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| Friday,
August 30, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Will Panjab University get Admn’s nod for elections? Kang re-admitted The third committee on the re-admission of PUSU president Malwinder Singh Kang has recommended that he be re-admitted. However, the department will conduct an enquiry to confirm the genuineness of the medical certificate which he had allegedly submitted, reliable sources said. SOPU is alleging that he had submitted a fake certificate which was upheld by the department's Board of Control and his admission was cancelled. Kang, however, claimed that he did not submit the certificate which was upheld by a committee which recommended his re-admission. Chandigarh, August 29 The question gains importance in the wake of a series of dharnas by the two main rival student organisations against each other, followed by a violent incident which saw one of the injured student union presidents landing up in the emergency ward of the PGI and the other in the police lock-up. The SSP, Mr Parag Jain, said the situation would be reviewed. Another senior UT official said an assessment of the situation would be made before any decision was taken. Giving more weight to the question is Prof Nirmal Singh, Dean Student Welfare. He said the 'unfortunate incidents' had posed a big question over the relevance of elections in the existing scenario. “When the case is taken up by the UT Administration, I will ask this question”, he said. Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, said the university had given its nod for the elections and it was now up to the Administration to give the final decision. For about a week, members of the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) had been sitting outside the Law Department against recommendation of re-admission of Malwinder Singh Kang, president of the Panjab University Student Union (PUSU). His admission was cancelled because of his not attending 33 per cent lectures in the first 10 days. The Administration has not yet announced the dates of election, but a quick decision is important because this year the university has decided to conduct house examination in September, which were discontinued several years ago. Weightage in the house examination has a bearing on the final results, hence its importance. Dr Nirmal Dutt, Dean Student Welfare of DAV College, said the
Elections in affiliated colleges of Panjab University were banned during 1980s when Punjab was witnessing a period of uncertainty in wake of incidents of terrorism. They were revived just a few years back. However, the university went ahead with the elections only on the university campus and the colleges located in the city. A senior professor said incidents of violence were common during elections, but this was no reason for concern. “The university was the best place to give students sense of participation in democratic activities which gave them experience for decision making in future,” he said. A senior research fellow said Panjab University did not have a suitable ‘climate’ for politics. “Instead of serious academic activities, the university had witnessed dharnas to secure admission for students who did not have the required credits to qualify for promotion. Another series of dharnas began because a student did not attend the required number of lectures”, he said. An interesting angle to the incident of violence was that Harpreet Singh Nijjer, who was involved in the brawl, had not been an open supporter of any student organisation. He is known to be a studious and serious student, a fact borne by the hostel warden. His name, however, figures in an FIR which reflects “the cost students have to pay during elections”. The ABVP, in a press note, said such incidents should not be politicised and the university should keep a strict vigil in wake of forthcoming elections.
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LOVE’S ‘LABOUR’ LOST Chandigarh, August 29 A 26 year-old boy, Amit Sethi, was today arrested by the Chandigarh Police, while working out the final details of a murder plan with his three friends at the Sector 23 nursery to shoot his 23 year-old girlfriend. A country made pistol procured from Saharanpur was to be used to shoot the girl, Ranji. The main suspect had hired a Tata Indica taxi to go to Saharanpur to procure the pistol at a cost of Rs 180 and five live cartridges for Rs 50 each. Having no prior experience in shooting, Amit, a high school dropout, had learnt to shoot and aim at a target. Such was his mad love for the girl that Amit had purchased a Maruti car to take her on drives and was spending between Rs 5000 and Rs 10,000 from his savings on entertaining her. In his confessional statement before the police, the suspect said he was running a successful business of selling gift items in the city. “ I spent over Rs 1.5 lakh in the last eight months ever since I met her and she ditched me when I proposed marriage to her. I spent my hard earnings and satisfied her all wishes. She deserves to die”, he said. All was going smooth between the two and they often used to travel to Shimla and other nearby tourist destinations and moved around together in the city. The boy had been introduced by her girlfriend (an artist by profession) to her close friends. After she returned from a recent performance in Muscat, she broke out relationship. I felt offended and I decided to take the revenge”, he admitted. The conspiracy to eliminate the girl was