EDUCATION

PU allocates grants for colleges
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 3 — Panjab University has chalked out a list of 84 affiliated colleges in Punjab and the city for distribution of the UGC sanctioned grant of Rs 43,46,500 for development assistance to colleges.

Dev Samaj College, Ferozepore City tops the list for getting maximum assistance of Rs 275,000. Malwa College, Central Ludhiana, features second, with Rs 160,000. Three colleges feature lowest on the list with a share of Rs 5,000 each.

Grants feature under 22 different categories with varying amounts.

The fund has been released by the UGC for development assistance programmes for the period between April, 99, and September, 99. The major areas for colleges' investment include books, journals, equipment, external activities and refresher courses.

Dr Deepak Manmohan, Dean Colleges, said that colleges were supposed to send back the utilisation certificates of the grants chosen under different heads. Besides official records it was more suited to the current trends that students be given exposure to certain areas which had potential for character development.

Compartment exam on April 3
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 3 — The examination for Bachelor of Arts, (part I), cases of compartment in English (compulsory) of Panjab University will be conducted on April 3.

The examination of BA III compartment cases in English (compulsory) will be conducted on the same day. The examination of both classes are scheduled in the morning session.

The compartment cases in the same subject for the second year will be conducted in the afternoon session on the same day. Dr Sodhi Ram, Controller of Examination, said more than 20 centres had been earmarked for the purpose.

The prominent centres include the local Government College for Girls( Sector 11), Government College for Men, (Sector 11), RSD College (Ferozepore), Government College (Hoshiarpur), Government College for Girls (Ludhiana), SCD College,(Ludhiana), DM College (Moga) and Government College (Muktsar).

Choice: Students of BA III ( honours) , papers III and IV, in the subject of honours schools in English will be given the option to appear under the old or the revised syllabus.

This will be applicable for the forthcoming annual examination in April, an official press release said here on Friday.

The letter from the office of the Deputy Registrar (general) comes following a Syndicate meeting decision on February 27. The issue had been raised by a section of Syndics, saying that the information about change in syllabi of the course had come at very late stage in the academic session.

Elected: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Panjab University Stenographers Association: chairman — Mr J.R.Dhiman; Vice-Chairman — Mr Dwarka Nath; secretary — Mr Shiv Sharma; Joint Secretary — Mr S.K. Bhandari; and Treasurer — Mrs Urmil Gupta.

Workshop: Professor Paramjit Singh, the registrar of Panjab University, in his valedictory address at a three-day UGC conducted workshop on human evolution said evolution was a slow process and takes million of years to reach a well-developed stage. Human brain was small yet it had been able to develop communication channels through computers and electronic media.

Prominent participants included Prof R.K. Pathak, Prof R.N. Vashisth, Dr Baldev Singh and Mr M.L. Sharma.

Lecture: The Gandhian concept of ‘swaraj’ was an attempt to highlight the inadequacies of the liberal world and modern civilisation, said Prof Ravinder Kumar, in his lecture on ‘Rethinking Swaraj’ at Panjab University here on Friday.

There was also an attempt by Jawaharlal Nehru to modify the notion of ‘Swaraj’ as it was conceptualised and practised by his mentor, Mahatma Gandhi, Prof Ravinder Kumar added.

COURTS

Sentenced for obscene words
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 3 — Convicting a city resident for uttering obscene words at a passing girl, the UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Ms Paramvir Nijjar, today sentenced him to simple imprisonment for a month.

The convict — Ramu Singh of Labour Colony — was earlier booked by the Chandigarh Police under Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code. According to the prosecution, the accused uttered obscene words at a passing girl in Sector 33 on October 26, 1998.

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

Pronouncing the orders in the open court, the Judicial Magistrate observed: “I am of the considered view that the prosecution has fully proved its case against the accused under Section 294 of the IPC. I hereby hold the accused guilty for the commission of an offence punishable under Section 294 of the IPC and convict him thereunder.”

Declining the plea for taking a lenient view, the magistrate observed: “Keeping in view that the accused was declared a proclaimed offender and was absconding from the court since March 6, 1999, and keeping in view the said conduct of the accused, I am not inclined to take a lenient view.”

Fresh arrest warrants issued
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 3— The UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Sant Parkash, has issued fresh warrants of arrest against retired Punjab Police Assistant Sub-Inspector Chanan Singh in the Kulwinder Singh Kid murder case following a report that his whereabouts were not known.

Pronouncing the orders in open court, the CJM observed: “Warrants of arrest of accused Chanan Singh received back with the report that the accused has not been seen in the village for the last two or three months”.

The CJM also observed: “It has been reported by the wife of the accused that he had gone to Delhi or Amritsar in connection with his treatment but thereafter his whereabouts are not known. Let accused Chanan Singh be again summoned through warrants of arrest for April 4, 2000”.

