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Technology leads police to mobile thieves
Chandigarh, June 2 The youths — Sumit Dhiman and Ajay Bhandari — had been using Richa’s stolen mobile phone. The mobile operator zeroed in on the location of the user with the help of the technology available with them. The youths had snatched Richa’s purse near Aroma lights point on the evening of February 25. The purse contained gold ornaments, foreign currency and a Nokia 6600 mobile phone. DSP (East) Vijay Pal praised the efforts of Richa. She had asked her mobile phone operator to monitor her mobile number. After some days of the incident, she informed the police that her mobile number had become operational. The police, after getting the details of phone calls, zeroed in on Amit Kaushal, a resident of Sector 40. DSP Vijay Pal said the police however failed to get much lead with the arrest of Amit Kaushal, who claimed that he had found the SIM card lying somewhere and had got it re-activated. However, the police managed to solve some cases of telephone cable thefts and seized a country-made pistol from Amit Kaushal’s possession. After throwing away the SIM card, Ajay and Sumit, not realising that they could still be traced, started using the mobile phone. Meanwhile, Richa followed up on the case with her mobile service provider and gave them the identification number of her mobile phone (each mobile handset has a specific identification number). Sources in the mobile industry said this number could be traced using modern technology. As the phone was put to use by the two youths, the number of the handset got traced to the location where it was being used. The two were arrested at a picket point in Sector 20 while they were riding a silver Bajaj Pulsar motor cycle (CH-03-N-9082). The DSP said Sumit Dhiman was a son of Head Constable Rattan Chand, a resident of Police Colony in Sector 46. During preliminary investigation, the two admitted to having snatched a purse near Aroma traffic lights on February 25. The police said the accused were suspected of involvement in 14 incidents of snatching in the city and Panchkula. Meanwhile, the police arrested another youth, Aman, in the evening and recovered mobile phones and some ornaments. The recoveries established his link with Sumit and Ajay, the DSP (East) told mediapersons. Aman is also a son of a policeman.
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Daylight inferno at filling station
Zirakpur, June 2 The fire broke out in a room of the filling station. The diesel-laden oil tanker, parked in a garage of the outlet, also caught fire. Three LPG cylinders stored by the outlet owner also burst, adding to the fire. A swarm of passersby stopped to have a look as flames rose high in the sky. A major tragedy was, however, averted as vigilant neighbours and passersby called up fire stations at Dera Bassi, Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula after noticing smoke rising from the roof of the outlet. Mr Pushpinder Singh, an employee of Silver City, while talking to Chandigarh Tribune said he noticed smoke billowing from the garage of the outlet. He also noticed the tanker engulfed in flames. He then informed fire stations at Dera Bassi, Panchkula, Mohali and Chandigarh. Also, blasts in the tanker blew open the lids of the tanker. Windowpanes of the station were shattered by the impact of the blasts. It lead to panic among residents of the nearby areas. The blasts were so powerful that cracks developed on the roof and walls of the outlet. Eyewitnesses said three employees were present at the station when the fire broke out. One of them sustained burn injuries on the legs. A fire engine from Dera Bassi was the first to reach the spot, within 15 minutes of the fire. Lead by fire officer Avtar Singh, a team of six firemen controlled the flames within 45 minutes. Fire tenders from Mohali and Panchkula also reached the spot and helped extinguish the flames. The exact cause of the fire could not be ascertained. A police team from Lohgarh also reached the scene and rounded up three persons, including two employees of M/s Gurdyal Singh and Sons, a Chandigarh-based company. The persons were later let off. The proprietor of the company also owns as petrol station in Sector 22, Chandigarh. Residents of the area alleged that the outlet proprietor had stored LPG cylinders in a room and had been selling these on retail basis for the past couple of months. Mr Saminder Singh, in charge of Lohgarh police post, said the damaged oil tanker (HR-01J-8694) belonged to the proprietor. He added that Satish Kumar of Daon village, near Mohali, Rajesh Kumar of Panchkula and another person were rounded up for questioning. He claimed that two employees — Avtar and Dashrath — of the station had not yet been traced. The police has initiated an investigation into the case.
