NEIGHBOURHOOD

Janmashtami celebrated
Our Correspondent

Kalka, August 14
Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, was celebrated with religious fervour here today. Temples in the area were beautifully decorated with lights, which wore a festive look.

The functions related to Janmashtami were organised at various places where the devotees had come to pay their obeisance.

Most of the women observed fast today. The main function here was organised by Yuva Kalyan Sabha in Gobind Ram Dharamshala, which depicted mythological scenes related to the life history of Lord Krishana.

Anandpur Sahib, August 14
A granthi of Gurdwara Baba Gurditta Singh Ji, Kiratpur Sahib, and his accomplice was held today for allegedly making an obscene video of a woman pilgrim to the gurdwara.

In her complaint to the police, the woman from Kiratpur Sahib stated that she had come to the gurdwara with her husband and two children. The family had organised a ‘path’ that was to be concluded today. The family was allotted a room with an attached bathroom on the gurdwara premises.

At around 9.30 am when the complainant went to bathroom, she discovered that someone was recording her movements. She raised an alarm and informed her husband. They discovered granthi Inderjit Singh and his friend Jaswinder Singh video graphing with a mobile phone.

On seeing the couple, the accused fled from the scene. Both the accused are residents of nearby Bhartoli village. The police arrested them in the afternoon and has also seized a Chinese mobile that was used to make the movie. They have been booked under Section 294 of the IPC.

Gurdwara manager Harjit Singh said that Inderjit was a temporary employee at the gurdwara and had been suspended.

Kalka, August 14
Traffic on National Highway 22, which passes through Kalka and Pinjore, remained disrupted throughout the day, which caused great inconvenience to tourists and daily commuters. The situation aggravated for about an hour, between 12 noon to 1 pm, due to the breakdown of a truck on the highway. Subsequently, hundreds of vehicles, which remained stuck in the traffic chaos, had to face much inconvenience.

Although the police administration, due to the holidays, had diverted the light vehicles to ease the traffic through the Kalka-Paploha road, Bharat Nagar, NG Railway Colony, Railway Road and Gandhi chowk to approach the highway, the vehicles remained stuck in traffic due to the narrow road of Bharat Nagar and due to the closure of Kalka-Shimla railway crossing near diesel shed.

The deplorable condition of the stretch due to rain between Gandhi chowk and Kalka-Parwanoo barrier also encouraged traffic hurdle on the NH-22. No traffic police personnel was seen on Bharat Nagar T-point, who could regulate the traffic.

Panchkula, August 14
The district police has booked a resident of Pinjore for duping another resident for duping him of Rs 2.5 lakh impersonating as legal adviser of the Central Bureau of Intelligence.

Het Ram, in his complaint, said he had come in contact with Madan Lal Dhiman of Pinjore last year. Dhingra told him that he had been working with the CBI as legal Adviser.

The complainant said the matter had been pertained to April last year, when he was in financial crisis.

Dhingra assured him to get a loan of Rs 20 lakh, claiming that he had good offices with Haryana Director General of Police Rajiv Dalal and Income Tax Commissioners of Haryana and Chandigarh, he alleged.

The accused, however, asked him to shell out Rs 2.5 lakh, which he handed over to him in installments, he added.

When Dhingra failed to deliver his promise, he demanded his money back, on which he was threatened of dire consequences, he alleged.

Following this, he made complaint to the DGP and on the directions of flying squad, a case under Section 420 has been registered against the accused.

Ambala, August 14
The Haryanvi Panjabi Welfare Sabha demanded 34 seats in forthcoming assembly elections for the Punjabi community. The general secretary of the sabha, Surender Juneja, said an important meeting had been called on August 16 in this regard in Hisar on the martyrdom day of Madan Lal Dhingra.

He said recently a meeting of the sabha was organised in Delhi in which the body had claimed its stake on Ambala Cantt, Ambala City, Naraingarh, Panchkula, Jagadhari, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Pehowa, Kaithal, Chikka, Karnal, Indri, Ghronda, Panipat (rural), Panipat (city), Faridabad, Badkhal, Faridabad NIT, Palwal, Gurgoan, Rewari, Sonepat, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Safidon, Jind, Barwala, Hansi, Hisar, Tohana, Sirsa and Dabwali seats.

