EDUCATION

Writers’ workshop opens
From A Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — A four-day writers' workshop for new literates to discuss what kind of literature should be created for the new literates began in the ICSSR complex, Panjab University, here today.

The workshop is being organised by the Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension. Dr Ajaib Singh, Director of the department, while inaugurating the workshop, said that stories, poems and one-act plays should be provided to the people who became literate through the adult education programme.

The Associate Director of the department, Dr G.S. Gill, said that literature should be written in simple language with a regional and folklore touch. He suggested that the problems of illiteracy, population explosion, pollution, health and other national issues should be addressed by the writers in the literature for people of this class.

Speaking in the workshop, Dr Navratan Kapoor said that writers should reveal the righteousness of various religions while writing on the topic. He said the literature should be so effective that people adopted its good things. He proposed that the people should be informed about the evils of addiction and superstitions through the literature for the new literates.

About 25 writers and personalities connected with the adult education and literacy mission are participating in the workshop. They include Urdu poet K.L. Zakir, Dr Kuldip Puri, Dr Sulakhan Meet, Mr Shri Ram Aersh, Mr Inder Singh Raj, Dr Gurminder Sidhu, Dr Harbans Kaur Gill, Prof Rashpal Singh Paul, Dr D.P. Singh, Dr S.S. Rishi, Mrs Raven, Mr g.p. Kaushik, Mr j.l. Nada and Prof Seema.

School's annual function
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — The annual function of Dr Ambedkar Primary School run by CARES was celebrated this morning. The school provides services for creche and school up to class V for children of people of New Janata Colony, Sector 12.

The function was presided over by Brig Gurvinderjit Singh, President, CARES. All the participating children were given prizes by the President.

Media seminar on February 12
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — A seminar on Communication for civic awareness and development will be held at Aroma on February 12 as part of Fest O' Comm, a national-level communication carnival being organised by the Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication (SIMC).

Ms Anuradha Gupta, Managing Director of the Haryana State Sugar Federation and a former Home Secretary of the Union Territory, will be the chief guest at the function. Eminent speakers who will present papers are Mr Kamaleshwar Prasad Sinha, Associate Editor of the Tribune, Mr Kanwar Sandhu, a former Resident Editor of the Indian Express, Mr D.P Malik, Station Director of All India Radio, Chandigarh, and Dr Pam Rajput, Dean Faculty of Arts of Panjab University. The seminar is being organised to analyse the role of media in promoting civic awareness among the masses and ushering in an era of growth, development and prosperity.

The seminar will be attended by principals of city colleges, Deputy General Manager of CITCO, Chief of the ICCR, heads of NGOs and Panjab University teachers.

The festival is being organised as an attempt to bring media training institutes and the industry on the same platform. It will be a forum for showcasing of communication skills, competencies and expertise among communication institutes and departments, advertising agencies, public relation firms, media, consultants, television channels and production houses.

Spread over January and February, the festival is being held in two stages. The first stage — Nationwide Footprints is a road show of 24 communication seminars held across the country, which began in Cochin. The seminar series will end in Abu Dhabi. Among those who are expected to participate in the lecture series are Prannoy Roy, Vinod Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Mrinal Sen and Adur Gopalkrishan, besides other luminaries of the Indian media. The final two days of the festival will feature inter-institute competitions comprising fun-filled academic and non-academic events.

COURTS

Prosecution witness deposes
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — Former Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh's assassination case continued today with the Metropolitan Magistrate, Mr Paramjit Singh, stating that prosecution witness Sapinder Singh, alias Pappu, was produced before him.

Deposing before the UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, in the makeshift courtroom at Model Jail in Burail, near here, the magistrate stated that the witness was produced by the Central Bureau of Investigation's Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr R.S. Dhankar, for recording of statement under Section 164. The statement, he said, was recorded by him.

Mr Beant Singh, it may be recalled, was killed in an explosion outside the Civil Secretariat here on August 31, 1995. While the believed-to-be human bomb, Dilawar Singh, was killed in the blast, other accused in the case are facing trial.

Convicted for violating HDR Act
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Feb 8 — The Panchkula Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Ved Pal Gupta, convicted Padam Prakash Singh, a resident of Chandigarh, for deliberately and knowingly violating the provisions of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (HDR) Act by selling the land in Dharampur village which falls within the urban area of Kalka town in plots of six registered sale deeds with a view to earning profit.

