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Mumbai duo dupes businessmen of lakhs Mohali, April 17 The duo, allege these businessmen, ran away with over Rs 6 lakh they had paid for the competition that was to be held at the Parade Ground, Chandigarh. Showing advertisement posters of the show that was to be organised by the two under the banner of Mumbai-based AFZ Multimedia Productions, these businessmen have now complained to the SP, Mohali, for investigation into the case. According to the complaint given to the police here, the two, Mukesh Kumar More, alias Aryan, and Ravinder Singh, alias Sahil, rented a house in Phase VII here in January this year and came in contact with shopkeepers and small-time businessmen in the Phase VII market. “They told us that they are organising a big event at the Chandigarh Parade Ground for which they were collecting sponsorships from big companies. They showed us posters of the events”, said Mr Paramjit Singh, an STD operator in the Phase VII market. Called “Kis Mein Kitna Hai Dum”, the event was to be held in summer and entailed a song and dance competition for which auditions of over 50 children were undertaken by the two at their office-cum-residence in Phase VII, said Mr Paramjit Singh. “The duo claimed to be from the AFZ Multimedia company of Mumbai and gave us visiting cards with their names printed on them, their mobile number and a Mumbai address. They contacted me through a friend and I too got trapped in their plan,” said Mr Amandeep Singh, a computer operator resident of Sector 41. According to Mr Amandeep Singh, the duo told him that a Baleno car will be given as the first prize at the end of the show and he could get it if he paid them Rs 1 lakh. “Which I did. They told me to keep quite about it.” said Mr Amandeep Singh. However, they promised the same car to another shopkeeper of Phase VII, Mr Sher Singh. “I paid them Rs 3 lakh cash,” said Sher Singh, “I was told that other than the car I will also get a share out of the profits they make,” he added. The two contacted many other persons during their three-month stay here and also started a Mr Paramjit Singh told the police that on April 14, the two went to his brother Navneet and handed him the keys of their house stating that they were going to Delhi for a day. “But we smelt something fishy and checked the house. It was empty. They had taken away everything and vanished with my Rs 2.5 lakh,” said Mr Paramjit Singh. Mr Paramjit Singh, along with the other complainants, told the police that the two had initially come with a woman, who called herself Neeta and was a dancer by profession. “But she left later and these two remained in touch with her in Mumbai. We have a list of the telephone calls that Aryan made,” said Mr Paramjit Singh. The complainants also tried contacting Neeta on the telephone number in Mumbai. “We asked them about the whereabouts of the two, but she did not respond,” said Mr Paramjit Singh. The police stated that Aryan’s real brother, Rajesh More, lived with their parents in Baltana and although they now claimed to have no contact with him, the complainants had enough proof to show that Aryan was in regular touch with his brother when he was here. The SP, Mohali, Mr Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, when contacted, stated that investigations into the matter were already on and the case went beyond Punjab into Delhi and Mumbai. |
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Dust envelops City Beautiful Flight schedule hit
The Indian Airlines flight from Delhi touched down here over two hours late today as bad weather affected flight schedules. Dust and haze enveloping the region reduced visibility to just over a kilometer, delaying the landing and subsequent take-off of aircraft from the city. The Indian Airlines flight, scheduled to arrive here at 12.20 pm, was late by two hours and 20 minutes. Its departure for Delhi, scheduled at 3.35 pm, was also delayed by 55 minutes. The Jet Airways flight from Delhi touched down 20 minutes behind its scheduled time of 1.40 pm. Chandigarh, April 17 This morning, city residents woke up to dusty conditions. The met office said it was due to a phenomenon called “dust raising wind”. This was caused due to low pressure over Rajasthan and the adjoining Pakistan. In the past 24 hours, severe duststorms have been witnessed in Rajasthan and this dust gets scattered. For the city, the met office predicted a partly cloudy sky for tomorrow, with a possibility of
thundery developments. Doctors explained that for people with history of dust-related allergies, today’s weather was bad. They said those who had asthma and bronchial history needed to avoid exposure to the dust. A doctor in the General Hospital said dust aggravated allergies. Life was affected in the city as a large number of people preferred to be indoors. In Sector 17, the city’s main shopping centre, several people could be seen moving around with hankies covering their faces.