hatched with the help of three other boys, Deep Chand, a resident of Mauli Jagran, Dinesh Rawat, a resident of Tehrigarwhal in Uttranchal and Jai Deep, a resident of Sector 23. All have been arrested by the CIA staff of the police. A case under Section-120 B of the IPC and the Arms Act has been registered at the Sector 17 Police Station. Amit met the girl through a friend in January. Soon he developed a liking for the girl and developed relationship with her. The suspect’s father retired as OSD to AG, Haryana. His mother is a superintendent in Haryana Civil Secretariat. Parents of both the families knew about the relationship between their wards and never objected. “I often gave money to the girl’s family and also spent money on her clothes and her cosmetics before she left for Muscat on June 20 last. I spent a lot of money on calling her daily at Muscat. I often footed her bills for food. I was over possessive about her and never left her alone. I was told about the past of the girl but I was in true love with her and ignored the advice of my friends”, he lamented. Amit, a successful businessman, had taken Rs 2 lakh from his father to buy a Maruti car to take her on rides. A mobile set was gifted to her so that he could remain in touch with him. |
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MCC Sub-Inspector in CBI net Chandigarh, August 29 On getting information, a trap was laid by a CBI team and the tout was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 400 from two rehriwalas. The complainants in the case were Vinod Aggarwal and Balmiki Kumar, both rehriwalas. The trap was laid by a CBI team led by ASP Surinder Pal Singh and Mr K.D. Sharma, Mr M.L. Kaushal, Mr Ram Singh and Rajesh Patwal (all Inspectors) and SI Parlad Singh. Sources in the CBI said the SI had changed his modus operandi of accepting the bribe money. The CBI sleuths searched the files of the Enforcement Department but nothing much was found. Some diaries were found during raids on the houses of the two suspects. Further investigations were on. The arrest of two Sub-Inspectors of the Enforcement Department, one of the them for the second time, confirmed the allegations of ''corruption in this department of the corporation.'' SI D.P. Singh had earlier been trapped by the CBI, but he had managed to secure a posting in the same department after turning an approver. Mr Singh along with Sub-Inspector Avtar Singh had turned approver in the last case which resulted in Sub-Inspector Kashmira Singh getting terminated for accepting bribe. The CBI action had followed allegations in the MCC House that corruption in the department was rampant. The House had to set up a committee to inquire into the functioning of the department. The report of the committee is still awaited. Officials in the department had been explaining that it did not have wherewithal to carry out its operations in removing encroachments from the city. Considering the sentiments of the House witnessed in the last meeting where the local MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, had also complained of ''corruption'' in the department, the action against the network of corruption has been slow. SI D.P. Singh continued his position despite Congress Councillor Pardeep Chhabra indicating on the floor of the House that this officer was sitting pretty despite having turned an approver in the last case when Kashmira Singh was terminated. Mr Chhabra had argued that it was a question of propriety to have a tainted officer in the same position on which he was found to be allegedly involved in corruption. He had said the decision of the MCC amounted to allowing a tainted person licence to carry out his ''dirty'' habits.
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PGI OTs closed again Chandigarh, August 29 With the leakage from the top floor of Nehru Hospital having become an annual feature, the nine operation tables in the OT complex on the fifth floor had to be closed down during monsoon. Though it has been a recurring problem, the authorities have failed to find a permanent solution to the problem. Just a few days back, on August 13, the OTs on the top floor had to be closed for more than 10 days. The PGI authorities, at that time, had stated that steps were being taken to make the OTs operational. However, a few days after the OTs were made functional the heavy rain on Monday forced their closure. The PGI authorities, while stating that leakage in an old building like Nehru Hospital was quite normal, said that with the construction of the proposed OT complex the problem would be solved permanently. They said that with the coming up of the eye and cardiac care centres, there would be separate OTs, which would ease the situation. However, till these long-term projects begin, patients are suffering. The list of those waiting for their turn at the PGI is so long, that closure of the OTs even for a few days makes the situation worse. In fact, the PGI, after getting the repairs done had also got the OTs fumigated so that they could be used. |
