 |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Heist at jewellery shop
Lalru (Dappar), December 24 In his statement to the police, owner of Cherry Jewellers Deepak Verma alleged that around 3.20 pm three youths entered his shop and asked him if he could repair a ring. As he moved to take a look, an accused sprayed some chemical in his face, while another caught hold of him. He alleged that the accused assaulted him and took out the keys to the locker from his pocket. One of the accused trained a pistol at him, while another collected jewellery along with cash kept in the locker, he claimed. He further stated that the accused ran out of the shop and sped away in a getaway car parked outside the shop. Another suspect was waiting in the silver Alto car in which they escaped, he added. The owner raised the alarm and narrated the incident to other shopkeepers. The police said from preliminary investigation they suspected the accused to be locals. The accused had conducted a recce of the area before entering the shop, as they were aware of all escape routes. The exact loss was yet to be ascertained but it might run into lakhs of rupees, the police added. Lalru SHO Deepinder Singh said a case had been registered on the compliant of the owner of the shop. “We are verifying the car number (PB 10 1894) as told by the eyewitnesses,” he added. A police team also visited the Dappar toll plaza to check the footage of vehicles crossing the barrier but was unable to locate the car. The suspects were apparently in the know of other routes of getting out of the area, he added. |
||||||
|
Whiff of fresh air for environment park
Patiala, December 24 Spread over an area of 13.74 acre, the park is located in the Patiala navigation channel and has been planned on specific themes ranging from fragrance garden, singing bird paradise, sacred grove, to a herbal and cacti garden. Dr Balbir Singh, president of the association, said a group of over 100 students from the State College of Education undertook a drive to remove garbage, including plastic and polythene waste, from the park today. This was the first initiative of the association to restore the beauty of the park, which is one of the few parks left in this former princely state renowned for its palaces and parks. He said it had been decided to have water bodies in the park for the benefit of birds, install solar lights and launch special campaigns periodically to educate people in the vicinity not to dump garbage in the park. He said the matter of burning of dead leaves in the park had been taken up with MC Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang. Dr Balbir Singh said the corporation had also been requested to get cleared pavements in the park for the benefit of joggers and morning walkers. He said the services of the management of the local Gurdwara Dukhnivaran Sahib had also been sought in the maintenance of the park. He said the association had been facing a resource crunch and had initiated negotiations with certain non-resident Indians as also some industrial houses for financial help to raise funds for the maintenance of the environment park. He said the association members had started pooling in money from their own pocket to pay two employees who had been engaged for the maintenance of the park. He said it was proposed to have regular gardeners for the maintenance of the park. A non-governmental organisation, the Basant Ritu Club, has already taken the lead in checking the declining population of birds in the state. Taking an initiative in association with the forest department, it installed around 150 artificial nests in the long stretch of the park of the forest department. The environment park, inaugurated by former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh some years ago, provides perfect environment for birds. The park has been developed on a vacant stretch of government land, which was otherwise was being used as a garbage dump. With the installation of artificial nests, the forest department has another reason to cheer as the nests have already started attracting birds. |
|||||||
|
Marriage Palace Row
Patiala, December 24 Eyewitnesses alleged that it was the outcome of protest by schoolchildren, who had been opposing the coming up of the palace right next to the school in the centre of a residential area. They alleged that a large number of students had gathered at the scene and vandalised the foundation stone and chairs. They also allegedly damaged a part of a wall and tore posters of the Bhawalpur Maha Sabha. Councillor Sunita Gera, who is backing the construction of the palace, said the school authorities had instigated students to do this as they were against the coming up of the palace. On the other hand, school principal denied the allegations saying that teachers had nothing to do with the vandalism. “Why will we do it? We are already talking up the matter with the higher authorities and will never involve our students in the case. Moreover, it is upon the government to take a decision,” she added. Deputy Commissioner Deepinder Singh and SDM Gurmeet Singh assured that they would visit the site tomorrow and review the situation themselves to decide the future course of action. |
