Panchkula, April 19
Tragedy struck a family as its three members riding a motorcycle were killed on the spot when their vehicle was hit by a loaded tipper near Amrawati Enclave on the Panchkula-Parwanoo National Highway No 22 this morning.

The victims were identified as Deep Chand (42), his son Rinkun (18), both residents of Surajpur, and Ravi Kumar (25), son-in-law of Deep Chand, and resident of Dhamla village on the Pinjore-Baddi road.

A case was registered at the Chandimandir police station and the bodies were handed over to the family after the postmortem examination.

According to the police, the trio was going to a hospital in Amrawati Enclave after Ravi complained of abdominal pain. They left for the hospital on a motorcycle (HR-49C- 0976) driven by Rinku. After reaching the petrol pump near the enclave on the national highway, Rinku tried to take a shortcut by turning the vehicle on the right side of the road. However, after seeing the speeding tipper, loaded with heavy material, coming from the Pinjore side, he lost the balance and collided head on with the tipper. All victims were badly crushed under the tipper, which also overturned after the mishap.

Fortunately, a labourer sitting on the loaded tipper escaped unhurt as he fell in a nearby bus after the heavy vehicle overturned.

To evacuate the bodies buried under the truck, a crane was moved in to lift the heavy vehicle. The bodies of the victims were taken to the Sector 6 General Hospital for postmortem.

Deep Chand was the only breadwinner of his family and is survived by his wife and two daughters. His only son Rinku was studying in Class XII at a school near Surajpur.

Chandigarh, April 19
In a startling disclosure PEC University of Technology, Sector 12 has been found to not only having raised the retirement age of employees without the mandatory consent of the central human resource development ministry and the UT administration but also to have made irregular salary payments of about Rs 2.16 crore.

The revelation came to the fore in the audit report for fiscal 2009 2010 wherein the varsity was asked to intimate the audit its reasons of not seeking prior approval of the HRD ministry and the administration, which the institute has failed to furnish till date.

“During a spot check of the records maintained in the office of the director of PEC, a deemed university, it was noticed that the board of governors had approved raising the retirement age of nonteaching employees from 58 to 60 years and that of teaching employees from 58 to 62 years. For this approval of both the UT administration and the HRD ministry was required, which was not sought by the institute’s officials. In absence of this approval the enhancement of retirement age and allowances paid to the tune of Rs 2,16,26,094 was irregular,” read para 1 of section A of the audit report.

The auditors noted the retirement benefits paid in excess due to increase in basic pay arrived at by granting increments during the period between 58 years and 60/62 years were also irregular. PEC director Manoj Dutta refused to comment on the matter.

A senior UT administration official stated: “As per the memorandum of association and bylaws, the board of the institute shall make, consider, modify or repeal bylaws and rules only after prior approval of the UT administration and the HRD ministry. The problem is not new - ever since PEC became a deemed varsity its ‘autonomy’ has been a bone of contention between the administration and the institute authorities. This is just one instance as the institute has failed to take mandatory approvals in many other cases as well.”

Mohali, April 19
A decade-long hurdle in the construction of about 1,000 houses in Sectors 76 to 80 here was cleared today, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissing a bunch of 60 petitions over the acquisition of 102 acres in Sohana and Mauli Baidwan villages.

In 2001, after GMADA (erstwhile PUDA) acquired 1,264 acres for the housing project, owners of 102 acres went to the court against the acquisition. As a result, the government agency could not allot the plots and also could not lay the underground services.

A special bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, comprising Justice MM Kumar and Justice Ajay Tewari, dismissed the petitions on the basis of different Supreme Court judgments cited by Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA). Two civil appeals over land acquisition in Sector 81 by Ajmer Singh and Mews Singh that were dismissed by the Supreme Court in September last year were also cited before the special bench.

Chandigarh, April 19
Even as Janvi, a class 10 student of St. Xavier’s School, Sector 44, backed her parent’s allegations that she was pushed off the “third” floor of the school building by principal Mervin West, the latter claimed he was in his office when the girl fell down.