The CJM, issuing the warrants of arrest on the last date of hearing had observed that the accused “it appeared had tried to mislead the court by getting a false report of his death”.

The CJM had added: “Death report of accused Chanan Singh received back unserved with the report that he was alive and had gone to the market to purchase medicines. It appears to the court that the accused has tried to mislead the court...”

Earlier, in his petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court here, Kid’s father Tarlochan Singh had alleged that his son had forcibly been taken away from their SAS Nagar residence by a police party in plain clothes in July 1989.

Taking up the petition, the High Court here had directed the then Chandigarh Sessions Judge, Mr M.S. Lobana, to submit a report after investigating the matter. In his report, submitted in September 1995, the Sessions Judge had observed that on July 22, 1989, a police party in plain clothes, headed by Surjit Singh Grewal of CIA Staff at Patiala, had taken away Kulwinder Singh, alias Kid after raiding his house in SAS Nagar.

On the basis of the inquiry report, the High Court, on July 5, 1996, had directed the registration of a case against the accused police officials and had handed over the case to the premier investigating agency.

In its report, the investigating agency had stated that the officials had entered into a conspiracy to kill Kulwinder Singh in a fake encounter and to show him as an absconder.

Bail applications rejected
From Our Correspondent

KHARAR, March 3 — Mrs Neelam Arora, Judicial Magistrate, Kharar, today dismissed the bail application filed by the in-laws of Mrs Talwinder Kaur. They were arrested by the Kharar police on March 1 after registration of case under Section 406/498/506.

It is worth mentioning that the residents of Kharar blocked vehicular traffic and observed for dharna on the Kharar-Landran road for about two hours on March 1 against police inaction and were demanding that the accused should be arrested.

Mrs Talwinder Kaur alleged that she was being pressurised to divorce her husband and they were beating her and torturing her and were demanding more dowry. The dharna was lifted only when the police registered a case against them.

The arrested persons included Amrik Singh (father-in-law), Charan Kaur (mother-in-law) and Onkar Singh (brother-in-law).

Defence counsel, while moving the bail applications, submitted that the accused had been falsely involved in this case and no dowry case was made out against them.

Mr Jatinderjit Singh Punn, Assistant Public Prosecutor, on the other hand, submitted that a right case had been registered against the accused.

The honourable Judge has written in his order that the allegations were of serious nature and hence the bail applications need to be rejected. The accused are at present under the judicial remand till March 16.

Forgery accused granted bail
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 3 — A truck driver, accused of forging a driving licence, was today granted bail by the UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi.

He was directed to be released after furnishing personal bond of Rs 20,000, along with two sureties of like amount.

The accused — Harminder Singh — was earlier booked by the Chandigarh Police for cheating and forgery under Sections 420, 468, 467 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code.

Pronouncing orders in the open court, the Sessions Judge observed: “The allegations against the applicant is that he has forged his driving licence. But it is yet to be proved by leading evidence whether the driving licence was really forged.”

The judge further observed: “The presentation of challan is likely to take some time. So further detention of the applicant in jail is not necessary. So it is directed that the applicant be released on bail on his furnishing personal bond of Rs 20,000 with two sureties of the like amount.”

Student convict freed on probation
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 3 — A school student, accused of causing grievous hurt to another student, was today convicted and released on probation by the Juvenile Court today.

The accused, a student of a Sector 22 school, was earlier booked by the Chandigarh police under Section 325 of the Indian Penal Code. According to the prosecution, he had voluntarily caused hurt to Tarandeep Singh.

Today, pronouncing the orders, the President of the court, Mr Sant Parkash, and member, Mr Jasbir Singh, observed: "It will be of no use to send the accused behind bars with hardened criminals because it will affect his mental aptitude and he may become habitual offender".

The court further observed: "So, the accused is hereby directed to enter upon the probation bond in the sum of Rs 5,000 with a surety in the like amount for a period of one year with the condition not to repeat any such offence during the period of bond and in case he commits the offence during the period of bond, he will be called upon to receive the sentence in accordance with the law".

CULTURE

Exquisite works by amateurs
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, March 3 — Exquisite workmanship was on display at an exhibition of fine arts, titled Navrang, which opened at the Regional Centre of All India Art and Craft Society in Swastik Vihar here yesterday.

The week-long art exhibition has been organised by the Artists Association of Panchkula in collaboration with the North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala.

Sixty paintings and sculptures by 33 amateur artists from the region have been put on display.

An oil painting on canvas, titled Embrace, by Jitesh Malik, highlighted an enduring relationship of man and woman. Aakrosh, highlighted the wrath of a distressed woman. A painting by O.P. Verma, depicted the energy at the pinnacle of meditation. Sculptures on spiritualism drew applause.