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Husband of sarpanch, two others held on rape charge
Chandigarh, June 2 The victim, a mother of three children, alleged in her FIR that about four months back she had gone to Surinder Kaur, the sarpanch of Dhanas village, requesting her help in getting a job. At that time Nirmal Singh, the husband of Surinder Kaur, was also present. Nirmal Singh allegedly promised her that he would get her employed at public toilets in the village at a salary of Rs 2,480 per month. He allegedly asked her to come at a shop of one Sanjay in Dhanas at 6 pm later in the evening. The victim reportedly went to the pre-arranged place, where Lakhwinder Singh and Hardev Singh were also present. All of them took her in a car to Mohali saying that they had to meet some officers there. According to the complaint, she was taken to a tubewell in Togan village, a few kilometers away from Dhanas, and was raped by all of them. They then let her go but threatened her with dire consequences if she either reported the matter to anyone or did not come back to them when she was required. She alleged in her complaint that Nirmal Singh used to send her messages through her children to meet him and then allegedly raped her several times over the last four months. Fed up with her exploitation and threats, the widow approached the police yesterday and lodged an FIR. The police later arrested Nirmal Singh, Lakhwinder Singh (27) and Hardev Singh (26). Both are panches in Dhanas panchayat. They were produced before a local court today which remanded them to judicial custody. Meanwhile, a section of villagers from Dhanas village along with Surinder Kaur, the wife of Nirmal Singh, gathered at the police station in Sector 17 and apprised the DSP that the victim had made a false complaint to implicate Nirmal Singh and others.
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20 gamblers held from Sec 35 hotel
Chandigarh, June 2 A team of the Crime Branch of Chandigarh Police led by Inspector K.I.P. Singh swooped down on the hotel — Castle 35 — located in Sector 35-C and found a “gambling den” operating in connivance with the hotel owner. The police said the gamblers had not made any entry into the guest register of the hotel. Rather, the owner of the hotel was the recipient of a fee from these gamblers. Arun Kumar Goel, the owner of hotel, was present where the gambling was going on. The woman manager, Neeru Sharma, was also present there and was also arrested. The police had received a tip-off that a regular “gambling den” was being run in “Castle-35”. After corroborating the information, the SP issued the search warrants Under Section 5 of the Public Gambling Act for a raid. The issuance of the search warrants is mandatory for conducting a raid in such a situation. The police said the gamblers used to sit in small groups in different rooms. The police got its hands on two such groups. In addition to the money, playing cards were also seized, which were stacked on a table in the room. Both the groups were indulging in the game of “mang patta” in their respective rooms. After the seizure of the cards and stake money, the police said it had been established that the hotel was being used as a “gambling den” and an organised gambling was being held there. The arrested persons are Parvesh Kumar of Mohali, Parveen Kumar, Ravi Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Ram Lal, Vikram Kumar, Vikram Singh, Sushil Kumar, Dhoom Singh and Vijay Kumar, all of Chandigarh, and Rupesh Kumar of Ambala. They were found gambling in room No. 206 of the hotel. A sum of Rs 1.19 lakh was recovered from them. The second group comprised Devinder Singh, Harjit Singh, Pawan Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Kumar, Satish Kumar, Anil Kumar, Anil Kumar, and Ajay Kumar, all residents of Chandigarh, and were found gambling in room No. 201 of the hotel. An amount of Rs 1,39,414 was recovered from their possession. A case has been registered.