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EC lists alternative documents for
casting ballot Chandigarh, April 17 The list of alternative documents includes
passport, driving licence, income tax identity (PAN) card, service identity card issued to employees by the state
or Central governments, public sector undertakings (PSUs), local bodies
and other private industrial houses, bank passbooks, kisan vikas patras, post office
passbooks (Account opened on or before March 31, 2004), student identity cards, property documents such as
pattas, registered deeds, ration cards issued on or before March 31, 2004, SC or ST or OBC certificates issued by the competent
authority, pension documents such as ex-servicemen’s pension book or pension payment order and ex-servicemen’s widow or dependant
certificates, old-age pension order, widow pension order, railway identity cards, freedom fighter identity cards, arms licences and
certificate of physical handicap by the competent authority issued on or before March 31, 2004. The commission has
said that those having voter identity cards would have to produce these to cast their
ballot. The alternative documents for identification would also apply in
case of voters, who have been supplied voter identity cards, but are not able to produce these for reasons beyond
their control. The orders of the commission state that any alternative document, which is available only for the head of a family will be allowed for the purpose of identification of other members of the family. Similarly, any document in the name of any other member of the family
can also be used for identification of other members, provided the other members can be identified on the basis of such a
document. |
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Jain assures regularisation of Chandigarh, April 17 Mr Jain said he would also try to regularise the General Power of Attorney. He said these houses were allotted when there were small families. Ever since, people had made changes to their houses according to their genuine need. He said he would take up the issue on priority bases so that people who had purchased houses on power of attorney could get ownership rights. Mr Jain said Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, the former Congress member of Parliament, was a part of the ministry when the Congress was in majority at the Centre in 1991-1996. He did negligent work. Mr Jain said if a person could not do anything substantial while in power or in opposition, he had absolutely no right to demand vote. Mr Jain conveyed his greetings to the Sikhs on Gurpurb tomorrow. He said we should adopt the moral values and the teachings of Guru Angad Dev. A number of members of the Subordinate Services Federation Chandigarh resigned form INTUC and they assured their support to Mr Jain in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Criticising Mr Bansal, Mr Balwant Singh, president, said Mr Bansal had been making false assurances to the employees of the administration as well as the Municipal Corporation for the past many years. Mr Jain was weighed with coins today in Pipliwala town, Mani Majra. Mr Jain held a “pad yatra” this morning in Sector 33, attended a corner meeting in Sector-17, and addressed gatherings in Janata Market, Mani Majra, in Badheri, Sector 41, Sector 35-D and Sector 22. In all, Mr Jain attended 15 corner meetings and addressed around five public rallies.
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SAD keeps BJP, INLD on tenterhooks Chandigarh, April 17 Compounding the scenario is the recent statement of the SAD chief, Mr Parkash Singh Badal showing “sympathy” for the INLD. He showed his indebtedness, on personal and party basis, regarding help given by Mr Om Prakash Chautala, INLD chief, during the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee elections. He said it was difficult to ignore “him”. Mr Harmohan Dhawan, INLD candidate, stands to gain a lot in case of an alliance. Congressman says, “It will be beneficial to the party in case the BJP loses its alliance with the SAD”. Mr Satya Pal Jain met Mr Badal recently, sources said. Mr Badal has, however, made no official announcement regarding any alliance for the local seat. Mr Gurpratap Singh Riar, president of the local unit of the SAD, said he also met Mr Badal. “Mr Badal told me that a decision will be taken after the completion of the process of filing the nomination papers”, Mr Riar added. The local unit of the BJP claimed the support of the SAD in its press notes till a few days ago. Party sources claimed that the alliance was seen as a part of the understanding at the national level. The practice has, however, stopped now. The SAD has a splinter group sending “confusing” signals. The group, headed by Mr N.S.Minhas, has assured support to the BJP leader. Mr Minhas maintains that the alliance here is on the lines of the one at the national level and there has been no ‘negative’ signal from the party high command. Mr Riar, however, rubbished these claims. The SAD-BJP alliance has taken several curious turns right from the announcement of the elections. Mr Riar attended a press conference of the BJP soon after the announcement of the election dates. The friendship was soon over Mr Riar had said he was waiting for an official communication from the party leadership. During this period, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra had visited the BJP office and assured help. A formal announcement by Mr Badal with regard to alliance of the SAD will help draw the battle lines clearer.
