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SC orders give hope to industrial plot allottees
Chandigarh, December 18 The issue has been hanging fire since the allotment of plots in 1981, when 36 out of the 254 dissatisfied allottees challenged the allotments and the litigation that ensued reached the Supreme Court. On April 13 this year the Supreme Court had ordered that the administration gave possession by August 13 to these 36 applicants within the next four months in the existing Industrial Area, Phases I and II. The administration could not give the possession of plots to 36 out of the 254 allottees cleared by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in its order observed that the administration would work out a manner in which draw of lots would be held
between the 36 contenders. The Supreme Court order read “The Administration of the Union Territory of Chandigarh shall complete the requisite formalities and carry out the directions made above in accordance with law within a period of four months from the date of this order and hand over the possession of the plots to the successful allottees”. The Chandigarh Administration in its affidavit before the court had listed that only 32 plots were vacant for allotment in the Industrial Area, Phases I and II. Industrial Area, Phase I, has one plot each of one and a half kanal and one kanal, while the Phase II of the Industrial Area has three one and a half kanal plots, 18 one kanal plots and nine 10 marla vacant plots. But the administration failed to implement the orders of the apex court and six months later the Estate Office held a public draw on October 21, 2004, that was video recorded. After the draw, 32 plots were to be allotted along with their specific numbers. The names of the allottees were published in many newspapers. But till date the administration has failed to issue the allotment letters. Meanwhile, a contempt hearing that came up on December 13 the Supreme Court directed the administration to honour its earlier order of April 13 and give the possession of the plots to the allottees/drawees who had deposited the money 24 years ago within the next two weeks i.e. by December 27.
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Couple held for selling blue film CDs
Panchkula, December 18 Police sources inform that they had tip-off on the couple renting out blue films through their video parlour- Rhythm and Blues in Sector 20 market. They had been allegedly renting out/ selling these pornographic films even to children under 18, for the past three months, said a senior police officer. A team of the police led by Station House Officer of the Sector 20 police station, Varinder Kumar, and Security Branch In charge, A.K. Sharma, made the raid. Mr Sharma, while posing as a customer, went to the shop and asked for three blue film VCD’s. He was handed over the CD’s and asked for Rs 100 (Rs 20 each as rental and Rs 40 as security). The police party waiting outside rushed in and nabbed Mr Rajiv and
his wife, who was also in the shop. The police says that while a blue film VCD was being sold from the shop for Rs 30 to Rs 50 each, depending on the demand for each CD, it was available on daily rent of Rs 20. The accused reportedly also played one of the CDs for the cop posing as customer on his VCD in the shop. The police says that though he did not have any of the DPS school girl case CDs, they recovered the infamous CDs of the Jalandhar-based girl, shot through a webcam. Other than the blue film CDs, the police has recovered almost 2,000 pirated CDs of latest Bollywood films from the shop. The couple has been arrested and booked under Section 293 of the IPC.
36 porn CDs seized
Chandigarh, December 18 Three cases have been registered against them under Section 292 of the IPC in Sector 39 and Mani Majra police stations, respectively. |
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Haryana staff work on holiday to finish ‘urgent’ work
Panchkula, December 18 Over 40 state government head offices are located in Panchkula, and most of the offices remained open today, in spite of Saturday being a holiday in state government offices. A visit to these offices revealed that there was hectic activity in most of these offices. Though senior officials in the government denied that they were attending offices to pass some orders in back date and maintained that they were attending offices in routine to finish their file work, the near full attendance in these offices belied their claims. The vehicles parked in these offices revealed that be it the Babu or his clerk or attendants, it was a working Saturday for the employees. The “best attendance” of employees was in the Shakti Bhavan- which houses the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam, the Haryana Power Generation Corporation, the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam. It was difficult to believe that it was a week-end holiday, going by the hectic activity in the premises. A top official in the Haryana Power Utilities, when contacted, admitted that they had to finish “some urgent” work, which they could not finish yesterday, so he had called his entuitre office staff. He, however, denied that some letters of carrying out development works, or for some appointments were issued today. Other than Shakti Bhavan, officials were also seen in the Forest Department, corporate office of Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation, Housing Board, the Haryana Pollution Control Board and the Irrigation Department.
