NEIGHBOURHOOD

1,000 I-T returns filed on Day I
Our Correspondent

Ambala, July 28
Uma Jain (20), a resident of Ambala City, has threatened to commit suicide along with her son if she was not given justice within two days.

Uma has accused the uncle of her husband of usurping their house by misleading her husband.

She said they currently had nowhere to go. Her husband is a rickshaw-puller.

She claimed that she had gone to the SP’s office but was prevented from meeting the official.

She had sent a telegram to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Haryana DGP on May 4 in this regard but no action had been taken so far.

She claimed that they they had nothing to eat as her household goods had been destroyed in the recent floods. They were left with no option but to commit suicide, she added.

She requested the Ambala SP to resolve her problem and take action against the uncle of her husband who had duped them.

SP Shashank Anand said he had received a complaint of the victim on Tuesday and deputed a police officer to look into the matter.

Kalka, July 28
The local administration is all set to demolish houses near Kali Mata temple here on Friday.

Informing this Yogesh Kumar, SDM Kalka, said administration was all prepared regarding the demolition drive. He said occupants of the houses that fall within the limits of the temple had been informed regarding the demolition drive.

According to sources, more than 15 families that had been living in the houses for the past several decades would be affected.

A visit by the Tribune team to the spot revealed that most of the families had started shifting to other places.

Chander Prakash, government employee with Himachal Tourism, resented that the administration has given ultimatum of only one day on Tuesday to vacate their houses. Prem Giri (70) and his wife Satya (65) said that they had constructed their house 45 years ago. It was difficult to shift else where in old age. They said the administration should had given them at least 15 days notice to vacate.

A delegation of the Gurdwara Committee Kalka, adjacent to the temple headed by Harbans Singh, president of the gurdwara committee also met Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, and SDM Kalka regarding the demolition drive and submitted a memorandum.

Harbans told the Tribune that in the memorandum it was urged that a room should be provided to the “Granthi” (priest) of the gurdwara, who had also been living in one of the houses to be demolished.

Harbans further said he had informed the occupants of the houses in advance to avoid any inconvenience.

Notably, the state government had taken over the possession of the Kali Mata temple and Santoshi Mata temple on last Friday and Saturday, respectively, and had warned the occupants of the houses to vacate their houses within a few days.

Patiala, June 28
Big FM, Patiala, launched a plantation drive in the city.

The aim was to plant as many as saplings in various parts of the city. BIG FM has launched the drive in association with department of forest, Punjab Government, and Mission 3G Gauri. — TNS

Chandigarh, July 28
Even as the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the identification of places in the two states and Chandigarh for providing “temporary shelter” to the runaway couples, Punjab unveiled its security policy suggesting the charging of fee for providing them with protection.

In the “10 commandments” suggested by Punjab, Secretary (Home) Samir Kumar said the state would provide protection “to the newly wed couples where they fear that their life and property is in danger. Security in such cases may be provided at reasonable costs”.

The police has been told not to register false rape and kidnapping cases under Sections 363, 366 and 376 of the IPC against the couples, and “arrest should be normally deferred till absolutely necessary in such cases. Criminal force should be avoided”. But the police should “strictly deal with cases involving minors”.

The policy guidelines also suggest dealing “sternly with parents and relatives who threaten such couples”. The other suggestions include the setting up of “counseling cells in the offices of commissioners and SPs to guide the parents and the relatives of the couples to live in peace”.

The instructions circulated among the police and other authorities also suggest the setting up of special cells in the cities and encouraging the gram panchayats to prevail upon the resisting parents and relatives to reconcile and not to take it as an assault on family or personal honour.

Taking on record the guidelines, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ajay Tewari asked amicus curiae Tanu Bedi, advocate-cum-human rights activist Navkiran Singh and UT senior standing counsel Sanjay Kaushal to identify places in Chandigarh where temporary shelter could be provided to the newly-wed runaway couples.

“Suggestions may also be made in respect of state of Punjab and Haryana where temporary shelter could be provided to the young runaway couples pending final decision on the proposals made by the state” to deal with the problem, the Bench observed in the open court.

Taking suo motu cognizance, Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia had earlier made it clear that the high court wanted the state to evolve a "compassionate" mechanism to redress the grievances of the couples and the parents.

Chandigarh, July 28
CBI Special Judge Darshan Singh today adjourned the infamous Jammu and Kashmir sex scandal case as prosecution witnesses didn’t depose before the court as there was a curfew in Kashmir.

The witnesses, AM Mir, Mustaq Ahmad Mir, Mohammad Usuf and Mohammad Ramzan were supposed to get their statements recorded today. These witnesses used to reside in the same area where the kingpin of the scandal Sabina used to live.The case was now adjourned to September 20 and September 21.

The scandal involving young girls came to light when the victims named some high-profile politicians, security officials, bureaucrats and businessmen as exploiters. The case surfaced in March 2006.

The CBI court is presently taking up the prosecution evidence. There are about nine chargesheets in the case and14 persons have been booked under different sections of the IPC.

Chandigarh, July 28
District Sessions Judge SK Goel today recorded the statement of two defense witnesses in the Chartered Accountant (CA) murder case, here. The case was adjourned to August 23.

Victim Rajesh Goel was found murdered in his Sector 42 office on May 22, 2007. The police had arrested prime accused Kanav Arora who had allegedly hired a contract killer along with three others on May 23, 2007. The accused were booked for trespass and murder on the statement of Kamlesh, Goel’s peon.

