Suitcase stolen at station
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 24 — A suitcase owned by a Chennai-based professor, containing jewellery and expensive sarees worth nearly Rs 1 lakh, was allegedly stolen while it was being transported by a porter at the local railway station this morning.

The suitcase was among the four bags brought along by Prof Sundrawali from Chennai on a visit here. As the woman alighted from the Shatabdi express this morning, she hired a porter to carry her suitcases. The name of the porter has been given as Ram Swaroop by the woman.

Upon reaching outside the station Prof Sundrawali says she asked the porter about the fourth suitcase. The porter said some one had taken away one piece of luggage. The professor has alleged that this was a case of connivance and cheating. The jewellery was worth Rs 75,000 and the sarees and other goods were worth Rs 25,000. The suitcase also had an ancient copy of the holy book Ramayana.

Suicide : A newly married woman, Sangeeta, allegedly committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance at her grandmother’s house located on the Panjab University campus here this afternoon.

Sangeeta was married to a resident of village Mullanpur in December last year. After she consumed the poisonous substance she was rushed to the General Hospital, Sector 16, where she died. The police has initiated inquest proceedings.

Cheated :A resident of S.A.S. Nagar, Satwant Singh has been arrested for allegedly cheating and fraud in case of sale of property. A complaint had been lodged by Sher Singh of Sector 22. A case under sections 406, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC.

Trees cut : Some unidentified persons have cut down 25 trees in the forest near the shooting range located in Sector 25. Mr Manjit Singh, in charge of the range, lodged a complaint with the police.

Assaulted : Two city residents were threatened and assaulted in separate incidents. Mr Varinder Rana of Dhanas reported that he was assaulted by occupants of a car (number CH-01-K-6564) and motorcyclist. The attackers even took away Rs 375 that he was carrying in his pocket. Meanwhile, Khairati Lal of Sector 15 alleged that he was attacked by four residents of Khanna. The attackers according to him, were Kuldeep Singh, Dharminder Singh, Harchand Singh and Joginder Singh.

A case has been registered and the accused have been arrested.

Injured : A resident of Ropar, Gurdial Singh was injured when his scooter (PB-12-7573) was hit by a trailer truck (HR-38-A-1559) driven by Gurdeep Singh. The accident took place in the Industrial Area Phase I. The scooterist was admitted to the GMCH.

PANCHKULA

Suicide :A Nepali servant employed at the house of a local hotelier in Sector 4 allegedly committed suicide here last night. The body of the deceased, Hari Bhadhur (27), was found hanging from the ceiling of his room at the first floor of the house.

The body of the deceased had been sent for post mortem to the local General Hospital. The deceased was earlier working at the hotel of his employer before being shifted to the house.

Injured : Two persons — Gurmeet Singh and Gurmeet — were injured when a tractor trolley in which they were travelling was hit by a truck at Bhausala near Pinjore on Friday. A case has been registered against the truck driver under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC.

by Priti Verma

An absurd exhibition

CHANDIGARH: An exhibition so absurd is unprecedented. Yes, definitely it is a show of paintings, prints and collages but what all everything conveys, nobody knows. Unless one reads the brochure the viewer cannot make out the head or tail even of a single piece.

Please spare the visitors from personal laments. Granted it is a tribute to the girl who used to call the artist a “champ” and she has vanished now. Naturally, she is being missed, but such emotions are meant to be private and they should be kept private. They should not be displayed in art galleries. Harpreet Singh has made a collage of cases of liquor bottles and in one of his co-called creation. He has painted faces of a boy and a girl in close proximity with the word “senti” written next to it. What all is he trying to tell to the world?

In such cases art galleries like Alliance Francaise, where it is being exhibited, should play a responsible role.They should screen the frames before hand and then give approval, for the exhibition Galleries like these are associated with high calibre work.

This current display will remain open till May 1.

Full claim to insured directed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 24 — The Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has rejected the deduction made by United India Insurance Company on the plea of under-insurance and directed the payment of full claim made by the insured.

The complainant, D.S. Ahluwalia, proprietor, M/s Tricode Electricals, Mohali, has contended that the premises were insured for the period May 24, 1992 to May 25, 1993 for a sum of Rs 4 lakh with United India Insurance Company, Chandigarh.