While recording her statement with the local police on Tuesday Janvi accused the principal of “mentally harassing” her. However, West denied the allegations levelled by Janvi’s father, Tilak Raj, at a press conference called here today.

“While the school got over at 12:30 pm, Piyush a class 12 boy, apparently stayed back and was found sitting with Janvi. When the two were questioned Piyush said he had missed the bus while Janvi claimed she was preparing for a debate. I brought Piyush down to my office and called up his father. Within minutes a teacher rushed inside to inform me that a student had fallen from the building’s first floor,” said West. Piyush’s parents were also present at the press meet and supported the principal’s claims. Meanwhile Dr Manuj Wadhwa, director & head of orthopedics at Fortis Hospital, Mohali, said: “Janvi is now on conservative management of the multiple fractures. We will be using nonoperative management for Janvi’s treatment considering her young age. She has suffered multiple fractures of the shoulder and pelvis bones”. Wadhwa added Janvi would have to stay at the hospital for another four to five days.

Chandigarh, April 19
The city and the surrounding region have the rain god to thank for one of the coolest Aprils in recent memory. According to meteorological data this year the month has been much cooler than in the previous few years with temperatures hovering between 33 and 36 degrees Celsius in most places.

“The weather has been kind so far. The current western disturbance over Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh has helped in keeping the maximum temperatures in check,” said Surender Paul, director of the Chandigarh centre of the India Meteorological Department on Tuesday.

Day temperatures this month in the city and most places in the neighboring states have been well below normal. In both Hissar in Haryana and Amritsar in Punjab, considered the “heat chambers”, the maximum temperature recorded has been about 3-4 degrees below normal.

The Doppler weather radar at Patiala, which also monitors the weather in the region, attributed the prevailing climatic conditions to the frequent changes in wind pattern. “There is a peculiarity in the weather conditions. Though western disturbances are common during this time of the year, frequent and abrupt changes in the wind pattern are helping in formation of clouds which is resulting in rain, storms and thundershowers, thereby dragging the mercury down,” explained Paul.

However, he hinted at a rise in the maximum temperatures after April 22. “Summer will peak after April 22 with a gradual rise in mercury,” he added.

In March last year the mercury touched 40° C and above on at least three days in the city, while temperatures have remained below 40° C during the entire month this time round. The average maximum temperature recorded in the city in March last year was around 36° C while this year it has gone down to 33° C.

Moreover, last year the maximum temperature in the city was over 40° on each of the first ten days of April whereas this year the mercury has yet to reach the 40° C mark. In Punjab and Haryana too, the favourable weather conditions have prevented temperatures from crossing the 40° C mark.

Environmentalists have noted weather patterns are becoming more extreme and unpredictable because of climatic changes around the globe. Currently India is experiencing the coolest April during the past two decades.

PK Madhav, an environmentalist, while commenting on the changed weather patterns and climatic challenges, said land use patterns and heavy deforestation in various parts of the country, especially in northern regions, were the main factors for the changing weather patterns.

However, Paul said the IMD's weather prediction capability had improved considerably with the introduction of new technologies, such as Doppler weather radars, meteorological satellites and high-speed data communication and computing systems.

“A high performance computing system has been installed at the Chandigarh meteorological centre to provide weather forecasts for smaller areas with very high resolution up to three kilometres with better accuracy. The Doppler weather radars installed at Delhi and Patiala have been helping to capture pictures for prediction of the severe weather events such as thunderstorms, hailstorms and cloudburst squalls that cause damage to crops and other infrastructure”.

“Northwestern India is currently under the influence of a western disturbance that may hang in there for at least a day or so, bringing partly cloudy sky conditions and isolated thunderstorms and/or light rainfall,” added Paul.

Chandigarh, April 19
With officials from Punjab and Haryana ruling the roost in the Chandigarh administration, thousands of UT cadre officials are an exploited lot.

