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Nari Niketan Rape Case Deposes in camera before city court Tribune News Service
The girl was later shifted on March 13, 2009 from Nari Niketan, Sector 26 to Ashreya, a home for mentally challenged children in Sector 47, where she delivered a baby girl on December 3 later that year. Pointing a finger at the suspects, the victim told the additional district & sessions judge Gian Chand Garg that Bhupinder Singh, Bajinder, Kamla, Maya and Jamuna were all involved in abusing her during her stay at Nari Niketan. All the five suspects are staff members of the institution. The victim revealed Kamla, a sweeper employed at Nari Niketan, used to take her to the bathroom where Deepinder used to molest her. She also stated he used to take her to “the school”(unidentified) as well for engaging in “unpleasant acts”. The girl mentioned that Jamuna and Bijender also had sexual intercourse with her several times while Maya used to stand on guard at the building’s gate. She stated while she was staying at Ashreya, three people - Chottu, Jadu alias Bhagwan and Devinder - also violated her physically. The girl began vomiting in May and was found to be pregnant. She later informed Pragati Pandey, who works as a medical and social worker at Aashreya, about the incident. It was after Pragati filed a complaint that a case was registered with the police. The victim has told the police she came from Nari Niketan to Aashreya on March 13 and complained of uneasiness. The victim was medically examined on May 16 and was tested positive for pregnancy. The examination confirmed she was eight to ten weeks’ pregnant and the matter was reported to the police. The case will now come up for the next hearing on May 17.
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Six held for attack on PUSU president
Chandigarh, April 28
One of the arrested students, Gurvinder Singh alias Sonu, a resident of Nayagaon, was himself a victim of the firing incident in Sector 11 in March. He had alleged that the assailants were supporters of the students’ organisation. Her later joined the same faction that had fired shots at the residence of Udey Singh on April 8. The police has also recovered a .32-bore revolver and a .12-bore double barrel gun from his possession. DSP (Crime) Satbir Singh told The Tribune that acting on a tip-off, the accused were arrested from near the Sector 39 water works. Those arrested have been
identified as Ravneet Sidhu, a resident of Phase VII, Mohali, Rash Pal Singh, a resident of Malout, Gurvinder Singh alias Sonu of Nayagaon and Amit Kohli, a resident of Sector 15-A. They all were wanted in the firing incident at Udey Singh’s residence. The DSP said they were flagged down while travelling in a Ford Fiesta car (CH-03-Y-4344) driven by Amit Kohli. The police has impounded the car. Satbir Singh said Sonu was not a student and had nothing do with student politics. After the incident of firing on his car in March, he joined the Amandeep Singh Multani’s faction (SOPU). He had earlier accused SOPU supporters of firing shots at his car. Rashpal Singh is a Panjab University student of an evening studies department, Amil Kohli is taking tuitions from a private tuition centre and is not a regular student, said a police official. The police had earlier arrested Amandeep Singh Multani under the Arms Act. The police had also arrested him in this case and is making efforts to trace and arrest the other accused involved in
the case. In a separate incident, the crime branch also arrested Lorance Bishnoi of Ferozepur district on the charges of setting ablaze a Mitsubishi Pajero and a Maruti Esteem car at Udey’s residence two days after the firing incident on April 12. He was arrested from near Punjab Engineering College in Sector 12 following a tip-off. His parents live in Hisar and he is a SOPU activist, said the DSP. The accused will be produced before a local court tomorrow.
