The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Annual fair in Gabbar Singh Negi’s memory today
The memorial to Gabbar Singh Negi at Chamba Mussoorie, April 20
The residents of Chamba, a small hamlet on the way to Tehri town, have begun preparation for the annual fair, organised to pay homage to Gabbar Singh Negi tomorrow. Negi was a rifleman in the 2/39th Garhwal Rifles, Indian Army, during the First World War. He was awarded the highest bravery award, the Victoria Cross, for his brave actions on March 10, 1915, at Neuve Chapelle, France. The plaque at the memorial constructed in his honour in 1971, describing the valour of the rifleman during the First World War, 1914, states “during an attack on the German position Rifleman Gabbar Singh Negi was one of a bayonet party with bombs who entered their main trench, and was the first man to go round each traverse, driving back the enemy until they were eventually forced to surrender. He was killed during this engagement.”
The memorial to Gabbar Singh Negi at Chamba

Bar council ex-chief accuses minister of making threat call
Razia Beig, Uttarakhand Wakf Board member and former chairperson of the Uttarakhand Bar Council, addresses newspersons in Dehradun on Wednesday Dehradun, April 20
Razia Beig, a member of the Uttarakhand Wakf Board and former president of the Uttarakhand Bar Council, has accused the Uttarakhand Social Welfare Minister and in charge of Muslim Affairs, Matbar Singh Kandari, of making a threatening phone call to her on April 16 while asking her to co-operate with the Chairman of the Uttarakhand Wakf Board, Haji Rao Sharafat Ali, a nominee of the state BJP government.
Razia Beig, Uttarakhand Wakf Board member and former chairperson of the Uttarakhand Bar Council, addresses newspersons in Dehradun on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Molestation case transferred to sessions court
Dehradun, April 20
The case of the alleged molestation of girl students from Alwar in Rajasthan during a school trip here six months ago had been transferred to the sessions court, official sources said today.

REJECTION OF EXAMINATION FORMS
2,500 students’ fate hangs in balance
Dehradun, April 20
The fate of around 2,500 students of DAV PG College is hanging in balance. The students are worried whether they will sail through their annual examinations or remain entangled in the differences between the college administration and the university.

Anshul Chawla (right), president of the DAV ( PG) College Students Union, addresses a press conference in Dehradun on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

Beehive College register win
Dehradun, April 20
Beehive College got the better of Rao Sporting Club by 25 runs in pre-quarterfinals of the Beehive Twenty-20 Cricket Tournament at Matawala Bagh here today.

District Sports Officer to referee world boxing meet
Dehradun, April 20
District Sports Officer Dharmender Bhatt has been chosen as the official (referee/judge) for the 16th International Boxing Championship to be held at Almaty in Kazakhstan.

Basketball
Summer Valley beat Welham
Dehradun, April 20
In a major upset, defending champions for years Welham Boys School was shown the exit door by Summer Valley School in a boys’ quarterfinal of the District Junior (Under-18 years) Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls, here today.

Doon Knight Riders win
Dehradun, April 20
It was an easy win for Doon Knight Riders over Balesh XI Kuthal Gate by seven wickets in the Khalanga Krida Samiti cricket tournament, here today.

Boy dies, 4 taken ill after having poisonous prasad
It was distributed by a person outside a shop in Upper Nathanpur
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 20
An eleven-year-old boy died and the condition of four others deteriorated after having poisonous prasad outside a shop in Upper Nathanpur last night. The prasad was distributed by a person.

The body of the boy has been kept at the mortuary of Combined Medical Institute (CMI) Hospital for a post-mortem examination. The condition of two of the victims, who have been admitted to Government Doon Hospital, is still unstable, but the other two are out of danger.

Narrating the incident, Milan Kokshal (17) said: “We were standing near a shop at the upper Nathanpur when an unidentified man approached us near around 8 pm. After parking his scooter, he started distributing prasad to us, saying it is of Kali Mata Mandir. However, nearly half an hour later, some of us started vomiting following which we were rushed to Doon Hospital.”

A total of six persons, Anil Kumar (40), Mohit Kumar (18), Ujjawal (11), Milan Kokshal (17), Pankaj (24) and Vinod (24) had the prasad. However, one of them started vomiting soon after having it and spat it out and didn’t have any problem later.

The remaining five were admitted to Doon Hospital. One of them, Ujjawal, was referred to the CMI Hospital, but he died during the treatment.

Senior physician KP Joshi, who is attending to the victims, said the condition of two of them was still unstable, but the other two were out of danger. It had been confirmed that there was poison in prasad, but the nature of poison was yet to be confirmed, he added.

SS Negi, SHO of the Raipur police station, said nobody knows the man who had offered the prasad. It might be possible that the sweets they had in form of prasad must be old.

Meanwhile, kin of the deceased reached the hospital after getting the news. They were inconsolable. The deceased’s father runs a small shop in the Nathanpur area.

DISPLACEMENT
Slum dwellers demand homes
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 20
Demanding separate allotment of residential accommodation owing to their displacement, the slum dwellers of Haridwar took out a massive rally, here today.