The peon was in the office on the day the crime took place and had reportedly gone to get photocopies of some documents.

When he returned, a person standing outside the cabin detained him.

The car of Ishwinder Singh was allegedly used by the murderers.

Chandigarh, July 28
Within hours of arrest, Mercy Sebastian, who was booked for abetting Maya’s suicide, was produced before a local court and sent to judicial custody.

Maya was found hanging in a church in Sector 24 on July 24. Maya was in love with Mercy’s 20-year-old son Anup Sebastian, who was also living in the church. Mercy was against their relationship and warned Maya of dire consequences if she continued the relationship with her son.

The police had arrested Mercy in the afternoon yesterday and she was produced at the residence of the judge later in the evening and sent to judicial custody.

Under the provisions of the CrPC, the police is supposed to produce an accused in custody before a magistrate within 24 hours.

The investigating officer was not available for comment. When the DSP (Central) Jagbir Singh was contacted for the details of the investigation he said, “The investigation of the case is over. Thus, she is no longer required in the investigation so she was sent to judicial custody. The statements of victim’s relatives have been recorded and a challan in the case will be filed soon.”

Mercy Sebastian had allegedly threatened Maya, who was in love with her son.

Maya was working in Navjeevan Don Bosco Chruch and was living there. She was an orphan and a native of Tamil Nadu. Her sister Monica lodged a complaint with the police alleging foul play behind the death.

A day before the incident, Monica said Mercy had sent her up stairs and kept Maya with her. She threatened Maya during the night and next day she was told that Maya had committed suicide. Mercy is a relative of father Sebastian Gose, who first noticed the body hanging.

Chandigarh, July 28
The police has arrested three members of a family on charges of dowry death in connection with the death of Rinku, who died at the PGI yesterday. She had allegedly consumed a poisonous substance.

The police has registered a case against Rinku’s husband Pankaj, his sister, Babita, and mother Sunaina on a complaint lodged by the victim’s brother, Vinod Kumar.

The accused have been arrested in the case.

Chandigarh, July 28
Government Model High School, Sector 36 (GMSH-36), won the Pre-Subroto U-14 Championship after trailing St John’s High School by 6-0 in a curtailed final match at Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 22, here today.

The final match had to be stopped when St John’s team decided to leave the match midway after conceding six goals after around 30 minutes of the game.

For GMHS-36 team, Danial scored two goals, while Harpal, Jatinder, Nishu and Gursimrat netted one goal each.

Elated coach of the winning team, Harjinder Singh, said he was satisfied with the performance of the team. “My boys are ready for the Subroto Cup, which is scheduled to be held at New Delhi,” said Harjinder Singh, who is also the former Indian captain.

When asked about the early exit of St John’s team from the title clash, Harjinder Singh said, “I wish the match could have lasted to its stipulated time.”

On the other hand, in the under-17 category of the tournament, St Kabir School, Sector 26, moved into the semifinals after trouncing Shishu Niketan School, Sector 43, by 4-0.

Sachit of the winning team played a vital role in the win with his two goals. He was followed by Nalir and Jasmit, who extended the lead to 4-0 by scoring one goal each.

The semifinals, followed by the title clash, will start tomorrow at the same venue.

Chandigarh, July 28
The Pre-Subroto Cup Football (U-14) Tournament, which culminated today at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 22, was not more than a formality.

In the tournament, the winner of which gets a chance to represent the city in the Subroto Cup to be held in Delhi, many matches witnessed exit of weak teams midway conceding defeats while playing against strong rivals.

Shockingly, the final match between St John’s High School, Sector 26, and Government Model High School, Sector 36 (GMHS-36), was not an exception. The final match could last only around 30 minutes as St John’s team left the grounds after conceding six goals at the hands of GMHS-36.

“Is it the final of a recognised tournament or some gully game,” commented a student of the school, who was there to watch the match.

“How can they leave the grounds without completing the match. This shows the level of sportsmanship as well as the standard of the teams participating in the tournament,” he added.

The tournament was conducted by the UT education department and as many as 14 teams from different schools of the city took part.

On the issue, state sports organiser PS Brar said the organisers were aware of such practice of some teams during the tournament. “We will form a committee to look into the aspect. The committee will seek report from the organising secretary and the necessary action would be taken against the erring teams,” said Brar.

Chandigarh, July 28
Aadil Bedi is barely nine, but he has already carved a niche for himself in the junior golf. The class IV student of Vivek High School is just back after rubbing shoulders with top junior golfers of the world at the Asia Pacific and the Callaway World Cup.

Ranked second in the Indian Golf Union (IGU) merit list for juniors, Aadil occupied the fourth slot in the Asia Pacific Junior Golf Championship.

He followed this up with another good performance in the Callaway Junior World Cup held at San Diego in California (USA). Playing against 120 top golfers of the world, Aadil kept his cool on the fast green speed of 10 to record single digit scores of 6, 7 and 7 over par scores on three days. His performance earned him the certificate of achievement from Phil

Michelson, brand ambassador for the Callaway World Cup.

In May this year, Aadil found his touch in the short game and found himself on the top of the leader board at Coimbatore. But an 11 over par score in windy conditions on the last day saw him finish second.

He also displayed his magic of the short game at the Delhi Open Junior Golf Championship in June when he again finished second.

At present, Aadil is placed second in the National IGU merit list of the current year with half the matches still to be played.