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Sensational theft in Panchkula
Panchkula, January 16 Mr D.L. Jindal’s younger son, Dr Pawan Jindal, had come from Canada and was getting married at the Gymkhana Club here last night. After a ceremony at their residence, the family along with relatives, who had arrived from the UK and Canada, left for the marriage venue. They had left two trusted servants at the entrance of the house to keep guard. Gold and diamond jewellery and foreign currency belonging to seven relatives of the Jindals, who had come from abroad, were also stolen. A sum of Rs 1 lakh, given to the groom as shagun by his maternal relatives, and Rs 1. 80 lakh cash lying in the house, besides lakhs of rupees given to the family as shagun by relatives were stolen, said a distraught Mr Jindal. The incident came to light only around 12. 45 a.m. today when Mrs Veena Jindal, mother of the groom, came home to change clothes along with her elder daughter-in-law and another relative. She found that two rooms at the rear of the house were ransacked, and a forced entry had been made from the back door. She immediately called up her husband, who was at the wedding function, and informed him of the burglary. Mr Jindal, a former employee at the NFL, Bathinda, came home with some relatives, and informed the police around 1.30 a.m. A police team led by ASI Baldev from the Sector 19 police post rushed to the spot. Some waiters and other catering staff, who were hired by the family and were around even after the family had left for the wedding venue, were picked up for questioning. Later, a dog squad was called and the dogs reportedly went towards the Singh Nullah choe, which flows near the house, indicating that the accused had escaped via that route. A crime police team and a forensic experts team led by Dr G.R. Jain, was called today morning and they found that the hinges of the door on the rear had been broken. Though most of the almirahs, where cash and jewellery were kept, had not been locked. In one of the rooms the lock of the almirah had been broken. The DSP City, Mr Brijinder Singh, also visited the scene. He later said that the police had found some incriminating evidence and was questioning some of the suspects. A cook employed by the family could not be traced and the police was on the look out for him. A case under Sections 457 and 380 of IPC has been registered on the complaint of Mr D.L. Jindal.
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Overcome by poverty, man beats sons to death
Chandigarh, January 16 Sunaina is facing the double trauma of arranging for the burial of her dead sons and taking care of her injured daughter without the support of her husband and without money. She is ready to forgive her husband and wants the police to do the same. Her husband, Kamleshwar Paswan, has been arrested by the police. A repentant Paswan told reporters that his wife had been asking him to take the children to a doctor, which he could not do and this provoked him to take the drastic step. Sunaina told The Tribune that there was no one to take care of her and her daughter now. Kamleshwar Paswan returned home last night drunk. He slapped his wife when she asked him to stop drinking and arrange for food for the children. Then he dragged her to a room and bolted it. He picked up a stick and started hitting the children with it. A neighbour, Vinod, came running after hearing the shrieks. Paswan opened the door and Sunaina managed to escape. Paswan allegedly closed the door and again started hitting the children. Later, he came out and reportedly collapsed saying he had beaten his children and that he did not want to live. He was caught by his neighbours and handed over to the police. The children were rushed to the PGI where the two sons succumbed to their injuries in the morning. Two-and-a half-year old Suraj and nine-month-old Anil died in the hospital. The bodies are in the mortuary. Post mortem would be conducted tomorrow and then the children would be buried. A dazed Sunaina said she did not know how her children would be buried as her husband is in police custody. Sunaina also said she did not have money to bury her sons or get her daughter treated. Sunaina urged this reporter to ask the police to allow her husband to bury the children. She also asked that her husband should be pardoned. She did not know why he killed the children as he was a very loving and caring father. The neighbours said that Paswan was not a habitual drinker which his wife also confirmed saying that somebody might have offered him liquor yesterday. Sources in the police said they had not yet decided whether to allow Paswan to bury his children. DSP Vijay Pal said he and the village panchayat have decided to pool in to complete the last rites of the children and to look after the daughter till she recovers.
