Chandigarh, November 20
The UT police said today it had at last managed to apprehend the stalker suspected to have robbed elderly women who were out on their early morning walks after hitting them on the head with a blunt object.

With his arrest, the cops claimed to have solved six incidents of car lifting, snatching and theft, adding that it had recovered four stolen cars from him.

The suspect, 34-year-old Inderjit Singh, a resident of Sector 35, told the police that he took to crime to make up for the money he had squandered in lotteries.

Father of a seven-year-old boy, he lived in rented accommodation with his wife, who was seven months pregnant and was not aware of his activities, the police said.

Inderjit said he used to hit the women on their heads with an iron rod to make them unconscious and then took away any valuables and cash they had on them.

He added he targeted elderly women as they were fond of wearing heavy jewellery.

Apart from assaulting Vimla Vinayak in Sector 33 and Tripta Hans in Sector 35 a few days ago, he also assaulted and robbed a woman in Sector 40 on October 2.

“I have spent a lot of money on illegal lotteries being run in Zirakpur and was in dire need of money. I would steal a car during night and go out to rob old women early in the morning. I abandoned stolen cars after the crime or when they ran out of fuel”, he told reporters.

When asked why he chose such a gruesome manner to rob elderly women, Inderjit replied: “I learnt from my past experience that one should never share his secret even with his accomplices. I had been arrested twice and decided to commit the crime alone, though at least two people are required for snatching something from a person. I decided to make the victims unconscious to make it easy for me to rob them while alone”.

He added, “I used to steal cars, but it was difficult to dispose those of and the chances of being caught were higher. I found this (robbing elderly women) the easier way out”.

“I have ruined myself and my family. My wife is innocent and is not aware of my activities. I am a dead man now. I became a demon and had I not been caught, I would have gone on committing such heinous crimes,” he said while breaking into tears.

Addressing the large number of mediapersons gathered, UT SSP SS Srivastva said the police had set up a team to study the odd pattern of attacks for the past couple of weeks. He added that the cops were puzzled over the suspect’s modus operandi.

Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a picket on the street separating Sectors 42 and 43 under the supervision of Sector 36 police station SHO Anokh Singh and nabbed Inderjit along with a stolen Maruti car.

A verification of the car’s documents revealed that it was a stolen one with fake registration number plates.

During interrogation, Inderjit admitted that he had robbed three women in the city after attacking and hurting them.

In 2002, the Chandigarh police had arrested him along with two accomplices, recovering eight stolen vehicles. In 2005, he had again been held for thefts and burglaries.

He had resumed his criminal activities about two months back, the police added. A local court remanded him to four days’ police custody.

Chandigarh, November 20
Expensive machinery installed at Panjab University’s AC Joshi library for one of its most coveted projects, worth nearly Rs 2 crore, has been gathering dust. Cobwebs in the drop-box and the mud-filled self-check unit, installed hardly six months back, speak volumes about the poor maintenance of the equipment.

Initiated over a year back, this project of radio-frequency identification (RFID) in the PU library is at its final stages now.

Panjab University is among the few institutions in the country to have stepped forward to instal such a system, which will simplify the process of returning books.

Despite its merits, the lack of maintenance of the expensive machinery has been a cause for concern, even among students.

The system would have been operational much earlier, but subsequent to failure of the universities of Pune and Kashmir in installing the RFID system, those involved in the project in PU wanted it to be error-proof. The librarian, Preeti Mahajan, when contacted, claimed that the machinery was in order. “The equipment is in order and the RFID will be activated soon for the students,” she said.

Meanwhile, a software problem is said to have caused postponement of the project. “The old software, Teclibplus, has its limitations and we are working on the data transfer. If the work is done in haste, there can be a problem and we want to be sure before doing it,” said an official of the library.

Earlier, there was also a proposal to construct drop-boxes in hostels as well to enable students to have access to the system.

But nothing had materialised on this front yet. “That will be a supplementary provision and will require a separate budget,” said the official. Meanwhile, about one lakh books had already been tagged to switch to the RFID system.

Chandigarh, November 20
To “shield” the absconding Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla from being suspended from the membership of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the Congress high command has again come to his rescue.

Sources said it was on the directions of the Congress leaders that Mayor Kamlesh cancelled the special meeting of the house that was to be held today.