With hardly any chances of reaching at the top of the hierarchy in their respective departments, the UT cadre officials are forced to play the second fiddle to the Punjab and Haryana officials, who occupy most of the top and middle-level positions in the UT administration.

The quota system in the ratio of 60:40 for Punjab and Haryana officials virtually blocks the promotional avenues of the UT cadre employees. The lack of promotional avenues for UT employees leads to frustration and under-performance taking its toll on the development in the city.

While recruitment to the gazetted posts in the Union Territory is made by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), most of these officials fail to reach the top as officials from Punjab and Haryana occupy these posts.

Trade union leader Gopal Joshi alleged that the lack of opportunities for UT employees was a gross injustice to the deserving candidates who retired without realising their full potential.

In Chandigarh, the posts of the Home Secretary, Deputy Commissioner, Finance Secretary, Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh and Managing Director of CITCO are manned by IAS officers from Punjab and Haryana. On the other hand, the post of the Adviser to the UT Administrator and the Chairman of the Chandigarh Housing Board are held by IAS officer of the UT cadre.

Besides, most of the middle level posts, including heads of the departments, are held by PCS and HCS officers. Besides, most of the top post in the technical field are held by officials from Punjab and Haryana.

Mohali, April 19
In a step towards regularising 34 unauthorised possession of religious places on public land here, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced to charge Rs 6 per sq yd per year up to 1,000 sq yds and Rs 12 per sq yds per year on the land measuring above 1000 sq yds. The fee would be charged by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held in Chandigarh under Badal’s chairmanship at his residence this evening.

The Chief Minister also constituted a five-member committee comprising Manoj K Aggarwal, Hardyal Singh Mann, HS Thakur, Joginder Singh Sondhi and Samuel to amicably resolve the issue of providing adequate parking lot in front of the religious places for the convenience of devotees in consultation with authorities of GMADA on a priority basis.

Badal said the parking lot should be outside the boundary wall of the religious places to avoid traffic congestion owing to heavy rush especially on special occasions.

The managements of the religious places were also asked not to encroach on the government land and abide by the rules and regulations of GMADA.

The Supreme Court, in its decision on September 29, 2009, on a civil writ petition involving Union Government v/s Government of Gujarat and others, had directed the state governments to take effective steps to regularise unauthorised possession of religious places for the past ten years by devising a concrete policy.

Those present included GMADA chief administrative officer Sarbjit Singh, Mohali Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam, District Planning Committee SAS Nagar chairman NK Sharma and GMADA Estate Officer Balbir Singh Dhol.

Mohali, April 19
In spite of the efforts of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal to win over dissidents within the SAD, factionalism within the party circle continues to take the center stage at public functions.

A case in point is the function organised by SAD leaders to release a book, “Jinhi Such Pachhaneya”, authored by former SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar at Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) headquarters here today.

Punjab education minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan along with senior Akali leaders were also present.

Soon after the function started, a senior Akali leader and member of the SAD working committee Amrik Singh Mohali took the stage to welcome those sitting on the stage.

He addressed everyone, including local Akali leaders, but left without mentioning the name of NK Sharma, who is the joint secretary of the SAD.

Those present were Gulzar Singh Ranike, animal husbandry and dairy development minister, and Akali leaders JS Bhullar and Harsukhinder Singh Badal.

Much to the embarrassment of the organisers of the events, the compeer was told to mention the name of Sharma.

Meanwhile, the education minister, while releasing the book, resolved to strengthen book culture in the state by providing financial help and enhancing the physical strength of the Punjab language department.

Dr Parambir Singh from the department of Guru Granth Sahib Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, spoke about the balance of historical facts and religious thought in the book.

Panchkula, April 19
Fearing threat to their lives, members of the Dalit community today threatened to gherao the Deputy Commissioner and the Director General of Police if the accused in an assault case, who had also made derogatory remarks about their community, were not arrested by May 1.

Addressing mediapersons here today, members of the Nyaya Manch led by RS Sathi said it was an irony that even the MLAs from Panchkula and Kalka, DK Bansal and Pardeep Chaudhary, respectively, like the administration, were siding with the members of the upper caste.

