NEIGHBOURHOOD

Man held with smack worth Rs 2.5 lakh
Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 13
To provide needy youths between 18 and 30 years of age with the opportunity to earn a livelihood, the Deputy Commissioner today inaugurated a free car driving school, run by an automobile agency.

The school will train youngsters free of cost and help them earn a livelihood as drivers.

During a function at the driving school, Deputy Commissioner Dipinder Singh said more opportunities would be provided to the youths belonging to the below poverty line families so that they got financial assistance.

“Youngsters would be given a chance to make money after learning how to drive. Another batch of such youths would begin in January,” he added.

The youths will get training through a state-of-the-art simulator set up at the driving school.

Bassi Pathana, December 13
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today visited the house of Rajesh Pal Singh Lalli, a senior SAD leader of the area, to pacify the estranged leader.

He was accompanied by Didar Singh Bhatti, MLA, and Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal, chairperson, District Planning Board, and held a closed-door meeting with Lalli.

Supporters of Lalli, including circle jathedars, block samiti members, local council president Kulbhushan Malhotra and councillors gather outside his residence. Sukhbir came in a helicopter and remained with Lalli for an hour. Yashveer Mahajan, Deputy Commissioner, RS Khatra, SSP, and other officers were also present. Interestingly, Jagdeep Singh Cheema, district president SAD, was conspicuous by his absence.

Talking to mediapersons, Sukhbir said Lalli was his close relative and had come to enquire about his health.

He said Lalli had close links with Parkash Singh Badal and members of his family, so there was no question of his becoming estranged.

On increasing the bus fare, he lashed out at the union government for increasing the price of diesel. He said the PRTC did not have funds even to pay salaries. He left in haste.

Talking to the TNS, Lalli said he recounted to Sukhbir the various incidents of injustice meted out to him and his supporters by the police and the administration at the behest of a senior SAD leader of the district. He told Sukhbir that they were humiliated and even booked under false charges. He also shared his concern over the state of the party in the district. Sukhbir assured him of redressing their grievances promptly. Later, Sukhbir met with the SSP and Deputy Commissioner and issued them necessary instructions.

Lalli said he would consult with his supporters to decide the future course of action. Lalli and his supporters had revolted against the SAD district leadership for humiliating them and decided to join another party. Sukhbir had come to pacify and win him and his supporters over. — OC

Kurali, December 13
Two youths were killed in a road accident near Chanalon village here last evening.

In his complaint to the police, Gurmukh Singh, a resident of Malhotra Colony, Ropar, said his son Harpeet Singh and Harpreet’s friend Saurav of Giani Zail Singh Nagar, Ropar, were returning from Chandigarh in a Maruti car when an unknown truck hit their car near Chanalon village around 9 pm.

The victims were taken to the local civil hospital where doctors declared them dead on arrival. Saurav worked with Ranbaxy.

The police has registered a case against the driver of the unknown vehicle.

Chandigarh, December 13
Members of the Ghaar Sudhar Committee are up in arms against the Akali MLA from Morinda, Ujagar Singh Badali.

In an open letter to the MLA, the in charge of the committee, Kamal Kishore Sharma, alleged that the MLA had failed to highlight the problems of this area.

In the strongly worded letter delivered to the MLA, member of the committee Kamal Kishore has alleged that in the past three years, the MLA has allowed himself to be surrounded by ‘sycophants’, who make sure that he does not meet people and listen to their woes. “The whole day you are busy attending bhogs and weddings and it seems you have no time left to meet area residents who voted for you,” he said.

Kamal Kishore was the election in charge of Badali during the 2007 Vidhan Sabha elections. “We had supported you in the election and during the election campaign, you made tall promises to the people. But you have not been able to meet any of these,” he wrote.

He pointed out that the construction of the Dashmesh Canal was one such promise that remained unfulfilled. “The other promises of the setting up of more hospitals and schools in the area, too, have not seen the light of the day,” he lamented.

Kamal further pointed out that the MLA had not been able to ensure that the meetings of the grievances committee were held every month. “There has not been a single meeting of the committee since it was constituted,” he said.

Kalka, December 13
Local Member of Parliament and union tourism minister Kumari Selja today lambasted the BJP for creating hindrances in the smooth functioning of Parliament.

