South Indian professor campaigns for Punjabi
Megha Mann
Tribune News Service

Ropar, August 16
Pandit Rao Dharennavar, a south Indian lecturer from Chandigarh, presented a play on Punjabi language at Ropar. He is soon going to release Gurbani translated into Kannada in September.

Rao has been campaigning for the language and imparts lessons in same. He has undertaken a cycle journey to spread awareness on the use of the language.

Ropar was the seventh district of Punjab for Rao, which he has visited during the past few months. He had decided to visit all districts of the state to spread the message of the importance of Punjabi language.

Rao hails from Karnataka and is a lecturer in Government College for Girls, Sector 42, Chandigarh. He teaches sociology in the college.

His love for Punjabi arose when he started facing problem in making students understand lessons in English. “Not all students followed lessons imparted in English. Hence, I felt the need to learn Punjabi myself and then teach students. I mastered the language within few months and since then have been teaching in the same language,” he said.

He visited various schools of the city today to spread awareness among students about the language by performing plays in Punjabi.

Rao started teaching a section of students at his house and his interest for the language further increased when he started writing poems in Punjabi.

Rao came up with the idea to visit the government and private schools of the state to create awareness about Punjabi literature.

He would also share a play with the students, which he has recently written for the school students, to encourage them for the use of Punjabi.

Power failure irks Kalka residents
Our Correspondent

Kalka, August 16
The residents of Kalka were deprived of electricity for more than eight hours today. They had to remain without electricity from 5.30 am to 1.30 pm. The official sources of the UHBVN said the power failure occurred due to some important maintenance work at the Housing Board Colony, Kalka and near Govt College.

Kalka, Pinjore and its vicinity have been facing the problem of erratic power supply since long time. Subsequently, sever resentment prevails among the residents towards the department of the UHBVN and the state government.

Rape accused gets life term
Our Correspondent

Ambala, August 16
Additional Sessions Judge, fast track court, M.M. Dhonchak, sentenced life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000 to rape accused Jaswinder Singh, a resident of Jangu Majra village.

According to the prosecution, a minor girl was found unconscious in a mini bank premises on March 31, last year. The girl was admitted to civil hospital at Naraingarh and later shifted to PGI, Chandigarh. On the complaint of the father of the victim, the police registered a case under Sections 376 and 307 in this regard.

After the victim returned from the PGI she narrated the incident to the police. She said Jaswinder met her on her way to a grocery shop on March 30, at around 8 pm. He forcibly took her to the mini bank and raped her there, she added.

Chess
Himal, Sanjeev lead with 4 points
Tribune News Service

Jeev misses cut in US PGA Tour
Donald Banerjee

Chandigarh, August 16
Jeev Milkha Singh, who created history in the PGA Championship at Michigan last week being the first Indian to finish in the top 10 in a US major, missed the cut in the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship playing a two-over par 142 in the second round at the Greensboro greens in North Carolina yesterday.

The Chandigarh golf icon could not make it into the second round falling short of the required target by five strokes.

Jeev played a one under par 69 today. But his opening round of three over par 73 was a poor start for the golfer who is now ranked 59th in the world.

Jeev started with a bogey. He made amends with a birdie on the second and the sixth. But in the very next hole he blundered to concede a double bogey. Determined to make the cut he birdied the eighth and ninth to make it one under par 34 in the first nine.

The pain in the right ankle troubled him, but he sank a birdie on the very first hole of the return nine. But then bogeys on the 14th and 18th after saving a stroke on the 15th saw him finish with a one under par 69. His two-day total of two over par 142 was five strokes behind the cut target.

Arjun Atwal climbed from overnight tied 35th to tied 17th at the Xerox Classic after firing two under 68 in the second round. His total now stands at three under 137. He trails the leader Brendon De Jonge of Zimbabwe by six strokes. Atwal birdied the third, sixth, eighth and bogeyed the 14th.

Abhey pins hopes on Indian boxers
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 16
Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) and Haryana Olympic Association (HOA) president Abhey Singh Chautala hailed the victories of the boxers at Beijing Olympics.

The boxers, including Vijender Kumar, Jitender Kumar and Akhil Kumar, all from Haryana, have reached into quarterfinals.

Pining high hopes on the trio, Chautala said he was always sure that the three boxers from Bhiwani would bring laurels to the country.

He also announced that HOA would award Rs 1 Crore, Rs 50 Lakh and Rs 25 Lakh to the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal-winners from the state in Olympics, respectively.

Controversy of Errors
Law officer, clerk among 3 booked
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 16
Around 48 hours after clerk of Haryana’s Additional Advocate General Sanjeev Bansal tried to leave behind a carrybag full of currency notes at the residence of high court judge Nirmaljit Kaur, the Chandigarh police has booked the law officer, clerk Parkash Ram and another person in a corruption case.

The case under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered today on the complaint of Amrik Singh, who is a restorer in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur when the clerk had arrived with the currency notes on Wednesday.

In fact, Amrik Singh had opened the packet on the instructions of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur. Finding currency notes, the cops were called in by the Justice’s staff.

Earlier, it seemed that Bansal had asked his clerk to go to the house of one Nirmal Singh in Sector 18 for handing over to him the earnest money for a property deal, but Parkash Ram mistook the name and delivered the money to Justice Nirmaljit Kaur.

It is believed that Justice Nirmaljit Kaur saw the entire episode as an attempt to win her over, though no important case with Bansal as a counsel was pending before her.

Besides informing the police about the incident, newly appointed Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana Tirath Singh Thakur, too, was told about it immediately.