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Deserted husband commits suicide
Chandigarh, June 2 Kuldeep Singh’s
wife had left him about two months ago. She had taken their two young children with her. Kuldeep became depressed after being jilted by his wife. Family members of Kuldeep told the couple had strained relationships for the past sometime. According to the police, the suicide came to light when, Pooja, daughter of land lord of Kuldeep, did not notice any activity in the Kuldeep’s room till late in the morning. After some time, Pooja peeped through a hole in the door of Kuldeep’s room and saw him hanging. She immediately informed the police. The police recovered the body by breaking open the door. Kuldeep had placed an LPG cylinder on a bed, stood on it and then hanged himself from a ceiling fan hook. The body is lying at the mortuary of the general hospital, Sector 16, a postmortem will be performed tomorrow. Kuldeep was living with his brother-in-law and was working as a part time worker with the CSIO in Sector 30.
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Lengthy arguments at MC meeting
Kharar, June 2 Some councillors wanted that the proposal cleared by the House at its meeting held last month of demoting a clerk, Pardeep Kumar, who was allegedly involved in embezzlement, should be reconsidered by the House as they claimed that the punishment was given due to “personal differences”. Pardeep Kumar was demoted to the rank of a sewadar. Mr Om Parkash, Mr Jai Bhagwan Singla, Mr Roshan Lal and Mrs Amrik Kaur wanted the House to reconsider the matter. While Mr Om Parkash said that he was not satisfied by the decision of the House of demoting the clerk taken at the meeting held on May 27, Mr Singla questioned why no action was taken in the case of employees allegedly involved in the fake transit pass case. Why had only Pardeep Kumar been made a target? Mr Swaran Singh Heera said that as the House had already taken a decision on the matter at the meeting held last month, it was not proper to bring up the issue at today’s meeting again. However, Mrs Balwinder Kaur argued that the House had taken the right decision of demoting the clerk and there was no need to reconsider the case. The House cleared the proposal relating to the visit of the council chief, Mr Charanjit Singh, to Korea. Mr Charanjit Singh had been invited by Mr Ban Myung — hwan, Speaker of the Gwangju Municipal Council, Korea, to promote friendship between the two towns. The expenses on the trip would be borne by the president himself. The meeting also cleared the proposals relating to an increase in the assessment fee from Rs 5 to Rs 10, purchase of another computer for billing purposes and supply of water with the help of tankers as water supply remained at a very low pressure due to long power failures.
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Sister comes to kidney patient’s aid
Chandigarh, June 2 For this 37-years-old dotting sister, just two year’s older than Abadesh and married with a ten-year-old son, Neelam says in this unfortunate situation she is not concerned about her own health. Trying to collect as much savings as possible, Neelam’s only grouse was that though they were not paupers but now had no other way but to look for money from anyone and everyone. For the treatment, which had been on for the last four years, now requires another Rs 3 lakh for the renal transplant surgery and the subsequent medicines. “My brother has done M.Sc Physics from Patna,” she says with pride, speaking volumes about the efforts of the sisters and their old mother had put in about letting their brother attain high qualifications, “He was preparing for states civil services when the disease struck him”, she added. Initially it was Abadesh’s youngest sister, 28-year-old unmarried Menaki who was the first one to offer her kidney to her brother. But as fate would have it,
Menaki, herself a B.Sc Home Science graduate, was diagnosed with chronic spine problem and doctors ruled out her chances of donation. She is now restricted to bed and taking treatment. “My mother’s condition, at an old age of 70, is not stable to donate kidney for me. My younger sister was the first one to step in to donate a kidney for me. But her own condition deteriorated and she herself is taking treatment here. My elder sister Neelam then has decided to help me,” says
Abadesh. He once used to earn a decent living by giving tuitions in physics to students but after the diagnosis of the renal failure his only source of income had dried up. Initially putting up at the PGI Gurdwara, this small family had now moved to Khuda Lahora till the treatment was over. “We have exhausted all our savings in last four years but the requirements do not seem to end,’’ laments