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Police recruitment
Chandigarh, December 18 The Chandigarh police had given an advertisement in newspapers on November 11 that the candidates who had passed the physical test should appear for a written test on December 18. It was also mentioned in the advertisement that no separate communication would be sent to the candidates and the candidates with the admit cards would be allowed to sit for the examination. The admit cards of the disqualified candidates were torn by the officials after the physical test. The candidates were told by the officials that their names were not mentioned in the lists. Naveen Kumar from Sonipat, Rajwinder Kaur of Bhatinda, Rakesh of Panchkula, Mohinder Singh from Faridabad, Sukhwinder from Patran in Patiala district and Kesar from Hodal district alleged that they were not allowed to sit for the examination though they had the admit cards with them. Mr Virender Singh Chahal, SSP ‘headquarters’ was not available for comments. The sources in the police said 5500 candidates appeared for the written examination today. The one hour-long test started at 11 am. Mr Chahal conducted the test. There are 230 posts of constable for which around 1.34 lakh candidates had applied.
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Fog delays 5 trains, including Shatabdi
Chandigarh, December 18 Ambala reported nil visibility this morning as did Palam in Delhi. On account of low visibility, five trains were delayed including the morning Shatabdi and the Jan Shatabdi, both of which reached an hour late than scheduled time. Against their marked arrivals at 11.02 am and 6.15 pm respectively, the trains came at 12 noon and 7.15 pm respectively. The maximum delay was reported on the arrival of the Sadbhavna Express that comes from Lucknow to Chandigarh. Scheduled to arrive at 10.05 am the train came seven hours late, much to the harassment of passengers. Other trains to be delayed on account of weather changes were the Jodhpur-Kalka Express and the Paschim Express which runs between Mumbai and Kalka. Both these trains were late by three hours. Departure of trains was by and large on time. Meanwhile, Meteorological office warned that fog and mist would persist for some days to come. Weather experts pointed out that many areas in Haryana recorded 500 metres of fog including Sarsawa. Hindan and Adampur also recorded a low visibility of 500 metres, while Bathinda recorded 700 metre fog. As for Chandigarh, it recorded haze with 2.5 km visibility this morning. The latest weather reports show haze in Ambala, and mist in Chandigarh and Patiala.
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Tehelka trial: Sahgal admits to ‘slight breach of security’
Chandigarh, December 14 The military court showed him four documents bearing his signatures, which Sashi had allegedly passed on to the Tehelka team at his behest. He verified his signatures and the court apprised him of the secrecy clause contained in the documents, which prohibited the parties concerned to disclose their contents and made them liable for the legal action if the clause was breached. The documents, he said were not in his personal custody. Colonel Sahgal stated that this amounted to “a slight breach of security”, but did not compromise national security. He maintained that the persons to whom he gave the information were novices and not bidders for contacts. Prosecution counsel, Mr Arvind Moudgil contended that a slight breach also made him liable for lapses. In response to questions by the court after the conclusion of his cross-examination and re-examination, Colonel Sahgal admitted that it was “ungentlemanly” on his part as an officer to have had drinks with his clerk and be in the company of girls. He stated that it was not prudent on his part to have given out the cost of hand-held thermal imagers from official documents. He further added that he had not apprised Narender Singh, posted with the Ministry of Defence (Finance), about the antecedents of Anil Malviya and Mathews Samuel and had given the officer’s reference to the Tehelka team only to get rid of them. Defence counsel, Maj K. Ramesh told the court that the defence would now only examine one more witness, Mr Miland Kapoor, who is a technical expert on video films. The defence had initially asked for 27 witnesses. The court has fixed December 21 as the next date of hearing.
