Phagwara, April 19
A young woman, Gurjinder Kaur, alias Happy, was murdered, while her husband Kulwant Singh of Kangniwal village sustained serious injuries when some unidentified armed assailants attacked them with sharp-edged weapons under mysterious circumstances near Bhakhriana village in the subdivision. The incident happened when they along with their three-month-old daughter were going from Jagral village to Bhakhriana in their Maruti car (PB-8AB-7369) last night.

Gurjinder Kaur was found murdered in the car. Several residents of a nearby village took her crying daughter with them and gave her milk. The injured husband, Kulwant, however, was admitted to Johal Hospital in Buta Mandi by the owner of a passing vehicle, Gurpreet, where he was still unfit for giving any statement till the filing of the report.

The DSP, Sandip Sharma, confirmed the incident and said here today that Gurjit Singh, alias Laddi, a journalist in a vernacular newspaper and brother of Gurjinder Kaur, had alleged before the police that his sister Gurjinder was allegedly murdered by her husband Kulwant Singh, who had been torturing her physically and mentally for the last several months. He said the deceased was married to Kulwant on May 3, 2010, and delivered a daughter on January 25, 2011.

Gurjit told the police that his niece Manpreet, who was living with her aunt Gurjinder Kaur, informed him on phone about the incident and he (Gurjit) along with his brother-in-law Joginder Singh rushed to the site, where his sister was lying dead in a pool of blood in the car, while her daughter was being taken care of by residents of a nearby village, who told them that Kulwant was admitted to a private hospital.

The DSP said though on the complaint of Gurjit, the police had registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC against Kulwant Singh (injured husband of the deceased), but the case would be thoroughly investigated to find out the truth whether Gurjinder Kaur was murdered by her husband in connivance with some other persons or some unidentified assailants had attacked and killed the woman. The body of Gurjinder Kaur was sent to the Civil Hospital for postmortem.

Jalandhar, April 19
Every college hostel has its share of juicy and scandalous tales of girls and boys that are triggered by stray events - a missing hosteller or an unwanted visitor. Some are based on truth, while others are turned into full-blown controversies induced mostly by college politics, even before the party concerned has a chance to open his/her mouth.

“Kal college band rahega”, a play scripted by CD Sidhu and directed by Ravi Taneja, which was staged at the Red Cross Bhawan this Saturday by the Romesh Chander Memorial Society, tapped this widely-prevalent college-hostel phenomenon, to talk about the loopholes in the education system and the futility of the so-called moral police.

The cause for controversy here was a girl and a boy locked up in room number 35 of the boys’ hostel with the door bolted from inside. As soon as secretary of the staff council of the college Kashi Ram Verma gets a wind of the situation, he begins efforts to turn the situation into a scandal, without first bothering to ask the students for their side of the story and much to the reluctance of warden Dr Kaul and the principal, who the secretary is not particularly fond of.

The president and secretary of the Students’ Union — the former a fear-inducing outlaw (with a case running against him in the court) and the latter an avowed feminist — are called in to have their say.

The parents of both the ‘culprits’ (Parminder and Shama) are summoned.

The very next day, teachers and other management members are called in to pass their own respective judgments on the duo. When they do get to speak out their version (Shama was copying math work from Parminder), no one listens. And those who do, either do not matter or do not believe.

Frustrated, Parminder heads to his hostel room without meeting his father, a teacher, and commits suicide. A holiday is declared, and the chief conspirators, unaffected by the death, plan on a booze party since “Kal college band rahega”.

The play touched upon many issues - the warden (aspiring to become a reader) was envied because of his five-roomed accommodation, the spineless principal was looking to be a VC and was thus wary of all the politics at the college, teachers were preoccupied with meetings, books, lectures and other part time vocations at the cost of the students’ welfare, the controversy became an excuse for mudslinging among the staff members, the campus affairs (teacher-teacher or student-teacher) and ensuing jealousies were brought out in the open, some teachers used the occasion to flaunt their knowledge and associations in Indian theatre, while others were disappointed that the duo’s version did not have the delicious details that they were expecting.

Chaos was invited in the name of discipline, but no one listened when the guy said he was subjected to ragging or when the girl said she was poor enough to take up a job to pay her college fees.

The chilling realism of the play was its greatest asset.

The fact that it was written by a man who himself refused to accept the posts of the vice chairman and principal at his college, because he loved teaching, added to the believability. Penning the play in 1975, CD Sidhu had claimed that the play was based on real incidents that he himself had witnessed at his college. The director won half the battle since the script was so good.

But given the claim that the play has been staged 900 times, acting by some of the characters was disappointing. At places they overlapped each other and there was also a lot of repetition.

That play is also a part of the curriculum of Delhi University, Panjab University and Punjabi University, Patiala, and Canada University.

