NEIGHBOURHOOD

Gurjit first in paper reading

Kharar, March 3
Doaba College of Education celebrated the national science day. Jeet Singh, chief administrator, Doaba Group of Colleges, graced the occasion as chief guest.

Various events like paper reading, poster making, collage making, T-shirt painting and modelling, healthy food preparation and preparation of teaching aids were held.

In paper reading, Gurjit and Shikha secured the first and second positions, while Khushi and Manpreet stood third. In collage making, Seema, Manju and Shikha secured the first, second and third positions. Gurjit, Talwinder and Jaswinder were declared first, second and third in poster making. — TNS

Fatehgarh Sahib, March 3
A 32-year-old woman died under mysterious circumstances in Nolakha village yesterday. The deceased has been identified as Mayawati, who was married to Harvinder Singh of the village around 15 years ago.

The couple had three children. The eldest son had been staying with his maternal grandparents due to everyday quarrel over petty issues among his parents.

Shamsher Kaur, mother of the deceased, has lodged a complaint with the police today wherein she had alleged that her daughter’s in-laws had been torturing Mayawati for the past long time over petty issues.

She alleged that Mayawati informed her over phone yesterday that she was suffering from acute stomach ache, but her husband was quarrelling with her instead of taking her to a hospital.

Around 3 pm yesterday, she got another phone call from an anonymous caller that her daughter died of acute stomach ache. She further alleged that her daughter was cremated in haste, within two hours, before she could reach the spot. The police has booked Mayawati’s husband Harvinder Singh, his two brothers Darshan Singh and Bhag Singh and sisters Komal and Sheelo. No arrests were made in this regard, but the investigation was on. — TNS

Ambala, March 3
The Municipal Corporation has demolished a three-storied under-constructed building at Ambala city as it was being constructed without any approved site plan. Two JCB machines were pressed into operation to raze it. Senior officers of the corporation, executive magistrate and police personnel were present on the site.

A major part of the front portion of this building fell down during construction on February 5 and the labourers working there had a narrow escape.

The SDM had visited the site and on his direction a case was registered against the owner of the building, Kulbir Singh. He was arrested and later was released on bail. The police had sent the samples of the building materials for testing to the PWD (B&R) department.

The owner had resumed the construction of the building on February 9 without getting any permission of the corporation. The matter was brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner, who directed the corporation to demolish the entire structure of the building, as it could cause danger to the people of the locality and passers-by.

Mechanical engineer of the corporation, Vijay Goel, reached at the building site along with two JCB machines. He said the corporation had issued a notice to the owner of the building to demolish it as it was constructed illegally. He said the corporation had also issued similar notices to the owners of 35 other buildings of this locality, which would also be razed soon.

Meanwhile, the owners of some of the unauthorised buildings said the corporation should have stopped them when the construction was started and at this stage, when they had shifted in the houses, the corporation action would ruin them.

Rajpura, March 3
Taking a note of a news report published in The Tribune “Fearing police torture, youth commits suicide”, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has called for a report from the SSP, Patiala, in this regard. The commission has sought a detailed report of inquiry into the case before April 27.

Balwinder Singh, a 23-year-old Dalit youth, from Damanheri village had consumed some poisonous substance after some influential villagers accused him of theft. He died yesterday at a hospital in Patiala.

Pala Ram, father of the youth, had alleged that his son was falsely implicated in a theft case and fearing police torture and registration of a case he committed suicide.

Investigating officer Netar Singh from Rajpura Sadar police station said the youth was admitted at Rajpura Civil Hospital two days ago. He was referred to a hospital in Patiala where he died yesterday.

The officer said material worth nearly Rs 50,000 was stolen from a hardware shop in the village. He said water filters and few mobile phones were stolen from the shop. The officer pointed out that it was suspected that Balwinder was aware about the identity of thieves.

Chandigarh, March 3
A complaint has been filed in the local court today against Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq seeking action against his anti-national speech organised during a seminar in Kisan Bhawan in November last year.

Chandigarh BJP general secretary Satinder Singh has filed a criminal complaint against Mirwaiz before the court of Judicial Magistrate Sunil Kumar. Besides, he has also sought registration of case against International Democratic Party leaders Kheta Singh and Karnail Singh under Sections 153-A, 153-B, 124-A, 323, 505, 506, 34 and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

The complaint will now come up for hearing on March 18, 2011. In the complaint, Satinder Singh alleged that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq gave anti-national speech during the seminar organised at Kissan Bhawan, Sector 35, Chandigarh on November 25, 2010. The complaint says that Mirwaiz not only favoured the separatist forces and demanded that Kashmir be handed over to them, but also said that the stone pelting on Army personnel in Kashmir was genuine and termed it as the voice of Kashmiri people. Satinder Singh alleged that when he objected to the anti-national speeches, Kheta Singh, Karnail Singh along with their goons manhandled him.