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Dr HM Swami appointed GMCH Director-Principal
Chandigarh, December 18 Nine candidates were in the fray for the post of Director Principal, out of which seven candidates were from GMCH itself. Interview for the post was held on December 8. Faculty of the medical college has welcomed the appointment. Prof Swami, (55), joined the GMCH in 1992 and worked as the Head of Department of Community Medicine. Before this Prof Swami was the medical officer and registrar at the IG Medical College, Shimla.
Appointment of PEC Director next week likely
Chandigarh, December 18 Officials are keeping the names a secret. One of the requirements is that the applicants should be with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) background. A decision on this is expected next week.
City resident dies in mishap
Kumarhatti,
December 18 The deceased was from Sector 35 of Chandigarh and was on
his way to Parwanoo from Dharampur.
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100 blankets donated
Chandigarh, December 18 Blankets were handed over by Mr Ajay Mishra and Mr Mohinder Pal Singh of the Reality Outdoors to Mr R.P. Sharma and Dr Jiya Lal Handoo, officer-bearers for the Seva Bharti and Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation in their office in the PGI, Chandigarh.
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Rs 100 printed wrongly
Chandigarh, December 18 This note was brought to the notice of the newspaper by Mr R.K. Verma, a resident of Sector 19. He received it from a shop when he went to seek a change of Rs 500. Initially, he thought it to be a fake one but when he went to the bank, an official there told him that it has printing errors. He has refused to exchange it because he loves to collect unusual and freak things.
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Khalsa Chetna march welcomed
Mohali, December 18 The march, bound for Chamkaur Sahib, reached Mohali after passing through Panchkula and Chandigarh. Devotees gathered in large numbers on both sides of the road which was decorated for the occasion. Langar was served on the occasion.
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Anganwadi workers plan rally
Chandigarh, December 18 The rally and demonstration has been planned for March 8, 2005, which is also the International Women’s day. The decision was taken at the state level convention of anganwadi workers and helpers held here today under the banner of a Maulazam Union Punjab which was presided over by the state president of the union Ms Hargobind Kaur.
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Dharna by bank staff
Chandigarh, December 22 They were protesting against the situation arisen after the merger of Global Trust Bank with the OBC as they alleged that the merger had impaired financial situation of the OBC. The OBC, which had zero non performing assets (NPA), had been saddled with Rs 1500 crore of the NPAs due to the merger, they said. Employees from Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh Participated in a rally after the dharna. Mr Yograj Gupta, Mr T.K.Datta, Mr Vinod Sharma and other union leaders addressed the rally. Main demands of the employees were that the Central Government should compensate the OBC for the accumulated losses of the GTB by providing funds, action against the GTB officials should be initiated who have allegedly made serious irregularities for personal gains, wages and service conditions of erstwhile GTB employees be brought on a par with the OBC employees and contractual staff should be absorbed as permanent employees of OBC. Employees also demanded that appointments on compassionate ground be continued. The OBC employees have decided to go on strike on December 22 in support of demands.
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New twist to sexual harassment case
Chandigarh, December 18 They maintained that the employee, a junior assistant, Harpreet Singh, was repeatedly threatening them for withdrawing their complaint against Mr Sabu. Coming out strongly in defence of Mr Sabu, the two women claimed that the other complainants were reluctant workers and never completed the task on hand. “They would never finish the assigned work and would forever be complaining. They had been threatening to “set the officer right” for loading them with work and decided to go ahead when departmental enquiries were initiated against them,” they stated. Meanwhile, Harpreet Singh, in a faxed note, alleged that Mr Sabu was threatening him for “supporting” women employees who had complained against him in Delhi. He added that he had an “unblemished” service record and had recently been posted to the answerbook cell. “I could not have been posted to such a sensitive post if there was any doubt on my integrity. Mr Sabu himself has appreciated my hard work and I have successfully cleared my departmental examination,” the note says. A few women employees yesterday had levelled allegations of sexual harassment by Mr Sabu, and faxed their separate statements to the Delhi office of the CBSE. However, Mr Sabu had denied the allegations and had clarified that the complaint had been instigated by two employees who had recently been transferred out of the Chandigarh office.
