NEIGHBOURHOOD

Wife thwarts drunk cop’s bid to shoot family
Awarded Rs 11,000
Megha Mann
Tribune News Service

Kharar/Zirakpur, September 16
Around 31 colonisers of Kharar and Zirakpur, including two women, have been booked for selling plots in colonies without the permission of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).

In some of the cases in Zirakpur, a hub of unplanned housing colonies, the purchasers of the plots were residing in the colonies for the last many years.

Chief administrator of GMADA Vivek Partap Singh said the colonisers had been found on the wrong side of the law. People have been repeatedly told through public notices not to be misled by such colonisers.

Acting on the complaint of additional chief administrator (ACA), GMADA, Balwinder Singh Multani, the Kharar police has booked Gurvinder Singh, Ajmer Singh, Sukhpreet Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Harbhaan Kaur, Jagtar Singh and others.

The accused are residents of Behlolpur and Jujhar Nagar. SSP, Mohali, J.S. Aulakh said the colonisers would be arrested.

As per GMADA rules, anyone who is selling more than 1,000 sq mt of land should seek permission from the department for the same.

All these accused had illegally sold away plots in Balongi and had not informed the department or sought any permission.

They have been booked under Section 36 - 1 of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act. Minimum punishment in this case is three years imprisonment, if found guilty.

In Zirakpur, the police registered the case against the promoters of Ganesh Vihaar and Shakti Enclave, Krishna Enclave Part I, Part II and Part III, Lakshmi Enclave, Mamta Enclave and Green City.

The promoters include Nirbhar Singh, a resident of Dhakoli, builder of Shakti Enclave and Ganesh Vihar; Gurdev Singh and Surjit Singh, residents of Himmatgarh village, builder of Krishna Enclave Part I; Ikhtar Singh, Gurdial Singh, Nirmal Singh and Mehar Kaur, residents of Himmatgarh village, builder of Krishna Enclave-II, III; Surjit Singh and Harminder Singh, residents of Dhakoli, builder of Lakshmi Enclave; Harjit Singh and Dhani Ram, residents of Himmatgarh village, builder of Krishna Enclave-II; Gurmail Singh, Ranbir Singh, Surjit Singh and Joginder Singh, all residents of Dhakoli, builder of Mamta Enclave; Jatinder Singh, Tejinder Singh, Harcharan Singh, Kulwant Singh, Jaswant Singh, Inderjit Singh, Sunder Singh and Harvinder Singh, all residents of Dhakoli, builder of Green City.

Rajpura, September 16
A woman who was trying to board a moving train was killed at the Rajpura railway station this evening.

The incident took place at around 7 pm when Sushila Devi, on way to Haridwar with family members in Intercity Express, got down for fetching water from the platform.

The train started moving and her leg was caught in the staircase of one of the bogies in order to catch the moving train. She was dragged up to many feet and was badly injured. She was declared brought dead at the local civil hospital.

The body would be handed over to the relatives after conducting postmortem, said the GRP officials.

Fatehgarh Sahib, September 16
A migrant labourer, working in the fields of a farmer, was found murdered today afternoon in Puala village.

The deceased has been identified as Supan Choudhary (34), a resident of Bihar, who had been working in the 18-acre land of Kulwant Singh for the past four months.

Supan was residing in a room built in the fields adjoining a tube-well. When the Kulwant Singh failed to see the labourer in his fields for the past two days, he went to enquire about his health in the room.

Kulwant found labourer’s badly decomposed body lying in the room. He then informed the police.

The police officials said the deceased was putting up alone in the fields, however, some other labourers were also staying in nearby farm fields. The wife and children of deceased were in Bihar.

The relatives were informed about the incident, and the body was handed over to the family members after conducting a postmortem.

Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Dr Kaustubh Sharma said the employer of the deceased had revealed that a transistor and a newly purchased mobile phone were missing from the room of the deceased.