They warned that the Dalits would gherao Deputy Commissioner Ashima Brar and DGP RS Dalal if the accused in the case were not arrested by May 1.

Sathi said certain persons had grabbed around 500 acres of shamlat land in a village and when some members of the Dalit community raised the issue, they were brutally assaulted by youths belonging to the upper caste. Their names figured in the FIR registered on March 17.

He alleged that the accused also used derogatory remarks against the women of the Dalit community.

He said while the Dalits were on a relay fast, some members of the upper caste began a similar fast to pressurise leaders and the district administration.

He rued that the victims were not even being consulted, let alone being served justice by arresting the accused. He said they would be forced to intensify their stir and stage a major showdown on May 1 if the accused were not arrested by then.

Zirakpur, April 19
Atop a tree for five days, Avtar Singh Nagla has courted controversy as it has now come to light that he has been declared a proclaimed offender by the economic offences wing of the Chandigarh police in an alleged cheating case.

Nagla, however, says there has been some misunderstanding and he is in the process of sorting it out.

According to sources in Chandigarh police, a case had been registered against Avtar Singh Nagla for cheating a resident of Chandigarh.

The sources added that Nagla had issued a cheque to the complainant but it bounced. He was declared a proclaimed offender by the court in January this year after an investigation by the EO wing, the sources added.

An official of the Chandigarh police stated that they were planning to arrest him soon.

While Nagla continued to remain perched on the tree, officials of the local administration preferred to stay away from him today. However, an official of the BDPO did visit the scene but was hooted at by his supporters.

Nagla had perched himself atop a eucalyptus tree, around 40 feet above the ground, on Friday. His followers came forward to lend him support by pitching a tent near the tree and supplying him with eatables.

Nagla alleged that the state government had given several acres of land on lease to a paper mill company to provide employment to the villagers. But the mill owners sold the land to a property dealer at a very high price, he added.

Meanwhile, administration official claimed that they had handed him over all documents as per his requirement.

Mohali, April 19
In connection with the alleged cheating case against Kuldeep Singh Virk, secretary of the United Co-operative House Building Society and a close associate of the former Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, DSP City-II, RS Sohal, along with other officials, visited the society members while looking for Virk.

Members of the society said, it seems that Mohali Poilce was working under “pressure”. After eight months, the police has suddenly become active. The police has been sending feelers to the society members to ensure surrender of the suspect.

“If the police shows the same response in detecting other cases and control theft of vehicles, it will be a lot better,” said one of the members. If the secretary was not arrested, some policemen could face the music, as had happened in the case of Yadwinder Singh Bhuttar. As Bhuttar could not be arrested, the SHO Phase XI was transferred, the member added. The SHO of Phase VIII has been transferred.

Panchkula, April 19
High drama was witnessed at the district courts here this afternoon when the local police arrested a youth for kidnapping a girl.

However, when the girl recorded her statement before the judicial magistrate stating that she was a major and wanted to stay with him, the police finally released the youth.

According to sources, girl’s parents had lodged a complaint against 22-year-old Anil Kumar, a resident of Rajiv Colony, for allegedly kidnapping their daughter last week.

On the other hand, Anil had filed an application in the court seeking protection for him and his wife from her family members.

However, the girl’s parents came to know about this and informed the police about Anil and their daughter.

The police arrested Anil before the hearing. But when the police took both Anil and girl before the judicial magistrate, the girl stated that she had not been kidnapped and that she wanted to stay with him.

Shish Pal, in-charge, Sector 16 police post, said the couple had been now kept under police protection.

He added that the girl had submitted an affidavit before the court stating that she was 19 years old and had gone with Anil on her own as she wanted to stay with him. She added that she had not been kidnapped.

Chandigarh, April 19
A 35-year-old man was found dead under mysterious circumstances near the cremation ground in Mani Majra this evening.

Even as injury marks were found on the body of the victim and cash was missing, the UT Police is yet to call it a murder and said the picture will be clear only after the post-mortem report.

