During the search of Baljinder’s house, the police recovered .12bore, .22 bore revolvers and 9 mm pistol licensed arms. The police also seized about 150 cartridges. According to the police, action will be taken against Baljinder. Later tonight, the police booked him under Sections 25,54 and 59 of the Arms Act in the PS-39

Panchkula, May 24
A city-based builder has got a demand for Rs 10 crore as protection money through an anonymous letter. The police has registered a case after receiving a complaint from the builder.

Sources in the police said the contents of the letter seemed to be a hoax. However, the builder, feeling disturbed after threats to his family, has left the town for now.

According to the complainant, who was also a former journalist with a national news channel in Himachal Pradesh, first he got a letter demanding Rs 5 crore on April 16. In the letter that mentioned the name of the gang as Shiva and Bagga international group, he was threatened that his family would be wiped off in case their demad was not met.

“I did not take the incident seriously. Another letter was received yesterday with the warning that as their demand was not met, now the amount had been doubled to Rs 10 crore,” said the builder. The money was to be delivered in New Delhi.

The builder was asked by the gang to board the Shatabdi Express, put the money into a bag and reach the New Delhi railway station.

Interestingly, the letters prepared on a computer contain each and everything about the builder and his family. The routine of the builder and his family members has been mentioned in the letters in detail, convincing him that he was under observation of the accused.

The builder has even been warned against complaining to the police, claiming that the gang with its roots in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Nepal has links with higher police officials and politicians.

Superintendent of police Sandip Khirwar said the police had started an investigation into the matter.

Documents in possession of The Tribune reveal that the bank not only extended the date to accept the applications, but also accepted examination fee till December 2, 2006, one day before the date of conduct of the written exam. As per a letter of the general manager of the bank, written to the employment exchange, the last date to accept the application forms should be May 30, 2006. But the bank accepting examination fee from candidates five months after the closing date.

Out of the 39 applications received in the extended period, even the fee was accepted at the bank in form of cash from at least four of the candidates, indicating favour shown to certain candidates.

Interestingly, seven of the candidates finally selected were from those who applied between November 28, 2006, and January 2, 2006. Around 165 candidates had applied for 12 posts of junior accountant, junior clerk and steno. “A close scrutiny of the educational qualifications of the candidates selected and those who could not would make the picture clear. Better qualified candidates have been ignored”, said a member on condition of anonymity.

A number of members present at the meeting have confirmed the development. Kamal Sood, a former director and member of the bank, confirmed that the issue of the “shady” selection process was raised. When some of the members raised their voice over the manner in which the selections were made, the officials called off the meeting.

During the beginning of the selection process, the board was being run by an administrator and the general manager. Though the new board was constituted in 2007, the appointment was never put up before the board directors.

Daljinder alleged that he had paid Rs 15,000 when his mother was admitted on April 12 and subsequently on two occasions he paid Rs 40,000. He said he was not given any receipt for the payments nor was he shown the bills. He added that despite repeated requests, doctors had not even explained to him what medicines were being used and how much these cost. Daljinder said he was unemployed and his father had been borrowing money from arthiyas in the village to pay for his mother’s treatment.

Nachhatar Kaur was admitted to the hospital with a boil in her back which was removed the next day. However, the doctors told the family that she had developed septicaemia and needed to be kept in the hospital for more days. “She had come to the hospital for a small problem but was kept for two weeks. She was due to be discharged on May 19 but later we were told that she needed more treatment. She was to be discharged on May 21 but again it was delayed,” said Daljinder.

Daljinder added that yesterday evening the doctors called the police to the hospital to threaten him. “Why should I pay the money again?” he asked.

Dr Vinod Kumar, however, said Nachhatar Kaur had come with many problems including uncontrolled diabetes. “After we operated upon her for the boil, she developed septicaemia and had to be kept for more days. Now she is fine and the family can take her,” he said, adding that the matter regarding the payment would be settled in the court. Dr Vinod alleged that Daljinder was browbeating his staff last evening and threatened to leave without making the payment due to which he was forced to call the police.

“The court will decided about who is right,” said the warrant officer, adding that he had taken the record of the patient from the hospital. The case has been adjourned to May 26.

Chandigarh, May 25
The Army has sent a questionnaire to former Chief of Army Staff and now Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Gen J.J. Singh, eliciting his remarks on issues pertaining to alleged irregularities in the procurement of dry rations for troops that were detected during his tenure as Army chief.