Juneja said in recent Lok Sabha elections the Congress had got lead in 59 assembly segments in Haryana out of which 34 segments were Punjabi dominated. He said the BSP had already announced that if it got majority in assembly elections, it would favour a non-Jatt Chief Minister.

He said Kuldeep Bishnoi was already trying to win over the sympathy of Punjabis. He said the Congress should also offer maximum assembly tickets to the Punjabi community.

Dera Bassi, August 14
A Dera Bassi court today remanded a Canadian citizen Milstein to 14-day judicial custody in a case of contraband smuggling. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested him with 2.4 gm cannabis at Dappar Toll Plaza, near Lalru, on Thursday.

According to sources, Milstein, a resident of Montreal, was produced before a Dera Bassi court, which sent him to a judicial remand. The sources said during interrogation, Milstein admitted that he had brought cannabis for his personal use from Manali. From his passport, it was clear that he visited India every year during June and July.

The sources said he had taken a plot on lease at Katrain, near Kullu.

Chandigarh, August 14
The District Consumer Disputes and Redressal Forum has directed ICICI Lombard, a motor insurance company, Sector 40, Skoda Auto India Pvt Ltd, Aurangabad, and Sidak Automobile Pvt Ltd, Karnal, to pay Rs 2,23,595 as compensation for the loss of a vehicle and Rs 50, 000 as the compensation for adopting an unfair trade practice with Rs 500 as the counsel fee.

The complainant, Deepak Narang, a resident of Panchkula, had purchased a Skoda (Activa Rider Classic TDI) car fitted with airbags in April 2007 from Sidak Automobile, Karnal, for a sum of Rs 11, 72,205, which was manufactured by Skoda after raising a loan of Rs 10 lakh from the ICICI Bank and got the same insured with the ICICI Lombard for the period April 27, 2007 to April 26, 2008 after paying premium of Rs 21,329.

On the intervening night of February 12 and 13, 2008, the car met with an accident resulting in injuries to him and his son, as the airbags did not open. He remained immobilised for a number of days. He took the car to the dealer, who estimated the total cost of repair at Rs 14,13,509.

As he was not in a position to repay the outstanding amount of loan on account of injuries and immobilisation, the insurance company assured to pay him the value of the car as assessed in the insurance policy as well as the amount spent on treatment, pain, suffering and loss of business and for this purpose got his signatures on blank forms, papers and affidavit.

However, the insurance company paid him a sum of Rs 8,70,000 only against the insured value of Rs 11,13,595.

In its written reply, the insurance company did not dispute that the vehicle was insured with it. It was pleaded that the complainant applied for the insurance claim and opted for settlement on net salvage basis, executed necessary documents and accepted the claim of Rs 5,20,000 in full and final settlement at any stage without raising any dispute. Denying that any blank affidavit was provided, the complainant agreed to the same and also executed his consent in respect of the same in the form of affidavit dated July 3, 2008.

In their separate reply, the manufacturer and the car dealer pleaded that the accident was caused and injuries were suffered due to the rash and negligent driving of the complainant for which they were not responsible. It was stated that the airbags did not open as there was no frontal impact on the cross member of the damaged car and inspection of the car showed that it was a case where the car was damaged when it went under the rear side of the truck.

Chandigarh, August 14
The investigating officials in the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) are cross-examining their former zonal director Saji Mohan in connection with the misappropriation of heroin.

Sources in the NCB told TNS that the questioning of Saji Mohan had so far hinted that he was not involved in misappropriation of heroin stolen from the malkhana.

SK Sekri, zonal director, NCB, Chandigarh, said the investigating officials were interrogating Saji in the case and were recording his statement. His statement will be corroborated with the statements of the other accused and with evidence gathered so far to establish whether he was involved in manipulation of the record leading to misappropriation of the contraband.

Sources said that Saji was not directly named in the first information report. His name cropped up during the interrogation of the other accused involved in the case.

