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Head Constable shoots neighbour in
land dispute
Mohali, December 10 While Meher Singh died on the spot after being shot twice,
27-year-old Sukhvinder Singh, who was shot at while he was trying to
click photographs of the shootout, is battling for life at Fortis
hospital here. Accused Tirlochan Singh alongwith his father Baldev
Singh has been arrested but seven other residents of the village, who
were involved in the initial spat that led to the shootout, are still
at large. Baldev Singh is also said to have been injured and is
admitted to the PGI. Tirlochan Singh is reportedly posted as a Head
Constable with Mr Siddharth Chattopadhyaya, DIG, Punjab Police. The
incident took place today at about 7.30 am when Meher Singh went to
tie buffaloes at a vacant piece of the disputed land being used as a
cattle shed near his house. He found that Tirlochan Singh, who also
lived nearby, was filming the piece of land using a handycam. He
objected to this and asked Tirlochan Singh to stop. This led to a
heated argument. Mr Nirmal Singh, Meher Singh’s elder brother who
was an eyewitness to the entire incident, told the police that
following the argument and hurling abuses, Tirlochan Singh went back
into his house in a huff and came out with a 12 bore gun. “His
father Baldev Singh also came back with a sickle. The two also had
over seven Balmikis laced with lathis in tow. Without any
provocation, Tirlochan Singh started firing. He shot first at Meher
Singh who was hit in the chest and an arm. Then Tirlochan saw that
Lakhvinder, our nephew, had come out of the house and was clicking
photos of the shootout using his mobile telephone. He shot at him. The
bullet smashed the mobile and then hit Lakhvinder,” related Mr
Nirmal Singh, adding that some bullets hit the walls of the houses
nearby. Tirlochan Singh, along with his father Baldev Singh,
allegedly absconded after the incident but were arrested late in the
evening. “The two, along with the Balmikis, went to Harbans
Singh’s house first from there,” said Jagdev Singh, Meher
Singh’s brother. Meher Singh was rushed to the PGI where he was
declared brought dead and Lakhvinder Singh was shifted to the Fortis
hospital in Mohali. Doctors at Fortis said a bullet had been removed
from Lakhvinder’s body. Relating the cause of the dispute, Jagdev
Singh said the 3-kanal piece of land currently being used as a cattle
shed was a bone of contention between his family and the
But later, he alleged, Tirlochan
Singh started instigating the Balmikis that the land was part of the
village pond and belonged to them. They went to court against Jagdev
Singh’s family and the matter was still to be decided. He further
alleged that Tirlochan Singh had also instigated the Balmikis to
divert the open sewerage drain outside their house through Meher Singh’s
house. On the other hand, Tirlochan Singh’s wife told the
police that Meher Singh along with his brothers and nephews, tried to
first attack Tirlochan who rushed back home to collect his weapon. The
police said following an interrogation, Tirlochan Singh told the
police that Meher Singh had first attacked his father Baldev Singh
with a sickle following which things went out of control. Mr Tirlochan
Singh, SHO, Phase VII, said Baldev Singh’s finger had been cut by
the sickle and he was admitted to the PGI. Meher Singh is survived by his wife Harjinder Kaur and three children, daughter Manpreet and sons Gurpreet and Gurjeet. Meher, according to the villagers, had been a former panch of the village.
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PEC Principal, officer chargesheeted
Chandigarh, December 10 The UT Administrator, Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), approved the chargesheet for the two officials, which was finally issued this evening by the Chandigarh Administration. The chargesheet is for major penalty and it will also mean the constitution of a regular inquiry into the matter. The entire process of recruitment had been referred to the Central Vigilance Commission which also recommended the chargesheet. About 20 persons on various posts likes peons, lab assistants, clerks and telephone operators, had seen recruited in PEC. The appointments were made without even inserting an advertising or getting a notice published in the newspapers. The PEC authorities used to just put up a notice on the college notice board asking for applications, as was alleged by the Administration. About six months ago, the Principal sought the permission to recruit persons on contract and it was given. However, the procedure for filling these posts was not followed. The entire file for chargesheeting these two official was sent about a month back. However, the then Administrator, Dr A.R. Kidwai, had preferred to wait for a full time Administrator to join. The file was sent again and General Rodrigues approved it.