|||||||
|
Protesting ETT candidates held
Kharar/Ropar, December 24 At Ropar, the police arrested at least 65 agitating teachers, including 28 female teachers, who had gathered at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Bagh to protest against the government and burn its
effigy. By late evening, representatives of various other teacher unions gathered outside the Ropar police station, demanding
the release of female teachers. The representatives pointed out that it would be difficult for children of these teachers to manage without them. The police was yet to decide on the release of female teachers till the filing of the report. Some arrested teachers were kept at the Ropar police station, while others were taken to Chamkaur Sahib. At Kharar, too, the police arrested two union leaders as a preventive measure. ASI Ramji Dass said Manga from Behlolpur and Kamalpreet from Ranjit Nagar, Kharar, were arrested on Wednesday night. They were remanded in judicial custody till December 28. |
|||||||
|
Police remand for rape accused
Kalka, December 24 Before being produced in the court, the accused were taken to the local community health centre for a medical examination. Kalka police station SHO Dharamavir Singh said the accused were remanded in police custody by the court. The accused - Punit, Rajiv Sharma, Hemant, Jaswant, Baldev, Deepak and Saurabh - had kidnapped a minor daughter of a railway employee, a resident of Tipra railway colony, on December 20 and raped her for three days. Following a tip off, the local police on Tuesday raided a railway colony house and recovered the girl. However, the accused fled the scene before the police could arrive. The police yesterday arrested the accused. Some other suspects wanted in the case by the police are still at large. |
|||||||
|
Faculty development workshop
Ambala, December 24 The workshop has been sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology. The workshop was inaugurated by Pro-Vice-Chancellor Dr NP Mehta by lightning a lamp. Dr Mehta emphasised that the current economic scenario was conducive for entrepreneurial growth and the workshop had begun on the right time. He insisted that faculty members, as torch bearers, should learn all tools and techniques required for entrepreneurial skills and growth and then, pass on the same with ease and perfection to students. SP Tripathi, director, HARDICON, Haryana, stated that faculty members should cultivate a scenario keeping globalisation in mind so that students came forward for entrepreneurship and small industries. HARDICON trainer Pradeep Prakash stated that since entrepreneurship was an altogether different path, it needed different skills, assuring the students the he would showcase the skills required at the forthcoming sessions. |
|||||||
|
Football
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 24 Hari Singh scored both goals for Singh Sabha Club in the 56th and 70th minute of the match. Despite repeated attempts, the J&K Police failed to open their account. In the second match between the PSEB, Hoshiarpur, and Harbhajan Sports Club, Mahalpur, the PSEB won the match (2-0). Both goals were scored by Gurpreet Singh in the 30th and 45th minute of the match. Semifinal matches would be held tomorrow between the Punjab Police, Jalandhar, and Singh Sabha Sports Club, Kot Fatui, at 11 am; the PSEB, Hoshiarpur, and International Club, Phagwara, at 2.20 pm. An exhibition match between Football Team of England (U-17) and Youngster Club, Chandigarh, would also be held at Mata Gujri School at 1 pm. |
|||||||
|
Modi lads bag
gymnastics title
Patiala, December 24 Government Rajindra College, Bathinda, secured the second place and Akal Degree College of Physical Education, Mastuana Sahib, finished third. The winning boys team comprised Sanjeev Kumar, Parvesh Kumar, Sunil Chand, Shammi, Shamsher Singh and Sukhraj Singh. In the girls’ competition, Meenakshi emerged individual all-round champion in artistic event, while Anita won gold medal in rythmic event. College principal Dr Satish Bhardwaj and college sports committee chairman Dr Rashpaul Singh welcomed the team members and appreciated their team in-charges Prof Nishan Singh and Mandeep Kaur for the success. |
|||||||
|
Rally against use of polythene
Patiala, December 24 Deputy Commissioner Deepinder Singh, Patiala, flagged off the rally from the mini secretariat, Patiala, in order to create awareness about the clean and healthy environment. Addressing students, the DC said it was necessary to involve youth in the social welfare activities and to apprise them about various social evils. This would not only reform society but also develop their individual interest in social and cultural activities, he added. Addressing the gathering, Dr Balbir Singh said they had taken a pledge to clean Patiala and had been working since then in this direction. They had lifted four trucks of polythene from the Environment Park and Rajvaha. He appreciated the efforts of the college students and teachers towards making Patiala polythene free. College principal Ranjeet Singh Tiwana said the college had been working since long for this cause and had been successful to a great extent. He also thanked the DC for motivating the students for such activities. |