Jalandhar, April 19
The sports city, which is yet to overcome the euphoria of the World Cup victory, has a reason to cheer again as its three upcoming cricketers are playing in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), Season 4.

In their second stint in the IPL matches, the trio, namely Mandeep Singh, Ishan Malhotra and Rahul Sharma, all from Jalandhar, are brimming with joy of having been selected once again and climbing the ladder of success in their mushrooming cricket career.

Mandeep Singh is playing from Kings XI Punjab. Ishan Malhotra is a member of Deccan Chargers and Rahul Sharma is playing for Pune Warriors. They have one aim in common to excel in the game and get selected through the IPL platform in the Team Indian some day.

The Tribune spoke to the rising cricketers from the city:

Mandeep Singh, right-hand top-order batsman, said it was nothing short of a dream fulfilment, playing for the second consecutive time in the IPL with world-renowned batsman Adam Gilchrist, who happened to be his idol too. “I share a wonderful chemistry with Adam Gilchrist, who is also the captain of the team. It was a learning experience playing as an opening batsman with Adam during our practice matches. He is a very friendly and caring person and an amazing guide too. Moreover he is my idol and probably that sums up my excitement of playing under his guidance,” he said, adding that he had a long way to go.

Further talking about his experience with Kolkata Knight Riders, he said, “It was an altogether different experience under captain Saurav Ganguly’s Kolkata Knight Riders’ team as I picked some good batting styles from him. The IPL is one of the best launch pad for budding cricketers like us. Even those who have not played the Ranji matches can get a chance to excel here.”

Last year, Mandeep played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, Season-3. Mandeep is also a recipient of the prestigious Border-Gavaskar scholarship for the year 2010. The Ranji player and a former vice-captain of the U-19 World Cup squad, he feels on cloud nine after playing with Adam Gilchrist.

Ishan Malhotra, a medium pacer and a former Indian Cricket League (ICL) player, is playing for Deccan Chargers. He is all praise for team captain Sangakkara and Daniel Christian and said he wished to follow in their footsteps. “My performance in the ICL matches paved way for me in the IPL. I was called for the trials of the IPL and got selected. And I am looking forward to that golden chance to bat in this season too,” he added.

Ishan, who was a member of the IPL, Season-2 winner Deccan Chargers, studied from the local Labbu Ram Doaba Senior Secondary School and later shifted to MGN School. A resident of the Old Mai Hiran Gate locality, he said that he was thankful to all his coaches who helped him in shaping up his cricket career right from day one to till date.

He also highlighted that players like Virat Kohli and Saurabh Tiwary shot to limelight through the IPL only. “I think the IPL is the best thing to happen ever for many aspirants,” he maintained.

Rahul Sharma, a right-hand leg spinner, who is playing for Pune Warriors, maintained that playing under the captaincy of Yuvraj Singh was a big thing. “There is a lot to learn from Yuvraj Singh, who is a big source of inspiration for me. I am picking up and wish to join the ranks of ace cricketers of the Indian cricket team some day,” he said.

He said it was indeed a proud feeling of sharing the same nets and dressing room with ace cricketers. Rahul, who studied at the local Sai Dass Senior Secondary School, had represented Punjab in the domestic cricket and has so far captured 13 wickets in 14 T20 matches.

The leg-break googly bowler said he was happy to play and learn from players like Yuvraj Singh, Jesse Ryder and Mitchell Marsh. “It was owing to my good performance during the last year IPL season that I was selected once again. I played seven matches and took seven wickets during the IPL, Season -3,” he quipped.

Jalandhar, April 19
The state BJP leadership yesterday gathered at the Circuit House to plan the forthcoming rally being organised by the Mahila Morcha in the Majha-Doaba region of Punjab.

Ashwini Sharma, state BJP chief, said the meeting was organised to make arrangements for the rally, which would start from Amritsar on April 22 and conclude at Pathankot on April 30. He said the women representatives, led by national BJP Mahila Morcha president Smriti Irani, would campaign against inflation in various areas of the region.

As per the plan, women members would walk on foot through Batala, Jalandhar, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Mukerian, Dinanagar and Gurdaspur. Others who attended the event included senior leaders Kamal Sharma and Manjit Singh Rai.

Jalandhar, April 19
Following a news item “Misuse of Bhagat Singh’s name for profit sake” carried in Jalandhar Plus on Friday, more information started pouring in on how a group of local industrialists in the name of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Trust blatantly violated the building bylaws while constructing the complex in BSF Colony in front of HMV College here.

The Jalandhar Improvement Trust, in its recent meeting, had brought on record certain points which indicate that the entire purpose of the land being allotted was changed by the allottees.

