascertained as the post mortem report is still awaited. The police is also
investigating the role of the other accused, Amrik Singh,
brother-in law of the deceased, and his wife, Balwinder
Kaur, who live in a separate house. |
Dharna
outside MC office SAS NAGAR, April 21 — The local consumer forum organised a dharna infront of the Municipal Council office here today in protest against the failure of the civic body to meet its demands. The forum President, Mr Nagar Singh Tur, said the council had not called forum representatives to discuss the demands contained in a memorandum given to it on February 21. The President said the residents were facing a number of problems which immediate attention of the council. The demands included the filling up of cuts in roads, a probe at a high level or by the CBI into the quality of work on roads and footpaths, checking the menace of stray animals and improvement in the sanitary conditions. Later, on being
questioned about the forum grievances, the council
President, Mr Harinder Pal Singh Billa, said the civic
body staff were busy with the Khalsa tercentenary
celebrations and could not give full attention to the
problems. He gave an assurance that all grievances of the
forum would be looked into in the next few days. |
SNIPPETS Youth Cong state executive chosen CHANDIGARH, April 21 — Mr Chander Mukhi Sharma, President of the Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress Committee (CTYCC), has constituted the State Executive Committee of the body by giving 33 per cent representation to women. He has included three vice-presidents, three general secretaries and six secretaries in the unit. Out of these, four are women. Except Mr Sanjeev Sharma, who was a General Secretary of the CTYCC in the previous executive headed by Mr Vijay Pal Singh Dimpy, all office-bearers named today were new. Most of them had worked with Mr Sharma when he was the President of the local unit of the National Students Union of India (NSUI). One of the general secretaries named today, Mr Kulbir Singh, also heads the youth wing of the local unit of the Indian National Trade Union Congress. The office-bearers named today were: Vice-Presidents — Mr Kamaljit Singh Rocky, Mr Sanjeev Sharma and Ms Rupali; General Secretaries — Mr Kulbir Singh, Mr Munish Sharma and Ms Swati Gupta; and Secretaries — Mr Ashwani Kumar, Ms R. Trehan, Mr Ajay Pal Singh, Ms Deepika, Mr Karanvir and Mr Rajeev Vashist. Charge against MC CHANDIGARH, April 21 — Mr Sat Pal, Vice-President of the local unit of Samajwadi Party, and Ms Nirmal Kaur, President of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony in Mani Majra, have accused the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation of adopting discriminatory attitude against residents of Mani Majra in general and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony in particular. They said that the colony had been facing an acute shortage of drinking water. They said that in case no action was taken immediately, the residents of the colony would be forced to resort to a dharna in front of the office of the Municipal Corporation. Courses for prison officers CHANDIGARH, April 21—The Institute of Correctional Administration, Chandigarh, will organise a series of courses for prison officers on the topic of “Human rights and prison management” from April 22. According to a press note here, the first course will be organised from April 22 to 24 at the institute and second from April 26 to 28. Senior prison officers of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, Delhi and Chandigarh will participate in the courses. The courses will be organised under the Indo-British Training Project in collaboration with the International Centre for Prison Studies, Kings College, London, the Bureau of Police Research and Development, the National Human Rights Commission and the Penal Reform and Justice Association. Samiti criticises town planners PANCHKULA, April 21— The Gram Vikas Samiti, Bhainsa Tibba, Panchkula, has accused the town planners of indifferent functioning. In a statement, the samiti, alleged that the planners had ignored their main duty of providing shelter to the general public. While criticising the town planners, Mr O.P. Sharma, Press Secretary of the samiti, alleged that instead of planning affordable houses, the agency was keen on demolition drive. In a recent such action several unauthorised structures were demolished in Bhainsa Tibba village. The samiti further alleged that no alternative arrangements were made for the displaced population. It alleged that the town planning agency had become a puppet in the hands of influential people. Revision of voters’ lists DERA BASSI, April 21 — The subdivision has made all arrangements for the revision of voters’ lists by following the directions of the Election Commission. The initial revised voters’ list has been displayed yesterday. The objections and claims could be filed by public till May 20 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm with the Assistant Returning Officers (AROs). The objections filed will be entertained by the authorities on April 24 and 25 and again on May 8 and 9 at different places. The voters’ lists will be finalised on July 21 after settling all objections and other claims. In a press statement , Mr S.S. Sidhu, Sub Divisional Magistrate, who is also the ARO for Banur assembly constituency, said forms to file objections could be had from all 151 polling stations of the constituency. Religious programme CHANDIGARH, April 21 — A religious programme, dedicated to the tercentenary of the Khalsa, will be held in Gurdwara Sri Mukatsar Sahib on the Panjab University campus on April 25. Prominent lecturers and raagi and dhadi jathas will participate in it. Bibi Jagir Kaur, President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, will attend the programme. Relay fast CHANDIGARH, April 21 — Members of the New Furniture Market Association, Badheri, have started relay fast to protest against the indifferent attitude of the Administration towards their demand of rehabilitation and compensation. Mr S.P. Verma, General
Secretary of the association, said their association also
demanded that the Administration should order a judicial
inquiry into the fire incident. |
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