Cash-for-Judge Scam
Chandigarh, December 24 The court of Darshan Singh observing dissatisfaction over the report, wherein the CBI has expressed its inability in getting the mandatory sanction by the Union Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to arrest the accused, has asked the complainant, Amrik Singh, to appear before the court. It was further stated that the closure report would be accepted if the complainant was satisfied by it, otherwise the matter remains reopened. As per procedure, the court has to ask the complainant’s will before accepting or rejecting the closure report. Taking up the matter, Darshan Singh verbally rapped the CBI for including the names of other accused in the closure report. He verbally observed that the sanction was required only in the case of Justice Nirmal Yadav. In its absence, the CBI could have proceeded against the other accused, including Delhi-based businessman Ravinder, former Haryana additional advocate general Sanjeev Bansla and his clerk Parkash, he stated. It must be recalled that CBI in its chargesheet submitted to the court on December 19 had asserted that in the absence of sanction for prosecution by the CJI, it was not in a position to go ahead in the matter. It may be recalled the CJI has already refused the CBI the permission to prosecute Justice Nirmal Yadav, who was the alleged intended recipient of Rs 15 lakh that was mis-delivered at the residence of another judge with a similar name, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur. A case was registered at the instance of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur after she called in the police; and handed over the clerk. The report also stated that the Government of India in consultation with the CJI had said there was no action required to be taken in this case. Initially, the Chandigarh police investigated the case, but the matter was later handed over to the CBI.
|
||
|
Criminal Cases
Chandigarh, December 24 Compared to the roster in existence over a month back, the number has almost doubled from nine. Justice Mehtab Singh Gill had taken the first step by taking the number up to 14 soon after taking over as the Acting Chief Justice on November 29. Available information suggests, Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal has now added two more to it in the roster released this afternoon. In an apparent attempt to significantly reduce the number of old criminal cases, Chief Justice Mudgal has also assigned the task of hearing regular criminal revisions and appeals to two single benches. The matters before the other single benches hearing criminal matters include anticipatory bails, regular bails, and habeas corpus petitions. Besides the ‘single benches’, as many as three “division benches” will also take up criminal matters. The new roster comes into force with effect from January 6 --- the day the HC reopens after the winder break. The move apparently aims at cutting down the delay in the hearing of criminal matters, as it involves the life and liberty of a person. The judges taking up urgent, motion, admission and regular criminal matters, according to the new roster, are Justice SS Saron, Justice TPS Mann, Justice Ajai Lamba, Justice HS Bhalla, Justice AN Jindal, Justice MMS Bedi, Justice Mohinder Pal, Justice Harbans Lal, Justice Sham Sunder, Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia, Justice Daya Chaudhary, Justice Sabina, Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, Justice Ram Chand Gupta and Justice Gurdev Singh. Justice Ranjit Singh will be taking up both civil and criminal matters. With this, it is clear that all the three women judges holding the courts will be taking up the criminal matters. The roster also makes it clear ‘special’ benches will take up the cases on Fridays in the afternoon session. It also has something for the senior citizens. The roster says “cases relating to senior citizens, and the cases in which proceedings before the lower courts have been stayed will be taken up on priority basis, along with remand cases from the Supreme Court.”
|
||
|
4 get life term for couple’s murder
Panchkula, December 24 District and Sessions Judge SP Singh awarded life term to Rajesh, a resident of
Kaithal, Harvinder, Sukhwinder, and Sohan Lal, all residents of Ambala, under Section 302 and 394 of the
IPC. The court also slapped Rs 12,000 fine each on Harvinder and
Sukhwinder. Sohan and Rajesh were fined Rs 2,000 each. Sukhwinder and
Sohan, who were working in the couple’s house as carpenter, had hatched a conspiracy with other accused to murder the couple. Harpreet had allegedly committed suicide in 2007 after getting bail, public prosecutor said.