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Sewer renewal project cost raises eyebrows
Chandigarh, April 28 The opinion of Pallav Mukherjee, a technical expert with the municipal corporation who is also president of the Architects Association of Chandigarh, against spending such an exorbitant amount has been backed by a nominated councillor, MPS Chawla. Mincing no words, Mukherjee said: “Huge cost estimates for projects need to be cleared by experts in the concerned field before they come up before the civic body. Councillors have poor knowledge about details of projects of this magnitude and the financial implications. Of the total 67 kilometres of sewers laid in the city only 56 km of them require to be replaced in the first and second phases. At this cost, which is under consideration, each kilometer would cost over Rs 2 crore in case the entire strip was to be replaced. The figures are alarmingly high because a sizeable portion of the city’s sewerage system only needs an upgradation”. “Pipes here wear out very fast whereas in other countries sewerage lines have lasted hundreds of years, for example in London”, he added. The project report on ‘Replacement & augmentation of trunk brick sewers by RCC NP3 pipes’ has been prepared for sanction under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNRM). After being cleared by the MC house the project proposal will be sent to the UT administration, which will forward it to the central government. The civic body expects the latter to provide 80 per cent of the funding. MC Chief engineer SS Bidda said, “We are getting cement structures with an inner coating of plastic to replace the current sewer pipelines. Normal plastic pipes are not available in sizes of 56 or 48 inches that we require for the project. Most of the pipelines in the city have outlived their age of 30 years. We don’t want to
compromise on quality by focusing on quantity”. At the same time, a casual perusal of subject-specific sites on the Internet show the pipes of the required diameter and even those with larger ones are easily available. “A majority of councillors don’t understand the project’s technical aspects along with the financial implications. The matter needs to be looked into in detail,” Chawla said. Admitting the project was not part of the MC budget cleared earlier this year, Bidda said the cost estimate had been worked out following a detailed report by Punjab Engineering College on different sewerage lines needing replacement or upgradation. “The RCC pipes we plan to introduce this time are sulphate resistant and will have a life span of at least 70 years,” he added.
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Son booked under law to protect parents
Chandigarh, April 28 The complainant, 86-year-old Madan Mohan Goswami of Sector 27, who retired as a joint director of Haryana Public Relations, was the Editor of Haryana government’s Hindi magazine “Jagriti”. Goswami accused his younger son, Kamal Goswami, a foreman in the Haryana Printing Press, Sector 6, Panchkula, of displacing him from his house by assaulting him several times and subjecting him and his wife, who died on January 17 2010, to cruelty. Goswami, who had authored several publications over the decades and was also the Chief Editor of Haryana Hindi Granth Academy, University Text Book Board, also accused the police of ignoring his complaints since May 2009 and sought intervention of court. Ultimately, the police has registered a case under Sections 24 and 25 of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 yesterday. The SHO of the Sector 26 police station said they were yet to arrest the accused. He, however, said since it was the first case in the city, they were studying the provision of the Act and would take action only after comprehending it. In his complaint to the court, Goswami had asserted that he was in possession of the one-third share in his ancestral house in Sector 27-A. His father, Parmanand, in his will, had got the house divided in three parts among his three sons, including him (Madan Mohan Goswami). He had recently approached the estate office for getting his share transferred in his name, but was advised by the estate office to approach the court for the same. His wife, Krishna Goswami, died in January. While Madan Mohan was taking acre of his wife, his son, Kamal, allegedly locked a portion of house belonging to his father and later did not allow him in. He alleged that his son, who has links with several senior officers in Haryana, had assaulted him and even broken his ribs once. The matter was reported to the police several times, which he alleged was always hushed up. Terming the allegations baseless, Sadhna Goswami, wife of Kamal, told The Tribune that they had never locked the house or thrown the elderly man out of the house.
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Family awaits body of doc killed in US
Mohali, April 28 Grief stricken relatives are now waiting for the doctor’s body to be brought back here. Relatives and neighbours had gathered at the house of SS Toor, the deceased’s father, soon after information about his son’s death reached Mohali. Toor senior, who worked as a senior government official in Haryana, has left for the US to bring back his son’s body to India to perform his last rites. News of Vijender’s death came as a big shock for his mother who was inconsolable. A relative of the deceased said Dr Toor was working at the Yale School of Medicine. His former colleague, Lishan Wang, a Chinese national, shot him multiple times on Monday when he was in the parking area outside his home in Branford, Connecticut and leaving for work. His wife was also with him when he was gunned down. She was also attacked but had saved herself by ducking behind a car. The relative said Toor and Wang had worked together earlier. Wang was dismissed from his job in a hospital after a confrontation with Toor where the latter worked as his supervisor. Vijender had gone to the US about five years ago and was living there with his wife, Parneeta Toor, and their three-year-old child.