The agenda item 264 of the meeting held on February 21, mentions that the 2 kanal, 1 marla and 86 sq feet plot had been handed out to the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Trust to construct a health club for the welfare of the youth in the area. But the allottees had instead come up with a commercial complex and started making huge profits by renting out space to various private firms.

During the construction of the building in 2006, the allottees covered much more area than that was permissible through the approved plan. The owners covered 7,019 sq feet area in the basement, more than 3,697 sq feet of the allowed 3,322 sq feet area. There has been a similar violation on the ground, first and second floors.

While only a “mumty” had been allowed for the third floor, that too in an area of 1,903 sq feet, the allottees went ahead to again cover 7,019 sq feet. There was no fourth floor in the sanctioned draft, but the violators covered 1,950 sq feet. There again was no fifth floor as per the plan, but the owners constructed a mumty, toilet and lift portion on the floor.

Further, the agenda point clearly mentions that the representatives of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Trust were sent notices on September 11, 2006, November 15, 2006, November 27, 2006, and again on March 16, 2007, against the deviations in the construction plan against which they moved the court.

Later, however, they withdrew their complaint. They are understood to have now come out to settle the issue with the Jalandhar Improvement Trust authorities and are ready to pay up all CLU dues and compounding fee to the officials running into a few crores of rupees. Amanbir Singh Marwaha, president of the trust and owner of the Unison group, confirmed having withdrawn the complaint. He agreed that he had moved an application for a compromise with the authorities.

The engineers from the department opined that violations to such a large extent called for demolition of the building as per law. “However, since the government wants us to reach a compromise on the matter, we are trying to resolve the matter otherwise,” they revealed.

Jalandhar, April 19
Call it a blessing in disguise for city art lovers, a three-day painting exhibition at the Virsa Vihar (from April 16 to 18) by artist couple Tejinder Ladi Singh and Hema Singh owed its existence to a fractured bone.

When Chandigarh-based interior designer Tejinder Ladi Singh was advised rest after an accident that wrecked his femur, rather than idling his time away, he decided to do what comes to him best - paint.

What sets the exhibition apart is Ladi’s understanding of the means and techniques of digital art, an area which most of the artists in Punjab (who mostly rely on traditional techniques) still have to catch up on.

Most of the work at the exhibition was the outcome of the artistic exploits of Ladi’s rest period (so called).

He creates his digital masterpieces on Coral Draw, Adobe Photoshop and Auto Cad. Charcoals, oil pastels and rotring pen are the other mediums he relies on.

Ladi’s vibrant palette abounds in fluorescent hues and canvasses set ablaze (there’s loads of crimson and yellow).

There’s also a marked fascination for both the female body and vintage cars, which plod along on tranquil highways.

Even his lustrous pastels are of a different kind, as he himself admits, “Their brightness mostly causes people to mistake them for water colours or acrylics.”

His concrete landscapes are mostly fire-hued and there are takes on the environment and people. His fetching yellow bikini babe prancing along on a yellow beach with a red sky clearly stands out.

Ladi’s wife Hema has a distinct style of her own and uses traditional media for her landscapes and seascapes. Wine glasses with bokeh backgrounds and entrances of remote foreign villas and cafes are her other loved subjects.

Jalandhar, April 19
The School of Engineering and Computer Applications of Lovely Professional University (LPU) organised a two-day mega tech-fest “Invictus-11”.

During the festival, mind-freaking series of fierce battles, various lectures, project displays and events were organised. Chancellor of the university Ashok Mittal inaugurated the fest.

Events in all fields from advanced coding to simple logic, algorithm design to computer fundamentals were held. There were others, including “Coding maestros” to join the battle of codes, “Reign of errors” to smash the bug, “Query fury” to quench mind-boggling query, “Mind vision” to draw what you like, “Tech adventure” for treasure hunt with a difference, “Fanatic brains” to animate the world around you, “Algo-rhythm tailor” to build challenging algorithms, “Game-O-Sphere” for everything from Formula-1 cars to extreme shooting and “Computer fundas” about computer basics.

There also was a workshop on “Networking tools and devices.”

Jalandhar, April 19
The General Officer Commanding of Vajra Corps, Lt-Gen Munish Sibal, yesterday laid the foundation stone of the Married Accommodation Project (MAP), Phase-II, at Jalandhar Cantonment.

The project includes the construction of additional dwelling units for 46 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and 1,924 personnel below officer rank (PBOR) at Jalandhar Cantonment.

Addressing the gathering, Gen Sibal stressed on the timely completion of the MAP-II, which is in continuation of the ongoing drive to provide decent living to the Army personnel. “The new accommodation has been designed, incorporating latest specifications based on modern amenities,” the GOC said.

The construction of these dwelling units will substantially reduce the waiting period for allotment of permanent accommodation to JCOs and PBOR in Jalandhar Cantonment and is a major step towards their welfare and uplift of their living standards.