The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

COURTS

3 get 5-yr term for robbery
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 23
A local court today sentenced Roshan Ali and Man Singh of Colony Number 5 and Sanjeev of Burail to five-year imprisonment in a robbery case.

Sources said they were caught along with three juveniles from the jungle in Sector 50 while planning to commit a dacoity on May 26.

The police had recovered two stolen motorcycles and three daggers from their possession. The police said the accused would steal motorcycles and use those for snatchings and robberies.

They admitted to have stolen around 20 motorcycles from the city and confessed their involvement in around 50 incidents of robbery and snatching.

The juveniles were sent to a juvenile home. The other three were remanded in police custody and underwent trial.

Lawyer moves HC over licence fee, power arrears
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 23
In a lawyer-versus-lawyer case, an advocate today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court for directions to the Chandigarh administration, the District and Sessions Judge, the District Bar Association and two other respondents for recovering the “licence fee and arrears of electricity bills of lawyers’ chambers in the district courts”.

Directions have also been sought to the respondents to hold an inquiry “against the employees of the UT engineering department, who are responsible for not recovering the arrears for such a long time and have failed in discharging their duties”.

Going into the background of the controversy, petitioner Arvind Thakur asserted that the chambers, constructed in 1985, were allotted to the advocates for a licence fee of Rs 305 a month per chamber. Each chamber was provided a separate electric meter. “In many cases, the occupants and allottees of the chambers did not pay the licence fee. Many lawyers did not pay the electricity charges”.

The assistant controller (finance and accounts) wrote to the Sessions Judge, asking him to take necessary action against the defaulters. A list of the alleged defaulters was supplied.

An executive engineer wrote to the District Bar Association president for asking the defaulters to deposit outstanding electricity dues.

“Despite all communication, no effective step has been taken by the authorities to recover the dues, which the defaulter advocates have to pay to the government.” Taking up the petition, the Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued notice of motion to the respondents for March 15, 2011.

HC notice to DC, HUDA

Chandigarh, November 23
Justice Hemant Gupta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a notice to HUDA Chief Administrator and the Panchkula Deputy Commissioner for alleged non-compliance of orders passed in 2008.

In a contempt petition filed in the high court, Panchkula resident Parmanand had stated that in 2008, Justice Surya Kant of the high Court had directed the respondent authorities to remove the encroachments at Budanpur village in Panchkula by September 30, 2008.

Similar orders were passed on another petition, seeking the removal of encroachments at Raila village in Sector 12 on the same date. Parmanand stated that even after two years, the encroachments had not been removed.

Shamsher Singh, another petitioner, had moved the high court, seeking contempt-of-court proceedings against the authorities for encroachments at Raila village. On November 17, the high court issued a notice to the Panchkula Deputy Commissioner, the HUDA Chief Administrator and other authorities for January 17. — TNS

PGI Admission Scam
Suspect’s bail plea dismissed

Chandigarh, November 23
A local court today dismissed the anticipatory bail application of Gaurav Shalin, the prime suspect in the PGI admission scam.

Sources said Shalin, a resident of Maharastra, had moved the court, seeking anticipatory bail.

The CBI special court today dismissed his bail application. The CBI had busted the admission scam following exposure by The Tribune. — TNS

CRIME

Charge sheet against Sofat
Tribune news Service

Panchkula, November 23
The police filed a charge sheet against Ludhiana-based doctor Sumit Sofat, accused in an attempt to murder case registered against him, here today. The police has also included the names of Varinder Sofat (Sumit’s brother) and another accused Dr Ravinder.

The police had registered a case against Dr Sofat after investigating into his complaint regarding robbery and shootout in Morni Hills on July 19, last year. The police had found that the doctor had planned the incident to implicate one Ramesh Pashan and his two sons in a criminal case.

Dr Sofat was arrested by the police on September 17 near a hotel in Sector 22, Chandigarh. His anticipatory bail application was dismissed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court some time back after he failed to appear before the police to join investigation in a case registered against him by the Chandimandir police.