There were clear marks of injuries on the head and neck of the deceased and it was apparent that somebody had hit him with sharp-edged weapon.

Patiala, September 16
Department of Punjab historical studies of Punjabi University organised Dr Ganda Singh Memorial Lecture on its foundation day here today.

Dr Navtej Singh, head of the department, emphasised that the lecture had been organised as a permanent feature of the department in recognition to the contributions of Dr Ganda Singh to the Punjab history and the department itself.

Dr Ganda Singh started the annual Punjab history conference and the journal ‘The Punjab--Past and Present’. Vice-chancellor Dr Jaspal Singh, presiding over the function, lauded Dr Ganda Singh's contribution of giving Sikhs a new sense of identity through his writings. He said Dr Ganda Singh played major role in popularising Punjab historical studies in India and abroad.

Dr Jaspal Singh further said Dr Ganda Singh clarified many obscure points concerning the Sikh history, and also provided missing links and gaps in the history of region.

Director of National Institute of Punjab Studies, New Delhi, and a close associate of Dr Ganda Singh said Dr Ganda Singh was great not only due to his contributions to the Punjab history but also for his simplicity and nature of helping the poor.

Presenting the memorial lecture, Dr Irfan Habib, professor emeritus, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, spoke on the ‘Reconstruction of the History of the Punjab’. He also shared his impressions about Dr Ganda Singh's personality.

In his address, he covered the evolution of Punjab’s cultural development from pre-historic times to the 17th century. He said the institution of caste did not exist in Rigveda, rather it was a late development.

He emphasised that technology played a crucial role in transforming agrarian society resulting in a different sort of crisis.

Dr Sucha Singh Gill, dean research, said there was a need to learn various languages in order to capture objective reality.

He said writing of history was a risky subject, and the propositions put forward by Dr Habib needed further investigations.

Patiala, September 16
The Punjab health department officials, in a meeting with the PCMSA (Punjab unit), has decided to restore non-practicing allowance (NPA) to all senior doctors above the rank of deputy director with retrospective effect.

This would correct the anomalous situation in the health department where the junior doctors were getting more pay than their senior colleagues since 2003.

The principal secretary (health and family welfare) assured the PCMSA delegation that the proper orders to the effect are being issued without delay.

Dr M.S. Randhawa, patron, Dr D.S. Gill, president, and Dr Manjit Singh, general secretary, of the PCMSA (Punjab) in a joint statement claimed that the department of finance has already given its approval for issuing of necessary correction at the department level.

Chandigarh, September 16
Govind National College, Narangwal (Ludhiana), found an easy rival in Guru Nanak College, Moga, whom they thrashed here today on PU campus to win the Panjab University Inter-College Kabaddi (NS) B-Division (Men) Championship.

While in the league handball (women) matches, MCM DAV College for Women beat Ramgarhia Girls College, Ludhiana.

GGS College for Women, Chandigarh, beat PU Campus. MCM DAV College for Women beat PU Campus and GGS College for Women beat Ramgarhia Girls College, Ludhiana.

Earlier in the Panjab University Inter-College Badminton (Men) Championship, DAV College thrashed PU Campus by 3-1 to bag first position.

GGD SD College and SGGS College got third and fourth positions, respectively.

Chandigarh, September 16
Sports and discipline are inextricably united. But the referees officiating the handball matches of the Punjab University Inter-College Tournament seem to be least bothered about it.

During one such match underway on PU campus, the referees did not ‘bother’ to be in the prescribed uniform while judging the match.

The experts said when the referees, whose job was to judge the players, were least bothering about following the basic rules and regulations, then least could be expected from the players too.

International handball player, Sachin Chaudhary, rued for not providing the stipulated infrastructure, said: “What to talk about providing wooden court and gum ball facilities, even the basic norms are not being followed.”