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CBSE tightens noose around erring students
Highlights
Chandigarh, January 16 Being enforced in the board exams-2005, the board has decided that those caught for impersonation or use of abusive language against the examiners would be disqualified to take the exam for two years. To further check copying, the Assistant Superintendents have been asked to accompany a candidate who wants to make use of toilet while the examination was in progress. The Superintendents have been asked to regularly check the toilets for copying material and ensure than the candidates did not prolong their stay in the toilets. Sources in the board said after noticing cases of candidates exchanging their answer sheets while copying, it had been decided that before the beginning of the examination, the candidates would have to write their subject and question paper code number on the title sheet of the answer book. It would also be mandatory for the candidates to write their roll number on the question paper and on the supplementary answer book. From this year, the board has introduced separate answer books for English Communicative, Sanskrit Communicative (Class X) and Functional English (Class XII). To check copying, the board has introduced serial number of the supplementary answer books and the candidates would have to write the serial number in the attendance sheet, as being done by the candidates in case of the main answer book. In the changes made in the guidelines for centre superintendents and Assistant Superintendents, the Center Superintendents will open the packets of examination papers in presence of witnesses, other than the examination staff. The presence of the “outside” witness, normally a teacher from another institution, has been made mandatory. Same person should not act as witness daily and should not be from the same school. Aimed at maintaining confidentiality of question papers, the Centre Superintendents and the Assistant Superintendents have been asked to ensure presence of four other Assistant Superintendents when the packets of question papers are to be opened. Of these one has to be from a school other than where the examination centre had been set up. The board would depute a teacher from each school whose students are appearing at the respective examination
centres.
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India ranks 105th on Education for All Index
Chandigarh, January 16 Though recognized as a major player in global economy, India occupies a sorry 105th position among 125 countries rated on the Education for All Index by Unesco. At this rate, India will not be able to meet the target of 100 per cent enrollment by 2015, as promised at global platforms. In an interview with The Tribune today, Assistant Director-General, Unesco and a former V-C, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Dr A.W. Khan raised major concerns related to India. Currently Head, Information and Communication Sector, Unesco, Dr Khan listed statistics that confirmed that India's education sector is anything but evolving. Over 500 million people have less than five years of schooling, 7 to 10 per cent have access to college education; 104 million have dropped out of schools, 300 million adults are illiterates (equivalent to one third of total illiterate population of the world), 10 per cent people are disabled. "Given this, India must invest heavily in educations to ensure lifelong learning opportunities to its people," said Dr Khan, adding that in the future, development will be judged from people's empowerment. In Chandigarh today for the inauguration of Regional Council for Science and Technology Development at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Sector 18, Dr Khan drew up future plans for India which is still well regarded for its highly trained manpower and its extensive use of English language. "English will be spoken by three billion people by 2010. Currently 87 per cent of the information flowing in cyberspace is in English. Use of the language will naturally place India on a steady wicket, provided India also uses information technology potential to amplify brain power. The country must review its institutions, revise its curricula for relevance, Dr Khan said, adding that making quality education available to all at affordable costs is the biggest challenge for India. A pioneer in distance education, Dr Khan said India was leading the world in the sector, with 25 per cent annual growth rate. "IGNOU is among the best open universities in the world. It has students in 28 countries. India has 14 open universities which no other country has," Dr Khan said from his vast experiences as former V-C, IGNOU. Coming back to his concerns, he said research and development sector needed larger investment. "Presently only 1.23 per cent of GDP is being invested in R&D in India as against 3 per cent in advanced countries. Similarly where only 5 per cent of Indian labour force in the age group of 20 to 25 years has vocational training, this figure is 60 per cent for developed countries. These and the women's education sector must be taken seriously," Dr Khan said while stressing the need to harness information and communication technology potential to empower the disabled and the poor. Also significant in this context is the fact that world population will be 7.2 billion by 2015, and of this 90 per cent will come from developing nations. "India will be a major contributor here. Growing numbers will create growing demands in all sectors. India should use this opportunity to develop new science knowledge," said the expert who also favoured community radio systems for the country, to ensure that flow of information is not clogged in times of emergencies like tsunami. He had made this proposal earlier when he was Director, All India Radio.