Thereafter, Bansal was called at the Sector 11 police station where the statements of the law officer, his clerk, the "Delhi party" and Nirmal Singh had been recorded.

Chandigarh police ASP Madhur Verma confirmed that a case had been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Meanwhile, the police was looking into the possibility that the money might have been intended for someone else, added the police sources.

Woman duped of Rs 62,500
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 16
City resident Rupinder Pal Kaur was duped of Rs 62,500 on the pretext that she had won a lottery of 1,25,000 pounds. The police has arrested the conman. The victim, in a written complaint to the police, said she had received an e-mail which informed her of having won 1,25,000 pounds in a lottery.

“The mail claimed that I have won 1,25,000 pounds and I will have to pay Rs 20,500 to get the cash prize. After I submitted the amount, I received another mail asking for

Rs 42,000 more to be deposited as tax payment. The mails were purportedly sent by a person named Rene Goty,” said Rupinder.

“The demand for money continued and he again asked for Rs 50,000 in the name of custom duty. Then I got suspicious and informed the police,” she said.

As planned by the police, Rupinder called the accused near the Sector 8 market from where he was arrested. He has been sent in the police remand for four days. The investigation is on.

Fake CBI Officers
Sudha also faces case of cheating in Panchkula
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 16
Sudha Rani, who was arrested by the Lalru police for allegedly posing as assistant commissioner of the CBI, is even facing a case of cheating at Panchkula. According to the police, she allegedly cheated a resident of the city of Rs 4 lakh.

Sudha was arrested along with Aman Kumar, Suresh and Yatish, when they were trying to dupe a hotelier at Lalru posing as CBI officials.

According to the police, while Sudha used to move around as a local TV channel correspondent, Yatish also used to introduce himself as a press reporter.

The police said the economic offence wing of the department was investigating a case registered by Om Parkash Yadav, a resident of Sector 12.

Sudha convinced Yadav that she had good relations in Haryana Chief Minister’s office and could manage a seat for his son as assistant district attorney. Yadav, who paid the money to Sudha, complained to the police when found that he was duped by her. On intervention of the police she even returned a part of the money to him a few months ago with a promise that the remaining money would be returned soon. However, later Yatish joined her when she refused to hand over the money to the complainant. The police then registered a case of cheating against the accused.

During the investigation the police found that many other residents were also duped by Sudha.

Sources in the police said many job seekers in teaching profession had paid her lakhs of rupees, but they were not ready to come forward to lodge complaint in this regard.

One more held
Our Correspondent

Lalru, August 16
Making headway in the fake CBI officers’ case, the Lalru police today arrested Tejinderjit Singh, who allegedly provided fake identity cards to the accused Aman Kumar, Suresh, Yatish Sharma and his wife Sudha Rani.

According to the police, the four accused alleged that Tejinderjit, a resident of Patiala, had made fake CBI identity cards for them by charging Rs 500 per card.

Sources revealed that a police team reached Patiala and arrested Tejinderjit Singh, an acquaintance of Sudha.

SHO Sukhwinder Singh stated more important clues would come out during the investigations.

2 youths hurt in brawl
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 16
Two youth from Mauli Jagran were seriously injured in a brawl at a dhaba in Rajiv Colony here today. The injured, identified as Babbu and Sonu, were admitted at Government Multispecialty Hospital, Sector 16 and Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, respectively.

According to the police, both of them used sharp edged weapons in the fight and left for their home in critical condition when they fell on the way. The Chandigarh police shifted them to the hospitals. However, no case was registered in the incident till late night.

Dev Anand Film Festival starts at Govt Museum
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 16
The Dev Anand Film Festival was inaugurated today by Sanjay Kumar, finance secretary, at the Government Museum and Auditorium, Sector 10.

The festival is organised by the Millionaire Trust, in association with department of tourism, Chandigarh administration, and STEPS.

The week-long festival is first-of-its-kind comprising screening of Dev Anand's four super-hit films, ‘Guide’, ‘Des Pardes’, ‘Jewel Thief’ and ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ in an auditorium with a cinema hall experience.

The festival was launched with the screening of Dev Anand's all-time favourite, ‘Guide’. The screening was followed by the inauguration of Dev Anand's photography exhibition.

Three shows will be held daily, from 12 pm to 3 pm, from 3 pm to 6 pm and from 6 pm to 9 pm. The festival is dedicated to the superstar, who visited the city last year and promised his fans a special film festival.

Musical bonanza at Kalagram
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, August 16
The NZCC and STEPS teamed up with ‘ Playback Harmony’ a group of accomplished artists to celebrate the 62nd Independence Day with a captivating musical bonanza “ An Evening of Patriotic Songs” at the Kalagram here today.

After a delayed start the programme commenced on a patriotic note with Jaspal Jassal saluting the motherland through rendition of ‘Vande Matram’ in a serene mood before. Ajay Bakshi dedicated the programme to soldiers defending the borders in ‘Dekho veer jawano’.

The audiences were submerged in emotions as Priyanka Singh gave a soulful rendition of ‘Aei mere vatan ke’. Besides child prodigies Harnoor (Amritsar) and Puneet Kaur (Amabla), senior artists Dr Sandeep Jassal, Dr Anil Sharma, Romesh Dhiman, Dikshant, Deep Kataria, Ridhima, Rajiv, and Azad roled out patriotic songs while Meena Sudan presented a song on Raksha Bandhan.

The music was arranged by Dr Arun Kant and group. Ajay Bakshi said over 150 well known artists have volunteered to join ‘ Play Back Harmony’ for a weekly musical bonanza.