The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

Hostels' inaction makes students bold, rowdy
By Amarjit Thind
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 12 — Incidents of indiscipline, rowdyism and general lawlessness are on the rise in various hostels in the city in the absence of any checks by the college authorities.

The soft approach by the authorities towards such incidents has resulted in things coming to such a pass that some days ago certain hostellers, who considered their hostel a "safe house", brought their girlfriends to one of the hostel rooms and were reportedly caught by the Principal and other teachers while allegedly watching an adult movie.

Sources said the act was compounded by the fact that the incident occurred in the morning and the girls were taken to the first floor room at 9.30 in full view of others. The video cassette player and television set had been hired and the movie arranged previously.

The boys are students of BA (I) and were staying in General Hostel of the Government College for Men, Sector 11. They have been expelled from the hostel but a final decision on their conduct is yet to be taken. The girls are said to be hostellers from a college located in the a southern sector and are stated to be frequent visitors to the "safe house".

This incident, which shocked the authorities, has not only been played down but the college authorities and senior officials of the Chandigarh Administration are tightlipped on the whole affair and their only comments are that they are pursuing the matter.

Meanwhile, the police has convened a meeting of the deans and wardens for next week to review the growing lawlessness. The authorities will be urged to keep a strict watch on the boarders and their activities.

Although the matter was not brought to the notice of the police, the intelligence wing of the force had been writing to the managements of the educational institutions at regular intervals hinting at such activities, besides incidents of lawlessness. Sources said that repeated meetings with the heads of institutions had failed to redress the problems.

The major offences listed by the police are free access of outsiders, in many cases anti-social elements, to the hostels, frequent brawls reportedly by drunk students, bringing in girlfriends or prostitutes, smashing hostel property and rowdyism in general. Most hostels have low boundary walls and have hardly any lighting in the corridors.

Officials said the incidents were in the notice of the police but in the absence of complaints from the authorities it was unable to take any action.

Maintaining discipline in hostels was handled by the respective colleges and only when students had committed a criminal act was the police summoned. The wardens were responsible for this, but sources said that many of them frequently turned a blind eye to such incidents.

In most cases the offenders got away with mere warnings. In many cases even incidents of arson were brushed under the carpet.

Sources said it was not uncommon to see boys bringing in their girlfriends in the morning or evening at many hostels by bribing watchmen. The going rate at many places ranged from Rs 100 to Rs 300, depending on the time of the day and the urgency, the sources revealed.

No instrument, no phone connection
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 12 — New telephone connections in Chandigarh, Panchkula and SAS Nagar will now be released to only those applicants who have their own telephone instruments.

All applicants are being informed about the new system, that will also entitle them to a rebate of Rs 250. This rebate will be adjusted against telephone bills. This scheme will remain in force till March 31.

This was done as a short supply of telephone instruments had been delaying release of connections in the past few months, the local telephone department says. Subscribers unable to procure their instruments will be bypassed and the connection will be provided to the next applicant in the waiting list.

Subscribers who have received the advice to get their own instruments have to send their confirmation to the SDO or Divisional Engineer concerned. The arrangement has become unavoidable as the waiting list needs to be cleared up but short supply of instruments is delaying matters, says Mr Prithipal Singh, Principal General Manager Telecom.

Sources say hundreds of new telephone connections in Chandigarh, Panchkula and SAS Nagar have been delayed as the local telecom department does not have sufficient number of telephone instruments for installation. The department has installed wires and is technically in a position to energise connections. Non-availability of new instruments is the only hurdle, say sources. In some cases, the wait for subscribers has been more than six weeks, sources say.

Subscribers who are keen to instal their own instruments and get their telephone connections energised are not being allowed to do so. The plea of the department is that this will technically become an out-of-turn connection as someone whose connection has been released earlier will be bypassed.

Permission for the required detailed instructions has been received from authorities at the top. Sources say shortage of instruments has arisen as change in procedure for procuring new instruments has not been streamlined.

From this year, the Union Ministry of Communications, which used to buy instruments from private parties by inviting tenders, did away with the practice of procuring instruments for the entire country. They asked the respective telecom circle offices to procure their instruments to supply these to telecom circles within their areas. The department had to get around 500 instruments on loan from Ambala some months back to tide over the problem partially, sources said.

COMMUNITY

Rain, winds lash city
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 12 — The city and its surrounding areas were lashed by intermittent rain for the second consecutive day today. Despite 6 millimetres of rain till 5.30 pm today, the temperatures during morning and evening hours were more than the normal average for this time of the year.

The minimum temperature was 13°Celsius, or 6° above normal. Yesterday, the minimum temperature rose sharply and was recorded at 10.4°C, which is 3° above normal.