Chandigarh, December 18 Meanwhile, another Class IV woman Scheduled Caste employee also accused Mr Sabu of sexual harassment and complained to the police for allegedly committing atrocities on her because of her caste. In her complaint, the employee alleged that on December 14, Mr Sabu called her to his room and humiliated her. In another development, the Lawyers For Human Rights International (LHRI) formed a fact-finding team, under its president, Mr A.S. Chahal, to look into the matter. In their complaint to the NHRC, the complainants alleged that they had been sexually harassed by Mr Sabu. The women employees have also alleged the violation of Supreme Court guideline by the CBSE in not forming a grievance committee to deal with all complaints of the women staff members.
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Panel to probe suicide bid
Chandigarh, December 18 On the inquiry against the employee, Mr Bachan Singh, authorities pointed out that the former had been irregular in reporting for work in the past. He had also received some communication regarding default on bank loans and the full extent of his liabilities was not known. The department authorities also said that one of Mr Bachan Singh’s colleague also alleged that Rs 1.12 lakh collected during admissions was lying with Mr Singh and was subsequently lost during the tenure of the previous chairperson. This colleague later accepted responsibility for the lapse and apologised to a committee, and even deposited the money in the bank. The new chairman has directed the staff to accept no cash payments . Mr Bachan Singh had attempted self-immolation. Hearing his cries, a few students and a professor arrived on the scene to put out the flames. He was later rushed to PGI where he is admitted with 65 per cent burns.
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A double chunk of luck
Panchkula, December 18 It was around 4 pm that he received a call from the police that his briefcase had been found. The lock of the briefcase had been broken and all documents in the briefcase were intact. After getting the briefcase, he went to buy fruits from the Sector 18/ 17/ 7 /8 roundabout. He parked his car on a roadside, and while he was buying fruit, someone told him that a child had taken out the briefcase from his car and was running away with it. Mr Pal ran after the child, who had three adult companions, and after some chase, managed to nab the child. His companions, however, escaped. The child, aged about seven, was then handed over to the police. Till the time of filing of this report, the police could not ascertain the name of the child.
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Snowfall near Chandigarh!
Panchkula, December 18 Scores of kids enjoyed the ice games with their parents and friends. The ice games, which include artificial snowfall, dancing, sledge ride, Santa Sledge, sloopy icy mountains, snow cave and snow blizzard, not only attracted residents of Chandigarh and its satellite townships but also families from Ludhiana, Patiala, Ambala and other parts of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The visitors had an exciting time sledging down on specially designed icy-slopes. Youngsters were also seen enjoying the artificial snowfall. The parents had a tough time in controlling their children from playing with the artificial snow. The ice games will continue till January 7.
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Three bodies found
Chandigarh, December 18 His family members told the police that Raj Kumar was a habitual drinker. The deceased was not keeping well. In another incident, Ajit Singh (70) was found dead in his Sector 40-B house this evening. He was living alone in his house. His neighbour informed the police. The police said he might have died last night following a heart attack. The SHO of Sector 39 police station, Mr Hardev Singh said, Ajit Singh was physically challenged and eked out his living by selling incense in a booth in Sector 22 market. In a separate incident, the body of a male infant was found on a heap of garbage near a rivulet in the Industrial Area this afternoon. The infant was lying wrapped in a piece of cloth, according to the police. The body is kept at the General Hospital and the postmortem would be conducted tomorrow.
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Suicide by watchman
Chandigarh, December 18 SHO of Sector 39 police Station Hardev Singh said the rope might have snapped or untie from the tree as the body was found lying under the tree. There were marks of rope around his neck and a part of rope was also found around it. Lingam hailed from Chennai and had three sons who are settled there. The body was handed over to his wife. The police has initiated the inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC in the Sector 39 police station.