He was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs 1000 and in default of payment of fine, the accused would be required to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 30 more days.

Earlier, the Kalka police had registered a case against the accused on the basis of a complaint by the Director, Town and Country Planning, which said that he had sold the plots without obtaining a licence for the same from the authorities and department concerned.

Consequently, the matter was investigated by the police and statements of witnesses recorded. Padam Prakash was arrested in 1994 and a report under Section 173 of the CrPC was prepared and submitted in the court. When confronted with the evidence against him, the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

Counsel appearing on behalf of the accused contended that there had been no violation of the Act by the accused since his land was neither situated in the urban area which is declared by the state government by means of a notification, nor does the area of the land sold by the accused fall within the definition of a colony, and that Padam Prakash is entitled to be acquitted of the charges framed against him.

However, the CJM observed that the prosecution had successfully proved that the accused had violated the provisions of Section 7 (i) of the HDR Act by selling his land in village Dharampur through six different sale deeds without obtaining a licence under Section 3 of the Act and was accordingly convicted under Section 10 of the Act.

Lawyers' issue partially solved
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Feb 8 — The matter of providing accommodation to the Additional District and Sessions Judge, the bone of contention between the striking lawyers and the district administration, was partially solved today when the City Magistrate, Mr A.S. Mann, and the Subdivisional Magistrate, Mr Shubh Ram Vashisth, assured the protesters that they would look for suitable accommodation for the judge and give the information of the same to the high court.

The decision came after the officials, along with the Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Amitabh Singh Dhillon, held a meeting tonight, after Mr B.S. Virk, Vice-President of the District Bar Association, was declared serious by the doctor, who advised them to remove him to hospital.

Other lawyers present insisted that they would not leave till their demands were met and that the police would have to arrest all of them in case force was used.

After the meeting, the members of the association agreed to the proposal to remove Mr Virk to hospital, while another member, Mr Satish Kadian, would continue the indefinite fast along with other protesters.

The President of the District Bar Association, Mr Randhir Singh Badhran, said the strike would be called off only when the information about the accommodation available was passed on to the high court. He added that the demand for the Sessions Court in the township could not be fulfilled till some accommodation was provided by the district administration.

He said the demand had been hanging fire for several months. The association was protesting against the "indifferent and apathetic" attitude of the administration by suspending work in the courts, he stated.

Mr Chander Mohan, Congress candidate for Kalka, visited the protesting lawyers and expressed his support for their cause.

Bus driver sentenced to RI
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — A bus driver, accused of causing accidental death of an employee with Punjab Accountant General’s office, was today sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a year by UT Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate H.S. Madaan.

The driver — Amrik Singh of Ropar district — was also fined Rs 500. In default of payment, he was further directed to undergo imprisonment for another two months.

He was earlier booked by the Chandigarh Police under Section 279 and 304-A of the Indian Penal Code after Shashi Ahuja succumbed to her injuries at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research here on August 24, 1998.

According to the prosecution, the victim was sitting behind her husband, Vijay Ahuja, on a scooter when school bus rammed into the vehicle on August 23, 1998.

After hearing the arguments, the ACJM observed: “The prosecution has been successful in its endeavour to bring home guilt to the accused and to prove that on August 22, 1998, the accused was driving the bus on a public way so rashly and negligently so as to endanger human life and personal safety of others and his driving was direct and proximate cause of the mishap in which Shashi Ahuja suffered multiple injuries to which she ultimately succumbed”.

Bail granted in beating case
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — A city resident, accused of beating the then Station House Officer of Police Station North Jaswant Singh, was today granted bail by the UT Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr R.C. Godara.

The accused — Sachin Sood — along with others, had allegedly snatched the SHO’s purse, containing Rs 560 after reportedly beating him up outside Hotel Mountview in Sector 10. The accused, prosecution had stated, had also tried to run the car over the SHO.

According to the prosecution, the SHO had followed two of the accused to Sector 10 from a Sector 9 discotheque after they had forcibly tried to make two girls sit in their car.

Pronouncing the orders in the open court, the Additional Sessions Judge observed: “It is clear that the prosecution has arrested the applicant after more than one year of occurrence. The prosecution has not been able to explain as to why no action was taken earlier”.

