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Suraj cinema management accused of fraud
Panchkula, May 5 However, Rockman Developers has now lodged a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police alleging that the Directors of Suraj Theatre have taken Rs 12.55 crore from them by misrepresentation of facts, but have failed to give them the possession of the property. When contacted, a Director of Suraj Theatre, Mr Vipan Kumar Jain, informed TNS that he was not aware of any complaint being filed against him or other Directors of the Theatre by Rockman Developers. Talking to TNS, the CEO of Rockman Developers, Mr C.S. Aggarwal, said a senior IAS officer of the Haryana cadre had been instrumental in getting the deal struck between the company and the Directors of Suraj Theatre. “A deal was struck for Rs 41 crore, of which Rs 12.55 crore was paid to the Directors as advance. They, however, did not inform us that the property was not in their name, but was still in the name of the previous owner, Mr B.D. Vij. Before the deal was struck, they informed us that there was a dispute with their sister-in-law, who was claiming to be a shareholder, and had filed a case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. We were assured that the matter would be resolved soon, following which an agreement to sell the site was executed,” he alleged. Mr Aggarwal alleged that the Directors, without taking him or his business partner, Mr D.K. Jain, into confidence, also gave an undertaking in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that they would not change the nature of the theatre ( into a multiplex). However, in December, 2005, the Directors later expressed their desire to withdraw from the project of developing a mall, but adhered to the agreement to sell the theatre. “But till date, the Directors have failed to comply with the agreement reached with Rockman Developers. “Later, we got to know that the previous owner, Mr Vij, had revoked the General Power of Attorney (GPA) for transfer of property in the name of its present Directors. Following this, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) also declined to issue a No-Objection Certificate (NOC)
Interestingly, as the ownership dispute continues, the file related to Suraj Cinema has gone missing from the Estate Office. Sources say the file has been missing since the ownership dispute over the property. HUDA officials have already got a DDR registered regarding the “missing file,” while giving details of the 14 odd employees who were dealing with the cinema hall estate management since the time the file has gone missing.
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City to get a second lake
Chandigarh, May 5 In the first phase of the work, which began less than a month ago, the Engineering Department will complete a bundh, measuring more than 600 m, that will separate the lake from the Patiala Ki Rao choe. The lake will only retain the water from a creek and the rainwater that slopes down the gradient from the huge expanse of the garden. Mr V.K. Bhardwaj, Chief Engineer, said work on a huge portion of the bundh had already been carried out, where an impervious layer of soil, varying between 20 feet and 40 feet, is being piled and pressed to form the bundh. The layer is impervious because it acquires a cement like quality that will save the lake water to mix with the choe. The water from the choe will be channelised out of the existing area to beautify the place. Mr Bhardwaj said, “Work is being carried out in two shifts and we are very hopeful of giving the city its second lake by this monsoon. Stone pitching will be done along the sides to beautify the place.” A senior officer pointed out that they might also work out on creating an artificial beach at the site. Mr Ishwar Singh, Deputy Conservators of Forests, said, “We are trying to reclaim the portion of land which was lying waste in the garden adjoining the choe. The beautification of the area will make the place a favourite retreat for the residents of the city, particularly for the residents of the southern sectors. The area is also being developed for more facilities like a coffee shop.” He further said in the first year the lake might not be fully functional as the water retention needs some more time to be smoothened out. It was just a matter of time and many related functional disabilities of the water body would be sorted out in a short span of time, he added. Mr Mukesh Anand, the XEN on the project, said, “This lake may be very small as compared to the Sukhna. However, creating a new water body is in itself a noteworthy development.”