Summary of Evidence (SoE) is being recorded in the case, where former Director-General Supplies and Transport Lt-Gen S.K.Sahni was prima facie held blameworthy on several counts for alleged irregularities. The SoE is being recorded at New Delhi by Chief of Staff of the Jalandhar-based 11 Corps, to which Sahni has been attached.

Besides Gen J.J. Singh, similar questionnaires have been sent to a few other top defence functionaries, sources revealed, adding that since the former chief now holds a constitutional post, it was not prudent for him to appear before an inquiry.

Counsel for General Sahni, Maj K. Ramesh (retd), told The Tribune that when the matter came up before a division bench of the Delhi High Court on May 21, the court was informed that the deposition of witnesses in the SoE had been completed, but the Army authorities were yet to receive the completed questionnaire.

The court has fixed July 10 as the next date of hearing.

General Sahni had retired in September 2006 and was recalled from retirement for facing disciplinary action for alleged acts of omission and commission in procurement of supplies, misappropriation of funds and other irregularities during his tenure as Commandant Army Service Corps Center, Bangalore, and later as the DGST at AHQ.

In 2006, a court of inquiry (CoI) had held General Sahni, along with several others, blameworthy for irregularities in the procurement of supplies for the Army.

The GOC-in-C, Western Command, had directed disciplinary action (court martial proceedings) against General Sahni and five other officers.

This was the first time that the Army had initiated court martial proceedings against an officer of the rank of Lieutenant-General. Thereafter, he moved the Delhi High Court, which set aside the CoI as certain mandatory procedures had not been complied.

General Sahni had also contended that he was being implicated in the matter and that no case was made out against him.

Though the CoI was quashed, the court gave liberty to the Army to proceed against General Sahni by exercising any other power available to it under the Army Act, as long as it did not rely on the proceedings of the quashed CoI.

UT Home Secretary
54 days gone still counting ...

Chandigarh, May 24
After resuming the site of the James Plaza hotel site in Sector 17 city centre here, the estate office today videographed the construction going on at the site.

This would ascertain whether the proprietor of the hotel had completed the hotel or not.

The estate officer had yesterday resumed the site as the owners of the property had failed to complete the building within a period of one year of restoration of the property.

The one-year period ended on May 2 last. The appeal against the resumption lies with the high court. “The order of the estate office would be inoperative the moment the high court grants stay and the builder would have infinite time to complete the building,” said an official.

The previous adviser, Lalit Sharma in his quassi judicial capacity while restoring the site on May 2, 2007, has quashed the orders of the finance secretary, who while exercising the powers of the chief administrator had rejected the appeal of the allottee company, James Hotels (P) Ltd. on March 7, 2007.

Though the owners of the hotel said they had already applied for partial completion as per the revised building plan much ahead of the May 2 deadline, officials said it held little significance in light of the orders of the court of the adviser to the Administrator.

The order of the estate officer is seen as an anti-hotel industry step as crores had already been invested in renovating the building which had been under litigation for long. “If the

administration can give relaxations in case of the Taj Hotel at the behest of the top UT functionary, same relief could also be given to James Plaza,” said an official.

While pronouncing the orders, the advisor had stated that he was aware that the termination of resumption proceedings would add substantial value to the property.

“The possibility of the property being alienated and there being a further delay in the construction of the hotel needs to be guarded against. Even change of ownership or change of management would affect the condition of completion of the building within one year of the date of the order,” the order had stated.

Even as controversy over advisor’s court restoring resumed properties at less than market rate continues, advisor’s court has restored the resumed site of James Plaza hotel in Sector 17.

Sources in the administration said though the case of the hotel relates to non-construction of the building, the cases of restored site being probed by the vigilance relate to non-payment.

The restoring of commercial and residential properties at much less than the market value could attract audit objections, said an official.

Chandigarh, May 24
While Noor Kataria’s mother and sister remained missing during the hearing of the court, some of her friends and a youngster, who claimed to be one of the close relatives of Noor, said she is being falsely implicated in the case.

Outside the court premises, Noor’s relative told The Tribune, “The cops are framing her in a false case. Though, Noor knew Baljinder and was a friend of his, but she is nowhere to be blamed for being involved in the conspiracy of killing Anuradha.”

Residence of infamous city-based model Noor Kataria is deserted from the day her name was linked with Baljinder Singh Sandhu, who allegedly murdered his wife Anuradha.

Addicted to parties the model was said to have an affair with 40-year-old Baljinder. Noor’s house was locked when our correspondents went there.