If sources in the Congress are to be believed, Babla had sent a letter to the Mayor, requesting her to grant him permission for exemption from attending the general house meetings till December due to some personal reasons.

Considering it as a routine matter, the Mayor sent the letter to MC Commissioner Dr Roshan Sunkaria and asked him to take up the matter in the special house meeting called for today and get it approved. As the Congress is in majority in the house, the ruling party thought that the agenda would be approved in the meeting without any hurdle, said sources.

Sources in the Congress revealed that sensing trouble on the tabling of the agenda, Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal reportedly directed the Mayor to cancel the meeting.

A senior official said there was no doubt that the agenda about Babla’s exemption from the house would have been approved, but according to the Punjab Municipal Act, the Chandigarh Administrator was empowered to reject any agenda approved by the house, which would have proved a stumbling block for Babla.

According to the Act, if any councillor remains absent from the house for three consecutive months without informing the house, his or her membership could be cancelled.

Insiders of the Congress revealed that after directions from Bansal, the Mayor, along with one of the senior officials of the MC, drafted a letter for the cancellation of the meeting. After drafting the letter, councillors were called to get it signed and submit it to the authorities.

Chandigarh, November 20
The Department of Tourism, in collaboration with the Chandigarh Carnival Society and the Chandigarh administration, is holding the annual two-day Chandigarh Carnival at the Leisure Valley on November 28 and 29. Punjab Governor and UT Administrator SF Rodrigues will inaugurate the carnival.

This time, 16 teams, troupes of folk dancers from Jordan, Hungry and France will showcase their talent to make the event lively and global. Besides, a film city will be set up by the ITFT Institute to promote Chandigarh as a destination of cinematic tourism.

Another attractive addition will be the carnival parade that will go around the city, especially the Rock Garden, decked with funny floats and colourful tableau of different cultures made by school and college students.

Director Tourism Amandeep Kaur said 42 stalls would be set up by NGOs to exhibit musical instruments, rare photographs, replicas of Le Corbusier’s art works and a souvenir shop highlighting the creation and coming up of Chandigarh between 1952 and 1965.

She said the carnival would also hold a “Laughter Challenge Nite” featuring Bharti Singh, alias Lalli, Banwari Lal Johal and Bollywood actress Upasana Singh on November 28. On the last day of the carnival, a mega musical night will be held.

Chandigarh, November 20
The Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, has sanctioned the augmentation of water supply scheme from Phases V and VI for Chandigarh under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in a meeting held under Dr M Ramchandran, Secretary, Urban Development, today.

The total cost of the project would be Rs 171 crore out of which 80 per cent grant of Rs 134 crore would be given under the JNNURM from the Government of India and 10 per cent each will be shared by the Chandigarh administration and the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.

Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dr Roshan Sunkaria said the project was necessary to sustain the per capita availability of water in view of increased population and increased FAR and to move towards 24X7 water supply system.

He said it was an important project to make water available in the upcoming sectors and colonies and 25,000 flats for the economically weaker sections, slum dwellers and to meet the increased requirement of water in the industrial Area, the
IT Park and the institutional area. 

New Delhi, November 20
In what is apparently a desperate bid to shed the city’s image of being just a stopover destination, the Chandigarh administration is enthusiastically showcasing its tourism potential - particularly Le Corbusier's legacy - at the ongoing 29th India International Trade Fair (IITF) in New Delhi.

Memorabilia and souvenirs of the ‘City Beautiful’, the architectural masterpiece created by the Swiss-born French architect and his team, find a place of pride at the Chandigarh pavilion, spread over 403 square metres at the country’s biggest industrial and trade exhibition.

Mugs, plates, key rings, ties and wall clocks encrypting Le Corbusier’s art work are the attractions offered by the UT tourism department.

“The showcasing of Chandigarh's vast potential will go a long way in promoting the city as a major tourism destination”, UT industries director Vandana Disodia told a group of journalists at the IITF-2009 here yesterday.

Though the range of exhibits at the pavilion, including readymade garments, handicrafts, ‘phulkari’ dresses, artificial jewellery, handmade paintings, organic food and health products, soft toys and stationary items, was limited, the trade enquiries seemed to be encouraging.

“Till this evening, there had been 1,143 trade enquiries and three bookings with a total business of about Rs 1.32 lakh”, she informed.

In fact, the participating entrepreneurs seemed to be enjoying attention from overseas visitors as it was located adjacent to the fair’s international section.