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Land prices in Chandigarh touch a new high
Chandigarh, December 10 The biggest auction price ever for a residential plot was for a 4-kanal (2000-square-yard ) plot which was sold for Rs 3.54 crore making it the single largest purchase of residential plot ever in the history of Chandigarh. The plot is located in
Sector 28-A. The revenue collection was Rs 43 crore over and above the reserve price for these plots. The reserve price was The average overall price by calculating the sale of all plots on per square yard basis works out to be Rs 25,917. Just a year ago this was Rs 16,820 per square yard. The boom in rates can be gauged from the fact that last year Rs 41 crore was collected by auctioning 67 freehold residential sites. Also last year the total collection from residential and commercial property was Rs 101 crore while
it has been Rs 83 crore only for residential property today. The Estate Office wing of the Chandigarh Administration, which was the auctioning authority, held back 34 plots due to paucity of time. The
auction carried on till midnight today. In today’s auction one of the highest bids (when
calculated on a per square yard basis ) was in the category of 5-marla (125 square yard) plots. The highest bid in this segment was for a Sector 44-C plot which was auctioned at Rs 44 lakh. Last year a 5-marla plot was sold for Rs 37 lakh. In the 10-marla (250 square yard) segment the highest bid was for a Sector 38-D plot which was auctioned at Rs 86. 60 lakh. Interestingly, a new facet emerged in the 10 marla which saw the biggest jump. The highest price was Rs 86.60 lakh. This was close to double in the past 36 months. In demand were the 15 marla plots. The highest bid in this segment was for Rs 96.10 lakh for a plot in Sector 37-A. At the auction site for the first time a private bank had been associated. The Bank of Punjab posted its staff and also machines to handle the inflow of
cash.
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Selection panel chief accused of assaulting lawyer
Panchkula, December 10 Mr Chawla has, however, denied the allegations levelled against him. “First, Mr Gupta rammed into my Safari, and damaged it. Now he is levelling false allegations against my companions of assaulting him, when in reality I was accompanied by my children in the car,” he said. The incident took place around 2 pm. Mr Gupta said he was going to the Panchkula District Courts in his Maruti car (HR-24D-3864), when he noticed a Tata Safari (HR-51-0077) going ahead of his car. “As soon as we reached Sector 20, the Safari driver suddenly applied the brakes, and I lost control of my car which rammed into the Safari,” he said. Mr Gupta alleged that as he got out of the car to examine the loss, the Safari driver, who he later realised was Mr Chawla, came out and started hurling abuses at him. “I asked him not to use abusive language, when the two other men came out of the Safari and started assaulting me. They slapped and kicked me and threatened me against reporting the matter to the
police," he alleged. Mr Gupta said the two men forcibly put him in the Safari and it was only with the intervention of some passers-by that he was let off. He also submitted a complaint to the Sector 20 police station. Mr Chawla said the incident took place near the level crossing, on the Kalka- Zirakpur highway. “I was on my way to drop my daughter to college, and was driving the Safari myself, when a car hit us from behind. Its driver got down and started abusing me. Some policemen of the Punjab Police intervened, and the matter was resolved there,” he said. The police, led by the
Station House Officer of the Sector 20 police station, Mr Verender Singh, visited the place where, Mr Gupta claimed, the accident took place. The Superintendent of Police, Ms Mamta Singh, said she was enquiring into the matter. Meanwhile, the president of the District Bar Association, Mr Deepak Kapoor, and the former president, Mr Satish Qadiyan, threatened that the Bar would go on at indefinite strike if no action was taken by the police.