Chandigarh, March 3
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized a truck containing around 34 quintals poppy husk near the airport roundabout last night and arrested two persons.

The consignment was being brought from Indore, MP, to Jalandhar in Punjab. A senior NCB official said consignment was packed in 84 bags and was the largest seizure made by NCB sleuths in Chandigarh in the past six years.

The NCB sleuths refused to disclose the names of the accused as their accomplices were yet to be arrested and raids were being conducted for apprehending the accomplices of the accused.

The accused will be produced in the court on Friday. The NCB sources claimed that the consignment was being brought from Indore following the directions of a Jalandhar-based small-time businessman.

A case against the truck driver and his associate was registered under the NDPS Act 1985.

Chandigarh, March 3
Two motorcycle-borne youths targeted two city residents and snatched gold chains and cash from them. Two snatchings were reported in the city on Wednesday as well.

In the first incident, a Sector 21 resident was attacked by two youths near her house. The accused took away her gold chain. A case under Sections 356, 379 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at the Sector 19 police station.

In another incident, two unidentified youths snatched a purse from a Sector 37 resident. The victim, Swapnil, was standing near her house when her purse was snatched. Swapnil told the police that her purse contained ` 7,000 in cash, a gold ring, a mobile phone, a voter card and an ATM card. On her complaint, a case under Sections 356, 379 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 39 police station.

Panchkula, March 3
The police arrested five youths for forgery and impersonation here today in connection with the written examination for bus conductors conducted by the Haryana Transport Department on February 27.

The police arrested five candidates, on whose behalf the fake candidates appeared in the examination held in the city on last Sunday. Arrested candidates have been identified as Manjit Singh, Anand, Dalbir Singh, Deepak Kumar and Bijender Singh, all residents of Sonepat. The accused were produced before the local court which remanded them to judicial custody at Ambala jail for 14 days.

The police had arrested eight fake candidates last Sunday, including the kingpins of this racket. About 75 youths were arrested throughout the state on the information provided by the kingpins. The police had arrested Ashutosh, a final year BTech student in UIET, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, who further revealed the name of the kingpins of this racket, Sandeep Kumar, and Rinku, both residents of Sonepat, who had paid Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 to each candidate for impersonating in the exam.

A case was registered by the police at Sector 20 police station under Sections 420 (cheating), 419 (cheating by impersonation), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC against the accused.

The Sector 20 SHO, Dharambir Singh, said Sandeep and Rinku had also arranged for candidates for taking exams in Kurukshetra, Karnal, Rewari, Yamunanagar and Kaithal. Photostat copies of more than 80 roll number slips and one seal and a stamp of the SDM Gannaur and two cars — a Qualis and a Verna —were recovered from the accused, he added.

Zirakpur, March 3
The police had booked five villagers for obstructing a public servant from performing his duty. The case was registered against Tarsem Singh, Pala Singh, Joginder Singh, Ajay Singh and Roshan Lal, all residents of Singhpura village, on the complaint of Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), Dera Bassi, Preetinder Singh.

A police official stated that in his complaint the BDPO alleged that he had visited Bazigar Basti for channelising of dirty drain water where the accused obstructed him from carrying out his duty and misbehaved with the workers accompanying him.

He said demarcation of the land had already been done in which 110 khasra number land was found as a common land and the department had planned to channelise the drain from the common land. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 3
The first match of the ICC World Cup at the PCA Stadium witnessed a cold response from cricket lovers of the region, as even the 5,000 free entry ticket-holders failed to turn up for the match between South Africa and The Netherlands.

The spectators inside the stadium were seen leaving the stadium just after the first innings.

“This was my first visit to a stadium as a spectator but I never expected it to be so unexciting. It was entirely different from what I am used to seeing on the television,” felt Sachita, student of a local college, while walking out of the stadium holding a placard.

The move of the PCA authorities to draw “budding cricketers” to the stadium by distributing free passes also backfired as they failed to turn up for the match. Even the VIP gallery saw only a handful of spectators.

The Tribune team came across a family from Nubra Samoor in Ladakh while they were coming out of the stadium. “We learned about the match during our stay in Chandigarh. But we were quite disappointed as there wasn’t much to enjoy,” said Tundeep Spalbar. His cousin Padma Chopal added: “There were some spectators in the students’ block but the rest of the stands were empty.”