“Though we have received a number of export queries, there are no confirmed orders as yet”, said Sonia of Kush Art.

Pushpa Bajaj of Pushp Handicrafts stated their hand-engraved gift items were getting a good response and visitors were looking for unique items.

Mohali, November 20
Greater Mohali Area Development Authority has got vacated at least four flats in Sector 70 here that had been forcibly occupied by riot victims recently.

A total of eight MIG flats had been illegally occupied in sectors 66 and 70 here.

Officials of the GMADA enforcement staff got four houses vacated. Another one could not be vacated as a woman occupied it.

Claiming to be genuine riot victims in possession of the flat, the occupants have filed cases in different courts seeking the allotment. But since they did not have stay, GMADA got the houses vacated.

GMADA has sought police force and duty magistrate to get the remaining houses vacated.

Each valued at lakhs, the authority has earmarked some of these houses for allotment to the genuine riot victims in light of the amended rehabilitation policy for the victims.

Earlier, GMADA had decided to auction the flats. But now they would be allotted after PUDA and GMADA adopted the government policy on allotment of flats to riot victims.

The allotment will be made on the basis of claim applications submitted to the Deputy Commissioner. But the allotment will be made on the current allotment price, varying between Rs 18 lakh and Rs 43 lakh, depending upon the respective category of flats.

As per the rates in 2007, the price difference to be charged from the allottee for the low income and middle-income flats was Rs 33,000 and Rs 88,000, respectively.

Chandigarh, November 20
The Delhi-based Dr Lal Path Lab, which had been collecting samples to detect the H1N1 virus without taking permission from the UT administration, had tested 22 samples from the city of which 11 were found positive.

According to UT nodal officer for swine flu HC Gera: “In response to the UT administration’s query, the lab promoters informed about the details.”

Meanwhile, to review the preparation to meet any untoward situation, an advisory committee meeting was held today under the chairmanship of the Director, Health Services, Dr MS Bains.

As cases of swine flu among school students continue to rise in the tricity, the advisory committee discussed the matter in detail and found that the complete closure of schools was not the solution to curtail the infection. “Existing guidelines will be followed by the health department in which we suspend the individual class where one positive case has emerged and if there are three or more cases, the school will be shut,” said Gera.

Another Ryan student has H1N1

Two persons, including one more student from Ryan International School, tested positive for swine flu on Friday, taking the tally to 113. This is the second case from Ryan and this time victim is the student of class VII. However, the school authorities have already closed the school for a week after one of its students tested positive for H1N1. UT health officials have home quarantined student along with his family members.

A 40-year-old resident of Gurgaon also tested positive for swine flu. “We have informed the health officials of Gurgaon for quarantining their family members,” said Gera. 

Chandigarh, November 20
The District Consumer Disputes and Redressal Forum has directed Prithi Pal Singh, proprietor of Car Zee Centre, Sector 7, and Sukhwinder Singh, to pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 to a complainant for subjecting 
him to mental and physical harassment.

The forum has also directed the dealer to refund Rs 1,20,000 along with interest. The complainant, Manjit Singh, a resident of Sector 38, purchased a Ford Ikon (2001 model) car from Pirthi Pal Singh for Rs 1, 25,000. He was assured by him that it would be their responsibility to get the car transferred in his name and he was asked to pay Rs 1,20,000 at the time of deal and the remaining Rs 5,000 was to be paid after transfer of the car in the complainants name.

However, after a few days he noticed that the registration certificate of the car was not original but only a laminated photocopy. The complainant contacted the car dealer and asked for original documents along with a no objection certificate He even reported the matter to the police on where Pirthi undertook to provide the necessary certificates, but in vain.

When he inquired the matter from the Registering and Licensing Authority, Haryana, he was shocked to learn that the vehicle was under the process of transfer in the name of one Mahesh Kumar, a resident of Sector 40, Chandigarh.

In his reply, the car dealers submitted that the complainant knew that the vehicle was registered in the name of M/s Finetech Consultants and that he had told the complainant that the vehicle would be first transferred in favour of Mahesh Kumar and subsequently in his name. It was submitted that the ownership of the car was transferred in the name of Mahesh Kumar and he contacted the complainant many times and even served a legal notice on the complainant for collecting the registration certificate of the car and the getting the same transferred in his name but he was reluctant to do so.