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Aviation-related contests chalked out for students
Chandigarh, January 16 Stating this at the AeSI's annual general body meeting here today, the society's vice-chairman, Wg Cdr D P Sabharwal (retd), said that special programmes, including aviation-related competitions, were being chalked out exclusively for government schools, which had been reluctant to participate in competitions alongside public schools in the past. Efforts are also being made by the society to arrange educational visits for students to air force establishments in and around the city and step up aero-modelling hobby activities, he said. Besides, student chapters of the AeSI are also expected to be established in two engineering colleges in the region. A student chapter was started in Punjab Engineering College last year, which was the first of its kind in the country. Giving an overview of the national aeronautical policy, vice- chairman, Mr R.P. Gupta said that given the extent of aviation-related activities in Chandigarh, it could emerge as the country's second largest hub of aviation. He said efforts must be made for further development in the aviation field in the northern region. A book on the branch's history and activities, written by Wg Cdr Sabharwal was also released on the occasion. The book traces the origin, growth and milestones covered by the branch since its inception 12 years ago. Meanwhile, Air Cmde S P S Virk was nominated as the branch's chairman, with Mr R P Gupta and Wg Cdr D P Sabharwal being nominated as the vice-chairmen.Wg Cdr H C Chaudhry and Sqdn Ldr Prem Singh were nominated as the secretary and treasurer, respectively. Other members of the branch's executive committee include Gp Capt P P Khandekar, Dr MSN Srinivas, Wg Cdr Bandopadhay, Cdr Baljit Singh, Gp Capt PPS Sandhu (retd) and Gp Capt H S Padam (retd).
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High drama at Kinger’s residence
Panchkula, January 16 Mr Kinger’s wife, Namrata Kinger, had died of suspected poisoning under mysterious circumstances on January 13. While Mr Kinger and his son, Navneet, had claimed that she committed suicide while in a state of depression, the father of the victim, Ghanshyam Das, had alleged that Mr Kinger had poisoned her. The police had booked Mr Kinger on charges of murder, and later changed the charge to abetment to suicide. However, no arrests were made as the police claimed that they were investigating the matter. Today, relatives of the victim reached the house of Mr Kinger, and demanded that he be arrested. Mr Kinger’s daughter, Girja, who has come from the USA after the incident, fell unconscious after the commotion and the angry exchange of words between her maternal relatives and father. Mr Kinger and his son rushed her to the General Hospital. He was later taken to the Sector 6 police post for questioning, where his son pleaded with his maternal uncles to let go of his father. Till the filing of this report, the police was questioning Mr Kinger. He has not been arrested formally.
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Dosanjhs go down the memory lane in ‘mera pind’
It’s a cold January morning. Not the best time for homecoming. But when the homecoming is of someone who has made a mark for himself in foreign land, it has a tempting curiosity-value to it. There’s something tantalisingly appealing about this homecoming. Not that villagers at Dosanjh Kalan have queued up to greet Mr Ujjal Dosanjh, Health Minister, Federal Government of Canada, and former premier of British Columbia. But the desire that the good luck of the “chosen one” may rub off on them, too, is perceptible among the villagers.
Mr Dosanjh and his wife, Ms Raminder Dosanjh, are their smiling best. A documentary based on their life is being shot and they are at their old farm. The Lohri celebrations are in full swing. Some village women, carrying Lohri shagun and singing Lohri songs, are passing by. Straight goes an invitation to them — it would add to the right note in the documentary. The women, too, are more-than-willing to join them. For a moment, it is Mr Dosanjh remembering his boyhood days. Then, the leader Dosanjh asserts himself and we hear him express his concern over the declining sex ratio. “It’s time to include girl children also in Lohri celebrations. Why have this bias against girls?” he asks. The village women smile away his fervent pleas for equal rights to girl child. His alma mater visit has him remember the days when he was mischievous enough to ask “difficult” questions from his teachers, hoping that they would not be able to answer those questions. “It’s not enough to be goody-goody. Sometimes, you have to let yourself go and be playful,” he says, adding that mathematics was his Achilles’ heels. “I cannot forget how my teacher told me that change is the law of nature. Lessons learnt early in life are seldom forgotten,” we hear him say. This has been preceded by gushingly-sweet praises of Mr Dosanjh — sun and moon and stars all agog to welcome the son of soil to his native village! Time for interaction with students. There an air of hesitancy. Then you hear an announcement that all those eager to get a few tips on Canada may come forward. There is a clamour among students for “let-me-get-there”. And then begins an engrossing interaction. Already, some are dreaming about the foreign shores. After all, dreams require only a bit of nudging to take off!
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Time for Lahorian community to celebrate Magh
As the month of Magh sets in today, it is time for thousands of members of the Lahorian biradari to rejoice and hold traditional ceremonies at a temple near the Mitha Bazaar, Jalandhar, here.
