Three houses burgled in city
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26 — Three houses in the city were burgled today and thieves decamped with several tolas of gold jewellery, cash, clothes and other household items.

Mrs Satinder Ahuja of Sector 43 returned home from outside Chandigarh to find her house burgled. Thieves took away one gold ring, a pair of gold ear rings, two pairs of bangles, 22 unstitched suits and Rs 10,000 in cash. A case under Sections 454 and 380 of the IPC has been registered.

The house of Mrs Shashi Mehta, a resident of Sector 23, has been burgled while she is abroad. The exact amount of valuables stolen could not be ascertained. The theft came to light when neighbours found the door open. Mrs Asha Gupta, a sister of Mrs Mehta, who lives in Sector 16 lodged a complaint with the police.

Thieves broke into the house of Mr L.K. Grover in Sector 44 and took away gold jewellery, while he was away. A case has been registered under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC.

Liquor seized
The occupants of car (DNA-1569) fled and left the car on the spot when stopped by a constable. Later, the police recovered 851 pouches of country liquor from the car.

Mobike stolen
A Suzuki Shogun motorcycle owned by Mr Gurinder Singh of Sector 21 was stolen from his residence.

Four injured
Four persons, including two women, were injured in separate road accidents in the past 24 hours. Saskaran was injured when his car (CH-01-N-8460) was hit by another car (PB-10-B-4601) driven by Som Nath, on the road dividing Sectors 45 and 46. The injured was admitted to the PGI. Mr Jyothi of Panchkula was hit by a bus while he was walking near the Dhillon theatre in Mani Majra.

Nargeeta was injured when her scooter collided with a Maruti car on the road dividing Sectors 18 and 19. Nisha of Sector 23 was injured when her scooter skidded off the road in Sector 14. All of them were admitted to the PGI.

Pipe stolen
As much as 315 feet of plastic pipe was stolen from Ayurvedic Research Centre in Hallo Majra village. Meanwhile, a resident of Sector 17 of Panchkula was caught trying to steal a bag of Mr Maha Singh of SAS Nagar from the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT), Sector 17.

Arrested
Anil Ahuja, an officer in a nationalised bank, was arrested from Sector 33 last night for allegedly creating nuisance after consuming liquor.

Eve-teaser held
Surinder Singh Bhatia, of Butrella village was arrested, for allegedly indulging in eve-teasing.

DERA BASSI

One killed
One person died while two others were injured seriously in a scooter-truck accident here today.

The scooterist, Navneet Kumar, died on the spot. while the pillion riders Poonam and Rinku got serious injuries. Both have been admitted to the PGI in Chandigarh.

According to the police, a Swaraj Mazda truck (CH-01-L-7377) hit the scooter (CH-4564) and fled from the spot. A case under Sections 279, 338 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered against the truck driver.

PANCHKULA

Booked
Three persons, including a councillor of Kalka Municipal Committee, have been booked by the police for alleged involvement in a liquor peddling case. At least 3800 pouches of liquor have been seized from them.

The liquor was being brought from Chandigarh in a Tata Estate vehicle to be sold at a higher price in Kalka and its neighbouring areas.

When the vehicle was intercepted by a police party at Gandhi Chowk at Kalka, the driver of the vehicle, Sandeep, escaped. The police has registered a case under the Excise Act against Sandeep, Resham Singh and Kulwant Singh.

Injured
Dhani Ram, a resident of Brotiwala in Himachal Pradesh, was injured after being hit by a scooter driven by Parveen Kumar here on Sunday. A case under Section 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered against the scooterist.

Hit and run
Ms Sunita Kaushal, a resident of Sector 7, complained that her car, parked near the HMT factory in Pinjore was hit by a truck driven by Mast Ram. The driver of the truck fled from the spot. A case under Sections 279, 337 and 427 of the IPC has been registered against him.

Prize-winning exhibits

CHANDIGARH: Paintings by students of College of Art are again being exhibited at Bank of Punjab. They are those which had won prizes.

As the students wanted additional exposure Bank of Punjab agreed to display them on eminent artist Prem Singh’s suggestion. Though they are prize winning works, they fail to make long lasting impression.

Why is it that newcomers in this field are opting for abstract? Is it because it is easy to execute and needs no interpretation. Some figurative works lend a completeness to the show.

The paintings will be on for public viewing till May 15.

‘Release gas connection sans hot plate’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 26 — Coming down heavily on gas agencies for harassing consumers whose gas connections had matured, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum -II has directed M/s Happy Gas Centre, Sector 35, to release the gas connection of a complainant within 10 days without forcing her to purchase the hot plate from them and also pay costs of Rs 2,000 as compensation.

Mrs Parminder Kaur, a resident of Sector 40-A, Chandigarh, had filed a complaint alleging that the gas agency was forcing her to buy a hot plate as a condition precedent to the release of the gas connection. The complainant contended that she already possessed the required hot plate, and, therefore, the connection should be released without condition. She also deposited a sum of Rs 100 with the agency to inspect the hot plate already in possession her. She further alleged that even after the inspection, the gas connection was not released and the agency deliberately kept delaying it to force the complainant to buy the hot plate.