On the condition of anonymity one of the neighbours said Noor had a shady past. He added that a fleet of cars, bearing VIP numbers, were usually parked in the locality. However, not a single vehicle was seen in the area today. The close associates of the Kataria family denied of having any relations with them.

Noor, who was often seen at high-profile parties, recently celebrated her birthday on May 7. Baljinder gave her a laptop worth Rs 57,000 on that day.

According to her friends getting involved in a controversy was nothing new thing for Noor. Noor was associated with many VIP offspring. 

Chandigarh, May 24
"I wake up in the middle of the night dreading about what had happened to Arushi and that it could have happened to me also. I get nightmares of eyes peeping from behind the gate and following me wherever I go," says 12th standard student, Divya Kundra. “A father killing her daughter... this thought is making me insecure. I don’t want to go outside without my mom,” admits 15-year-old, Surbhi Shrama, a class 10th student of Bhavan Vidyalaya. It is difficult to trust anyone, she says.

With headlines in newspapers narrating violent crimes every day and news channels’ ‘breaking news’ of murders, rapes, and killings by the minutes, Divya and Surbhi are perhaps not the only ones feeling insecure. “The newspapers and TV have become depressing. It seems there is nothing happening in our country except killings,” says Raghav Arora, Class 9th student. However, he claims that this does not affect him.

While no concerted effort has been made, at least in this part of the region, to assess the effect of the growing crime coverage in the media on children, a UNESCO’s Global Study on TV violence and children has concluded that “children turn violent to solve problems and they admire macho trigger happy superheroes such as The Terminator.”

According to a psychologist, repeated exposure to violence can cause deep changes in a child's personality. But how the child is affected, it depends on his innate personality. Dr Tarundeep Kaur, psychologist, at Fortis, explains: A timid or sensitive child is more likely to get influenced by violent imagery.

Expert says, that sometime they can stop reacting to violence, this is called 'Desensitisation' and it occurs if a child experiences or observes violence regularly. ‘Crime’ based shows also affect child psyche. Victims of real life violence can also become desensitised to their own pain, thus making it extremely difficult for them to be sensitive to another's. Dr Hardeep, psychiatrist said, “Many violent criminals have been victims of violence as children.”

"Vigorous fulfilling relationships with adults help children escape the harmful consequences of violence," says Dr Tarundeep, "A warm-feeling ambience at home as opposed to a religious or intellectual ambience is required. If children are emotionally connected to siblings and parents, they are calmer.”

Chandigarh, May 24
After holding an inquiry on the National Flag being used as a trade mark on the packets of pan masala the administration has forwarded the matter to the Central government.

Tiranga or Tricolor is being used as a trade mark for selling a pan masala by its manufacturer, but the UT administration has so far been ineffective to check its sale despite a fiat from the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry to the advisor to administrator.

In a letter dated December 14 last, G.S. Negi, a director in the said ministry, while referring to the advertisements of ‘Tiranga Pan Masala’ wrote, “Section 3 read with item 3 of the Schedule to the Emblems & Names (Prevention of Insult) Act, 1950, prohibits misuse of National Flag without the permission of the Central Government. We therefore request you that the Union Territory of Chandigarh may get the matter investigated and take appropriate action.”

Thereafter an application was filed under the RTI Act in the office of advisor, seeking information as to what action was taken on the Union government’s letter.

The Home Secretary wrote to the IGP, UT Chandigarh, and the DC Chandigarh on February 11 stating, “You are again requested to investigate the matter and take appropriate action against the manufacturer of the products bearing the trade mark and send the report on action taken to administration immediately.” The DC, UT Chandigarh, wrote back to the Home Secretary on February 29 stating that an inquiry conducted through the local police has revealed that ‘Tiranga Gutka’ (Pan Masala) is very much in circulation in Chandigarh.

This product is being manufactured at Bahalgarh in Sonepat, Haryana, and the name of the company is “Kays Fragrance Pvt. Ltd. Its local distributors are Dev Raj Pan Bhandar at Sector 26, Chandigarh, and Roshan Pan House, in Sector 22, Chandigarh.”

The DC further stated in his letter, “As per Section 6 of the said Act, no prosecution for an offence punishable under this Act shall be instituted, except with the previous sanction of the Central government or any officer authorised in this behalf by general or special order of the Central government.”

Thus, the ball has again been pushed towards the Central government. With no action being taken on it for the past five months the sale of ‘Tiranaga Pan Masala’ and ‘Tiranga Gutka’ is in full swing in the City Beautiful.