Sticking Around: A cop caught napping outside the stadium Double Bluff: Two securitymen engage in a game of cards on the rooftop of a house near the stadium.

Black marketing

With the sale of tickets getting closed after the first innings, some foreign students of Panjab University and other neighborhood colleges, who got late for the match, were seen purchasing tickets on the black market from local lads right behind a police booth.

“We are late for the match and some of our friends are already inside the stadium. We thought they were ticket sellers so we bought the tickets from them. They gave us passes at a discount of Rs 100,” said Sammy and his friends. The visitors ended up buying free entry passes given to the sellers by their contacts inside the stadium.

Anticlima(x)te

Anticipating rain after last night’s drizzle, some spectators turned up with their umbrellas and raincoat. Officials, on the other hand, conveniently blamed weather for the low spectator turnout.

“Going by the sale of tickets, we were expecting a good turnout, but rain played spoilsport,” said a PCA official over the phone.

Child’s play

Students of Saupin’s School, Sector 32, shared the ground with both South African and Dutch teams as part of the national anthem ceremony just before the match. They held flags of the ICC besides those of the two playing nations. “We were really excited to get a chance to be with cricket’s top players,” said an elated Ramandeep, captain of the group.

Cops have A Field day

Chandigarh, March 3
Twentytwo-year-old Gaganjeet Bhullar from Kapurthala missed a couple of short putts, but still surged ahead to share the lead with Kolkata’s Shankar Das at the halfway stage of the Rs 40-lakh PGTI Players’ Championship on the par-72 greens of the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

The two tied at five under 139 with Bhullar carding a two under par 70 and Shankar Das playing a blemish-free four under 68 on the second day of the tournament.

The leading duo are two strokes ahead of Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (Bangladesh), Chiragh Kumar (Delhi), Abhinav Lohan (Faridabad) and Vijay Kumar (Lucknow) who are tied third at five under 139.

Jeev Milkha Singh, who continued to be the main attraction, carded a two under 70 card to climb up from overnight tied 25th spot to be tied 14th along with Mukesh Kumar and SSP Chowrasia at three under 141. They are four strokes behind the leading duo.

Jeev, who has made some changes in his swing due to his back injury played a blemish-free card. He showed his class when he sank a 12-footer birdie on the third.

“It was a solid bogey-free round. I managed the course well. However, my distance control with the wedges was not as good as it should be. I need to hit it closer and create more opportunities,” said Jeev.

Teeing off from the 10th, Gaganjeet Bhullar (67-70) shot his first birdie on the 13th with a 10-foot putt. A bogey on the second and he was back to par. But then consecutive birdies on the sixth and seventh saw him finish the day with a two under 70 card.

“I missed a number of short putts today and did not make the most of the opportunities that came my way. Nonetheless, a score of seven under at the halfway stage sets me up for the last two days,” said Bhullar, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour.

Shankar Das (69-68) was looking good for an extremely low number when he made four birdies on his first nine but the birdies dried up for him on the second nine as he struggled to convert the short putts.

Shankar said: “My iron-play was much better as compared to round one. My chipping was flawless and I landed my shots from 50 to 80 yards within three feet of the pin on a few occasions. I need to be consistent with my putting from here on.”

Shamim Khan, the overnight leader, slipped to tied seventh place after he produced a score of 74 on Thursday. His total moved to four under 140.

Pawan Kumar of Delhi, playing his first season as a professional, registered a five under 67 that turned out to be the best score of the day. Pawan occupies tied 29th position with a two-day total of one over 145.

Local lad Rahul Bajaj (71-75) was the lone amateur to make the cut. His tally of two over 146 placed him tied 38th.

Chandigarh’s Roop Singh who played a grand five under 67 to be tied second yesterday, slipped down the ladder playing a 75 card.

Scores: 137: Shankar Das (69-68) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (67-70); 139: Md Kamal Hossain Mollah (70-69), Chiragh Kumar (68-71), Abhinav Lohan (70-69) and Vijay Kumar (69-70); 140: Arjun Singh Chaudhari (69-71, Himmat Singh Rai (69-71), Shamim Khan (66-74), Digvijay Singh (71-69), Sanjay Kumar (71-69), Akshay Sharma (71-69) and Navtej Singh (67-73); 141: Aditya Singh Chauhan (70-71), Jeev Milkha Singh (71-70), Mukesh Kumar (70-71) and SSP Chowrasia (69-72); 143: Harendra P Gupta (70-72), Vinod Kumar (70-72), Kapil Kumar (68-74) and Roop Singh (67-75): 143: Om Prakash Chauhan (69-74) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (70-73).