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Recovery official in CBI net for graft
Chandigarh, April 28 Sources said Amar Nath Goel of Panchkula had lodged a complaint with the anti-corruption branch of the CBI here alleging that SS Kalra,
recovery officer in the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Sector 8, had been harassing him. He had alleged that the accused had been demanding Rs 20,000 from him for issuing him a sale certificate for a piece of land he had purchased in Una for Rs 4.5 lakh. Goel asserted in his complaint that he had participated in an auction conducted by the Debt Recovery Tribunal and was a successful bidder in it. He had deposited 25 per cent of the bid amount on the spot and balance within 15 days as per the terms and conditions. Goel told the CBI that Kalra had met him at the tribunal office and sought Rs 20,000 for issuance of a sale certificate of the property. Kalra kept delaying the matter while insisting to pay the bribe amount. Later, he reduced the amount to Rs 10,000. The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed while demanding and accepting Rs 10,000. Till late in the evening, the CBI was conducting searches at Kalra’s office and his residence to gather more information.
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Kings XI official visits I-T office
Chandigarh, April 28 Sources in the income tax office confirmed that the CEO Kings XI visited the office. However, he was not questioned today, the sources added. On April 23, sleuths of the income tax department had seized documents pertaining to investments made by the franchisee from its office in Mohali.
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Zero Deficit Sumedha Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 28 In a decision taken at the meeting held yesterday, the task force members have asked the university to clarify the status of declaration of tapering off the deficit and proposed measures. “The university had a few years ago promised to achieve a zero deficit. Now that they have asked us for money for pension. We want to know on what factors was this declaration made and what steps were eventually taken,” revealed a task force member. Interestingly, this demand has got the university officials on their toes for finding a document supporting any such declaration. “Yes the task force officials have made this query about the declaration and frankly speaking we have no clue about it. We have tried to trace documents but haven’t succeeded so far. There are possibilities that this declaration might just have been an innocent expression of the university’s vision,” claimed a university official. “Our higher officials are in a habit of making such statements which are neither implemented nor registered. Such statements are often made in the Senate or Syndicate, but find no place in the minutes of meetings. I think we should start videographing all these meetings to keep a record to save us from such situations,” added a Senator who wished not to be quoted. The task force has also asked the varsity to calculate and submit the financial details of pension if the retirement age is extended to 65 years. “This has been done to ensure that if such declaration is made then the finances can be easily managed. The university has already submitted a proposal keeping the retirement age at 60. So we have asked them to prepare a similar one for an age of 65 years,” added the member of task force. Bring in transparency and accountability in governance The task force has decided to recommend formulation of a policy to hold the governance of the university accountable in some form. According to the report, the university lacks transparency in its administrative, academic and human resource matters and a panel should be set to streamline all this.
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Challenges before stakeholders discussed
Mohali, April 28 The workshop is part of the series of events that have been formulated to discuss and raise awareness about the challenges and issues among stakeholders, before the policy comes into effect. Rajan T Joseph, director-general, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, said the workshop would determine the success of IDN initiative for Indian languages. “Although there is no doubt that it signals a positive time for the acceptance of Indian languages on the World Wide Web, there will be a number of issues that will require deliberation for its smooth implementation, security and confidentiality being some of the key elements within that framework. Both stakeholders and the industry have to come forward to iron out the underlying issues and set the standards towards raising the confidence level of the user community, and thereby, its wide acceptance.” MD Kulkarni, programme coordinator, GIST, C-DAC, Pune, said, “The workshop heralds a new era for domain names in Indian languages. GIST group has been the pioneer of Indian language computing in the country and to be associated with the IDN initiative has broadened its perspective on the web front. It was indeed a proud moment to be involved in this entire project and to bring the policy document to the stakeholders for their feedback. The key aspect here is to reach a consensus on the mode of implementation so that the user community can benefit at the earliest. I certainly hope to see a spurt in domain name registrations, once the policy is implemented.” N Ravi Shanker, joint secretary, DIT, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India, was the guest of honour and delivered a lecture on the Government of India’s initiatives for internet proliferation.