Terming it a minor issue, Dr Rakesh Malik, assistant director sports, Punjab University, said: “We have asked them many a time to wear uniform. But as they have four matches in a day, so their uniform gets dirty and it becomes difficult for them to wear the same uniform the next day.”

“If it’s happening, it is wrong. I will talk to the officials tomorrow, and we will not allow anyone without designated uniforms,” said Naval Kishor, director sports, PU.

Mohali, September 16
Ludhiana had to rue their decision of batting first as their team was bundled out for 141 in 68.2 overs by their mighty rival Chandigarh in the four-day final of the Punjab State Inter-District Cricket Tournament for Katoch Shield held at PCA Stadium.

Gitansh Khera (46), Bharat Malhotra (35) and Karan Goel (22) from Ludhiana were the only players to contribute respectable individual scores. It was Satnam (5/35), who played the pivotal role in the early fall of Ludhiana’s innings.

Replying, Chandigarh also got up to a dismal show and was reeling at 56 for 4 in 26 overs. Right-arm medium pacer Sunny Kumar Malhotra got rid off Sarul Kanwar, Simrat Bawa and Sidharth Sharma, while Deepak Bansal accounted for skipper Viswash Bhalla for 10 by getting him snapped by Goel for an individual score of 10. Gurkirat Singh (16) and Gaurav Gambhir (2) were together at end of the day’s play.

Brief Score: Ludhiana: 141 for all in 68.2 overs (Gitansh Khera 46, Bharat Malhotra 35, Karan Goel 22); Chandigarh: 56 for 4 in 26 overs (Sarul Kanwar 12, Gurkirat Singh 16 n.o., Gaurav Gambhir 2 n.o., Satnam 5 for 35, Naresh Gogian 2 for 38, Gaurav Marwah 2 for 39).

Chandigarh, September 16
Still nursing a painful tendon in the right ankle, Jeev Milkha Singh is determined to achieve a better ranking in world golf than what he achieved in 2006.

That year, the Chandigarh golfer had created history finishing 38th in the world golf ranking. "But his year I will do better," said Jeev, who was in Chandigarh for a brief halt today.

He flies off on Sunday to the Belfry in West Midlands, England, for British Masters.

Jeev, who had been advised four to six weeks’ rest to give some rest to the calf muscles, finally broke away for a three-week well-deserved rest.

He did not touch the golf club during this period of relaxation whether it was 14 days in the USA or nine days in his London house, which serves as the base camp during his European Tour matches.

He returned to the greens with the Mercedes Benz European Tour event at Cologne. But, he still felt pain in the ankle.

The calf muscles twitched as he completed the swing. "It really pains during the weight transfer while completing a proper drive," said Jeev.

The last day of the Mercedes Benz event saw Jeev playing a bogey-free four under par 68 on the final day to finish tied 11th at four under par 284. The Cologne performance has taken Jeev to the 60th ranking in world golf.

The latest MRI report has shown less fluid in the ankle. According to medical advice, he should be in top shape after another two to three weeks’ rest.

"But that is not possible," says Jeev. "I am playing really well. I am driving well and my putting is perfect, another three-week rest will make me rusty," he added.

He will manage weekly rests in between some tournaments. And according to his doctor that could help.

The Chandigarh golfer is not satisfied with the top 50 or top 30 positions. His aim is to make it to the top 10 in the world by 2010.

That is when the new rules about the number of tournaments to be played will be implemented. According to the proposed rules, it should be 56 to 58 tournaments in two years.

Jeev, who loves to play on tough courses, has set his sights on the Belfry course in England, where the British Masters will be played from September 25 to 28. He considers the Belfry course a happy hunting ground for him.

Also on his favourite on the anvil is the Valderrama in Spain, where he will try to create the magic of 2006 in the Volvo Masters.

Talking about budding players, Jeev was all praise for Ganganjit Bhullar. He also mentioned Gurbaaz Mann. Calling him one of the best drivers, Jeev felt the Chandigarh golfer was still to mature as a player.