The judge also observed: “It has been alleged that a sum of Rs 560 contained in the purse of the complainant was snatched, but the police did not, admittedly, make any request to the learned magistrate for police remand of the applicant”.

The judge further observed: “It is not clear as to why the complainant did not call the police force when he received the information at his house regarding the quarrel, so all these facts go to show that the version of the prosecution is debatable. So keeping in view these facts and without commenting on the merits of the case, the applicant is admitted to bail”.

2-year RI in stolen car case
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — Convicting a Sector 18 resident, accused of changing the registration number and colour of a stolen car to conceal its identity, the UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Mr K.K. Goyal, today sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for two years, besides imposing a fine of Rs 1,000.

The accused, Tej Pal, was further directed to undergo imprisonment for another month in default of payment. He was earlier booked by the Chandigarh police under Sections 411 and 475 of the Indian Penal Code after the police received information that a car with registration number of a scooter was parked in a Sector 18 house.

The accused, the prosecution stated, had failed to give a satisfactory reply when the police had asked him to show the documents after reaching his residence. The car, the prosecution added, was stolen from outside a Sector 35 hotel.

Accusing Tej Pal of changing the number and colour of the car from white to metallic blue, the prosecution further alleged that the accused had "dishonestly retained the stolen car knowing it to be stolen".

The prosecution, to prove its case, had examined the then in charge of the registration branch. Deposing before the court, the in charge, Mr Harjinder Singh, had stated that the number had been allotted to a scooter.

The accused, when confronted with the incriminating evidence against him, had, however, denied the allegations. Claiming to be innocent, he had asked for a trial.

Bail plea hearing on February 14
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — The UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, yesterday issued notice for February 14 on a bail application moved by a city resident in the counterfeit currency case.

The applicant — Mukesh Chopra — was earlier booked by the Chandigarh Police for allegedly using as genuine a forged or counterfeit currency and cheating under Sections 489-B and 489-C and 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the prosecution, the accused, on January 31, had handed over a fake Rs 500 currency note to the petrol pump attendant after getting the petrol filled in the car.

Seeking his release on bail, the counsel for the accused stated that Chopra was being implicated in the case. Claiming the accused to be innocent, he had stated that Chopra could not be blamed as fake currency note could not be easily detected. It can not be that the accused himself was not a victim, the counsel stated.

2 get RI in dowry death case
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — Nearly two years after the mother of a six-month-old son died of burns, the UT Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr R.C. Godara, yesterday convicted and sentenced her husband and father-in-law to rigorous imprisonment for seven years, besides imposing a fine of Rs 500 each.

The duo — husband Robin and his father Parkash Chand — were further directed to undergo imprisonment for another two months in default of payment.

Accusing Robin and his family of burning Rekha to death or harassing her to the extent of suicide, her father Krishan Pal had earlier alleged that his daughter was being harassed for not bringing Rs 20,000 required for paying the instalment of a Chandigarh Housing Board house allotted to Robin.

In a statement before the police, he had stated that Robin had sent Rekha to him for the money to pay the instalment. Robin, he had added, had subsequently visited his house after he had expressed his inability to hand over the money to Rekha.

The two were subsequently booked by the Chandigarh Police for subjecting a married woman to cruelty and dowry death under Section 498-A and 304-B of the Indian Penal Code.

When confronted with incriminating evidence against them, the two had, however, denied the allegations. Claiming to have been implicated, they had asked for a trial.

Arguing before the Court, the counsel for the accused had stated that the two had never harassed the woman by demanding dowry. The woman had committed suicide as she was suffering from depression due to ailments.

After hearing the arguments, the Additional Sessions Judge observed: "It is clear that the prosecution has been able to prove that both accused had been harassing the woman for not bringing the dowry to their satisfaction and that the woman on account of such ill-treatment had to end her life within one year and four months of her marriage. As such both accused are held guilty and convicted for offences punishable under Section 304-B, 498-A of the IPC".

Jerath case hearing on Feb 21
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 8 — The first information report No 2 of 1998 registered against former Chief Engineer K.K. Jerath and others will come up before the UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, on February 21 for consideration on framing up of charges.

First information report No 1 of 1998 will, meanwhile, come up before the Sessions Judge on February 10 for reply to an application moved by the former Chief Engineer for the supply of certain document in the supplementary challan.

Jerath, it may be recalled, was booked by the UT Vigilance Department under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other sections of the IPC.