Under the banner of the Uttrakhand Kranti Manch, hundreds of agitators from several slum colonies of Haridwar gathered at Gandhi Park here and staged a protest in support of their demands for the permanent rehabilitation.

Inhabitants of Chandighat, Laljiwlaa, Lakkad Basti, Rodi Belwala, Vishnu-Ahbab Nagar, Dhyankunj, Jwalapur and other affected areas rallied at Gandhi Park and finally gheraoed the residence of Uttrakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal. The protesting slum dwellers were stopped by the police through a barricade at Hathibarkala.

However, the slum dwellers staged a demonstration and warned the ruling BJP government to undergo that they would hold an indefinite protest if their demands were not met. They handed over a memorandum of their demands to the City Magistrate, addressed to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister.

The procession was led by JP Pandey, chief of the Uttarakhand Kranti Manch, who addressed the protesters by saying that slum dwellers were the first to get affected by floods or by any fair organised at Haridwar.

“These vulnerable slum dwellers are asked to vacate their living areas whenever there is any VIP movement in the city. In fact, they are always targeted for security reasons and during anti-encroachment drives,” said Pandey.

Annual fair in Gabbar Singh Negi’s memory today
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, April 20
The residents of Chamba, a small hamlet on the way to Tehri town, have begun preparation for the annual fair, organised to pay homage to Gabbar Singh Negi tomorrow. Negi was a rifleman in the 2/39th Garhwal Rifles, Indian Army, during the First World War. He was awarded the highest bravery award, the Victoria Cross, for his brave actions on March 10, 1915, at Neuve Chapelle, France. The plaque at the memorial constructed in his honour in 1971, describing the valour of the rifleman during the First World War, 1914, states “during an attack on the German position Rifleman Gabbar Singh Negi was one of a bayonet party with bombs who entered their main trench, and was the first man to go round each traverse, driving back the enemy until they were eventually forced to surrender. He was killed during this engagement.” The locals from his village say that Negi was born on April 21, 1895, at Manjood village near Chamba in Tehri. He joined the 2/39 Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles in October 1913. He became a legendary figure after winning the Victoria Cross during the First World War.

In 1971, the Garhwal Regiment adopted the fair to give it a much-needed boost. A memorial was constructed and with the inclusion of Army traditions in the ceremonies, the Negi fair started attracting villagers from far and near to pay their homage to this brave soldier. Every year, on April 20/21 (depending on the Hindu calendar), Negi Memorial in Chamba comes alive with many kiosks being set up. This is the only fair of its kind in the state. Senior citizen Darmayan Singh Makhloga from Chamni village recalls that he has been attending the fair since its inception and he was here to witness Army personnel from Garhwal Regimental centre will be offering gun salute to the brave son of the soil tomorrow. The fair will attract people from around the region and will last a day. Residents around Chamba will remember the supreme sacrifice that was made by the young soldier keeping alive the true tradition of the Army.

Bar council ex-chief accuses minister of making threat call
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 20
Razia Beig, a member of the Uttarakhand Wakf Board and former president of the Uttarakhand Bar Council, has accused the Uttarakhand Social Welfare Minister and in charge of Muslim Affairs, Matbar Singh Kandari, of making a threatening phone call to her on April 16 while asking her to co-operate with the Chairman of the Uttarakhand Wakf Board, Haji Rao Sharafat Ali, a nominee of the state BJP government.

She has written a letter to the SSP, Dehradun , saying that the call had caused her mental strain and made her conscious of her safety as she lived all alone at home. When The Tribune contacted the minister, he rejected the charge saying that he never made any threatening call to Beig.

Addressing the media here today, Beig said she would not stop exposing the irregularities and corrupt practices of Sharafat Ali, who wanted to allegedly usurp the Wakf properties. She also urged the minister not to interfere in the board matters. Beig showed the letter signed by the minister wherein he informed the members of handing over all financial powers to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Uttarakhand Wakf Board under Section 32 of the Wakf Act. The minister, who under the Wakf Act cannot make such decisions, also declined having written any such letter to Beig.

Beig also levelled allegations against Sharafat Ali for making unsuccessful attempts to distort rules in the Wakf Board meeting to gain supreme power under Section 32, a proposal turned down by a majority at the meeting on April 13.

She said, Sharafat Ali was making money by holding tenders of Piran Kaliyar without consulting the board members and was encouraging corrupt people like Shamim Alam, caretaker of Wakf 10, by reinstating him at the position, from which he was suspended by the board.

Molestation case transferred to sessions court

Dehradun, April 20
The case of the alleged molestation of girl students from Alwar in Rajasthan during a school trip here six months ago had been transferred to the sessions court, official sources said today.

Dehradun Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Kunwar Amanendra Singh transferred the case to the sessions court yesterday. The trial is now expected to begin soon.

The incident had taken place near Rajpur here on November 15 last year when 70 students, including 30 girls, of HRD Senior Secondary School in Alwar of Rajasthan, were going to Mussoorie after visiting the famous tourist spot of Sahastradhara.

Some miscreants intercepted their bus and thrashed the driver. Some of them entered the bus and allegedly molested the girls besides breaking the windowpanes.