The maximum temperature also remained on a high and was recorded at 21.2°C, or 1° above the normal average.

The local meteorological office said that the rain was due to western disturbances over Jammu and Kashmir, aided by an upper air cyclonic circulation over north western Rajasthan, adjoining Punjab.

Today, the city was also lashed by strong winds throughout the day.

The rain was the maximum around 5 pm when it was time for office-goers to return home. During the day, several people preferred to use blowers and heaters as the wind was causing a chill and also forcing people to close the doors and windows.

More rain has been predicted for tomorrow. There will be a fall in the night temperature.

Nagar kirtan passes via decorated route
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 12 — A colourful nagar kirtan procession was organised today to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru.

Braving the rain, devotees started from the Sector 34 gurdwara at 1.30 pm. The procession passed through decorated routes of Sectors 33, 32, 20, 21, 22 and 23 before terminating at the Sector 38 gurdwara.

Sweets were distributed throughout the route. Stalls and tents had come up all over to welcome the procession. Special refreshments and tea were served at various places. The markets were also well decorated.

A large number of Gurbani-reciting groups from various parts of the city joined in the procession. The major attractions were the nagara and gatka parties. The Panj Piaras in their traditional costumes carried swords in their hands as they walked in front of the flower-bedecked palki carrying Guru Granth Sahib. The holy book was decorated and to save it from rain, it had a polythene canopy.

The Sector 34 gurdwara was illuminated and tastefully decorated for the procession.

A development dream turns sour
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Jan 12 — The development of Sector 5 is a dream which has turned sour. The project of building it on the lines of Sector 17 in Chandigarh and making it the hub of most commercial activity is yet to take off. This leaves the residents to make do with small markets.

The sector, supposed to house the business centres and branches of various banks, has only a handful of shops, a hotel and a theatre in the vicinity. The rest of the expanse is full of huge craters with wild shrubs and grass growing in abundance. Mounds of rubble dot the piece of land with no signs of development.

The failure of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) to provide even the essentials associates with development and now the general recession in the market have contributed to this state.

Mr K. C. Arora says that when he bought a site in the sector, there was no development in the sector. "However, HUDA has now laid a few approach roads and installed lights. There has been 50 per cent development of the area but it has come at a time when sales are low and the morale of the business community is even lower,'' he adds.

Another businessman, Mr Mahender Nandwani, explains, "We are all in a tight spot and not in a position to shift our businesses. The time is not ripe to begin new ventures and nobody is willing to shift well-established work to a new venue.''

Sources in HUDA inform that out of the 210 sites available in the city centre, only 80 have so far been allotted to parties. The remaining are still in the possession of HUDA since the allottees are yet to make payments for the same. Also, construction work at the sites already allotted is yet to begin in spite of HUDA having issued notices.

"All those with commercial sites in Sector 5 have chosen to stay away. Even though notices were issued to them to begin work at the sites one month back, they have delayed construction work by paying the extension fee and we are in no position to pressurise them to begin construction,'' an official said.

The President of the Citizens Welfare Association, Mr S. K. Nayar, says, "It is important for the city centre to come for the development of the township. Big buildings, all kinds of shops and offices in one area earmarked for the purpose are likely to benefit the residents greatly. This will also solve the problem of offices operating from residential areas against rules.''

CRIME

Army ex-officer’s house burgled
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Jan 12 — A theft was reported from a house in Sector 12 though the loss could not be ascertained since the house owners were out of the town and not available for comment.

The owner, Brig M.K. Aggarwal (retd), had left for Delhi on January 5. Last night, his son, Aditya, who is working in Gurgaon, reached here around 2 a.m. for a couple of days only to find the two bedrooms completely ransacked. He immediately informed the police.

However, not much could be ascertained since nobody knew when the incident took place. The thieves had removed the grill to the bedroom to gain entry into the house. With a vacant plot behind the house, they managed to get in discreetly and rummaged through the cupboards and drawers of the bedrooms before leaving through the back door.

Incidentally, the tenant of the Aggarwals had also been away since December 28 and returned on January 9, but he noticed nothing suspicious since the house was locked from outside.

A dog squad was also called in but to no avail since it had rained today and the actual timing of the incident was not known. A team of fingerprint experts also visited the scene.

Meanwhile, the police has registered a case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC.

JE, cop killed in mishaps
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Jan 12 — A junior engineer of the Public Health Department (Sewerage), Punjab, died when the scooter he was driving was hit by a truck near the PTL chowk here today. A Subdivisional Officer (SDO) of the Public Health Department, who was riding pillion on the scooter, escaped unhurt.