Addressing a public meeting here, she said the opposition was only interested in holding parliament to ransom on one issue or the other.

She expressed her gratitude to the voters of the area for their support in the last election.

Highlighting the working of the UPA government, she said they had initiated an inquiry against a retire Judge of the Supreme Court.

She said the UPA government had ushered in the RTI Act for the convenience of the common man and were in the process of introducing the Food Security Act.

She said the Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT), Pinjore, would soon be provided with another financial package, as the matter was already with the minister concerned.

To promote tourism, the department of tourism had proposed to start a national-level Special Institute on Indian Food in Pinjore, research on which was going on, she added. This institute would be the first-of-its-kind in North India.

She said the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in New Delhi had kept her away from the people of her constituency. She assured of holding frequent meetings and redressing the grievances of people of the area.

The programme, which was to start at 1 pm, began at 3 pm as the minister reached the town after attending a parliamentary meeting in New Delhi.

Ambala, December 13
Haryana BJP legislature party leader Anil Vij from Ambala Cantonment has failed to receive information sought from the municipal corporation under the RTI Act on a five-storey commercial building, which has come up illegally on a plot on the Railway Road in Sadar area.

The BJP leader has now decided to file an appeal before the state commission and seek clarification from Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on leasing out a piece of residential plot of 500 sq yd at Rs 7.50 per month.

The land belongs to the government and the lease had expired on February 14, 1994.

Sources in the municipal corporation said the structural design had not been shown to the corporation and the property was leased out for residential purposes even as the building plan suggested that it was a commercial structure.

Vij said he had raised the issue in the Vidhan Sabha, following which the municipal corporation officials cancelled the site plan without taking any action.

Talking to The Tribune, Vij today said information had not been made available to him so far.

He had asked the municipal corporation information officer to clarify if the lessee had submitted any application to the corporation for renewing the lease and what action was taken on the application.

Vij had also sought information on whether the building plan was sanctioned to the builder or not and if any notice was issued to him by the corporation for unauthorised construction.

Sadar area residents have been alleging that a group of builders have raised the building on a prime location without permission and the authorities have not taken any action.

The building plan for the building had been rejected by the Ambala municipal corporation but the construction was still on, the sources added.

Chandigarh, December 13
The Chandigarh Police today arrested 24 persons on the charges of gambling openly in the Sector 37-B park.

Following a tip-off, a special team of the police raided the spot at around 2 pm. The accused were playing “teen patti” in two separate groups and casting their move with hard cash. The police recovered Rs 80,110 from the spot. The accused were produced before a court, which released them on bail.

The groups were engaged in animated discussions separately over the moves of the game when the police party swooped on the park, which is adjoining a government school. The accused ran helter-skelter. Some jumped the school wall and were caught by the policemen.

Police sources said that some of the accused were able give police the slip. It was a funny sight to see policemen trying to rescue and arrest an offender who was trapped in a barbed wire fencing while he tried to jump the fence.

The police also got the accused medically examined, particularly those who received scratches in the commotion. 

Chandigarh, December 13
Thieves decamped with gold jewellery and cash after breaking open locks of four houses on Saturday night. Four separate cases were registered.

In his complaint to the police, Avtar Singh of Sector 41 reported that someone stole a gold chain, a gold ring and Rs 15,000 from his house.

Kamaljit Singh of Mohali reported that miscreants stole a pair of gold earrings, two gold bangles, three gold rings and Rs 25,000 from a house in Sector 41, Chandigarh.

Paramjit Kaur of Sector 40 reported that someone stole an LPG cylinder, a pair of earrings, three nosepins and Rs 12,000 from her house.

Panchkula, December 13
On the revelation of one of the five robbers arrested by the district police, the police recovered a country-made pistol (.315 bore) near railway tracks in Kalka.

The accused, Sombir, a resident of Nagloi in New Delhi, is in police remand along with four other notorious robbers, who had looted cash and jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh after tying a doctor, his wife and a nurse in Rana Nursing Hospital on June 3.