Abadesh. Readers willing to contribute can send cheques or drafts in favour of the Director, PGI, Chandigarh, through the Personal Relations Officer (PRO) Manju Wadwalkar. Phone: 0172-2756003. |
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Ex-servicemen peeved at refund freeze
Chandigarh, June 2 The membership charges for the ECHS were reduced a few months ago and these were applicable from April 1, 2004. Those who had become members on or after this date but had paid at the old rates were entitled to a refund of the difference. A lot of ex-servicemen were eagerly awaiting the refund, which, depending upon their category, amounted to several thousand rupees. Sources at Headquarters Western Command said while they were compiling the refund claims, they received a communique from Army Headquarters, freezing refund claims till further orders. About two-and-a half months later, no new orders have come in and nor have the reasons for the freeze been communicated. sources said so far not a single claim had been forwarded to the Controller of Defence Accounts for refund. The government's decision to cut down the ECHS subscription with effect from April 1, 2004, generated controversy, with those who had become members prior to this date terming it unfair. The ECHS had been introduced in 2002 and ex-servicemen were required to pay subscriptions depending upon their pension to avail free medical treatment in empanelled government and private clinics or medical institutes. Ex-servicemen who had become ECHS members prior to April 1, 2004, were up in arms, contending that reduction in subscription should apply across the board. They maintained that they had been the pioneers of the scheme and had come forward to join it when few people were willing to do so. They added that by leaving the pioneers out of the subscription cut, they were, in fact, being penalised for taking a bold step. Sources said one reason for the freeze in refund could be that the above mentioned issues are being deliberated upon at the apex. According to a senior officer, it could be that the subscription cut is extended to pre-April, 2004 members, though there are no indications as to what is on the anvil. Meanwhile, ECHS authorities are also considering to place ex-servicemen availing in-house treatment at hospitals into three categories. It is proposed that officers be authorised private rooms while JCOs and other ranks be accommodated in semi-private wards and general wards, respectively. Since ECHS subscription is based on pension slabs, it was found that at times there was overlapping in case of certain officers and JCOs, with one being placed in the category of the other and thereby posing administrative problem.
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Nabard credit society scam probe hits roadblock
Chandigarh, June 2 And with that, over 500 investors, who have deposited lakhs of rupees with the society, will have to wait for some more time to get their money back. With the Joint Registrar Cooperative Societies (JRCS), who also exercises powers of the RCS, extending the term of the society administrator by another month, hopes of the depositors for an early refund of their hard-earned money have been dashed, at least for the time being. The members have alleged that the RCS was dragging its feet on the issue, which has delayed the settlement of their dues. Office-bearers of the society were dilly-dallying on the submission of the records to the RCS, they alleged. It may be recalled that the scam had hit the headlines last year when large-scale irregularities were detected in the running of the society by the office-bearers. The RCS allegedly allowed the society to function without conducting audit for over a decade. It was alleged that though no audit was conducted, the elections to the society were held every year in collusion with officials of the RCS. Senior officials of Nabard remained a mute spectator to the whole episode, as scores of members and non-members went without getting their payment for the fixed deposits for several months together. The modus operandi of the office-bearers of the society was to give receipts for the fixed deposits. However, the money was never credited to the accounts of the depositors. Moreover, during an audit conducted by the RCS last month, unaccounted money amounting to around Rs 1.83 crore was reportedly detected. Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Chandigarh Administration was exploring the possibility of appointing a liquidator for the society. If the office-bearers fail to pay up the money, the matter is likely to end up in courts, which may take a long time to settle.