NCB officials disclosed that Balwinder Kumar, deputy superintendent in the NCB, Chandigarh, had not named Saji during his interrogation. It was the two gunmen of Saji - Davinder Pal Singh and Naveen Kumar - and a narcotic smuggler, Nasib Chand, who alleged that Saji was involved in misappropriation of the contraband.

The NCB had registered a case under Sections 8-A, 21, 28, 29 and 32-B of the NDPS Act after it found that the heroin was missing from the malkhana.

The NCB team had obtained two-day police remand of Saji yesterday in connection with the case. The other accused had named Saji as the conspirator behind pilferage of the contraband during their interrogation. The NCB had claimed that during verification of the unclaimed seizure of 60 kg of heroin made by the zonal unit Jammu in 2007, which was headed by Saji then, it was found that the contraband was misappropriated. The probe hinted that Saji had conspired with Balwinder Kumar and three other accused and pilfered 30 kg of heroin out of the total seizure.

Chandigarh, August 14
An altercation between two friends took a deadly turn when one of them hit another with a bottle, leading to death at Darua village here tonight. The victim has been identified as 18-year-old Kamal Kumar of the village. He was hawker and was drinking with his friend, Khandu.

The police has arrested 30-year-old Khandu after registering a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the SHO of the Industrial Area police station, the victim, along with Khandu and Sonu, was drinking when an altercation took place between them. They got violent in the process and someone hit Kamal with a bottle and his arm was badly wounded. He began profusely bleeding and both Sonu and Khandu fled the spot.

Kamal was rushed to Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Chandigarh, August 14
Lured by the branded clothes, two youngsters from Colony No 4 took to crime and carried out a series of thefts in the city to make a quick buck. The Chandigarh police has claimed to solve several cases of theft with the arrest of two youngsters Aman Tripathi, son of a local BJP leader, and Gurudutt Mishra. The accused were active since the past six months and had carried out a spate of thefts in the city. They had recently struck at Swami Automobiles and a branded garment shop.

The police recovered four laptops, an I-pod, an LCD TV and branded clothes from their possession. Tripathi is the son of Deen Dyal Tripathi, a BJP president of Ward No 15. They were nabbed on the basis of information from a reliable source. A local court remanded them to three-days police custody. 

Chandigarh, August 14
R Murugan of RSPB claimed the first position in the 60-kg open men category during the 35th Men and 27th Women Senior National Powerlifting Championship being organised by the Chandigarh Powerlifting Association at the Weightlifting Hall Sports Complex, Sector 42, here today.

In the 60-kg inter-state men category, Shyam Singh Rana of Uttranchal got the first position. While Jupinder Singh of RSPB and D Anand of Tamil Naidu claimed top honours in the 67.5-kg open and 67.5-kg inter-state men category, respectively.

Whereas Roshita Kerkata of Chattisgarh stood first in the 48-kg women category. Also J Ramlasmi of AP claimed top position in the 52-kg women category.

Chandigarh August 14
Top seed Aviraj Kamboj stormed into the boys’ under-16 singles semifinals beating Prabhsimran Bal of CLTA 8-2 in the rain affected ongoing LD Kapoor Memorial Total Tennis Championship here today on the Total Tennis Academy’s YMCA Sector 11 premises.

In another under-16 singles quarterfinals, second seed Anvit Gupta drubbed Anish Goel 8-4. Anvit will now face his practice partner Parminder Singh in the semifinals. Parminder had earlier blanked Badal Sahni by 8-0 in just 30 minutes to enter the semis. Third seed Arshbuland Aulakh defeated Utkarsh Khosla of Total Tennis Academy by 8-4. Arshbuland will now face the top seed Aviraj Kamboj in the semifinals tomorrow.

While in the boys’ under-12 singles first round match, top seed Karandeep Singh and second seed Param Pun moved to the second round by defeating Anchit Gupta and Himmat Singh with an identical score of 6-0. All unfinished matches followed by the boys’ under-14 first rounds and boys’ under-12 second round will start from 8 am onwards.