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MC damages trees to widen parking
Chandigarh, April 28 Surprisingly, this has gone unnoticed by both the MC officials and the 35 city councillors. MC chief engineer SS Bidda, however, denied that any tree has been damaged. He claimed that work on the widening of the parking area near Hotel Shivalikview was stopped after it was noticed that 18 trees located beyond this point could be in danger. He, however, had no answer when asked that he did not perceive a threat to the 45 trees. A visit to the spot revealed while digging up the land, labourers had damaged the roots of many trees leaving them without any support. So precarious is their condition that many of these tress could easily fall or get uprooted in the event of a storm or even heavy rain. On November 13, 2009, the MC Commissioner had approved Rs 34.47 lakh for widening of the parking area. The work, which had started last week, invited criticism after it was halted. CITCO had objected to the move stating that parking beyond the edge of hotel building should not be developed as it would damage the trees. When contacted, Dr Harjit Singh, executive engineer with the UT’s horticulture department, said he had noticed the damage caused to the trees following which he had informed his
seniors. It was up to them to take any action, he said. The roots of the trees have been dug-up to such an extent that the survival of even the green cover in the area would be a miracle, he observed.
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Clerks, lawyers reach truce
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 28 The clerks had gone on strike to protest against the alleged thrashing of their colleague by a lawyer. Their association had passed a resolution threatening to forfeit the identity card of any clerk found working with a lawyer. An additional fine of Rs 2,000 was also to be imposed on the erring clerk. The clerks had demanded an apology from the lawyer who had assaulted the clerk and registration of a case. Agitated Bar clerks raised slogans in the morning. Tempers frayed as they gathered in the parking lot as a sign of protest. Initially, the office-bearers made an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the matter. Bar association president Gurinder Singh Attariwala even went up to the extent of tendering an apology for the incident on behalf of the alleged assaulter, Surinder Lamba. However, adamant on apology, the clerks’ association rejected it. The District Court Bar Association, expressing their solidarity, also gave a strike call and reached the High Court. Around lunch, it was decided to hold talks between a 10-member delegation of lawyer and clerk associations. After the meeting, the matter was resolved. Clerks’ association secretary Rajesh Chouhan said the matter was resolved after an apology was tendered by Lamba. High Court Bar Association Gurinder Singh Attariwala said the issue was amicably resolved, as the alleged victim was also at fault. The delegation of both associations agreed to dump the matter, he said.
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Wait another month
Smriti Sharma Vasudeva Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 28 Though the design plan of the underpasses - jointly prepared by the chief engineers of the municipal corporation, the UT administration and the Chandigarh Housing Board - that are to be constructed at roundabouts opposite Canara Bank in Sector 34, government printing press in Sector 18 and Transport Chowk has been formally accepted, the contract is yet to be awarded to the three shortlisted bidders. In fact, the companies are yet to be even given the designs and financial estimates. The latest hitch coming in the way of the construction of the underpasses is a 66 kV underground electrical line that runs from Transport Chowk to Press Chowk. The CHB is yet to sort out this matter with the UT’s electricity department. Earlier, the delay had been due to underground sewer connections and both optical and BSNL cables that were coming in the way. However, the municipal corporation has already given its estimate for removing the sewerage and cables, while the BSNL is yet to submit its estimate. Officials maintain that they are already in talks with BSNL officials and are expecting to receive the estimates within a week. CHB Chairman Mohanjit Singh said: “Everything has been sorted out. We are in the process of finalising the bids with in few days.”
