Cultural extravaganza at GJIMT
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 23
"Pratibha-06," the annual cultural and intellectual extravaganza at Gian Jyoti Institute of Management and Technology, Phase 2, Mohali, was held yesterday to test the mettle of students and showcase their talent.

Inaugurating the programme, Mr. O. P. Arora, Additional General Manager, The Tribune, released ceremonial balloons and encouraged the students. Mr. Arora stressed the importance of developing inquisitiveness among students. He enlightened the students on the virtues of commitment, persuasiveness and concentration.

Prof Dr. R.P. Gupta, renowned management expert & Director GJ-IMT, proposed the vote of thanks and motivated the students to make the best use of the opportunity to develop a spirit of sportsmanship and competition.

Students of 20 different institutes of this region participated and competed in several events.

Dr M. S. Grewal, Registrar, Punjab Technical University, gave away the prizes to the winners of the various competitive events. He extolled the students to work hard and emerge as productive citizens of the nation.

Seminar on biotechnology
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 23
A seminar on ‘Advanced Applications of Biotechnology’ was yesterday organised at the DAV College, Sector 10. The seminar was sponsored by Department of Science and Technology, Chandigarh Administration as part of the ongoing science week celebrations.

The function was presided over by Dr Pawan Kapur, Director, Central Scientific Instrumentation Organisation (CSIO), as the chief guest and gave a key-note address on nanotechnology, bioinstrumentation and on how biology is merging with engineering technology. Also present was Professor R. C. Sobti, Department of Biotechnology, PU and Dr K. Ganesan, scientist IMTECH.

Addressing as many as 100 students, Dr K. Ganesan discussed the concept of microarrays, their fabrication and various other applications in biotechnology. Dr Rajesh Biswas, HoD, Zoology Department and a forensic expert, highlighted the significance of DNA fingerprinting technique in criminal investigations, palaeontology, archaeology and medical diagnostics.

The interactive sessions were followed by a series of questions and answers. The programme concluded with a valedictory address by vice-principal Dr K. L. Toky.

Gagandeep wins contest

Chandigarh, February 23
Gagandeep Kaur of BA I won the first prize in a paper presentation competition on the topics ‘ Environment and Economic Development’, ‘ Population Growth: Boon or Bane’, and ‘Economic reforms and its impact on social sector’. The event was organised by the Department of Economics, Government College, Sector 46, here, yesterday.

Satin Chauhan of B.Com II) and Manveer Kaur of BA III) were second and third, respectively, in the competition as many as 16 students of BA and B.Com participated. — TNS

Dayanand’s birth anniversary

Chandigarh, February 23
Kendriya Arya Sabha celebrated Maharishi Dayanand’s birth anniversary in Arya Samaj, Sector-32. In this function, Arya Samajs and all DAV schools participated which began on Saturday and ended here today.

Swami Sampurnanand, Dr Nishtha, Mr Subhash Vedalankar, former Vice- Chancellor of Sanskrit University, Banaras, Prof Dr Abhiraj Rajinder Mishra were present on this occasion.

YPS students bitten by bees

Mohali, February 23
Tension prevailed at Yadavindra Public School here today when some students of the junior wing were bitten by bees in the afternoon. According to information, students at the playfield after their lunch break started screaming after they were bitten by the insects. They were asked to rush to their classes to save themselves. Nobody was, able to tell how and why the bees attacked the students. Those bitten by bees were taken to the medical room for first-aid. OC

COURTS

Uppal turns approver in case against PGI doctor
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 23
In the CBI case against Dr R.S. Dhaliwal, a cardiologist at the PGI, Surinder Singh Uppal, a co-accused, has turned approver. The approver, who had also been booked by the CBI, was a heart valve supplier.

On a application moved by the CBI, the Special CBI Judge today allowed the heart valve supplier to become approver for the prosecution.

The PGI doctor had allegedly got two patients to make payment for “implanting imported artificial heart valves’’ though they were never operated upon and eventually died.

Similarly, 11 other patients had to pay for the replacement of two heart valves each but X-ray examination showed that there was only one artificial valve each in their bodies.

These were pieces of evidence submitted by the CBI for seeking prosecution of Dr Dhaliwal. The cardiothoracic surgeon had operated upon 232 patients before the CBI initiated action against him.

Though the case was registered in 2003, the prosecution sanction had been hanging fire since March 2005.

The CBI found that Dr Dhaliwal usually asked patients to make payment to Uppal for imported valves but implanted those made in India. While a locally made valve is available for Rs 16,000 the imported one costs around Rs 40,000.

Judge murder case: The trial in the case of murder of the Patiala judge, Vijay Singh, today started in the court of the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr R.S. Baswana.

The two accused, Dr Ravdeep Kaur and Manjit Singh, were today produced before the judge.

The application for shifting of the accused from Patiala jail to Burail jail was deferred till the next date of hearing which is March 9.

Nayagaon panel withdraws PIL
Our High Court Correspondent

Chandigarh, February 23
The Joint Action Committee (JAC), Nayagaon, today withdrew its PIL, seeking investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged nexus among ministers, police officers and bureaucrats with the land mafia operating in the villages in the periphery of Chandigarh, from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Today, when hearing of the PIL resumed before the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Mr Justice D.K. Jain and Mr Justice Surya Kant, counsel for the JAC prayed that it be allowed to withdraw the petition. Following the request, the Bench dismissed the petition as withdrawn.

The JAC had filed the petition through its chairman, Mr Sat Prakash Mittal, and president Manjit Singh Kamboj. It had alleged that vast tracts of land had been acquired benami by senior police officers, bureaucrats and ministers. It named Gurdhian Singh, Gurbachan Singh and Ramkesh - all accused in the case relating of rape of a minor girl of Nayagaon - and two human rights lawyers Amar Singh Chahal and Arvind Thakur as the main persons involved in the benami sale of land in the periphery.

The PIL also sought investigation into the role of officials of PUDA and other enforcement agencies who turned a blind eye, and, in some cases, connived to help land grabbing and illegal constructions.

It may be recalled that the court yesterday issued notices to the Punjab Government and PUDA on a similar petition filed by the Lawyers for Human Rights International (LHRI).

This PIL also alleges that politicians, senior police and civil officers in nexus with certain property dealers have "grabbed" land in Kansal and other villages in the periphery of Chandigarh.

Theatre fest concludes
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, February 23
The theatre movement has not come of age for want of participation of the people in the region as compared to the revolutionary trends witnessed in the realm of Punjabi folk or pop music, observed Padmabhushan Sardar Anjum.

Sharing his views with the Chandigarh Tribune, he maintained that the theatre represented the cultural ethos of people but was unfortunately staged before scant audience.

Dr Anjum was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony of the five-day theatre festival of plays written by Vijay Tendulkar organised by the Art and Act Akademy in association with the North Zone Cultural Centre at the Tagore theatre here.

The concluding play “Panchhi Aise Aate Hain…” under the direction of Rajender Sharma was a synthesis of the psychology of an ugly looking girl, Saru, suffering from an inferiority complex, whose matrimonial proposals are rejected. Arun Biswas, a young man emerging from nowhere, gives her counselling and instills confidence in her. Her marriage proposals mature but she prefers to marry this young man, who declines the offer.