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14 Bansal loyalists in CTCC
Chandigarh, June 2 The names of the president of the CTCC and the three district Congress presidents are yet to be finalised. For the CTCC, a total of 23 names have been put on the list which includes 11 new faces and some surprise omissions. The CTCC has 25 block representatives and two names will be announced latter. Among the significant omissions from the previous CTCC are that of a former Mayor Ms Kamlesh, long-time Congress supporter and Income Tax lawyer Mr Chaman Lal Sharma besides the Municipal councillor, Mr Kuldip Singh Kajheri. He has been reportedly ousted due to his closeness with Haryana Excise and Taxation Minister Mr Venod Sharma had been siding with CTCC president B.B. Bahl when the dissent surfaced within the party between the groups of Mr Bansal and CTCC chief B.B. Bahl. When contacted in Delhi, Mr Bansal said Kamlesh could be co-opted later. Two names, that of Pawan Bansal loyalist, Mr Davinder Singh Babla and Khaleel Ahmed have been kept pending, senior Congress leaders told The Tribune. A decision over the name of Mr Babla was kept pending after a protest came from certain quarters that he had been expelled from the CTCC. The party in-charge for Chandigarh, Mr Janardhan Diwedi, reportedly asked for record of his expulsion, as the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) did not have any such document. Mr B.B. Bahl had reportedly carried out the expulsion and not the AICC. Once close aides, Mr Bahl and Mr Bansal have parted ways over Mr Babla while Mr Bansal wants to bring back Babla, Mr Bahl wants Babla out. Out of the 23 three - Sherestha Mehta, Sunil Parti and J.N. Shastri - are loyalists of Haryana Excise and Taxation Minister Venod Sharma. At least two - Mr Jagat Bhushan Sharma and Mr Surinder Bhatia - are loyalists of Mr Bahl. Another two - Chander Mukhi Sharma and Mr Ravinder Pal Singh Paali — are close to Munish Tewari, a former claimant to the Congress ticket from Chandigarh and now AICC secretary. Among the freshers are: Mr Mukesh Bassi, president of The Chandigarh Club, Mr H.S Lucky, a councillor, present Mayor Ms Anu Chatrath and Mr Pawan Sharma. He was arrested recently for allegedly giving a false affidavit. The arrest was largely seen as an outcome of the fight between the previous Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Kumar and local unit of the Congress. The other new faces are Mr Kamaljit Singh Pancchi, Mr Phool Singh, Mr Balraj Singh and Mr Mehar Singh. Among these, Mr Bassi and Mr Balraj Singh are not in any camp. Besides these people the old faces to be retained are: Mr Subhash Chawla, Mr Pradeep Chabbra, Mr Rampal Sharma, Mr D.D. Jindal, Mr Chander Mukhi Sharma, Mr Bhupinder Singh Badheri, Mr Sunil Parti, Ms Shrestha Mehta, Mr J.N. Shastri, Mrs Lalit Joshi Bhardawaj, Mr Dharamvir Manchanda, Mr Ravinder Paali and Mr Satpal Gupta. The ones to be dropped include, Mr R.K. Rathore, Mrs Kulwant Dhaliwal and Mr Kewal Arora.
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Land grab charge against PPCC General Secretary
Chandigarh, June 2 And in what could be a major embarrassment for the ruling Congress in Punjab, Mr Sampuran Singh(65) has named a general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee(PPCC) in separate applications before the Punjab State Human Rights Commission(PSHRC) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The application alleged that the general secretary, in connivance with six others persons, including the Naya Gaon police post in charge, grabbed the prime ancestral property of the complainant measuring about 5 kanals. The complainant, along with his wife, Ms Devinder Kaur, has share in the land pertaining to “jumla mustarka malkan” of the village and the same was undivided till date. In the year 1997-98, when Mr Sampuran Singh was posted out of Punjab, the respondents started encroaching upon their land. It was alleged that the when the complainant was posted in UP, a false will and general power of attorney (GPA) was prepared by the respondents with a view to grab the prime land of the complainants. Efforts by Mr Sampuran Singh to seek justice from different authorities to seek redressal proved futile. Not only that, on the basis of the false documents prepared by the respondents, two cases of theft and criminal trespass were registered against Mr Sampuran Singh and he had to remain behind bars for about 15 days. When Mr Sampuran Singh was in police custody, his wife was attacked on the night intervening April 11 and 12 this year. The couple was also threatened to transfer their land to certain person by the police. The application, which had been fixed on June 6 for arguments by the PSHRC, alleged that various cases were pending against certain respondents in different courts. The respondents, in connivance with police, were forcibly restraining the complainants from entering the above land.