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Ordnance factory to export phone cables to Nepal
Chandigarh, December 10 In the first-ever order received from the Nepalese Government, the OFC will be supplying telephone cables worth about Rs 50 lakh to the neighbouring country. Sources said the order was expected to be executed by March, 2005. The cables are manufactured by the OFC for defence and paramilitary organisations in the country, but have both military as well as civilian applications and are suitable for use in rugged terrain. Nepal is also procuring 5.56 mm rifles and mine protected vehicles from Indian ordnance factories. A similar order had been executed by the OFC for the Government of Oman last year, though the quantum was less. According to sources, Oman had been supplied cables worth about Rs 15 lakh. All such orders are routed through the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) which is the nodal agency controlling all 40 factories in the country. The OCF, which manufactures a vast range of cables for use by the armed forces and paramilitary forces, also started the production of optical fibre cables (OFC) this year. The process of establishing production facilities for the OFC had been going on for quite some time. Though OCF products have civilian applications as well, the factory does not have any plans to tap the civilian market in a major way so far due to certain limitations. Most of its capacity is utilised in executing orders from the Defence Ministry and the Home Ministry, whose various establishments are engaged in major modernisation drives. The OFB itself has initiated a major project to modernise all its factories by upgrading technology, augmenting capacities and replacing obsolete machinery with state-of-the-art automated equipment. During the Tenth Plan period, an investment of Rs 1804 crore is envisaged towards this end, with about Rs 250 crore being sanctioned during 2003-04. Sources said computerised design centers were being set up in all ordnance factories to enhance design and development capabilities and increase efficiency in the area of product design and development. This included the introduction of drafting software, high-end modeling software and analysis software.
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Anupam Kher announces opening of acting school in Mumbai
Chandigarh, December 10 Anupam is naturally overwhelmed to return to the greens of Chandigarh 30 years after he had first entered its portals. “It’s fulfilling to return after so long. It was on July 27, 1974, that I joined the Theatre Department as a student of acting. Balwant Gargi was my first teacher. And I can really never tell how much I owe to him,” reflects the actor who also chose this day to make the most worthy announcement of his life. From the campus of Vivek High School, Sector 38, Anupam Kher announced the opening of his acting school “Actor Prepares”, in Mumbai from January. As a gesture of respect to Chandigarh, Anupam has offered a 20 per cent discount on fee to those who get selected to the school from Chandigarh. He has also named one of the scholarships after his mentor, Balwant Gargi. Returning to the play, Anupam mentioned: “I am a product of mishaps and this play is a consequence of the pressing need to tell the world about the failures that a successful man endured. I could have easily picked up a Chicken Soup story and created a play had it just been for the sake of creation. But I had to be honest about myself. The script had to inspire me enough and what better than staging one’s own life which has been a saga of trials and tribulations.” The play matured during one of the journeys Anupam undertook from London to Mumbai. “As I looked back on life, I could see the play developing. It deals with those disasters of my life which eventually became milestones. The one-man show is inspiring for those who dare to dream. That’s also its basic purpose,” said Anupam, whose play will later be published by Harper and Collins. To allow another director to handle a script as sensitive as one’s own life story would not have been easy. But Anupam willingly surrendered the project to Firoz Khan, famed for classic works like “Tumhari Amrita” and “Mahatma v/s Gandhi. “I wanted to have an objective view on the process. The play is more than an artist’s indulgence in self. I had to trust Firoze completely,” said Anupam who is now focusing on his acting school. Also the NSD chairman, Anupam minced no words while admitting that most art institutions were devoid of spark. “It’s time we recharged them. Actually, acting institutes need dictators, not directors. They can never function on democracy. That’s why I have decided to raise my own nursery of talent which I will groom my own way,” declared Anupam who is “meaningfully” occupied these days. With projects like “Hope and a Little Sugar” (New York), an Amol Palekar film, another film on the theme of 9/11, at hand, Anupam has his hands full. But he is longing to succeed as a director eversince his directorial debut “Om Jai” failed. “I have written a script about the father-son relationship. I hope to direct it successfully one day,” says the actor.