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Two probes ordered into Sector 17 shop theft case
Chandigarh, May 5 While one of the inquiry by the Crime Branch will re-investigate the matter, the DSP (Crime), Mr Om Parkash, has been directed to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into the allegations being levelled against certain police officials for allegedly hushing up the matter. The Sector 17 police station had arrested the salesman, Raju, for allegedly stealing clothes from the showroom, Sweet Girls Station, Sector 17-C. He was arrested on April 18 when a night watchman of the market, Nand Kumar, saw Raju opening the shop and handing over clothes to two women who had allegedly came in a Skoda. The SHO of the Sector 17 police station, Mr Moti Ram, said the matter was being mired in political controversy. The police had arrested the thief and all clothes had been recovered from him, he added. The judicial remand of the salesman has been again extended by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Neerja Kalson. The investigating officer in the case failed to turn up in the court. When the Tribune correspondent reached the court, the salesman was repeatedly asking the court staff about the status of his bail application. Talking to the Tribune outside the court room, he admitted that he stole expensive clothes from the shop and sold to a woman, whose identity he said he was not aware of. “I came to know about the identity of the woman after reading a newspaper in the Burail jail.” During the course of conversation, he believed that the correspondent was a junior of a lawyer who was supposed to take up his bail application plea in the court. He
said the woman used to
I gave her clothes worth Rs 30,000 on three different occasions. She used to take the stolen clothes from me in the wee hours.” On April 18 Raju was handing over the clothes to two woman when the watchman saw it and reported the matter to the owner of the shop. Raju further told the correspondent that after the women selected the clothes during the opening hours of the shop, the salesman used to keep these clothes aside for “delivery”. “I remained in touch with the woman from my mobile (98728-90039). This can be checked from the call list of my mobile, which is in police custody,” he claimed adding that he contacted her on her mobile on 9, 11, and April 16 in the wee hours and late hours. Sources said the Airtel number used by the woman had been disconnected after the April 18 incident. The salesman said he had told the police about the woman who used to buy clothes from him. But asserted that he was then not aware of her status. Though the owner of the shop, Mr Alok Jain, was not available for comments, his staff claimed that clothes worth lakhs had been smuggled out of the shop. Sources in the police said at least three other friends of the woman had also been buying the stolen clothes.
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BJP seeks CBI probe against councillor’s wife
Chandigarh May 5 In a press statement issued here today, the BJP leaders said the Congress councillor was the henchman of Union Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal and the same person had earlier also tried to get his wife promoted by tempering with her educational certificates. They said the abovesaid councillor had been also accused of having contracts of opening liquor vends along with other Congress councillors. The BJP leaders said the Congress and its local MP and Union Minister of State were putting pressure on the Administration to hush up the case. They demanded that the Administrator should get this matter investigated from the CBI. Not only this, an inquiry should also be got conducted with regard to other Congress councillors who were allegedly involved in corruption, they added. The leaders stated that in order to save the councillor the salesman had been made the scapegoat and sent to jail while some Congress leader had bargained for lakhs of rupees to hush up the matter. We demand that a criminal case be registered against them and they be sent behind bars. They demanded that the councillor should be dismissed from the membership of the MCC and his wife be suspended from service. The BJP leaders further demanded that local Congress president B.B. Behl and Congress councillor Harmohinder Singh Lucky should explain their position in this regard.
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Passing thru
Is this the first time that the NWFP (under-19) team came to play matches on foreign soil?
No, we are here in India for the third time. But this is for the first time that we are playing at the PCA here. Earlier, we have played against the Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) team and the DDCA team, too, visited Peshawar to play matches with us. This is a good move to provide essential exposure to upcoming players at the junior level. Have you tied up with any other country to give exposure to your budding players? Yes, talks are on with the cricket officials of the United Arab Emirates. Final modalities are being worked out. What are the achievements of the NWFP? So far, the NWFP has produced eight Test players, including Younis Khan, Arshad Khan, Umar Gul, Yasir Hamid, Farukh Abdul Zaman, Fazal-e-Akhtar, Kabir Khan, Ryaz Afridi, Wajahatullah Wasti and Akhtar Sarfraj, for the Pakistan team. Besides these, many of our players are playing in the First-Class cricket. —Akash Ghai
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Agents shooed away from RBI premises
Chandigarh, May 5 The RBI has also decided to put on glow signboards in its premises, informing public that soiled notes are exchanged free of cost at their counters. The signboards will also carry a message that people should not approach the agents, who are charging commissions. Chandigarh Tribune had highlighted in its columns today how right across the main entrance of the RBI Regional Office in Sector 17 here, 10 agents had set up shops, offering to exchange soiled currency for a “commission”, by luring customers. While these notes are exchanged by banks and the RBI for free (except when the note is torn in half, when charges, as fixed by the RBI are levied), the lower the value of currency, the higher is the commission charged by these agents. These agents were charging anything between 5 per cent - 50 per cent as commission. Senior officials of the RBI, told to Chandigarh Tribune today, that no agent would be allowed to sit and operate near the premises of the bank. “Since the agents are not doing any illegal work, we cannot take any action against them, though they will not be allowed to operate near our premises,” he said. The official also said that they would promote the scheme for exchange of soiled notes by all bank branches. In the past six months, 61,240 soled pieces had been exchanged by the public sector banks and 1,40, 543 pieces had been exchanged at the RBI counter. “Besides, 20 awareness camps have been organised in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Chandigarh, in the last six months, where 1,13,347 pieces have been exchanged,” he said.