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BJP to protest outside MCC office today
Chandigarh, June 2 This was decided at a meeting of the state office-bearers, district presidents, morcha presidents and the party councillors held here today. In a statement issued here, Mr Yash Pal Mahajan, president, alleged that while the water supply students was going from bad to worse the Congress-ruled MCC
was looking the other way. Similarly, the erratic power supply was playing havoc
with the lives of the residents. The incidents of thefts, snatching, and police excesses were on the rise and the common man lived in insecurity, he added.
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Sethi elected welfare body president
Chandigarh, June 2 The names of the other executive members elected are Mrs Chander Chopra, Vice President, Mr Kiran Dev Singh, Secretary, Mrs Nilu Bhattal, joint secretary and Dr SS Dua, treasurer.
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HUDA contractors hold dharna
Panchkula, June 2 They maintained that the tenders, after allotment to contractors, were being recalled for being very “expensive”. The contractors maintained that the rates being offered by HUDA were less than the rates prescribed by HUDA itself. Today, too, tenders were to be allotted to contractors for various works but the contractors chose to boycotted the awarding of tenders. The contractors held that the practice of recalling contracts had been on for five months now, causing losses to them and to HUDA.
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Car, 2 scooters stolen
Chandigarh, June 2 Mr Rajesh Sharma of Phase VI, Mohali, lodged a complaint with the police that his Maruti car (DL-6-CB-5805) had been stolen from parking area of Sector 9. Also, Mr Ved Prakash of Sector 19 reported to the police that his LML Vespa scooter (CH-03-5977) had been stolen from his residence. In a similar incident, Mr Varinder Kumar Chopra of Sector 7 filed a complaint with the police that his scooter (CHS-9267) had been stolen from the parking area of NAC Mani Majra. Three cases of theft have been registered in various police stations of the city. Dowry case
Ms Afsana Begam, a resident of Bapu Dham Colony, Sector 26, has lodged a complaint against her husband Sabir Beg and her in-laws, all residents of Bhumiakapul, Meerut, alleging that they have been harassing and maltreating her for dowry. She told the police that she was married to Sabir in April, 2003.
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Motorcyclist killed
Kharar, June 2 According to the police the deceased was identified as Mandeep Singh, a resident of Kurali. He died on the spot when the two vehicles collided. The driver of the truck fled from the scene. Mandeep Singh was going on his motor cycle from Chandigarh towards Kurali and the truck was coming towards Chandi-garh when the accident took place.
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Body identified
Dera Bassi, June 2 Mr Prem Singh, father of the deceased, identified the body of his son who had been missing for the last over five days. The family members also identified the bicycle and some other documents found from the body. The police has also recovered a diary listing names and telephone numbers of the prominent personalities of the area, from the body. The police had already cremated the body after post-mortem examinations at civil hospital, Rajpura.
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PHDCCI urges admn to follow trade-friendly policies
Chandigarh, June 2 Members expressed concern at the high rate of property tax in the industrial area fixed in November, 2004 and favoured reduction in the ratable value by 50 per cent. Compared to the ratable value of Rs 20 per sq ft for showrooms in Sector 17, the ratable value in the Industrial Area should be 1/5 on the basis of rent as per the current market trends. The PHDCCI members said they were looking forward to the implementation of VAT in Chandigarh from July 1. Mr Rajiv Bali expressed hope that industrial raw materials purchase would be allowed under D-form because manufactured goods in Chandigarh were largely exported, thus avoiding the hassles of subsequent refunds and reducing administrative work in the sales tax department. At the same time, Chandigarh Committee, PHDCCI, welcomed the initiative of Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd.) for the landmark decision to allow plots in the Industrial Area for commercial use, creating an export hub for fruits and vegetables, establishing a special economic zone for IT industry and considering to implement a mass transit system for Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.
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ATM awareness drive
Chandigarh, June 2 The Senior Manager of the bank, Mr S.C. Dhall, said 1100 ATM cards would be issued during the campaign at Kalka and nearby areas.
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