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11-yr-old boy abducted
Family blames it on relatives
SAS Nagar, July 19
An 11-year-old boy was abducted while he was going on his school rickshaw here this afternoon. The boy, Gagandeep Singh, was on his way back from school when he was abducted and pushed into a car by two men, who then sped away. The boy’s family suspects the involvement of their various estranged relatives in the abduction.

Gagandeep Singh

SP’s appeal The SAS Nagar SP has appealed to the public to inform the police in case they have any information regarding the abduction of Gagandeep Singh. “Gagandeep is 4’ 9”, wearing his school uniform and has a big scar of stitches on his forehead. Anyone who has any information about him can call us at phone nos 225755, 225810, 268182 and 399230. The identity of the informant will be kept a secret,” said Mr Harcharan Singh Bhullar.

80-yr-old man found murdered
Togan (Kharar), July 19
An 80-year-old migrant watchman, Amar Singh, was found lying dead outside a grocery shop in the outskirt of Togan village situated along the western boundary of Chandigarh this morning.

SIMRAN MURDER CASE
NZ phone No. baffles police
Chandigarh, July 19
A telephone number of a house in New Zealand, which has an answering machine attached to it, has baffled the Chandigarh police, probing the murder of Simran. It is believed that the number belongs to Atul, a Sector-23 resident, who was known to Simran. Both had known each for the past couple of years. 

Society membership of 5 IAS officers cancelled
Chandigarh, July 19
The Chandigarh Administration today issued orders to cancel the membership of five Punjab-cadre IAS officers and a few influential persons who had been wrongly made members of a cooperative housing society. The managing committee of the society has been scrapped and an Administrator has been appointed to run its affairs.

For 45 yrs, Raj Bhavan had no drains!

Chandigarh, July 19 Believe it or not, for 45 years the Punjab Raj Bhavan, the residence of Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, did not have a drainage system. The VVIP residence, spread across a 12 acre compound just south of Sukhna Lake, had been facing the brunt of monsoon each season as a section of boundary wall used to collapse frequently under pressure exerted by accumulated water.

Encroachments on 70 acres of PU land
Chandigarh, July 19
Panjab University seems to be in a no-win situation over encroachments in more than 70 acres of its prime land in Sector 25. With it remain buried several of the university’s dream-projects, including University Institute of Engineering and Technology, guest house and alumni house, besides others.

COMMUNITY

Congress grass spreads tentacles in Mohali

SAS Nagar, July 19 Congress grass is spreading rapidly in the town due to the lack of a sustained campaign by the Punjab Planning and Urban Development Authority (PUDA) and the Municipal Council to remove it. One comes across a rich growth of the harmful weed on road berms and in vacant plots, green belts, parks and open spaces. Congress grass growing in the market area of Phase 3B2 in SAS Nagar. — Photo Parvesh Chauhan

Panchkula traffic police finally wakes up
Panchkula, July 19
The police here has come up with a new plan for better traffic management in the township. Police control room (PCR) gypsies in Panchkula, Kalka, Pinjore, Chandimandir and Raipur Rani will now be actively involved in this.

Residents complain of poor civic amenities
SAS Nagar, July 19
The Welfare Action Committee of Phase VI here today complained of poor civic amenities in the area and demanded an improvement in the facilities.

Campaign against death penalty to Prof Bhullar
Chandigarh, July 19
The Lawyers for Human Rights International (LHRI), a city-based NGO, has launched a campaign to press for the abolition of death penalty awarded to Prof Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar by a Delhi court, according to the president of the NGO, Mr Amar Singh Chahal. He was speaking at a press conference organised here today.

Rains delay long distance trains
Chandigarh, July 19
Due to widespread rains in different parts of the country, the long distance trains starting from West Bengal, Bihar and other Central Indian states, are running a few hours behind schedule.