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Chautala to address rally in city Chandigarh, April 17 Mr Dhawan was weighed in coins at a function in Sector 46 here. He was welcomed by Mr Balwinder Singh, president of the market executive committee. Mr Balwinder Singh said both Congress and the BJP had betrayed the citizens of the city. “Both were responsible for the Rent Act enforced on shopkeepers”, he said. Mr C.S. Narula, general secretary of the Residents Welfare Association, also spoke. Mr Dhawan said he would work for allowing need-based alteration in the housing board houses. Beautification, progress and the overall development of the city were his priorities, he added.
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Left-out voters have time till April 20 Chandigarh, April 17 The form is available free of cost from the office of the department in Sector 17. It can also be downloaded from the website of the Chandigarh Administration
www.chandigarh.nic.in. As the process of verification and inclusion of names in the electoral roll is to be completed by April 23, the department will collect form-6 till April 20. The Deputy Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Mr Arun Kumar, said under Section 23 of the People’s Representation Act, 1950, any person whose name was not included in the electoral roll of the constituency, could apply to the Electoral Registration Officer for the purpose. However, the Act clearly states that no direction for inclusion of a name in the electoral roll can be given after the last date for filing nominations for an election. In this case, it is April 23. Any application received on form-6 is to be verified and thereafter the Assistant Returning Officer concerned has to include it in the electoral roll.
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Mayor violating poll code: BJP Chandigarh, April 17 |
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Journalist files nomination papers Chandigarh, April 17
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Navy, ASI to take up joint exploration projects Chandigarh, April 17 “We intend to carry out two or three marine archaeological surveys every year,” Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India, Rear Admiral
K.R. Srinivasan said. “Though we have carried out a few requests from the ASI in the past, we never had a policy in this regard,” he added. The surveys will be executed by the Dehradun-based National Hydrographic Office
(NHO), which is responsible for surveying and mapping the Indian territorial waters and areas of maritime interest. Recently, the NHO executed a major project for the ASI to map a submerged city near Trancobar on the eastern coast. The submerged remains were at a depth of 7 metres. Using equipment on its survey ships, the NHO mapped structures and recorded some artefacts. The historical research into the remains, however, will be the ASI’s responsibility. What the Navy is keen on, are shipwrecks in seas around the Indian peninsula. According to records maintain by the
NHO, there are about 2,000 shipwrecks in this area. Some of them are hundred of years old and many of them are of historical importance. Some are said to be related with smuggling activities. “We are working out a programme to see how many can be brought up,” Admiral
Srinivasan, who was here to attend a scientific conference, said. The NHO has a dedicated fleet of eight survey ships, divers and associated technical support to execute any kind of marine survey projects. With its fleet being expanded, it will be able to devote resources to carry out marine archaeological surveys. With four more ships expected to be commissioned in the coming years, the NHO is poised to have the largest hydrography fleet in the world. It has also decided to go in for airborne platforms for mapping shallow and rocky coastal areas where conventional vessels are ineffective. To this end, the Navy has tied up with the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation here for designing and developing an Airborne Laser Bathymetric System. The NHO will initially procure a Chetak helicopter from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for mounting the system. Later, three more choppers are expected to be procured after additional systems come in. |
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Follow-up Mohali, April 17 A PSEB member, Mr H.M. Jain, today visited the site of the accident and enquired after the children at the PGI. He also met the parents of the children. ‘‘Even though the PGI has declared that the children will be treated free of cost at the hospital, the board has decided to grant financial help to the guardians of these children to take care of their other day to day needs,’’ said Mr Ratra. Meanwhile, the condition of the eight children who have been admitted to the PGI further deteriorated. According to those attending them, the condition of all children was critical. |
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Experts discuss emerging