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CBSE undertakes exam-related reforms
Chandigarh, December 10 In the past, these used to be issued in February. The new system would enable the students to concentrate on studies rather than running around to get their roll numbers and admit cards, said a senior board officer. By the next week, the board will also communicate information about the examination centres to its affiliated schools and those schools where the examination centres had been set up. The advancing of the schedule has become possible due to examination-related reforms being undertaken by the board. This year, the board headquarters at Delhi has decentralised the examination-related works. The board’s regional offices have been allowed to undertake data processing at their own level. The board’s regional office at Chandigarh, which caters to the students from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, has been allowed to print examination forms, admit cards and roll number cards. The processing of the data at the regional office has speeded up the process of correction of mistakes and seeking clarifications from the affiliated schools. Earlier, the entire data was sent to Delhi for being processed and the list of examination centres used to come from there. The Regional Officer of the board, Mr P.I. Sabu, told Tribune News Service that due to decentralisation the examination forms were sent to schools in time and were submitted by the schools in time. The printing of the examination-related stationery had also been undertaken at the regional level. For the second consecutive year, the board would send photo scanned admit cards. The staff on examination duty would be able to match the photo on the attendance sheet and the admit card with that of the respective candidate.
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Administrator is just a click away
Chandigarh, December 10 The Administrator can be contacted on-line at the website http://chandigarh.nic.in "Write to Administrator". The move aims at increasing the accessibility of the Administrator and other officials of the administration. To get going, the city residents just need to fill up a form which appears on the top right-hand corner of the site and give their suggestions on any subject related to the administration. The city residents can also fill up details of their residence and e-mail along with their comments on any matter. The Administrator is keen on obtaining the benefit of the expertise and experience of the residents of Chandigarh and residents of other places who have interest in Chandigarh on various areas of public concern. The aim was to find a long-lasting solution of public issues through a participatory process, a spokesperson said.
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Colourful start to Chrysanthemum Show
Chandigarh, December 10 In fact, the Horticulture Wing of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh(MCC), put its best foot forward by displaying 190 varieties of the flowers and over 8,500 flower
pots. The three-day show, particularly the prize-winning entries, attracted a number of discerning visitors though the crowds were missing. And the visitors did not hesitate to bestow appreciation on the MCC staff for the good
work." Kudos to the MC employees, it is just like wonderland”, remarked Jyot, a resident of Sector 7,about the show in the visitor’s book. Mr Rajiv Jerath, an NRI from Ontario (Canada), was all praise for the maintenance of the garden. The Executive Engineer of Horticulture Wing of the MCC, Mr Raghbir Singh, while expressing happiness at the number of entries for various competitions, claimed that this showed the love of city residents for the flowers. Even as the horticulture staff of the MCC, led by the SDO(Horticulture), Mr Arun Kumar, meticulously arranged and looked after the flower pots and topiaries, officials expected that the people would throng the venue for the next two day as they were holidays.
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MLA calls PUDA irresponsible
Mohali, December 10 Even the Kharar MLA, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, who had come to listen to the problems of the residents at the community centre here today, sided with the residents and said PUDA officials were not acting in a responsible manner. Launching an attack on PUDA, Mr Bir Devinder Singh said the town, in which the headquarters of PUDA were based, should reflect the existence of the development agency in that area. The town should have been a model for others to follow. But unfortunately no such precedent was being set by PUDA. It was the responsibility of PUDA to provide good infrastructure to the town where multinationals wanted to come and invest. The MLA told the gathering that he had visited various parks in the town along with PUDA officials and pointed out the shortcomings found in them. The shortcomings were also brought to the notice of the Chief Administrator, PUDA, the Secretary of the department and even the Minister for Housing and Urban Development, but no action was taken in this regard. He said some positive change in the working of PUDA officials was noticed recently but still much needs to be desired. The residents said the sector faced shortage of drinking water in summers. The sewer system did not function properly and the parks in the area, were in a state of neglect. Residents said Jhote Kut colony was not only an eyesore for the area but led to a number of problems. The road berms had been encroached upon by people running shops in the area. The cow dung heaps were lying along the road and filth flowed on the road. Residents complained that PUDA made no efforts to remove the encroachments from the area. They demanded that a wall should be constructed to cut of the colony. Residents said the supply of water should be augmented before the summer season otherwise the area would face an acute shortage of water. They said the sector was getting inadequate supply of water. As a large number of new houses were coming up in the area, demand for water would rise in the coming months. The sewer system of the area got choked at times due to technical faults or improper links. To clear the sewer lines, PUDA officials pumped out the dirty water with the help of engines in parks or in the storm water drains. At some points storm water drains had not been provided which led to flooding of roads whenever it rained. The parks in the area were in a state of neglect. One could see lot of wild growth in the parks. Residents pointed out that three-sites had been allotted to private schools in the area and there was not a single site earmarked for a government school. No land had been reserved for a playground to cater to the needs of grown-up children. They demanded that a site for a government dispensary should also be earmarked in the area.