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SEZ status
for IT park soon Chandigarh, May 5 The confirmation for according the SEZ status to the park has been indicated from the Ministry of Commerce, however, a formal letter is sill awaited in this regard, Mr Atray said. Meanwhile, “Think Chandigarh”, a comprehensive guide on the IT sector in the city with detailed information about other aspects, was released. Mr M.S. Brar, Director of Information Technology, gave a detailed view of the
magazine. The magazine includes a fact file on the city, the IT park, upcoming and existing IT initiatives, leisure and pleasure in the city, the SEZ policy and scope for investing in the park. Mr Brar said May 8 was the last date for receiving the “letters of interest” for Jan Sampark Centres in the city.
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Monthly grocery budget up in each household
Chandigarh, May 5 The prices of wheat flour and pulses have seen the maximum rise in recent months. The prices of wheat flour has gone up by Rs 2 a kg(from Rs 12 a kg in November 2005). Though the prices of flour usually fall after the wheat arrival in the mandis, this year the prices have come down marginally, by only Re 1 a kilo. The prices of pulses like moong and urd have gone up by Rs 20 a kg (80 per cent rise). From being sold for Rs 23-30 a kg, the two are now being sold between Rs 45-60 per kg. The price of urd — a staple pulse in most Indian households and eateries — has increased by 100 per cent, from Rs 23 a kg in November 2005 to Rs 46 a kg now. Similarly, moong is selling at Rs 45-54 a kg. (an increase of almost 90 per cent in six months). Even spices, especially red chilli powder, are getting out of reach of the common man (from Rs 35 a kg six months ago to Rs 90 a kg now). Similarly, sugar prices have spiralled in the past six months, from Rs 17 to Rs 21 per kg. Mr K.L. Gidwai, former Director of the FCI, when asked about the rising sugar prices, has alleged that more than 9 lakh tonnes of sugar has been hoarded, leading to the price rise. He said if corrective measures are not taken by the government, the prices could increase to Rs 25 a kg. There has also been an increase in prices of desi ghee, refined oil, and recently in the price of milk. Ms Sudarshana Gupta, a housewife from Ludhiana, laments, “Four my family of six, the monthly grocery budget has increased by Rs 2,500 a month in the past six months. We are forced to cut corners in order to meet this additional expenditure,” she said. Officials in the Food and Civil Supplies Department, Punjab, informed TNS that the rise in prices is not just a result of hoarding but also because of the forward trading in the commodities exchange market. “With economics driving the market forces, everyone seems to be indulging in future trading. High speculative prices are being quoted for these grocery items for future use, thus leading to a shortage of supply now,” said Mr B.K. Sood, chairman of the Chandigarh Chakki Owners Association. He expressed reservations that with private traders and companies buying a larger share of wheat stocks this year, they could dictate the prices of flour in the winter months also.
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Haryana Roadways stir inconveniences commuters
Panchkula, May 5 The protesters, after finishing their chain fast in front of the Mini-Secretariat at about 10.30am, marched towards the local bus stand and staged a dharna in front of the Haryana Roadways Workshop there for a long time. They also protested against introduction of Volvo buses by the state government. Addressing the gathering, Mr Lal Chand Kasana, district president of the Sarav Karamchari Sangh, Haryana, said introduction of Volvo buses had put an extra burden on the Roadways Department. Since the government had sufficient deluxe buses, it should operate these instead of allowing private transporters to ply Volvo buses. It reflected government’s attitude to benefit certain private transporters, alleged Mr Krishan Sharma, secretary of the Sarav Karamchari Sangh, Panchkula. Not even a single government bus plied in the district. Meanwhile, thousands of passengers and commuters were put to a great hardship the whole day. Owners of private carriers had a field day as they got passengers on all routes easily. They charged exorbitantly from the commuters. The police rounded up four employee leaders, including Mr Sarvan Kumar Jangra, vice-president of the Sarav Karamchari Sangh, Panchkula, Mr Hari Kishan, Mr Ajit Singh and Mr Rajpal at the workshop of Haryana Roadways adjacent to the local bus stand. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Mr Lal Chand Kasana, district president of the Sarav Karamchari Sangh, Haryana, criticised the district administration for rounding up the employee leaders who were protesting peacefully. Threatening the government with an intensified agitation, he said this would add fuel to the fire. AMBALA: Haryana Roadways employees continued their demonstration for the second day on Friday. The agitation affected bus services in the district. The employees staged a dharna outside the roadways workshop in Ambala City. They demanded that that privatisation of the roadways must be stopped. They did not allow buses to leave. Bus service on the main routes were adversely affected due to the agitation. Bus passengers had a difficult time. Chaotic conditions could be witnessed at Ambala Cantt and Ambala City bus stands. Haryana Roadways General Manager Mahavir Kaushik said Volvo buses had earned revenue to the tune of Rs 83 lakh in the past seven months. He said those buses were started from Delhi to Chandigarh in October, 2005.