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New traffic plan for Patiala from May 1
Patiala, April 28 Under the new plan, several busy city roads will be made one way. Giving details, the DC stated that from Tawkali turn to Dharmpura Market, Anardana Chowk and Adalat Bazar, the traffic movement would be one-way from May 1. He further said that Leela Bhawan to Railway Crossing Number 22 had been made one-way and vehicles would be allowed to ply on this route, whereas, the traffic coming from the other side would have to take the route from Gurudwara Sri Khel Sahib to Leela Bhawan. “Likewise, several other city roads have been declared one-way and sign boards depicting the one-way roads will be put up. Besides, strict instructions have been issued to deal with those, who park their vehicles on the roads, thereby, causing traffic chaos”, the DC stated. He also informed that under the new traffic plan, no shopkeeper would be allowed to keep its goods outside the shop. He added, “In case any shopkeeper is found indulging in making make-shift encroachments outside their shops for display of goods being sold by them, would be taken to task.” Deepinder also announced that no vendor selling eatables or any other goods would be allowed to create traffic congestion by putting up their stalls outside the shops in the busy markets and other areas. He stated that violators would be challaned.
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Zirakpur sans fire station
Zirakpur, April 28 In the wake of the fact that Zirakpur has seen an overwhelming mushrooming of real estate business, multi-storied residential complexes, multiplexes, malls and marriage palaces and good increase in the population in the past few years, an independent and well-equipped fire station becomes a basic need, but surprisingly the authorities are least concerned about the safety of common man. Sources in the MC revealed that in 2008, the Municipal Council had approved a resolution to set up a fire station in the town at a house meeting and sent the proposal for approval to the Local Bodies Department. But, this project is only on paper and nothing has been done hitherto. Sources said the council had decided to spend Rs 40 lakh for the fire station. The council had planned to buy one fire tender, two small fire engines and other fire safety equipments. In case of blazing inferno, the fire tenders from Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula and Dera Bassi are summoned. In case of any emergency under such circumstances, firemen will certainly fail to reach the spot within the specified response time. However, since a long time Zirakpur residents have been demanding a fire station for the town. Nidhi Rana, a resident of Zirakpur says, “With the increase in residential colonies and multiplexes in the subdivision, the fire-fighting facilities are a necessity for the town”. MC official claimed that the resolution for setting up a fire station in Zirakpur had been moved for the government approval two years back but did not get any reply. He said the fire station would be set up in the town shortly.
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16 inspectors transferred
Chandigarh, April 28 Similarly, inspector Bakhshish Singh has been shifted from the security wing and appointed as the SHO of the Sector 31 police station. Inspector Yashpal Vinayak, the SHO of the Industrial Area police station, has been sent to the Police Lines. Inspector Malkiat Singh has been transferred from police security to the operations cell, while inspector Kehar Singh has been transferred from the operations cell to the
economic offences wing (EOW). Inspector Devinder Sharma has been shifted from the operations cell to the traffic wing. Inspector Baljit Singh has been transferred from the EOW to the traffic police. Inspector Sudarshan Thakur has been transferred from traffic to the PCR, while inspector Naresh Pal has been transferred from traffic to police security. Inspector Rajesh Shukla has been transferred from the Police Lines to the RI Lines, while inspector Bakshish Singh has been transferred from security and made the SHO of the Sector 31 police station. Bhupinder Singh, who was earlier the SHO of Sector 31 police station, has been transferred
to security. Inspector Jaswinder Kaur has been transferred from traffic to women cell, while inspector Geeta Devi has been transferred from the women cell to traffic. Besides, inspector Amanjot of the special crime investigation cell as well as inspector Kuldeep Singh of the special crime investigation cell have been transferred as in-charge of the cyber crime cell and operations cell, respectively.
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PGI docs submit memo
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 28 In a memorandum of grievances submitted to the director, PGI, the ARD hopes that the director understands their problems and takes immediate action. The director, cardiologist himself, must examine if 18 hours of work in a day are medically advisable (forget stress levels, etc). One day off in a week and a day off after continuous 24-hours are perhaps issues not just of duty hours, but also of basic human rights, stated the memorandum. Listing their grievances, the resident doctors said they were forced to remain in unhygienic conditions and forced to consume unhygienic food at the canteens and hostels of the institute. The age-old canteen, with just 10 chairs for nearly 800 doctors, not only lacks basic infrastructure, but also healthy food. The doctors in the institute were being denied the facilities even when the nursing staff was availing them, they said. The resident doctors can’t get even a minute’s peaceful rest in these duty rooms even if he/she has been working for 18 hours, as duty rooms have no air coolers or air conditioners and to add toilets provided to them are in a bad state, they alleged in the memorandum. The situation was no different in hostels where rooms with leaking roofs, inadequate number of toilets and bathrooms, toilets with no cleanliness welcome them when they return to take rest after long working hours. Interestingly, HRA for these rooms is Rs 5,000. However, PGI director Dr KK Talwar, said the memorandum was for dean, PGI, and he should be contacted for any comments. The dean Dr V Sahkhuja, however, said he was yet to receive any such memorandum.