Following a theft, which took place in the premises on the intervening night of June 5 and 6, 1992, a report was lodged with the police and the premises were inspected. It was confirmed that the latch and the lock were bent. The goods stolen were specifically valued at Rs 36,400. The police had also given untraceable report.

The commission comprising its president, Mr J.B. Garg and members Col. P.K. Vasudeva and Mrs Devinderjit Dhatt held that the factum of theft is well established in this case and it is also an admitted fact that the premises were insured for Rs 4 lakh. The claim put forward by the complainant, now appellant was Rs 34, 428 and on a supposed plea of under-valuation, the respondent was not entitled to claim a deduction of Rs 8.683.

While allowing the appeal, the commission ordered that the total sum of Rs 34, 428 was payable. It further directed the respondents to pay interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum after exempting the usual period of 3 months from the date of occurrence. They further allowed the costs of Rs 500.

Transferee entitled to policy

While allowing a claim against New India Insurance Company, District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-II has held that a transferee of a Maruti van would be entitled to all the benefits of the insurance policy taken by the previous owner, even if insurance has not been formally transferred in his name.

The complainant, Mrs Kanwaljeet Kaur, had contended that her Maruti van met with an accident on March 7, 1993 and she spent Rs 55,000 on the repairs of the vehicle which was bound to be reimbursed by the insurance company.

The company submitted that there was no privity of contract between the complainant and the company as the insurance policy stood in the name of Mohan Lal Madan Lal, the previous owner of the vehicle. The complainant did not get the policy transferred in her name and therefore she cannot draw any benefit under the policy.

After going through the records, the forum held that as per Section 157(1) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 that the insurance policy taken by the previous owner is deemed to be transferred to the new owner with effect from the date of its transfer in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

The forum further found that even the departmental instructions of the insurance company required it to settle the claim of the complainant favourably. It therefore held the rejection of the claim to be an act of grave deficiency in service. On the basis of the claim assessed by the surveyor, it directed the Insurance company to pay Rs 44,100 to the complainant along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum with effect from October 1, 1993. The costs of Rs 1500 were also imposed.

Roadways GM gets warrants

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-I has issued bailable warrants against General Manager, Haryana Roadways, for non-compliance of its orders. The warrants have been issued for May 26.

Earlier, on a complaint filed by Mr. Pritpal Singh of Sector 43-B regarding deficiency in service with regard to de luxe bus service from Chandigarh to Delhi, the forum bench comprising its president, Mr H.C Modi and members Mr R.K Behl and Ms Shashi Kanta had in its order passed on September 2 directed the Roadways to refund an amount of Rs 215 and pay costs of Rs 500 to the complainant. They also directed them to refund the fare difference of Rs 43 each.

The complainant had contended that the bus fare from Chandigarh to Delhi in Express bus service of Haryana Roadways is Rs 73 per ticket whereas the bus fare in de luxe bus was Rs 118 and the difference of Rs 43 was on account of providing extra facilities of video films and relaxable cushion chairs. But the bus in which they travelled was without these extra facilities.

The complainant had purchased five tickets of Haryana Roadways de luxe bus for Rs 590, the cost of each ticket being Rs 118. Hence, he stood deprived of the entertainment facilities, which otherwise are provided in the bus for which tickets were purchased by paying higher fare than that of the ordinary bus.

Wheat glut in Grain Market
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 24 — A glut-like situation prevails in the local Sector 26 Grain Market due to almost double arrivals of wheat this season as compared to last year.

During a visit to the Grain Market, it was found that after many years it was virtually flooded with wheat, with stacks also spread on the roads in the market.

The buyers here were mainly flour mill owners and the salaried class. While in Punjab, procurement was mainly done by government agencies, no agency had entered the local market here. Farmers were getting more than the minimum fixed price of Rs 550 per quintal.

"The Food Corporation of India, which is the only agency to make an effort to enter the market every year, hardly gets any wheat as it cannot offer more than the fixed price. The flour mill owners pick up the produce by paying slightly more than the fixed price," said an official of the local Market Committee. He said that the farmers were getting Rs 552 per quintal these days.