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No headway in robbery case
Panchkula, May 5 This is not only the single case of robbery in which the police has failed to find any clue. The police is still groping in the dark about a chain of robberies that took place in the city in the past one month. Incidents of thefts, burglaries, robberies, molestation, rapes and other petty crime have increased in the past a couple of months. According to Mr SK Nayar, president of Panchkula Citizens Welfare Association, the crimegraph has witnessed a sharp increase in the city and the police has become a mute spectator. Moreover, the police often delays visiting the spot of crime and was reluctant in solving cases of thefts, burglaries and robberies. The law and order situation had deteriorated and created an atmosphere of insecurity among the residents. The residents, especially elderly couples have forced to go far alternative means of safety. Efforts to contact Mr Balbir Singh, Superintendent of Police failed till late in the night.
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No clue to murder of elderly couple
Mohali , May 5 Raghbir Sharan and his wife, Shakuntala Devi, were brutally done to death in the afternoon in a house located on a busy B-road. The SP, Mr Varinder Pal Singh, said some bank accounts were checked and other investigations were also going on, but the police had so far not been able to get any vital clue to the double murder. He suspected that money was the major reason behind the crime though the police was working on other theories as well. He said Raghbir Sharan was engaged in money lending. But the maximum amount he had lent was only about Rs 25,000. In most cases he had lent only an amount ranging between Rs 500 and Rs 10,000.
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Rodrigues inaugurates truck parking project
Chandigarh, May 5 Constructed at a cost of Rs 262 lakh, over an area of 5.78 acres, this comprehensive project will provide idle truck parking facility for 250 trucks, dormitory accommodation for 60 drivers, a toilet block and washrooms for use by 20 persons at a time, a medical room and 4 dhaba sites, for serving quality food to the truck operators. General Rodrigues emphasised the need for an effective public-private partnership in managing the affairs of this idle truck parking and resolving all issues through mutual dialogue as disciplined citizens. He further stressed the need for evolving a suitable mechanism, monitored by a core group and with a provision of budgetary support for maintenance and repairs of the support structure created in this project. Mr Surinder Singh, Mayor, and Mr P.S. Aujla, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, were also present on the occasion. It will be manned by private agency and will thus help in checking in the theft of the articles/materials from the trucks parked in the parking area. The licensee will also be responsible for the proper cleaning of the whole parking area and he shall deploy 10 safai karamcharies for this purpose.
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Security stepped up in city
Chandigarh, May 5 A spokesman of the UT Police said the police had taken various steps to strengthen security in the city as per the directions of the UT Inspector-General of Police, Mr Satish Chandra. Day and night patrolling had been intensified and special nakas set up in sensitive areas of the city. The police today also carried out a contact programme in the city under which all station house officers, in charges of all police posts, NGOs and the beat staff met senior citizens. In all 335 police officers divided into 91 police parties met 855 senior citizens, besides holding 63 corner meetings. The police also identified locked houses during the campaign. The campaigns were supervised by the sub-divisional police officers of the areas concerned.
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Five lakh Indians visited UK last year
Chandigarh, May 5 “We have the biggest visa operations in India, showing a 25 per cent growth rate every year. Last year, five lakh Indians visited Britain while four lakh British visited India,” Sir Arthur said while talking to reporters after the launch of a visa facilitation service (VSF) office here in Sector 9. The VSF offices, which had been set up at 10 other places by a business process outsource agency, VFS (India) Pvt Ltd, would act as one-stop shops for the total service of UK visa requirements. “Once your application has been lodged, the entire process of issuing visa takes only 48 hours before your passport is couriered to you,” he said. The NRIs in the UK constituted 2 per cent of the country’s population, which was the same as the Sikh population in India. The British High Commissioner said this year around 17,000 students were going to the UK. “Visa is being given to students for the entire duration of the course.” The UK had also floated “business express visa” last year for the companies keen to sending their agents for business purposes in London.