— TNS
|
||
Yet another theft at Industrial Area
Chandigarh, December 24 Lalit Gupta of Phase II, Industrial Area, lodged a complaint with the police that thieves broke into his office last night and decamped with computers and some articles, besides damaging property. The theft came to light this morning. Gupta alleged that instead of listening to him, the police told him to install security gadgets and deploy a watchman. The police official on duty reluctantly agreed to give him a receipt of his complaint and did not register any case, saying that the officer concerned was not present. Gupta stated that it was not the first time that a theft had taken place on his premises. Earlier thieves had struck thrice at his unit.
|
||
|
Missing Boy
Mohali, December 24 DS Kasturi, a resident of Phase 3A, said Keshav, 13-year-old nephew of his servant Nokhi, had gone missing on December 18, while he had gone to market. When the boy did not return, the family approached the Matour police station. After asking them to bring a picture of the boy, the official at the police station further told them to bring at least 10 persons along with them. Following this, the family approached the DSP. The family has requested the police to make efforts to trace the boy.
|
||
|
Lab technician held for graft
Chandigarh, December 24 Sources said Rajinder Gupta of Majri Chowk, Panchkula, lodged a complaint, alleging that the accused, Rakesh Kumar, a lab technician, had demanded Rs 5,000 for preparing a favourable analysis report of samples of ghee and cheese, which the department had taken on December 21. The samples were with the accused. Acting on the complaint, a vigilance team laid a trap. Rakesh Kumar fixed an appointment with Gupta to hand over the report at the Sector 10 market and told him to come with the money. The team nabbed Rakesh Kumar while accepting the money. The vigilance has registered a case under Sections 7 and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused.
|
||
|
Woman hit by mobike, dies
Chandigarh, December 24 The victim, Kali, was crossing the road near the Sector 48-C market in the morning when a motorcycle (HR 24 G 2466) hit her. She was admitted to the GMCH-32 where she died. A case has been registered.
Laptop stolen
Bharat Sukla of Sector 22 has reported that his laptop was stolen from his scooter on Wednesday morning. A case of theft has been registered.
Cheating
Rita Sharma of Sector 16 has told the police that someone had withdrawn Rs 2.90 lakh from an ATM of the SBI between May and September this year. A case of cheating has been registered.
Bike set afire
Adarsh Sharma of Sector 41 has reported to the police that someone had set afire his motorcycle on Wednesday. A case has been registered.
Arrested
The police has arrested Jai Ram for allegedly carrying 20 kg of ganja during a naka on the road separating Sectors 52 and 53 on Wednesday. In another incident, the police arrested Ganesh of Sector 52 for carrying 225 gm of ganja. Separate cases have been registered.
|
||
Basketball
Panchkula, December 24 St Xavier’s defeated Dikshant International School, Zirakpur, by 40-30 in the boys’ under-14 final. Highest scorers for St Xavier’s were Shabaz (16), Ajit (10), Jannat (10) and Vinay (2). For Dikshant school, Shubham (10), Supreet (8) and Dipesh (4) reduced the margin. Little Flower Convent School claimed the girls’ under-14 trophy when they got the better of Holy Child School by 26-20 in the final. Little Flower Convent School scored through Anubha (12) and Harman (8). Holy Child’s scorers were Maneesha (8) and Amrita (8). Little Flower Convent School also bagged the boys’ under-16 title at the expense of Holy Child by a water-thin margin of 37-36 points. Sahil (14), Karan (12) and Sameer (8) served Little Flower Convent School better. Shubham (8) and Deepan (8) were the highest scorers for the winners. Holy Child School defeated Little Flower by 30-24 in the girls’ under-16 final. Gul (12), Arunjit (10) and Arshiya (6) were the highest scorers for the winners. Tanu (10) and Anchal (8) served the losers well. Yagdeep Singh Sachdeva was the chief guest and distributed prizes to the winners.
|
|
Cricket
Mohali, December 24 The LIC Academy won the toss and elected to bat first. They were bundled out for 55 in 20.3 overs. Rohit was the batsman who reached the double figure mark. Amish Sidhu (two for five), Jasminder Singh (two for 10) and Khushpreet Singh (two for 15) wrecked the LIC innings. In reply, the MCA achieved the target in 9.3 overs by scoring 56 for the loss of one wicket. Pukhraj Singh and Anmoljit Singh remained not out on 22 and 21, respectively. Brief scores: LIC-26: 55 in 20.3 overs (Rohit 26, Amish Sidhu 2 for 5, Jasminder Singh 2 for 10, Khushpreet Singh 2 for 15). MCA: 56 for 1 in 9.3 overs (Pukhraj Singh 22 not out, Anmoljit Singh 21 not out). Tomorrow's fixture: DAVSSS-8 vs LIC-26 at LIC-26 ground.