Results: Boys’ under-16 quarterfinals: Aviraj Kamboj bt Prabhsimran Bal 8-2; Arshbuland Aulakh bt Utkarsh Khosla 8-4; Parminder Singh bt Badal Sahni 8-0; Anvit Gupta bt Anish Goel 8-4.

Boys’ under-12 first round: Karandeep Singh bt Anchit Gupta 6-0; Aditya Kansal bt Advitya 6-1; Rahul bt Harshdeep 6-2; Sabrang Sandal bt Subhashish Behera 6-1; Sidharth Kapoor bt Saharshveer Singh 6-1; Sumer Sandhu bt Bharat Gupta 6-4; Rishabh Sharda bt Harnoor Sethi 6-0; Anmol Kamboj bt Shonit 6-2; Japjot Singh bt Anumanit Singh 6-1; Prabhman Thapar bt Ashish Sobti 6-3; Karishnam Gupta w/o Vikrant; Ankush Nagpal bt Jaskaran Singh 6-2; Arnav Munjal bt Nayanta 6-1; Adeesh Bansal bt Shrome Kapoor 6-1; Sachit Malhotra bt Upender 6-1; Paras Mittal bt Manveer Singh 6-1; Jay Nagpal w/o Sahil Yadav; Navkaran Pathania bt Arpit 6-0; Abhi Uday Gautam bt Yuvraj Wadhwa 6-4; Karanveer Hooda bt Mayank 6-2; Ayush Verma bt Rajat Rawat 6-0; Sagar Bains bt Aniket 6-0; Sourabh Prashar bt Prusharth Dhall 6-2; Dishu Verma bt Harshveer Singh 6-2; Sahil Singla bt Daksh 6-1; Samarth Sardana bt Jaskirat 6-1; Angad Singh bt Puru Mehta 6-1; Param Pun bt Himmat Singh 6-0.

Chandigarh, August 14
Rain played a spoilsport on the opening day of the Friendship Cup Under-13 Inter-School Cricket Tournament, being organised by St John's Cricket Academy on its school campus.

Both the matches, scheduled for today, could not be held due to persistent rains, which rendered ground unfit for play. In the first match between APJ and Greenfield school, only 1.4 overs were bowled before rain intervened and no further play was possible.

Chandigarh, August 14
St Jospeh School, Sector 44, is organising its inaugural Under-13 Inter-School Cash Prize Cricket Tournament for boys from August 22 on the school premises.

The tournament will be played on league-cum-knock out basis. The players born on or after January 1, 1997 and up to class VII are eligible to participate in the tournament.

The school will provide match balls and light refreshment to the participating teams. Interested schools may approach Amarjeet Singh (PTI) at 98760-55587.

Last date for school teams entry is August 19.

Panchkula, August 14
Defending champion Sameer Bhalla defeated Divya Sharma 3-0 in the best of five frames match during the 23rd Haryana State Junior and Senior Billiards and Snooker Championship, which concluded here today on the Haryana Billiards Sector 11 premises.

In the first frame, Sameer Bhalla hit a break of 37 on the very first visit on the table. But Divya keeping his cool covered the lead but could not manage on the pink ball and gave the frame to Sameer Bhalla.

In the second frame, Bhalla managed to clear the table on the coloured balls. The third frame was again a see-saw battle, however, Sharma trailing by two frames was little shaky and missed the ball on 2-3 occasions, which Bhalla capitalised and won the match.

Bhalla and Sharma won two matches each but Bhalla was declared the senior snooker champion on frames difference.

Earlier Sharma playing in his full form outclassed Aneesh Sainy 3-1. In another match, Divya got some good fight from Ankur Nanda but won from him three frames to two.

Results:

Senior Snooker League:

Divya Sharma bt Aneesh Sainy 3-1; Divya Sharma bt Ankur Nanda 3-2; Ankur Nanda bt Aneesh Sainy 3-1; Aneesh Sainy bt Sameer Bhalla 3-2; Sameer Bhalla bt Ankur Nanda 3-1; Sameer Bhalla bt Divya Sharma 3-0.