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Baithak Vehda inaugurated at Kala Gram
Chandigarh, May 5 Earlier, Major-Gen. Ranjit Singh, Director, CITCO, highlighted the various projects completed in the last financial year which included among others the construction of ethnic restaurant and bar and the CITCO Vehra at the Kala Gram complex.
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Red Cross Day function on May 8
Chandigarh, May 5 Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator S.F. Rodrigues is expected to be the chief guest. He is also the president of the Punjab Red Cross. The day is celebrated on May 8 across the world to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sir Jean Henri Dunant, founder of Red Cross. The Punjab state Red Cross branch was established in 1925, with its office in Lahore. After Partition, the office was shifted to Shimla in 1948. The office was again shifted to Chandigarh in 1957. In India the movement was introduced as a society in 1920 with the objective of preventing diseases, promoting health and mitigating human sufferings.
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Cow electrocuted
Panchkula, May 5 According to villagers, this is not the first such case of electrocution, many cattle have lost their lives in similar incidents. Moreover, certain residents have also sustained electric shocks earlier, the villagers lamented. The villagers claimed that repeated representation to the HUDA and the Electricity Department in this pretext have failed to yield any positive results. After receiving the information, the team of HUDA and the Electricity Department reached the spot and seized electronic goods from the jhuggi dwellers.
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Naushad’s death condoled
Chandigarh, May 5
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Former judge’s mother cremated
Chandigarh, May 5
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Mobile phone snatchers held
Chandigarh, May 5 Giving details of the arrest, in charge of crime branch, Inspector Satbir Singh said in a joint operation a police team of the crime branch and Mauli Jagran police post set up a naka at Mauli Jagran following information about the movements of the robbers. At around 1.30 pm, the police spotted two youngsters riding a scooter with the same number plate that the victim had in his complaint mentioned. The police nabbed the accused and they were later identified as 21-year-old Narinder Rai, alias Yash of Old Panchkula and 19-year-old, Jatinder of Sector 15 Panchkula. Narinder is working as a photostat operator in Panchkula courts while Jatinder is working at sportsware shop in Sector 11 Panchkula. Inspector Satbir Singh said, on Thursday night around 8.30 pm the two accused, who were on a Bajaj Chetak scooter (HR-49-0092), which was later found out to be a fake number, robbed Pawan Kumar of Sector 15 Panchkula of his mobile phone. A labourer working in Grain Market of Panchkula, Pawan Kumar, told the police that he was walking down to Raipur Kallan village, when the two youngsters armed with a knife and a cricket bat, riding on a scooter intercepted him and asked him to part with valuable. The accused decamped with his mobile phone. Inspector Satbir Singh further added that the accused during preliminary interrogation disclosed that they were involved in at least 26 incidents of snatching in and around Chandigarh. They were produce before a local court today which remanded Narinder to one day police custody while Jatinder was remanded to police custody for two days.
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Servant runs away with revolver, cash
Chandigarh, May 5 Mr
J.P.S. Chadha of Sector 35-C lodged a complaint alleging that his servant Jalesh Kumar of Damodharpur in Bhojpur district of Bihar had stolen his .32 bore revolver, some cartridges and Rs 72,000 from his residence between May 3 and 4. Mr Chadha said he was out of station at that time. The police said a police party had been despatched to Bihar to nab the accused. Vehicle stolen:
Held for theft:
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5 held for forgery
Chandigarh, May 5 They were arrested on Thursday. The police produced them before a local court today, which remanded them in one day police custody. Sources in the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Chandigarh police said the accused in connivance with property dealers forged the documents and the sold the flat to Mr Rajiv Bansal of Sector 71, Mohali. The other involved in the crime were R.K. Sharma of Phase III Mohali, Ranjit Singh of Maloya Colony and Jasmer Singh.
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New conference hall at Hotel Mountview
Chandigarh, May 5 He also visited the open air restaurant “Hillview Terrace”. Mr Krishna Mohan, Home Secretary and Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, Managing Director, CITCO accompanied him. Mr Bir said the conference hall had been constructed in an area of 3200 square feet at an approximate cost of Rs 1.17 crore. The conference hall has special lighting effects to cater to the needs for corporate presentations, conferences and meetings . Another feature has been added to the Hotel Mountview Hillview terrace. The ambience of the Hillview terrace is integrated into the Chinese style of its restaurant magic wok at its top floor.
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