Chandigarh, May 24
A locality in Sector 38-C had a harrowing time during the wee hours today when overhead high power electricity wires caught fire and snapped following a series of sparks before falling over a house and on cars parked in the lane.

Worst, the frantic phone calls made to the electricity department went unanswered leaving the harried residents high and dry. In the end, the residents called the police control room and fire brigade for help.

Among others, who had a traumatic time, was a family living in house number 2158 where the entire electricity wiring got damaged after the support wire came under heavy load. Besides this, the water pipes also burst owing to the intense heat caused by the wires, thus flooding the house. The entire family was trapped inside the house for over half-an-hour and was rescued only after the electricity department employees reached there.

According to Dinesh Ghai, an advocate in Punjab and Haryana High Court, at around 4 am they woke up to a shock after hearing blasts outside their house. They came out and saw sparks in the connector wires and fell on their car parked outside their house.

There were around 40 cars parked in the lane, the incident could turn into a major disaster if the cars caught fire, a resident told the TNS. The fire tender could not enter the lane due to haphazardly parked cars.

Another resident of the locality added that they went to the Sector 38 sub-station to report the matter and found it locked. He went to the Sector 40 main station and brought the officials from there. The officials disconnected the power supply after about 45 minutes and the repair work was started at 10:30 pm and power supply was restored at 3 pm.

The residents when asked the officials to change the old wires, they were told that it was a cumbersome task taking around 15 days and there will be no power for that period. They alleged that about 4 years ago, they faced a similar problem and the department fixed wooden sticks as spacers to separate sagging wires.

Superintendent engineer Surinderpal Singh stated that the residents were dialling a wrong number instead of their round-the-clock help line 4639999. The problem was caused due to sagging wire, which came in contact in the absence of proper spacing.

It would be done after taking permit from the department, as the power supply would remain affected for a long time due to the repair. He added that the makeshift arrangement would be replaced with permanent solution to the problem.

Meanwhile, uprooted electricity poles in Sector 47-C market are lying unattended for days in the parking lot and are evidence of electricity department’s apathy. The poles lying in the lot are a source of nuisance for the visitors and motorists, who stumble over them. 

Zirakpur, May 24
Cabinet minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh yesterday appealed to residents of villages in Dera Bassi, Kharar and Banur that they should constitute panchayats through consensus.

The Banur MLA was addressing media persons at a press conference.

Capt Kanwajlit Singh added that the government gave Rs 3 lakh to those panchayats, which chose their panchs through consensus and did not go in for elections.

Regarding Zirakpur municipal council elections, the cabinet minister said the BJP and Akalis would jointly put up their candidates. “Sharing of seats will be done during a meeting of the coordination committee that will be set up after the elections are announced,” he said.

On his relations with former MC chief N.K. Sharma being sour, Capt Singh said said there were no differences from his side. “The party should be supreme and we all should follow party discipline. If someone has some difference of opinion, it should be resolved within the party,” he said.

The cabinet minister added that he had elaborate plans for the development of the three towns. “A common manifesto of Banur, Dera Bassi and Zirakpur will be announced soon. This entire belt will be developed as a single unit,” he said.

About the problems being faced by residents of Zirakpur like electricity and water supply, Capt Singh said the area had developed very fast but infrastructure upgradation had not taken place at the same rate.

Panchkula, May 24
The woes of shop owners of Pinjore have not ended even after the repair of the national highway passing through the main market by the local police on Wednesday night.

The town is free from traffic jams now but dust in the area has made it difficult for the shop owners to keep their shops open.

Disappointed over the attitude of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as well as the local administration, the shopkeepers have decided to register their protest by keeping their shops closed tomorrow.

The business in the area, in fact, has been suffering since January when the NHAI demolished many shops during an anti-encroachment drive. After the demolition, the authority did not bother to repair the road damaged at that time, resulting in frequent traffic jams in the town. This led to dip in the business activity in the area. Now when the problem of traffic has been solved, temporary repair of the road has turned the area into a dust chamber.

In fact, earlier the pace of traffic was very slow on the road which was full of potholes but now, after its repair, thousands of heavy vehicle pass through the road at high speed which leads to dusty conditions.

“It has become impossible to sit here and many old shopkeepers have started feeling uneasy due to the dust,” said Gurdial Sing, a dhaba owner, adding that sale at his shop has come to naught as, “Since the past two days, nobody has dared to come here to have food.”