Not only the community members from Jalandhar but Khannas, Malhotras, Seths and Kapurs from all parts of Punjab, and places as far as Mumbai, would be paying obeisance at the temple of Baba Laloo Yash Rai at the Mandir Lahorian, situated in the narrow lanes of the Mitha Bazaar. Most of these people had migrated from Lahore. During this time, long queues are witnessed outside the two-century-old temple which has hardly any visitors throughout the year. The celebrations began last night with the Lohri pujan. A havan was performed in evening by members of the temple managing committee. The members of the community follow all traditions of the Hindu religion. However, they follow one unique tradition of getting the "choti" (tuft of hair from the middle of the skull) and offering the same to the Babaji at the temple premises. The devotees bring boys of five years and above, whose "chotis" are removed with a band. Mr Darshan Kumar, a manager, said, "All functions are held from Saturdays to Mondays of the month and this year these would be held on January 15, 22, 29 and February 5." The manager said that this year also the rush was so much that booking for the purpose had to be done much in advance. The boys' name along with those of their father and grandfather are registered in the office of the temple and the list is forwarded to the head priest, he added. Mr Gopal Das Seth, a member of the temple committee, further explained, "The ceremony itself is rather interesting. Typically, a boy comes to the temple, and after getting the choti removed, he comes out with his head and face covered as he is not supposed to show his face to his parents. The next night (on Saturday), a halva prepared from semolina, milk and pure ghee is offered to Babaji, and only then the boy is allowed to see his parents. The mundan ceremony is held on Monday night and the 'janeu' (sacred thread) ceremony is held on Tuesday morning." Most of the Lahorias had migrated here much before the Partition. They had themselves got the temple constructed as they needed their own place to worship, said Mr Seth, one of the oldest members of the community. "Our original temple was situated at Dipalpur in Okara district (now in Pakistan). In order to get dharmik shudhi of the boys, they had to be taken to Dipalpur. But before proceeding to Dipalpur, our community members used to visit the Lahorian Mandir for seeking the blessings of the deities for the safe return as travel was difficult those days and it used to take very long to reach the destination," recalled Mr Seth. Mr Seth added that after the Partition, the original temple was left in Pakistan and the devotees of the Baba got a brick from Dipalpur. The brick was placed in a corner of the temple and the temple was considered as the regular abode of Babaji. The community considers the puja to be very auspicious and important occasion, and most parents get photographs clicked and video tapes recorded.
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5 Shiromani awardees honoured
Mohali, January 16 While four of the five Shiromani awardees were present to receive the honours from well-known Punjabi author Dr Santokh Singh Dhir. Dr Atamjit Singh could not be present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, the four writers stressed that there was the need to encourage Punjabi reading among youth. Dr Rama Rattan stated that while good Punjabi literature for children was available, there were not enough readers to appreciate those. “The government should ensure that our children be exposed to Punjabi nursery rhymes instead of other languages. The government should ban the teaching of nursery rhymes in other languages in schools,” she said. Dr S.S. Dosanjh of the Pustak Pathak Manch explained to the audience the aim of his manch. Dr Sahib Singh’s work “Parinde Jaan Hun Kithe”, Mr Sarabjit Bedi’s latest work “Tara Turiya Jaaye” and Avtar Singh Saraon’s “Dardan Da Pujari” were also released on the occasion. The ceremony was organised by Manmohan Singh Daon, Mr Dharmapal Upashak, Mr T. Singh Chann and Mr Puran Singh Kirti, among others, at Shivalik Public School here.
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Office-bearers of market committees nominated
Dera Bassi, January 16 Mr Sukhdev Sharma, Ms Geetanjali Gujjar and Mr Shiam Singh Advocate have been nominated the Chairmen of Banur, Dera Bassi and Lalru Market Committees, respectively. Mr Kulwinder Singh, Mr Gurcharan Singh and Mr Kulbir Singh, have been nominated for the posts of Vice-Chairmen of the committees. All six, who were nominated for the top posts of the market committees for the next three years, belonged to the group led by Mr Deepinder Singh Dhillon, member of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and former Additional Advocate-General of Punjab. Sources said the other aspirants belonged to the Sheelam Sohi and the R.R. Bhardwaj groups. Ms Sheelam had been reportedly backing Mr Harbansh Singh, Mr Surinder Joli, Mr Jaibir Singh Punsar and Mr Mohinder Jain for the posts of Chairmen in Lalru, Dera Bassi and Banur Market Committees. Mr R.R. Bhardwaj had supported Mr Krishan Pal Sharma, member of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, and Mr Sham Singh for the posts of the Chairmen in Dera Bassi and Lalru Market Committees, the sources added. While talking to Chandigarh Tribune, the chairmen said the development of the areas, falling in their jurisdictions, would be their priority. They also said a project to provide a good road network in the villages was also in the agenda.