Sombir was arrested along with two other accused Yashpal, alias Satpal, a resident of Badarpur, Delhi, and Shehnawaz, alias Babba, a resident of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

On the night of June 3, two of the robbers, pretending to be patients, knocked at the door of Rana Hospital. When the nurse on night duty, Meenu, opened the door the two accused came in complaining of stomach ache and asked her to call a doctor.

When Dr Randhir Singh Rana came and checked them, the other four robbers, carrying country-made pistols, tied his hands and took the cash from the locker.

Sombir was presented before the local court here today which extended his police remand by four days.

Meanwhile, the police has also solved a recent vehicle-lifting case as it arrested two accused for stealing a car owned by one Suraj Pal Yadav, a resident of Sector 15.

The two accused have been identified as Kamal Thapa and Vimal, both residents of Budhanpur village, a slum near Sector 16, and recovered a stolen Maruti car. The two were presented before a local court today where they were sent to police custody till December 16.

The police had also solved a two-month-old burglary case of nearby Gharikotaha village and arrested three accused. The three have been identified as Ashok Kumar, Sandeep Kumar and Bhagmall, all residents of the same village. They have also been sent to police custody for one day.

Chandigarh, December 13
Pannu Seerat and Saumya Saxena have moved into the quarterfinals of the girls’ under-12 AITA Talent Series Tennis Tournament being held at the CLTA grounds in Sector 10 here today.

Pannu Seerat beat Sehaj Preet Sidhu 4-0, 4-2, while Saumya Saxena beat Seerat Sidhu 1-4, 4-0, 4-2 in the pre-quarterfinal matches.

Results:

Boys’ U-12 (1st round): Paramveer Singh Bajwa bt Rishab Sharda 4-2, 4-2; Shivam Vij bt Gaurav Seth 4-1, 4-2; Sameer Vats bt Abir Hiranandani 4-1, 5-4 (2); Sabrang Sandal bt Asav Kumar 4-1, 4-0; Sumitpal Singh bt Parmeet Singh Deol 4-0, 4-0; Kabir Manrai bt Ravsehaj 4-0, 4-0; Anmol Rattan Kamboj bt Saurabh Prashar 4-2, 4-2; Rohit Kumar bt Aman Grewal 4-1, 4-0; Karandeep Singh bt Naval Avasthi 4-0, 4-1; Naman Kumar Singla bt Amitoj Singh 5-3, 4-1; Ankrish Khanna bt Himanshu Bansal 4-0, 4-0; Uddyan Bhakar bt Aditya Vashist 4-0, 4-1; Yugal Bansal bt Amanjeet Sohi 4-1, 4-0; Rishi Khirwar bt Nimit Jain 4-1, 4-1; Manik Dawar bt Abhay Sarna 3-5, 5-3, 4-0; Param Pun bt Calvin Golmei 4-2, 4-0.

Boys’ U-16 (1st round): Ranjeet Singh bt Nihit Rawal 6-0, 6-1; Ishaque Eqbal bt Param Pun 7-5, 6-2; Santbir Singh by Manjot Singh 6-3, 2-6, 6-0; Sachin Kumar bt Prabhsimran Singh 6-2, 6-1; Kamal Kishore bt Rishi Khirwar 6-0, 6-0; Uddyan Bhakar by Anish Goel 7-6 (3), 6-0; Shashank Sharma by Yogesh 6-0, 6-1; Pranav Suri bt Dhruv Puniani 6-1, 6-1; Dheeranush Bhatti bt Sultan Singh Atwal 6-1, 6-1; Ishan Kakar bt Rahul Seth 2-6, 6-3, 6-4; Uday Singh Mann bt Abhijeet Singh 6-2, 7-6 (0); Hardeep Singh Sandhu bt Abhijeet Singh 6-1, 6-0; Vikas Berwal bt Ravjeet Singh 7-5, 6-2; Raghav Talwar bt Yugal Bansal 6-2, 6-2; Anmol Singh Sandhu bt Abhhyan 6-2, 6-1; Jajbir Singh bt Sumit Pal Singh 6-1, 6-3.