The victim has been identified as Surinderpal Singh, a resident of Hisar, who came to the city only two days ago to buy some property.

The police was able to ascertain the identity of the victim from his mobile phone. The victim’s brother told the police that Rs 2000 was also found missing.

The body spotted by a passers-by around 4.30 pm and the police was informed. The body has been sent to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16 where the post-mortem will be conducted tomorrow.

Chandigarh, April 19
The UT Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has directed Parsvanath Developers and the chairman of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) to refund Rs 14.47 lakh to an NRI couple, who were not allotted a flat in the proposed Parsvanath Prideasia residential complex at the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park despite depositing the amount.

The forum has also ordered to pay the interest on this amount at the current maximum SBI term deposit for non-delivering the possession of the flat within 36 months, besides a compensation of Rs 50,000 for mental agony and harassment to the couple and a litigation cost of Rs 7,000.

The couple, Jaswant Singh and Amajit Kaur, had applied for a residential flat and deposited Rs 6.07 lakh along with the application form on October 1, 2008. They were allotted two-bedroom flat and they later paid Rs 8.4 lakh. However, when the flat was not allotted even after 36 months, the complainants sought refund of the money. They approached the forum as the money was not refunded.

In their reply to the forum, the respondents admitted having received the part payment of the flat and claimed the delay in allotting the same was due to dispute over a portion of the land of the project. They also admitted that nothing has been refunded to the complainants and they were liable to refund only an amount of Rs 8.4 lakh after deducting 5 per cent of the basic price of the flat.

The forum observed that the complainants had neither breached any terms and conditions of the agreement nor defaulted in payment of any instalment. They ruled that the developers were not entitled for any deduction.

In a similar complaint, The UT Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has directed Parsvanath Developers and the chairman of Chandigarh Housing Board to refund Rs 16.94 lakh to two city residents, Kartar Singh and Kanwar Inder Singh, who were not allotted a flat in Parsvanath Prideasia residential complex, besides paying compensation of Rs 50,000 for harassment and Rs 7,000 as the cost of litigation.

Chandigarh, April 19
The UT Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum recently ordered a developer, Uppals Marbel Arch, to hand over the possession of a flat to an NRI couple within three months, besides paying a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for mental agony and litigation cost of Rs 7,000.

In this case, since Uppals failed to execute the agreement even after being paid the entire amount, the developer was guilty of not fulfilling the statutory provisions prescribed under the Act. The forum also held the developer guilty of deficiency in service as he failed to hand over the possession of the flat to the buyer within the prescribed time of receiving the amount.

Dr Pritpal Singh and his wife Rajinder Kaur, residents of USA, had paid Rs 11.20 lakh as registration fee for booking a four-bedroom flat in Uppals Marbel Arch in Mani Majra in April 2006. A buyer’s agreement was executed in November 2006 in which the developer agreed to sell them same flat in block C, apartment No C-14, first floor having an area of 2450sq ft at Rs 5,490 per sq ft.

In an advertisement, it was clearly mentioned to deliver the possession of the flat by the end of year 2008. Later, Uppal intimated the complainants through an email that they had applied for the completion certificate and possession would be delivered as the same was received. While the SDO (building) denied giving the completion certificate as there were number of discrepancies in the construction of the building, stated complainants in their complaint.

In its reply, the developer stated that they never committed to deliver the possession on any specific date. The respondents pleaded that the construction work was completed in March 2009 but the possession could not be delivered because non-issuance of the completion certificate by the UT administration.

The forum comprising president Lakshman Sharma and members Ashok raj Bhandari and Madhu Mutneja stated that as the complainants paid the entire sale consideration in January 2007, they could not be allowed to wait for an unlimited period for the possession. In such circumstances, non-delivery of possession within a reasonable time amounts to deficiency in service on the part of developers.