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Merchant Navy’s event today
Mohali, December 10 The event is sponsored by prominent shipping companies and would be visited by Mr D.T. Joseph, Secretary, Shipping, Government of India, Mr G.S. Sahni Director-General, Shipping and Captain M.M. Saggi, Nautical Adviser. Capt M.S. Kahlon, seminar chairman in a press note said the event scheduled to be held tomorrow at the NIPER auditorium is aimed to give the sea-farers of the region a unique opportunity of interacting with government authorities and gather information about the latest rules and regulations and also meet prospective employers under one roof. The association will present a cheque as economic help to the daughter of a Kargil martyr during the seminar. The seminar to be held tomorrow will be inaugurated by Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd), Governor of Punjab.
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Shaheedi Chetna march on Dec 12
Chandigarh, December 10 According to Maj N.S. Rangi, chairman of the sangathan, the march will start from the Sector 34 gurdwara at 9 a.m. and move through the markets of Sectors 21 and 22 besides touching Kisan Bhavan, Attawa chowk, dividing the road of sectors 37 and 41, Kharar, Morinda and Boor Majra before reaching Chamkaur Sahib. After paying obeisance at historic gurdwaras in Chamkaur Sahib, it will move to Fatehgarh Sahib and return to Chandigarh in the evening.
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Osho meditation camps today
Panchkula, December 10 Organised to mark Osho’s birthday, it will also
have a session on “connecting with the nature” and other meditations, according
to the organiser, Swami Narayan Satyarthi. The Osho Naman Dhyan
Kendra, Sector 37, Chandigarh, will also organise a day-long camp
beginning from 6 am at Indira Holiday Home, Sector 24, Chandigarh, tomorrow. Its
special feature will be cathartic meditations. It will be conducted by
Ma Yog Shukla. Birthday celebrations will also be held in the
evening at Lajpat Rai Bhavan, Sector 15, in Chandigarh. An exhibition
of complete Osho literature, audio and video cassettes will also be
put up. Swami Akhilesh Saraswati of Premdwara Meditation Centre,
Jalandhar, will demonstrate various meditation techniques, including
Tibetan to participants.
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Date for computer award forms extended
Chandigarh, December 10 To participate in the CLEA-2004, the schools are required to submit their prescribed form to the Director, Department of Information Technology, UT , Additional Deluxe Building, 5th floor, Sector 9, Chandigarh for evaluation. However, the date for the evaluation of schools and forwarding the names of the two top schools in the two categories by state IT Secretaries will remain January 31, 2005.
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Honest gesture
Chandigarh, December 10 Ranbir Singh Kahlon, a resident of 1093/2, Sector 39, had a test of his honesty, when he found Rs 15,000 lying on the floor of the branch of Punjab National Bank in Sector 37, on Wednesday. He returned the money to the Bank Manager. Earlier also, Mr Kahlon had displayed his honesty when he found a mobile in the Sector 17 market. He had returned it to its owner.
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Wet sand on road claims life
Panchkula, December 10 Gopal Krishan, an accountant with the Haryana Warehousing Corporation, was seriously injured when his scooter skidded because of the wet sand lying on the road. He sustained head injuries and was rushed to General Hospital, Sector 6 and was later referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. He died on way to the PGI. His body was handed over to the family, after a post-mortem examination was conducted today.