The local market had been attracting farmers from distant places like Khanna Mandi, Sirhind, Patiala and Ropar. "I come here to sell my produce because I have no problems as far as payment is concerned. It is made by the buyers on the same day. On the other hand, in Patiala and other areas of Punjab, the payment is normally delayed by commission agents for more than a week on one pretext or the other," said Bachhan Singh, a farmer from a village in Patiala district.

Mohinder Singh, a Ropar-based farmer, said that his preference for the local market was due to a low market fee in the UT. " In Punjab, pay market fee at a rate of four per cent, while in the UT, it is only one per cent, which makes a lot of difference, particularly for small farmers," he added.

"Another peculiar feature of the local market is that unlike Punjab, where official procurement normally starts on April 15 and lasts till May 31, the procurement season in Chandigarh lasts till December 31. As a result, big farmers keep selling their stored wheat till the end of December to earn more profit," said a commission agent.

According to Mr Jaspal Singh, the Superintendent-cum-Secretary of the local Market Committee, though it was the onset of the procurement season, the arrivals in the market so far were close to the total arrivals till April 31 last year. "If the total arrivals till April 31 last year were 86,266 bags, we have received 73,734 bags of wheat till April 21," he said. He added that the daily arrivals in the market were between 2,500 and 3,000 bags on an average . During last week, the daily arrivals had even touched the figure of 7,000 bags, which was very encouraging, he said.

On the other hand, Mr Sushil Mittal, the President of the local Arhtiya Association, alleged that the FCI was reluctant to enter the market, resulting in the exploitation of farmers by buyers, who were paying less than the payment last year. "Though the minimum fixed price last year was Rs 470 per quintal, the farmers fetched a price of Rs 485. This time, in some cases, they are not getting the minimum fixed price as the buyers are offering them a price between Rs 440 and Rs 440 per quintal due to non-entry of the FCI in the procurement arena," he alleged.

Contempt notice to builder
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 24 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued notice to Joginder Shingari, Jatinder Shingari, Anil Bhasin and Shalini Bhasin to show cause why they should not be punished under the contempt of Courts Act for violating the orders of the High Court dated December 17, 1998 which were confirmed on April 7, 1999, whereby they had been restrained from further constructing the building on house number 585, Sector 16-D, Chandigarh.

The petitioner, Mr Tilak Raj Malhotra, resident of house number 584, Sector 16-D, stated in a petition filed under the Contempt of Courts Act that Joginder Shingari, Jatinder Shingari, Anil Bhasin and Shalini Bhasin had partially raised a double storey building at house number 585, Sector 16-D, against the provisions of The Capital Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act and The Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Rules also in violation of the easementary rights of the petitioner. It was urged that despite the Civil Judge Chandigarh having declared the building plan illegal and invalid, the Assistant Estate Officer, Chandigarh, took no action to revoke the plan and demolish the building.

It was stated that the petitioner finally moved the High Court for redressal wherein the petition stood admitted and further construction was stayed. In violation of court orders, shuttering from the said building premises was removed on April 13, despite no permission having been granted by the High Court in two separate applications moved by the said persons. Only on the police intervention the work was stopped on April 15, 1999.

The petitioner stated in his petition that there was a wilful, deliberate and international violation of court orders. Besides, the petitioner and his family members were being subjected to intimidation and threats for challenging the illegal construction raised by the respondents.

Joginder Shingari, Jatinder Shingari, Anil Bhasin and Shalini Bhasin through their counsel in the High Court accepted notice of the said petition under the Contempt of Courts Act in which notice had been issued for July 22, 1999.

Notice to Admn

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice to the Chandigarh Administration for June 1 on a writ petition filed by Mr Kamaljit Lamba, a resident of Sector 35, questioning the opening of a liquor shop in Quiet Offices in Sector 35.

Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and Mr Justice Swatantar Kumar constituted the Bench.

The petitioner alleged that this liquor shop had caused considerable nuisance and inconvenience to those who work in Quiet Offices as also to residents of the area. The vend is also hardly 200 metres away from Government Primary School.

He prayed that the Chandigarh Administration be directed to shift this shop to some other place.