One held for cheating
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 23
The police yesterday arrested a Nalagarh resident, who allegedly sped away from two shops without paying for the alloy wheels he got fitted in his car. The accused had displayed a fake registration number on his Hyundai Santro.

The SHO of the Sector 26 police station, inspector Shri Parkash said the 30-year-old accused was identified as Krishan Kumar. He was arrested from a checkpoint at Sector 7 on Monday following a tip-off. The accused had passed Class XII and was unemployed.

The SHO said Krishan came to the Kamal Auto Centre in Sector 27 on October 29 in his Santro car, displaying the registration number CH04-0755.

He got four alloys wheels with tyres fitted in his car and won the trust of the shopkeeper, Yogesh Kumar, by not bargaining. He told Yogesh that he had another car, in which a music system was being fitted at a nearby shop.

Yogesh alleged that Krishan told him to come with him for a test drive. After a while, he said he noticed some sound and told Yogesh to drive the car to find the defect. Yogesh drove the vehicle and said he did not find anything wrong. Krishan went for a test drive and did not return.

Yogesh lodged a complaint with the police and a case of theft and criminal breach of trust was registered under Sections 406 and 379 of the Indian Penal Code in this connection.

On November 17, another shopkeeper, Parveen Kumar of Mani Majra, reported that he was duped of alloy wheels and tyres in a similar fashion. The police recorded a daily diary report.

The SHO said the accused was today produced in a local court, which remanded him to one-day police custody. “We will interrogate him to find whether he had committed similar crimes elsewhere. We have slapped Section 473 of the IPC against him after it was established that he had displayed a fake registration number on his car,” he said.

Snatchers caught in the act
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 23
Two persons, including a minor, were arrested for attempting to snatch a mobile phone from a Ram Darbar resident today.

The incident occurred near a temple at Ram Darbar around 11:30 am. Ramu Saxena was on his way to office at Phase I, Industrial Area. They assaulted him and snatched his mobile phone.

Saxena raised the alarm, following which people assembled there and nabbed them. They were handed over to the police, which arrested 21-year-old Mithun and the 15-year-old boy.

Mithun worked at a factory in Industrial Area while the minor sold soup at Ram Darbar. The police said the minor was sent to the juvenile home at Sector 25.

Mithun would be produced in a local court tomorrow. A case under Sections 392 and 411 of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Sector 31 police station.

Arrested

Pardeep Kumar, inspector with the food and civil supplies department, reported to the police that Ajay Kumar of Universal Enclave, Sector 48-B, was caught using a domestic LPG cylinder at the Sector 32 market on Monday. A case under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act was registered against him.

Snatching

Santosh Bansal of Mani Majra lodged a complaint with the police that an unidentified boy snatched her purse, containing Rs 750, a mobile phone and a gold chain, from near the primary health centre at Mani Majra on Monday. A case was registered at the Mani Majra police station.

1 arrested for fraud
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, November 23
The police arrested a Mumbai resident for fraudulently transferring Rs 99,350 from the account of a Sector 20 resident by impersonation himself as a bank executive.

According to information, the police arrested Sandeep Kumar Mishra, a resident of Jogeshwari, West Mumbai.

The police had registered a case under Section 64 and 65 of the IT Act and under Section 420 of the IPC for cheating against the accused on the complaint of BK Chopra, a resident of Sector 20, on November 20.

The police said Mishra had fraudulently obtained e-mail ID and ICICI Bank’s account number of the complainant by impersonating himself as an official of the ICICI Bank and fraudulently transferred Rs 99,350 in his bank account from the account of the complainant through Internet banking.

The police said they produced the accused before the court in Mumbai and got transit remand till November 24.