According to information available, the deceased, Mehar Singh Dhaliwal, was coming along with the SDO, Mr Avtar Singh Kalsi (50), on his scooter (CH-01-8277) when he was hit by the truck (HR-37-8218) near the Phase 5 traffic lights.

The victim was rushed to a nursing home in Phase 5 here where he was declared brought dead. His post-mortem was done at the Civil Hospital in Phase 6. The driver of the truck fled.

A case under Section 304-A of the IPC has been registered against the driver and the truck has been impounded.

In another case, a constable of the Punjab police, Mohan Singh (25), died after he slipped while on duty at the Central police station in Phase 8 here today. He was rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, where he was declared dead. The exact cause of death of the constable could not be ascertained.

Case registered: The police has registered an first information report (FIR) against Cpl Jaswant Singh (retd) of Kumbrah village and seven others in connection with an assault on Amrik Singh and some other persons. A case under Sections 148, 149, 323 and 325 of the IPC has been registered against them.

Earlier Cpl Jaswant Singh had got a case registered under Sections 324 and 506 of the IPC against Amrik Singh and seven others alleging that he and his wife were assaulted by them in order to take possession of the land owned by the ex-serviceman. In this case a Station House Officer (SH0) of the Phase 8 police station was transferred on January 4.

Liquor seized: At least 20 bottles of liquor were seized from two persons in separate cases in the township. Sulesh, alias Roda, was arrested by the police near Naya Goan. In another case 12 bottles of liquor were seized from Sheeta Ram near here.

Accident: A Gypsy( PB-46-A-1226) belonging a DIG of the Punjab police was allegedly hit by a Tata Sumo (CH-01-4502) near Phase 7 here today. A case under Sections 279 and 427 of the IPC has been registered against the driver of the Tata Sumo, Taranjeet Singh, a resident of Phase 7.

Theft: A Maruti car was stolen from Phase 3B1 here on December 24 last. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered on the statement of Kuldeep Singh.

Electronic goods and Rs 20,000 were stolen from a shop in Phase 1 here last night. A case has been registered by the police.

Vehicle stolen: Four scooters were stolen in separate incidents in the township from Phases 1, 7 and Manauli village on Tuesday. In all the four cases FIRs have been registered.

Teenager hangs herself: Pinki, a 19-year-old resident of Dadu Majra, reportedly committed suicide here this morning. She hanged herself by her dupatta from a window sill. Sources said she had been married for a couple of years.

The police is investigating.

Fraudulent car sale: The police has arrested SAS Nagar resident Mukesh Kumar for selling two cars after hiring them from a Sector 21 resident.

Sources said the accused took the cars, a Zen (CH-OI-V 8628) and another car numbered CH-OI-V 0251 (T), on hire and after some time, refused to either pay the hiring amount or return the cars.

A case was registered at the Sector 19 police station under Sections 406 and 420, IPC, and investigations are on.

A tip-off was received in this matter by Mr Vijay Pal Singh, DSP, East, and a team constituted under the charge of Mr Dilsher Chandel, in charge, Darua police post. The team nabbed the accused, who during interrogations, revealed that he had sold the cars after preparing forged documents from Sriganganagar, Rajasthan.

The cars have been recovered.

Snatcher held: The police has arrested Kashmira Singh, a resident of Buterla village, on charges of snatching a purse from Mrs Balwinder Kaur, a resident of Sector 24, from the Sectors 10-11 dividing road.

A case under Sections 356, 379 and 411, IPC, has been registered.

Whisky seized: Maninder Singh, a resident of Nawanshahr, has been arrested and 80 pouches of whisky have been seized from his possession.

A case under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act has been registered.

Scooter stolen: Mr Mohinder Kumar, a resident of Sector 34, reported that his scooter, (CH-OI-J 2341), has been stolen from the bank square. A case under Section 379, IPC, has been registered.

DERA BASSI

One killed: One person was killed on the spot and three others were seriously injured in an accident involving a Maruti van and a tractor-trailer on the national highway at Singhpura.According to police sources, an Ambala-bound van (CH-01W-3118) rammed into a tractor-trailer from the rear, resulting in the death of Harmeet Singh of Sector 46, Chandigarh.

The body has been sent to Civil Hospital at Rajpura for post mortem. The injured — Harmel Singh, Khairati and Balwan — have been rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh. A case under Section 174 of the CrPC has been registered by the police.

ZIRAKPUR

Held with rum: The Sohana police arrested Seetal Ram of Chandi Mandir for smuggling 12 bottles of rum. The accused was arrested while he was taking liquor marked for sale in Chandigarh only. The police has registered a case under Section 61/1/14 of the Excise Act.