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RAPE CASE Chandigarh, August 29 However, on August 14, when the plot was executed, the eye witness-turned-suspect, Surinder Sharma — who is already in the police custody — had a physical contact with the girl. In his confessional statement given to the police, Surinder Sharma is reported to have said that a Maruti Car (CH 03 9375), owned by Surinder Maggu, was used in dropping the girl near the Sector 33 petrol station. Sources in the police said Surinder Sharma had stated that the main suspect, Ram Lal, had asked him to drop the girl in the area of Sector 34 police station. During his interrogation at the Maloya police post, the suspect is learnt to have clearly named an Inspector rank official of the Chandigarh police for being in constant touch with Ram Lal, before and after the incident. The sources said Ram Lal was in constant touch with police officials till late in the evening when Surinder Sharma was arrested. The sources said the main suspect did not enjoy cordial relations with the officials of the Sector 34 police station. Details of mobile calls made by Ram Lal reveal that he was in constant touch with a Haryana bureaucrat, who was earlier Home Secretary of Chandigarh. In turn, Ram Lal helped the police official in a department matter. In his statement, Surinder had said he was asked by Ram Lal to drop the girl in the area of police station and nowhere the name of an Inspector rank official of the police station had been mentioned. Instead, Surinder Sharma had named a number of police officials who were in contact with him and Ram Lal. Meanwhile, the police is conducting raids at different places to arrest Ram Lal, who is said to be back in the city. He was in touch with the police through a Panchkula-based businessman. The sources said the girl was likely to corroborate the statement given by Surinder Sharma. A police official said the identity of the person who had physical contact with the girl would be established only on the basis of the CFSL report. |
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Jacob greets people on Janmashtami Chandigarh, August 29 Describing Lord Krishna as the greatest
karamyogi, the Governor said his gospel of Gita was as relevant today as always. ‘’The message of Lord Krishna will continue to inspire the coming generations to raise their voice against injustice and tyranny. People should follow the path shown by Lord Krishna to free society from the shackles of evil forces including fanaticism, communalism, fundamentalism and narrow parochialism.’’ |
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BJP holds dharna against Cong ‘misdeeds’ Chandigarh, August 29 The BJP speakers indicated that Mr Bansal might also be prosecuted for launching a ‘false and malicious prosecution.’ Addressing protesters, a BJP national executive member, Mr Satyapal Jain, challenged Mr Bansal to get him arrested on the basis of the FIR lodged by him on baseless charges of trespassing. Mr Jain’s challenge comes in the wake of demands from a section of the Congress to arrest BJP national secretary Om Prakash Dhankar, Mr Jain the local unit president, Mr Yashpal Mahajan, the Leader of the Opposition, Ms Kamla Sharma, for allegedly trespassing on Mr Bansal’s land, intimidating his caretaker, taking away a tent and desecrating a havan kund. Mr Bansal had filed a complaint with police with these allegations which was converted into an FIR yesterday. Protesters shouted slogans against Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her political secretary, Ms Ambika Soni and Mr Bansal and urged them to quit on moral grounds for ‘influencing’ officers for getting a piece of land for Delhi Public School in Sector 40-C. The protesters were addressed, among others, by former Mayors Ms Kamla Sharma, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, Mr Kewal Krishan Adiwal, Ms Harjinder Kaur (Akali), Councillor Rajesh Gupta, former councillors Desraj Tandon and Kanhaiya Lal Sharma and head of frontal organisations. Due to rain initially, the number of the people was low but later many turned up. Mr Gian Chand Gupta brought a case of corruption before the people saying there was a site auctioned yesterday which was sold for Rs 1.34 crore and the same site had not been sold earlier despite being auctioned for Rs 1.57 crore. |
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‘Boycott
power bills’ payment’ Chandigarh, August 29 Farmers from the different parts of the state, on the call of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta) participated in a rally at the Parade Ground and later sat on a dharna at the Matka Chowk seeking compensation for the loss of crops in Punjab during the past one month. The dharna would continue till tomorrow, said union leaders. Addressing
the rally, Mr Pashora Singh Sidhupur, state president of the union, said, ‘‘The state government had completely ditched the farmers during this critical period by not providing adequate power supply. Since crops can be saved by watering through electric motors, but the government was forcing them to run diesel engines to run their tubewells.’’ The farmer leaders said the government should immediately announce at least Rs 15,000 compensation per acre in case of total loss of crops, Rs 12,000 per acre for partial loss of crops and Rs 6,000 per acre for additional expenditure on diesel and other inputs. Among others Mr Gurmit Singh Ditupur, general secretary of the union, and Mr Surjit Singh also addressed the rally. He said the sugar mills had failed to clear Rs 100 crore payments of the farmers for the past many months that had discouraged the farmers to diversify in other areas. |
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No fourth body in pond Chandigarh, August 29 |
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Two held for assaulting girl Chandigarh, August 29 Attacked:
Arrested:
Burglary:
SAS Nagar
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