Ex-serviceman ‘cheated’ of Rs 4 lakh
Tribune Reporters

Mohali, November 23
An ex-serviceman was allegedly cheated of Rs 4 lakh by residents of Mohali. Ajit Kumar, who lived in Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre in Phase VI, had told the police that he had deposited Rs 4 lakh in the form of four fixed deposits (FDs) with a private company run by a resident of Phase I and others.

The amount was deposited on December 9, 2006, for a period of two years. Later, when he had gone to the company to find out the status of his FDs he was told that there was no account in his name running with that company.

Ajit Kumar then made a complaint to the police. A team headed by Inspector Pritam Singh was asked to probe the matter. Opinion of the DA (legal) was also sought after which the police registered a case against six persons under Sections 409, 420 and 120-B of the IPC in this regard.

The persons booked by the police are Kulbir Singh, his daughters -- Parvinder Kaur and Jatinder Kaur, Mohan Singh, all living in Phase I, and Harpreet Singh and Baljit Kaur, residents of Phase IX.

4 booked for selling stolen cars

Zirakpur: The Zirakpur police today booked four persons for selling stolen cars after preparing fake documents. The accused have been identified as Bunty, a resident of UP, Sahib Kumar and Rimi, both residents of Panchkula, and Vikas Thakur, a resident of Lalru.

However, the accused are at large. On November 21, the police booked Darshan Singh Bhatia, a resident of Dhakoli, who was selling stolen cars.

Investigating officer ASI Harbinder Kumar stated that they were patrolling near Dhakoli village when they received a tip-off that the suspects were on their way to Zirakpur from Panchkula.

The accused were in a Zen car that they had stolen from Panchkula and were also carrying a pistol, the investigating officer added. The police said they had stolen vehicles from Punjab, UP and Haryana and sold the vehicles after preparing fake documents.

Zirakpur SHO Yogi Raj stated that a case under Sections 379, 420, 471 and 474 of the IPC and Arms Act had been registered and accused would be arrested soon. “We are hopeful of recovering a large number of stolen cars from the gang,” claimed the SHO.

Youth killed in accident

Ropar: A youth was killed in an accident today, while his mother survived the tragedy. The victim has been identified as Sanju Kumar (17), a resident of Silbatta village, Mohali. Sanju and his mother Baljit Kaur were going on a motorcycle from Ropar to Morinda.

When they reached near Behrampur Zimindari village, a truck coming from the wrong side hit the motorcycle. The truck dragged the motorcycle to several feet killing Sanju on the spot.

Baljit Kaur suffered serious injuries. The police was yet to register a case till filing of this report.

Rs 2.5 lakh stolen

Panchkula: Thieves struck at a house in Sector 25 and decamped with jewellery, digital camera and cash worth Rs 2.5 lakh.

Owner of the house Prem Kumar Gupta was away to Katra. On return, he found lock of the main door broken and valuables missing.

SPORTS

Athletics Meet
Preeti wins top honours in 800m race
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, November 23
Preeti L Rao from Baroda clocked 2:36.2 seconds to win 800m race in the women section on the inaugural day of the All-India Civil Services Athletics Championship, which begun at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Sector 3, here today.

Mumbai’s Urmila More secured the second position (2:41.5 sec), while AK Sowmya K from Bangalore finished third with timing 2:42.3 seconds.

In 4X400m men final, Baroda maintained their dominance as their RCB team lifted top honours with timing 4:11.6 seconds, while Chennai’s CCSR BCS and Gujarat’s Secretariat team finished second (4:12.3 sec) and third (4:14.6 sec), respectively.

Results

1,500 m (men): 1 SB Rathwia (RSB, Baroda); 2 YN Parmar (RSB, Baroda); 3 Yogesh Sardesai (RSB, Mumbai).

Triple jump: 1 Anish Karkutkar (RSB, Mumbai); 2 Narender Kumar (Central Sectt, Delhi); Prem Parkash (UP).

200 m: 1 M Vijya (CCRBCS, Chennai); 2 RS Rathwa (RSB, Baroda); 3 Shree KV (RSB, Kanpur).