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Cook stabbed, robbed of money, mobile
Chandigarh, December 10 Gambhir Singh, a cook, was returning home after a party at Gill Resorts in Naya Gaon when he was allegedly attacked by the two persons, the police said today. He was intercepted by two scooter-borne youths near a petrol pump in Sector 56 on the pretext of asking him for an address. As soon as he stopped, they threatened him to give his wallet and mobile phone at a knifepoint. When Gambhir Singh resisted, the robbers inflicted injuries on him before taking away his belongings. The wallet contained Rs 320. Bleeding Gambhir Singh rode on his cycle to the Palsora police post where he reported the matter. The police immediately took him to the General Hospital for first-aid. The local police is clueless about the identity of the youths involved in the stabbing and robbing. The injured had given the police a scooter number but when the police produced its owner from Dhanas, the victim said he did not resemble any of the suspects. A case was registered on his complaint in the Sector 39 police station.
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Man run over by train
Chandigarh, December 10 The train was going from Chandigarh to Kalka when the man met with an accident at around 7.45 pm. The Government Railway Police said the man was of wheatish complexion, round-faced and strongly built. He seemed to be around 35 or 36 years of age. The man was wearing a check shirt, white trouser and a pull over of cream colour. He was around 5 feet 6 inches tall.
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Man held for stealing car
Chandigarh, December 10 Daljit Singh of Sector 39 was caught stealing a car by one owner Mr D.P. Maini. Daljit was trying to start the car with a duplicate key when Mr Maini noticed him and raised an alarm. A case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC was registered at Sector 34 police station. The police today produced Daljit Singh in the local court and he was remanded to judicial custody till December 23. In another case, the local police arrested Deepak, resident of Sector 31 from a picket point last night. The police said Deepak with another accomplice, Kushal Kant of Sector 46, stole a briefcase from Colony No 5 yesterday. The briefcase contained Rs 16,000, camera, some clothes and other articles. A case under Sections 380 and 411 of the IPC was registered at Sector 34 police station. The police today produced Deepak in the court and he was remanded to one day police custody. The other accused is still at large.
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Three vehicles stolen
Chandigarh, December 10 Mr Kapil Sood of Sector 21-C reported to the police that his motorcycle (HR-51-K-1880) was stolen from a parking place in Sector 17 on December 8. A case of theft under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered in the Sector 17 police station. Mr Sukhwinder Singh of Sector 29 filed a complaint to the police that his scooter (CH-01-C-6932) was stolen from the market in Sector 20-C on December 8. A case of theft was registered in the Sector 19 police station. Mr Subash Chand of Ram Darbar informed the police that his moped (CH-01-Y-7600) was stolen from near the Oriental Bank of Commerce, NAC, Mani Majra, yesterday. A case of theft was registered in the Mani Majra police station.
Injured
A car (PB-10-AY-9298) was sped away after hitting scooterist Renu Thapar of Sector 15-B near the Batra Cinema chowk yesterday. She suffered injuries and her shoulder was dislocated. She was admitted to General Hospital. A case under Sections 337 and 279 of the IPC was registered in the Sector 36 police station. The police has verified the registration number of the car from Ludhiana as the car was registered there. The car belongs to a Panchkula-based company and was driven by a driver of the company, the police said.
Liquor seized
The local police has arrested Rajesh Kumar of Hallo Majra village with two cartons of country wine from the village yesterday. A case under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act was registered in the Sector 31 police station.
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Biz Clips
Ring Festival: OyzterBay has launched a ring festival coinciding with the wedding and engagement season. The ring festival showcases the collection of rings from the five brands — OyzterBay, Adora, Ace, D’damas and Sparkles — in a variety of executions in terms of design, metal and price.
The festival will continue till January 15,2005. Mr Verghese said, “The collection includes special setting techniques, cuts and finishes, all at reasonable prices made possible by vertical integration”. The festival is now running in all 31 exclusive OyzterBay stores across 20 cities in the country till January 15.
— OC Jewellery: Tanishq, a jewellery brand, on Friday showcased 20 spectacular award-winning jewellery design pieces, including three unique masterpieces designed by Tanishq designers at sector 17. These 20 pieces have been shortlisted by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) as award-winning entries to the Diamonds: Nature’s Miracle 2004, a jewellery competition held earlier this year. Mr Alok Badoni, Regional Business Executive, Punjab said, “The three pieces of
jewellery designed by Mr Debashish Mishra, Ms Pallavi Dudeja Foley and Mr Sumit Jain were amongst 20 award-winning entries shortlisted as a result of the national competition”.
— OC
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