Chandigarh, April 19
While a large number of cases of dog bites are reaching city hospitals, the cases of rabid attacks being faced by city residents by animals like monkeys, cats and mongooses are not less. More than 300 cases of injuries due to attacks by monkeys, cats and mongooses reached the city hospitals last year.

According to medical experts, rabies due to the bite of these animals is equally dangerous as that of the bite of a rabid dog. The appropriate immunisation against rabies is a must for even a small scratch by these animals.

While in the dispensary of Sector 19, 174 cases of monkey bites were reported last year, many other patients had been treated at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32; PGI and private hospitals. In addition to it, 148 and six persons bitten by cats and mongooses, respectively, reached the Sector 19 dispensary.

The best precaution against rabies is the immunisation of the victim immediately after the bite, as no one can assure of good health of these animals and their bite can prove equally poisonous as that of a rabid dog, said Dr Ram Singh, deputy medical superintendent of GMCH-32. The rabies work like a slow poison and it can take a long period to show its effects on the victim, he said.

Whenever a rabid animal bites a person, the virus travels through the blood, goes to the brain and settles there before attacking the nervous system.

However, it can remain dormant for months and sometimes even for years before getting active. The brain and throat of such victims can be found swollen and they can feel difficulty in breathing and drinking, he said.

Chandigarh, April 19
Over 20 city students made it to various Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). A majority of these students happen to be engineers or IT professionals, who have made it to the IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta, who declared their group discussion and personal interview results today.

“It is a dream come true for any management studies aspirant. Today my happiness is probably much more than the day I topped CAT because today that golden percentage has converted into the real result,” said Arshdeep Kaur, the region’s topper in CAT, who has made it to IIM, Ahmedabad, Calcutta and XLRI.

Over 10,000 aspirants from the region appeared for CAT-2010, which was held between October 27 and November 24. Out of 13 IIMS, most of the IIMs declared the calls for group discussion and personal interview in January, while IIM Udaipur and IIM Kashipur are yet to announce the list of shortlisted candidates.

“More number of students have got IIM calls this year, which is a good sign for the city. The main reason can be addition of new IIMs. With three new IIMs opened this year, there is a total of 13 IIMs in India. Last year, IIM Ranchi, IIM Rohtak and IIM Raipur started. Adding to this list this year, we have IIM Tiruchirappallai, IIM Udaipur and IIM Kashipur.

This year’s results reveal that girls have outperformed boys. The top two percentile holders are girls,” says Hridesh Madan, director of a coaching institute.

Panchkula, April 19
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths today raided the premises of Swami Devi Dyal College of Law at Barwala, around 20 km from here, and the residence of its owner, Moti Lal Jindal over alleged irregularities in the institute’s affiliation process.

The CBI officials had first raided the residence of Moti Lal Jindal at NAC, Mani Majra, Chandigarh.

However, when the officials did not find any incriminating documents, they went to the college for inspection. The institute was closed since morning and students were asked to return to their homes.

The CBI spokesman said a complaint had been received highlighting gross irregularities in the affiliation given to the law college of the Swami Devi Dyal Group, which was established in 2007.

A criminal case under Sections 7, 12, 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the PC Act, 1988, has already been registered against Rajender Singh Rana, member Bar Council of India; Daulat Ram Sharma, associate managing trustee, Bar Council of India; and Moti Lal Jindal, vice-chairman, Swami Devi Dyal Law College, Barwala, on April 18. The raid was still on and we are going through all records of the college and we will also seize certain documents for scrutiny, the spokesman said.

In the complaint, it was alleged that Rajinder and Daulat had entered into a criminal conspiracy during October-November last year. It was alleged that the duo demanded illegal gratification of Rs 1.25 lakh from Jindal for conducting inspections at Swami Devi Dayal Law College, Barwala, for submitting favourable report for continuing LLB and BA-LLB (integrated) courses in the said college.

Amit Jindal, a member of the managing committee of the college, said, “The CBI officials had come to our college to confirm whether Rana had demanded money from the them and how much we had paid to the official. Rana was arrested by the police for possessing extra money and income and he might have mentioned the name of our college also.”