Girls’ U-16 (1st round): Arzoo Chaudhary bt Ishmehar Mohal 6-0, 6-0; Gayatri Kamarich bt Taru Aluwalia 6-1, 6-1; Nimrat Walia bt Saumya Saxena 6-4, 6-4; Mehakdeep Kaur bt Tanya Sood 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Abhilasha Mudgil bt Neelanchal 6-2, 7-5; Syedah Srehnuma bt Prinkle Singh 6-1, 6-1; Joyanna Vs Gumehar w/o Rahat Manrai bt Vibhuti Khullar 6-3, 6-1.

Girls’ U-12 (Pre-quarterfinal): Komaljeet Kaur vs Harsimran w/o Shea Bashin bt Aaina Chauhan 4-0, 4-0; Pannu Seerat bt Sehaj Preet Sidhu 4-0, 4-2; Saumya Saxena bt Seerat Sidhu 1-4, 4-0, 4-2; Prinkal bt Neelanchal Gupta 4-0, 4-1; Akshita Singh bt Abhisha Jindal 4-1, 4-0; Kriti Soni bt Arzoo Chaudhary 4-1, 4-2; Harsimran Kaur bt Taru Ahluwalia 4-1, 4-2.

Chandigarh, December 13
Smriti Mehra has arrived. Yes, this seasoned golf professional is just back from Dubai after playing abroad to tee off in the seventh leg of the Hero Honda Women's Professional Golf Tour of India, which gets under way on the par-72 greens of the Chandigarh Golf Club on Tuesday.

The next three days promise to be exciting with 19-year-old Sharmila Nicollet all set to add another title to her bag of four titles she has already won on the tour. Sharmila survived a comeback bid by local girl Saaniya Sharma who had a dream run on the last day of the sixth leg at Panchkula firing a four under par 69.

Sharmila had a feel of the Chandigarh course. She was happy with the way the greens are playing. The fairways also look in good shape, she said.

Neha Tripathi is also back on the tour after skipping the Panchkula sixth leg. All the golfers had a practice round today and seemed in good shape for an exciting competition during the next three days. Some of the long par-4s and par-5s were shortened keeping the LAGT standards in view.

Players to watch would be Smriti Mehra, Sharmila Nicollet and Saaniya Sharma, who seems all set to carry forward her Panchkula form. A lot can be expected from Tanya Wadhwa, the new recruit to the professional golf circuit, who has shown her talent in the US winning many titles on the golf courses in the US.

Nalini Singh Siwach, who had an indifferent round at Panchkula, is full of potential to spring surprises. All in all, Chandigarh Golf Club should expect to see some thrilling golf from the Indian professionals.

The other girl from Chandigarh, Preetinder Kaur, Palavi Jain and Nitika Jadeja from Jaipur, Mita Govande from Mumbai and Priya Puri fron NCR are capable of giving a run for the money. Talking about her game at Panchkula, Saaniya said: "It was a dream run. Things just fell into place as there was no pressure. I hit all the fairways with some good long hitting. I had full control over my temperament.” 

Chandigarh, December 13
A fine all-round performance by Ramandeep (52 in 45 balls and 2 for 15) enabled Saupin's Cricket Academy beat DPAzad Cricket Academy by seven wickets in a Pool-B league match of the Haier Cup Under-14 Cricket Tournament being organised by the Chandigarh Cricket Association affiliated to HCA.

After winning the toss, the Saupin's team elected to field. Put into bat, the DP Azad team showed some resistance through Akash (33 in 52 balls) and Mohd Junaid, who made 27 runs.

For the Saupin's team, Jaswinder took 3 wickets for 25 runs, nipun 2 for 24 and Ramandeep 2 for 15. The DPAzad team was bundled off for 146 runs in 37.3 overs.

In reply, the Saupin's team chased the target without any difficulty with seven wickets to spare. Ramandeep was the highest score with 52 runs, whereas Shubhman played a cameo of unbeaten 38 runs in only 21 balls.

For the DP Azad team Hrithik was the only bowler who impressed with his bowling figures of 1 for 8.

Brief scores:

DP Azad: 146 all out in 37.3 overs (Akash 33, Mohd Junaid 27, Jaswinder 3 for 25, Ramandeep 2 for 15, Nipun 2 for 24).

Saupin's: 151 for 3 in 21.1 overs (Ramandeep 52, Shubhman 38 no, Hrithik 1 for 8).

Tommorow's match: APJ vs Shri Shri at BTS (9.30 am).