Principal of the school Vinod Kumari, who was accompanying the students, later lodged a complaint. After registering a case in this regard, the police arrested five persons, Pradip Rana, Kamal, Ajay Rautela, Kuldip Kumar and Sanjay. The police had already filed a charge sheet in the case. — PTI

REJECTION OF EXAMINATION FORMS
2,500 students’ fate hangs in balance
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 20
The fate of around 2,500 students of DAV PG College is hanging in balance. The students are worried whether they will sail through their annual examinations or remain entangled in the differences between the college administration and the university.

Prof SK Singh, Vice-Chancellor, HNB Garhwal University, while addressing the media in Srinagar yesterday made a statement saying, “Students who have not been allotted roll numbers and admit cards by the university will be considered illegal. The university will not even examine their answer sheets and will constitute a committee to look into the malpractice of the college to conduct a ‘fake’ examination of such students.”

In view of the statement, Anshul Chawla, president of the DAV College Student Council, has criticised the “appalling” attitude of the university. He said, “HNB Garhwal University is meting out step-motherly treatment to the college after receiving the status of a centralised university.”

“If the first lot of examination forms was accepted by the university on February 18, while the second lot of the forms was accepted on February 28, then for what reason has the university rejected about 2,500 examination forms, submitted by the students after February 10.

However, on behalf of the affected students, Anshul Chawla has demanded from the university to scrutinise the answer sheets of students who have been given roll numbers by the DAV PG College itself. He has also warned the university of boycotting the ongoing annual examinations of the HNB Garhwal University from April 25 at various degree colleges of Dehradun district.

It is relevant to mention that the annual examinations of the university have already started in degree colleges from March 24.

The students alleged that the university authorities had themselves directed the college administration to allot handwritten roll number cards for the annual examinations and scrutinise their answer sheets, too.

Beehive College register win
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 20
Beehive College got the better of Rao Sporting Club by 25 runs in pre-quarterfinals of the Beehive Twenty-20 Cricket Tournament at Matawala Bagh here today.

Beehive chose to bat first after winning the toss. The team set a target of 119 runs for seven wickets in 20 overs. Ajay (34), Digvijay (22) and Ajit (19) were the main scorers. For Rao Sporting Club, Kiran took two wickets. Sahil and Pramod took a wicket each.

Chasing the target, Rao could score 93 runs at the loss of nine wickets in the stipulated overs. Kush of the winning team took three wickets. Shrey took two wickets. Digvijay, Mohit and Ajay also pocketed a wicket each. In tomorrow’s pre-quarterfinal Al-Fateh will battle it out with Himalayan (B).

WDCA outplay HCA

WDCA posted a huge win of seven wickets over HCA in the Late Pati Dass Memorial Twenty20 Cricket Tournament held on Sudhowala Jail ground, here today. HCA scored 95 runs in 16.4 overs before getting all out. WDCA achieved the target in 9.5 overs only after losing three wickets. Meanwhile, Bright Angels will face Doon Jail Club tomorrow.

District Sports Officer to referee world boxing meet
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 20
District Sports Officer Dharmender Bhatt has been chosen as the official (referee/judge) for the 16th International Boxing Championship to be held at Almaty in Kazakhstan.

According to a press statement issued by the Uttaranchal Amateur Boxing Association, top players from more than 20 countries will take part in the championship.

The Indian squad will leave for Almaty on May 7 from New Delhi. Bhatt has sought permission from Sports Minister Khazan Das to be relieved for the job.

Basketball
Summer Valley beat Welham
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 20
In a major upset, defending champions for years Welham Boys School was shown the exit door by Summer Valley School in a boys’ quarterfinal of the District Junior (Under-18 years) Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls, here today.

The winning side pipped Welham 8-4, 9-4, 6-4, 17-4. Yuvraj of Summer Valley School and Yuvraj of Welham scored identical 10 points.

However, Welham girls saved blushes for the school as the team beat Summer Valley School 24-12, 2-8, 10-8, 16-0 in girls’ quarterfinal.

In boys’ quarters, Doon School defeated Kasiga 8-6, 12-12, 9-4, 3-2.

Hilton’s School defeated Doon International School and Pestle Weed College surpassed Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

In the girls’ quarterfinals, Hopetown Girls got the better of Carman School, Dalanwala. Unison World School defeated Doon International School and Convent of Jesus and Mary beat St Joseph’s Academy. All winning teams entered the semifinals.

Doon Knight Riders win
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 20
It was an easy win for Doon Knight Riders over Balesh XI Kuthal Gate by seven wickets in the Khalanga Krida Samiti cricket tournament, here today.

Batting first, Doon Knight Riders scored 101 runs in 12.4 overs before getting all out. Bhanu top scored with 47 runs. For the bowling side, Moni took three wickets. Nitin, Vikash and Abhay got a wicket each.

In reply, Doon Knight Riders achieved the target, scoring 108 runs in 12 overs losing three wickets. Abhay (34) and Moni (30) were the principal scorers for the batting side. Amit and Sumit of the rival team were the only successful bowlers picking a wicket each.