|
|
Arrangements for ITF tennis meet reviewed
Chandigarh, December 24 Sanjay Kumar directed conveners of various committees to ensure smooth conduct of the tournament, as players, including girls from 15 countries, would be competing in the junior world ranking tournament to be organised from January 2 to January 9, 2010. Entries have been received from China, Thailand, Taipei, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Germany, Russia, Turkmenistan, Netherlands, Israel,
Slovania, Croatia and hosts India. CLTA chairman Rajan Kashyap informed Sanjay Kumar that the hosts would provide hospitality to the participants till they remained in the main draw. The total expenses involved in conducting the tournament would be around Rs 5 lakh. Rajan Kashyap disclosed that the CLTA would host India Futures in March and by that time, the construction work at the Sports Complex would be completed. For the ITF juniors, centre courts would not be used. Matches would be played on six outer synthetic courts. Medical official, Dr Deepak Bakshi, assured to deploy a medical team, including a physiotherapist, at the venue. CLTA chief operating official Gajendra Singh said out of 21 direct entries in the boys’ singles, 11 were Indians. Sumit Shinde with 128 ITF ranking is the top favourite. Bowen Ouyang, China, with 181 ranking is the leading foreign entry. CLTA trainees, Gary Singh Amor, Digvijay Singh Naruka and Nischay Rawal, will figure in the qualifying draw. Napatsakorn Ankaew (Thailand) is the top player in the fray in the girls’ singles. The second highest ranked player is Kyra Shroff (India) with 125 ranking. Out of 22 direct entries, 12 are Indian girls. Main draw boys: Direct entry: Sumeet Shinde (India) 128, Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash (India) 175, Sai Kartik Naireddi (India) 178, Bowen Ouyang (China) 181, Ronit Singh Bisht (India) 210, Xin Gao (China) 211, Chieh-Fu Wang (TPE) 226, Ting Yu Chuang (TPE) 242, Shahbaaz Khan (India) 308, Rakshay Thakkar (India) 351, Vinod Gowda (India) 388, Daniyar Duldaev (Kazakistan) 410, Aziz Yuldashev (Uzebkistan) 461, Kong Pop Lertchai (Thailand) 467, 15 Pulat Babadjanov (Uzbekistan) 549, Rishabdev Raman (India) 587, Arjun Kadhe (India) 591, Siu-Fai Kelvin Lam (Hong Kong) 733, Rajat Maheshwari (India) 773, Sai Teja Paladugu (India) 781, Dmitriy Rorodkin (Kazakhstan) 830 and Akhmed Djamal Mukhamed (Uzbekistan) 903. Qualifying: Saurabh Patil (India) 913, Kunal Anand (India) 933, Suraj Konwar (India) 1167, Vilasier Khate (India) 1727; Rohan Bhatia (India) 1727, Karan Suresh (India) 1727, Navneet Kumar (India) 1946, Maninder Singh (India) 2081, Garry Singh Amor (India), Gaurav Kamble (India), Yaroslav Ivanov (Russia), Digvijay Singh Naruka (India) and Nischay
Rawal (India). Girls: Direct entry: Napatsakorn Ankaew (Thailand) 119, Kyra Shroff (India) 125, Rashmi Eltumbde (India) 138, Zi Yang (China) 140, Sharmada Balu (India) 166, Anastasiya (Turmenistan) 176, Rishika Sunkara (India) 199, Ankita Rana (India) 201, Aishwarya Agarwal (India) 202, Nova Patel (India) 275, Yuliana Vorobeva (Russia) 304, Natasha Palha (India) 330, Prarthana Thombare (India) 347, Sharon Sanchana Paul (India) 389, Ratnika Batra (India) 398, Rosalie Van Der Hoek (Ned) 429, Ekaterina Tour (Israel) 432, Laura Deigman (GBR) 443, Tarrannum Handa (India) 450, Adnya Naik (India) 495, Tjasa Srimpf (Slovakia) 510 and Aarzoo Malik (India) 556. |
|
|||||
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