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Plea to help tsunami victims
Chandigarh, January 16 The campaign was organised by the Servants of the People Society, Lajpat Rai
Bhavan, Sector 15. Volunteers of the society motivated the community to spread awareness about the need to contribute for tsunami victims. A candlelight march was also held.
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CTU staff protest
Chandigarh, January 16 Mr Gurmit Singh Tira, President of the CTU driver union, said protest in support of the demands was going on since 1997. The two persons sat on the fast were Rajinder Singh and Jaspal Singh.
TNS
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Collector of unusual notes
Chandigarh, January 16 Mr Narinder also has a collection of Pakistani and Nepali currency notes ending with the digits 786.
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Member of illegal Internet exchange gang arrested
Mohali, January 16 The CIA staff, Ropar, has arrested Ravinder Chawla from Phase X, Mohali, who had allegedly been running the exchange along with four other persons for the past one year. The police said the exchange was being run in Mohali but was being monitored by the gang from an office in Sector 34, Chandigarh. The SSP, Ropar, Mr S.P.Singh, said the investigations into the case had been shifted to the CIA staff, Ropar, yesterday and the police had managed to nab Chawla today, one of the three persons named in the FIR. He added that a gang of at least five persons was involved in running this exchange. Other than Ravinder, two brothers from Haryana, Jagbir Singh and Jasbir Singh, Gurparamjit Singh from Sector 35, Chandigarh, and Sukhminder singh from Ludhiana were actively involved in running the exchange. The SSP said raids were on to nab the rest of the gang. He explained that while Ravinder, Jagbir, Jasbir and Gurparamjit were running the exchange, Sukhminder had been employed for running errands like paying telephone bills, rent etc. The SSP said more information about the foreign links of the four was being gathered. “Till now we know that the four had their main office in sector 34, Chandigarh, and had taken an Internet lease line on the pretext of starting a call center. The telephone lines were taken on fake addresses of Mohali and Chandigarh,” said the SSP. The Mohali police had unearthed the exchange on January 13. The functioning of the illegal exchange had reportedly caused a revenue loss of at least Rs 50 lakh to the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, other than being a possible national security threat. The exchange was running in a rented cabin above the Bank of Punjab showroom in Phase VII market. The exchange was discovered when the local police, accompanied by DOT vigilance wing officials, raided the premises. The police disabled the telephone connections and took the entire equipment, being used in the exchange, into its possession. This included the quantum gateway switch and seven reliance wireless telephones that were being used for switching calls.
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3 held in robbery bid case
Panchkula, January 16 It may be recalled that the above-mentioned, along with Gurbaj Singh, had attempted to rob KM Foods on the night of January 13. They had demanded Rs 3 lakh cash, or a truck load of flour from the mill owner, Mr Lalit Mohan Singla, by threatening them with a pistol. Gurbaj Singh was arrested on the spot.
Three arrested
The police has arrested three persons — Anil Kumar, Shiva and Chatar Singh — in separate incidents on charges of speculation. A sum of Rs 950 was recovered from them, and they have been booked under the Gambling Act.
PO arrested
Jaimal Singh, who was declared a proclaimed offender by a court on February 10, 2002, was arrested by the police. He was declared PO in a case of attempt to robbery at Pinjore.
One arrested
The police arrested Dalip, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, on charges of loitering near a restaurant in Sector 5 late last night.
MOHALI A couple of Sector 48-A, Chandigarh, were injured when a Lancer car hit them while they were going from Mohali to Chandigarh on a scooter. The car driver ran away after hitting the two. In another accident, Manjit Kaur, a resident of Phase I here, was injured when she was hit by a scooterist Esh Kaur of Phase IV. Manjit was walking near her house when the accident took place. She has fractured her leg. The police has booked Esh Kaur.
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