technologies Chandigarh, April 17 Speaking at the inaugural session of the national conference, the Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India, Rear Admiral K.R. Srinivasan, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said optoelectronics had provided new avenues in information technology, signals and image processing. He said microelectronics provided information distribution and
band with requirements, which were finding applications in all spheres. He pointed out that the combination of optoelectronics and microelectronics was vital to meet the future techno-economic needs of the country. The Vice-Chancellor of GGS IP University, New Delhi, in his presidential remarks, said developments in electronics had reached a saturation point and hence there was a need to go in for microelectronics and optoelectronics. In his welcome address, the CSIO Director, Dr R.P. Bajpai said in the 21st century, all streams of science were merging together. The merging of optoelectronics and microelectronics to meet particular requirements of high-speed small-size components was one such example, he said. In his keynote address on “Sensors:Fibre Interferometric and MEMS”, the Director of the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, Prof R.S. Sirohi, gave an overview of various advances in these fields. |
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Wheat worth lakhs gutted Mohali, April 17 According to the Fire Officer here, the fire broke out at 10 am. Heaps of the harvested crop were also gutted in the fire he added. While 10 acres were owned by Avtar Singh, five acres were owned by Amrik Singh and another five by Jagtar Singh. Gurmukh Singh owned four acres. The Fire Officer said the fire was caused by either a lighted bidi thrown by one of the labourers employed in harvesting or by a power short-circuit. Villagers also helped the fire brigade to put off the fire. |
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IT
Department shifts office Chandigarh, April 17
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Two vehicle thieves held Mohali, April 17 The police stated that Gamdoor Singh belonged to a big gang of vehicle thieves who were operating in Punjab. TNS |
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Mystery
shrouds worker’s death Dera Bassi, April 17 The police has sent the body for post-mortem at Rajpura. A case under Section 302 of the IPC has been registered by the police on the complaint of his father, Mr Gurmail Singh.
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Auto dealers seek rationalisation of taxes Chandigarh, April 17 He suggested that lifetime road tax be made uniform across the country and it should be pegged at 1.5 per cent of the invoice value. Cars, he said, continued to attract excise duty of up to 24 per cent, which should be brought down to 16 per cent to avoid classification disputes. Similarly, the service tax of 8 per cent was very high and should be reduced to 5 per cent, he added. The FADA president said though there was an increase in the production of cars from 6 lakh to 10 lakh over the past fiscal, the number of dealers had increased, which had negated real growth prospects of dealers. He pointed out that manufacturers were leaving a margin of just 2.5 to 4 per cent for dealers. The FADA has launched a website to help clear the dead stock of spares of obsolete vehicle models. Mr Kasliwal said old stocks worth about Rs 500 crore were lying with dealers all over the country. The website would project demands from dealers from different places and the spares required could be sent wherever needed. |
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City to host Nasscom meet on IT Chandigarh, April 17 The conference will cover four tracks on IT Consulting, ITES - BPO, Software Product Development in India - Perception and Realities and HR - Best Practices. The conference is being supported by Quark Media House, the Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC) and the Ind - US Entrepreneurs. The keynote address will be delivered by Mr Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom. The conference will be inaugurated by Mr Lalit Sharma, Adviser to the Administrator, UT Chandigarh. Other eminent speakers include Mr Karan A. Singh Secretary IT, Chandigarh, Mr Jaswinder Ghuman, Convergys, Mr Vivek Atray, Director IT, Chandigarh, Mr Chander Mohan, President, TIE Chandigarh Chapter, Mr Rajeev Shukla, Quark Media House, Mr Partap K. Aggarwal, IDS Infotech, Mr Joydeep Gupta, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Mr Hemant Krishnan, Sapient Technologies, Ms Anita Perumbilavil, Wipro Spectramind, and Mr Manipal Singh, Sebiz Infotech. The conference will have participation from global companies keenly looking at India as a key destination for their business processes and IT needs, BPO and IT service providers from the region, management consultants and IT managers, academicians and students, government officials, entrepreneurs and investors with an interest in the outsourcing space. |
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