The gas agency did not appear before the forum nor filed any reply.

In ex parte proceedings, the forum accepted the contention of the complainant and observed that “it is highly unfair and improper on part of the opposite party (gas agency) to refuse to release the gas connection to the complainant on this ground. It is sheer exploitation of the consumer from which he has to be protected and that is the object behind the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. It is thus a clear case of an unfair trade practice adopted by the opposite party in the matter. Domestic gas connections a necessity for every home and arbitrary non-release of the connection when maturing after a long wait for a number of years will certainly cause harassment to the consumer.’’

The order was passed by the president of the forum, Mr R.P. Bajaj and its members, Mr H.S. Walia and Mrs Kamlesh Gupta.

Appeal dismissed: The Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, while upholding the order of District Forum-II allowing compensation against a courier company, has dismissed the appeal of the complainant for further enhancement.

In his complaint filed before the forum, the complainant, Mr Herman Mit Singh, had stated that he had entrusted his admission application form to Speedman Express on May 5, 1997, for delivery to the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Longowal (Punjab), so as to reach on or before May 6, 1997. He alleged that the courier company failed to deliver the application form on May 6 and thereafter as well.

Since the courier company neither appeared nor contested the complaint, the District Forum II after going through the records had directed them to refund Rs 30 as courier charges and a further sum of Rs 100 as compensation, totalling Rs 130. A further cost of Rs 1100 was also imposed on the company. The present appeal was filed for enhancement of the amount.

While dismissing the appeal, the Commission, comprising its President, Mr J.B. Garg and members Mr P.K. Vasudeva and Mrs Devinder Jit Dhatt held that the appellant was bound by the terms and conditions of the courier company which limited the amount of compensation to Rs 100. However, it has given the appellant liberty to pursue any other remedy available in law.

Maruti Udyog ‘to pay compensation’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 26 — The UT Consumer Commission in its judgement dated April 16 had held that only the ceiling of the Esteem VX car purchased by Mr Virinder Sharma from Joshi Auto Zone was defective.

Mr Justice J.B. Garg, Col P.K. Vasudeva and Mr Devinder Jit Bhatt, President and members of the Commission, respectively, held: “During the course of arguments nothing has been brought to our notice that there was any defect in the engine, suspension, electrical and cooling systems except airconditioner. This goes to show that the complainant was not entitled to replacement of the motor car or refund of the price. However, ceiling in this case was substandard and had been causing irritation to the complainant. It was not at all expected in a luxury car.”

The Commission directed Maruti Udyog to pay a sum of Rs 45,000 as compensation to the complainant, apart from Rs 4,000 was damages on account of mental harassment together with costs Rs 2,000. It had been wrongly mentioned in the headline that the car dealer was to pay compensation.

''Dasehri'' arrives in city markets
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 26 — The prices of most of the commonly used fruits, particularly mango, have witnessed a decline during the past two days.

The sharpest plunge was registered in mango prices. The fruit, it seems, has started coming within the reach of common people.

The ''safeda'' variety, which was priced at between Rs 20 and Rs 25 a kg during the past week, was available today at between Rs 15 and Rs 20. The wholesale price has come down from Rs 200-250 to Rs 150-180 per 16-kg pack.

Meanwhile, the juicy ''dasehri'' variety has made its entry into the market, but it is still priced on the higher side. A kg of the fruit was available today at between Rs 50 and Rs 60.

According to traders, the prices of the other varieties of mango have crashed due to the enhanced arrivals from Maharashtra and parts of South India where the crop is said to be exceptionally good this year.

The same was the case with grapes, which have become cheaper during this period. A kg of the fruit, priced at Rs 40 two days back, was available today at Rs 30. On the other hand, in some sector markets, the fruit was still selling at the old price of Rs 40 a kg. The wholesale price has come down from Rs 150 to Rs 120 per pack of 5 kg. The decline was attributed to the enhanced arrivals of the fruit from Sangli and other parts of Maharashtra.

The watermelon and melon lovers are sure to be delighted as the prices of the fruits have seen a decline during this period. A kg of watermelon, priced at Rs 8 just two days ago, could be bought today at Rs 6. Similarly, the same quantity of melon, which was priced at between Rs 25 and Rs 30 two days back, could be purchased at Rs 20. According to traders, the fruits have become cheaper due to the arrival of local varieties in the market. Till now the fruits had been coming from Rajasthan.

The price of pomegranate also came down. A kg of the fruit, priced at Rs 50 two days ago, was available at between Rs 25 and Rs 35 today as more supplies from Maharashtra flooded the market.

As far as papaya is concerned, its price has come down from Rs 25 a kg to between Rs 18 and Rs 20 during this period.

There was no change in the prices of other fruits, the prices of which are as follows:mausambi Rs 60 per dozen, orange Rs 40 per dozen and guava and apple Rs 25 and Rs 40 a kg, respectively.