• One killed, two hurt in mishap

• Tribune employee dead
• Former Tribune employee dead

CRIME

Jawan thwarts juvenile’s bid to sexually assault child
Panchkula, July 19
An Army jawan thwarted a youth’s attempt to sexually assault an eight-year-old girl on the Mansa Devi-Saketri road late last evening. The jawan was passing by when he heard muffled cries of a child. He saw a 17-year-old youth trying to sexually assault a girl. 

3 boys held for robbery bid
Panchkula, July 19
Three boys tried to break open a collection box at the Mansa Devi shrine last evening. They were caught when a sweeper saw the 2 trying to steal the money.

3 women caught stealing
Chandigarh, July 19
Three women were caught red handed while they were trying to escape after stealing jewellery from a woman’s handbag near the Sector 22 dispensary here today.

BUSINESS

Markfed to export brown onion
Chandigarh, July 19
Markfed, Asia's largest marketing cooperative, has identified brown onion as a new product for the export market. Mr S.S. Channy, Managing Director of the cooperative, has called upon desirous agencies to play an active role to promote contract farming for 20,000 MT brown onion covering about 400 acres in first phase during coming season.

EDUCATION

Popularising classical music through ‘Swar Udgam’
Chandigarh, July 19
To popularise classical music among youngsters Mount Carmel School, Sector 47, organised “Swar Udgam”, an inter-school competition in Hindustani classical vocal, geet and ghazal, on the school premises here today. About 13 city schools took part.

Girls stay away from ‘repair courses’

Chandigarh, July 19 Reservation has not helped the UT Education Department to attract girls for its vocational courses of automobile repair and airconditioner and refrigerator repair in government schools at the plus- two level. These two courses have attracted no girl student ever since these were introduced in 1990. The department gave the go-ahead for reservation of 20 per cent seats this academic session as an incentive to girl students.

School set to open gym
Chandigarh, July 19
A gymnasium equipped with various facilities for physical conditioning exercises will soon be opened in Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33. Set up in a hall, this centre will cater to school sportspersons.

300 BEd seats granted to college
Chandigarh, July 19
Three hundred seats for BEd (General) have been granted to the Government College of Education, Sector 20, here from the 2003-2004 academic session. A special communique from the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), New Delhi in this regard has been received here. This order has been issued in the wake of a special petition filed by the Principal of the college with the NCTE head office in June, 2003.

Workshop on communication skills
Chandigarh, July 19
“English in the 21st century has to be accentless in order to reach out to the global community,” said Dr I.D. Shukla, while addressing participants of a one-day workshop “Communication Skills for the 21st Century” organised by The British Library in association with Griffins at Library Hall in Sector 8 here today.

• Kids reach out for stars
  

Whither District Courts’ computerisation plan?
Chandigarh, July 19
Lack of political will and paucity of funds have sounded the death-knell of the ambitious computerisation drive to upgrade the District Courts computer here. The drive was launched five years ago by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). Besides upgrading the complex, the drive aimed at linking it with the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Apex Court.

Bhardwaj case
CBI seeks time for reply on clerk’s bail plea
Chandigarh, July 19
The CBI today sought time for filing a reply on the bail application moved by a clerk with the UT Labour Court, Mr Satinder Singh, in a corruption case involving suspended Jalandhar’s District and Sessions Judge R.M.Gupta and the UT Judicial Magistrate(First Class) S.S.Bhardwaj.

HEALTH

Malaria making a comeback: expert

Chandigarh, July 19 The country is not just witnessing a resurgence of malaria but with steady increase in the number of drug-resistant parasites causing the disease in India, the future scenario could be grim as is the case in Africa. Prof G. Padmanabhan, Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, delivers the P.N. Chuttani oration at the PGI, Chandigarh, on Saturday. — A Tribune photograph.

Pinjore resident down with cholera
Chandigarh, July 19
A 12-year-old patient, Dharam Vir of Pinjore, has tested positive for cholera. Dharam Vir was admitted to the PGI on July 17 and was under going treatment. With this the total number of cholera cases, including that from Mohali, has risen to seven.