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Are you obese and diabetic? Go for cosmetic surgery
Panchkula, April 28 Giving technical details of the procedure, Bakshi said with the evolution of tumescent infiltration, liposuction was done with wet techniques involving infiltration of liposuction fluid into the desired areas with resultant negligible or no blood loss. Earlier, there used to be dry techniques for liposuction, which required blood transfusions about 10 to 12 years back, he added. Bakshi said as the treatment here was very cheap and people from across the globe preferred to come to the city to tone up their bodies. He said recently a 29-year-old woman from Melbourne suffering from morbid obesity had undergone liposuction surgery. He said about 7 liter of fat was evacuated from special pockets in her body. About 60 per cent of the patients were young women aged between 20 and 35 years, he added.
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Three missing boys found
Mohali, April 28 He said that the boys had gone out to pluck mangoes. But later they saw a party being held in that area where they gatecrashed and had ice cream and other eatables. They lost their way and could not return home. A police party, which was assigned the work of tracing the missing boys saw them in Sector 38 this morning. All three were aged between seven and nine years and were students. While Dharamvir (9) is a student of class V at Government School, Khuda Alisher, Pappu (8) studies in government school in Nayagaon. Shambu (7) is a class II student at government school. They all live in the same locality in Choti Karoran and belong to poor families. After the three had gone missing, their families waited for a day and later made a complaint to the police. Search was carried out by the police at various places to trace them.
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‘Letter to God’ staged at Kala Bhawan
Chandigarh, April 28 As heavy floods damage his crop, an orthodox farmer addresses a letter to God seeking financial help of Rs 10,000. Moved at the innocence and penury of the farmer, the post office staff having mobilised all sources manage to collect Rs 8,000 and deliver to the farmer, while thanking God he alleges that post office employees had cheated him retaining Rs 2,000 from the original amount of Rs 10,000. The inadequately rehearsed play with many amateur actors failed to impress though Asha Saklani, Raju Vaid and Anshul Jain displayed stray brilliance.
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2 class X girls missing
Chandigarh, April 28 “When parents came searching for them, we checked and found that the girls were here till last period. We had a medical camp in the school in the last period and they had marked the attendance. It was only after the school hours that they went missing,” claimed a school
faculty. After waiting for a few hours, the harried parents reported the matter to the Sector-19 Police Station. A missing report has been registered and the SHO claimed that the search
was on.
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Committee discusses means to regulate traffic
Chandigarh, April 28 Holding regular awareness camps in schools and colleges, effective checking of auto-rickshaws, proper provision of slip roads with plastic separators, pruning of trees, adjustment of trafficlight timers anti-clockwise, proper use of cycle tracks and provision of rumble strips on the entry of V-5 roads were cited as some of the urgent steps needed to be taken to regulate traffic in the city. UT Inspector-General of Police PK Srivastva, who is also the chairman of the CTAC, assured members of speedy action on the suggestions.
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Sec 17 traders up in arms against sealing
Chandigarh, April 28 The protesting traders said no prior information was given to them and the sealing, which had adversely affected their business. They claimed that the ownership of the building in question was yet to be established and all these months they, as tenants, had been kept in the dark about ongoing legal processes. They demanded withdrawal of the arbitrary power to the estate office to seal any portion of a building on the pretext of misuse whereas cases were pending in the courts.
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Chandigarh, April 28
Condemning the nine point-grading system introduced by CBSE in Class X, HS Srivastava claimed it to be a thoughtless move which would land lakhs of students into trouble at the time of admissions.