Piqued over the situation, the Pinjore vyapar mandal has decided to observe a strike tomorrow. Mahender Kakkar, president of the mandal, said if no action was taken in this regard, they would be forced to sit on an indefinite hunger strike. And later, shops would be closed for an indefinite period, he added.

Chandigarh, May 24
Chandigarh Municipal Corporation Employees Union (CMCEU) today held a meeting and decided to protest against the suspension of junior engineer Balraj Singh. The union decided to hold a protest march on Monday in the Municipal Corporation (MC) building in Sector 17 against the commissioner’s decision to suspend Balraj without any reasons.

The commissioner had placed Balraj Singh under suspension with immediate effects on Friday after he was found guilty of dumping debris and garbage in front of shops in Phase II Industrial Area on Thursday.

A.K. Dadwal, president of the union, in a statement said they would disclose the name of the officials and the councillor involved. He also expressed resentment over the interference of councillors in the working of the MC employees and officials. He further stated that the councillors should prove their charges on the floor of the house or face action.

Chandigarh, May 24
Panjab University is all set to switch to semester system, instead of annual system, in almost all postgraduate courses under the arts department from the ensuing academic session.

The faculty has already recommended having semester system in the departments, including history, geography, economics, ancient history, public administration and mass communication.

“The semester system should be encouraged as both the students and teachers remain busy throughout the year. Unlike, in the annual system where the students tend to take their studies lightly and study only in the latter half of the session,” said a member of the arts faculty. In the semester system they will have to clear two internal tests and an assignment, altogether of 20 per cent marks, within the tenure of the semester. The problem of attendance would also be addressed simultaneously, he added.

In fact, in the western education system there is trimester pattern where all the evaluation of a student’s performance is a continuous process. If the recommendations get final nod, quality of education in social sciences would improve tremendously, said a PU professor.

The departments of sociology and department of political science have already adopted the semester system and the students take their exams twice a year. The recommendations will now be taken up in the academic council’s meeting scheduled for June 10 for a formal nod.

Mohali, May 24
Style and attitude marked the evening at ‘Anukama-08’, a design collection show organised by the Northern India Institute of Fashion Technology (NIIFT) at Shivalik Public School here today.

The designs created by final-year fashion graduates of NIIFT were unveiled at the show against a spectacular background. Students came up with fabulous collections ranging high on style quotient from wearable to experimental ones. The collections had a trendy and youthful edge.

‘Spy’ a collection by Sunder, was inspired by women in comics. He used leather for his collection which gave a rough and hard look to his women.

Taking inspiration from the ‘phad painting’, Parul Kakkar created ‘The Royal Heritage’. Rich in colour and texture with the use of pure silk, the collection presented the age-old art form in a very contemporary manner. The juxtaposition of the traditional with the western silhouettes made it a wearable attire.

‘Anti-child labour’ by Kundan Kumar, a thought provoking conceptual collection based on a social issue, was beautifully depicted with cartoons showing how happy a child could be if left to his or her innocent rituals.

‘Bani Thani’ by Amandeep Singh was yet another Indian and western fusion collection, lot of fabrics juxtaposed together along with ‘gota’ and a variety of colours.

Different hues of imagination marked ‘Little Picasso’ created by Astha Nagpal and was presented at the show by small children. ‘Sui Mui’ by Vipra Khullar depicted traditional Indian women, while western wear was given a touch of Indian look in ‘Bohemian’ by Ashima Verma. Vibha Bisht tried to mix and match different colours in ‘Monks on the Street’.

The show was choreographed by Kaushik Ghosh. Punjab minister of industries and commerce Manoranjan Kalia was the chief guest.

Chandigarh, May 24
The geology department of Panjab University has invited the citizens of the city and adjoining areas to visit its Museum of Natural History from May 26 to June 7 to celebrate World Earth Day.

The recent discoveries of dinosaurian fossil eggs and bones housed in the museum would especially attract young school children. From 8.30 am to 11.30 am everyday, there would also be free screening of earth, environment and wildlife films in the seminar room of the department.

The films include productions supported by the British Council. BBC’s film on dinosaurs’ dynasty and US geologists’ research.

COURTS

Lok Adalat settles 3,000 cases
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 24
Lok Adalat was held today in the district courts and around 3,000 cases were disposed off.

The Lok Adalat was held under the guidance of Justice J.S. Khehar, Justice K.S. Grewal, administrative judge, Sessions Division.

Around 23 cases were settled under the MACT Act and a total compensation of Rs 43,72,000 was awarded.

About 62 cases under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act were settled. Next Lok Adalat will be held on September 6.