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Suicide by architect
Panchkula, December 18 The police said that she had an argument with her family members and consumed poison at her office in Pinjore last evening. She was rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, where she died.
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Firm duped of 2.05 lakh
Chandigarh, December 18 Mr Kapoor said Mahesh allegedly submitted a forged registration certificate. The company came to know about the cheating when it did not get any instalment from the accused and also no reply was given to their subsequent requests to pay the outstanding amount. The company made an inquiry about Mahesh and found that the address given by him was also fake. The matter was reported to the police in July this year. The police in its preliminary investigation found that the accused had given wrong address and also produced a forged registration certificate. A case under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC was registered in the Sector 3 police station. No arrests have so far been made in this regard. In another incident, Ms Vidya Devi of Sector 10-A filed a complaint against Janak Singh and his wife Ajit Kaur, both residents of the sector, alleging that they had taken Rs 2.50 Lakh from her promising her to send her daughter abroad in April 2003. She said they had not sent her daughter abroad and nor they returned her money. The police said the woman had produced a cheque according to which Rs 65,000 were returned to her by the accused. The woman alleged that the rest of the amount was not given back to her. She filed a complaint in this regard in August, 2004. A case under Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered in the Sector 3 police station. The SHO of Sector 3 police station told Chandigarh Tribune that the police was investigating the matter about the non-payment of rest of the amount. No arrests have so far been made in this case.
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Rs 20,000 stolen from scooter’s boot
Chandigarh, December 18 Mr Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Sector 46-A reported to the police that Rs 20,000 were stolen from the boot of his scooter (CH-03-F-0546) yesterday. The scooter was parked in Sector 32 market. A case of theft under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered in the Sector 34 police station. Scooter stolen Arrested Liquor seized
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Gold ornaments, cash stolen
Chandigarh, December 18 A case under Sections 454 and 380 of the IPC has been registered in the Sector 19 police station. Vehicles stolen A case of theft under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered in the Sector 3 police station. Mr Arya Veer of Sector 21 filed a complaint that a vehicle, Scorpio (HR-61-(AG)-2643), was stolen from his house during night of December 15. Theft Injured He was admitted to the GMCH-32. A case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 31 police station. The police arrested the driver of the car, Gurpreet Singh, of Phase I, Mohali, and later released him on bail.
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Emotions dwarf business at UBS reunion
Chandigarh, December 18 While the evening belonged to the "seniors" who freely interacted with students presently studying at the department, offering tips and valuable advise based on their experience in the industry, the mood was clearly one of bonhomie all the way. The senior-most alumni of them all, Mr S.P. Oswal, Chairman of the Vardhaman group, also the chief guest of the function and a pass out of the 1966 batch, recalled his stay in the department and the days on the campus. He told the students to concentrate on details if they wanted to go high up the ladder of success. He
advised," Have an eye for details rather than just going into the market armed with a degree. It will take you far. In stead of being over-confident at the time of passing out, the students must learn to treat the degree not as an end but a beginning since practical training and experience add to the learning experience." Former students of the 1979 batch were felicitated with mementoes after a brief round of introductions. While the Chander Mohan Singh Memorial award, instituted in the name of a former student, went to the topper of the MBA (HR) course, Ms Shivani Gupta, the award for the "Most Potential Manager" of the MBA (general) course was bagged by Ms Aditi Jain. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 24,000 and a gold medal. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof K.N. Pathak, presided over the function which was attended by the faculty of the department and the present students also.
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Beopar Mandal submits memo to Union Minister
Chandigarh, December 18 Accompanied by the local MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, and the Senior Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC), Mr Pardeep Chhabra, the delegation also apprised Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, about the notification, which, it alleged, had been taken without the concurrence of the Home Ministry. Both ministers assured the delegation that the Centre would evolve a formula to help the traders, a press note claimed here.
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