NEIGHBOURHOOD

Jeweller-turned-robber arrested with 3 others
Had formed a 6-member gang to commit robberies
Tribune News Service

Fatehgarh Sahib, June 10
A Sirhind-based jeweller has been arrested for committing robberies with five others near here today.

Jeweller Gurmeet Bhola started a jewellery shop in Sirhind after completing his graduation, but failed to continue with the business and formed a six-member gang of looters around a year ago. The gang is already facing criminal charges in various police stations of Punjab and Haryana.

They admitted to have looted a Mandi Gobindgarh-based businessman at gunpoint and also made three futile attempts to loot a Patiala-based jeweller last month. The gang was also involved in firing gunshots on a police party in Mansa.

The accused were arrested on a tip off from the Mandi Gobindgarh Focal Point where they were allegedly planning to commit more robberies last night.

Mandi Gobindgarh SHO Bikramjit Brar said the mastermind of the gang was Gurmeet Bhola, who belonged to a well-to-do family of Sirhind.

He roped in a driver, a carpenter and a blacksmith into his gang to commit crimes. The mastermind “invested” Rs 20,000 to purchase weapons, including a revolver, cartridges and swords for the purpose.

They stole a Scorpio car from Patiala city and fixed a red beacon on it to loot the Mandi Gobindgarh-based businessman.

One of their gang members, Jaspreet, alias Sonu, of Dera Meermiyan village worked as a driver of the businessman for four years and was aware of his ex-employers’ transactions. The businessman used to visit Sirsa every week to collect payments.

The robbers looted Rs 25 lakh, including few cheques, from the businessman at gunpoint near Sirsa five days after stealing the Scorpio. The vehicle was stolen on May 30.

After looting the businessman they headed towards Mansa where the police had already laid a trap near Jhunir. The accused opened fire on the police party and fled, leaving behind their vehicle.

One of the gang members, however, was arrested by the police who was later identified as Dilbag Singh of Gegamajra village of Mohali.

The four arrested last night, all residents of Fatehgarh Sahib villages, have been identified as Ravinder Singh, alias Manta of Tarkhanmajra village, Gurmeet Singh, alias Bhola of Brahmanmajra, Jaspreet, alias Sonu of Dera Meermiyan, Manpreet Singh, alias Manna of Mandofal. Gurcharan Singh, alias Charni of Geegemajra village in Mohali, was still absconding.

A .315 bore revolver with four live cartridges, .32 bore pistol with three live cartridges, swords and a Maruti Zen car of the mastermind was recovered by the police from their possession. 

Ambala, June 10
An undertrial lodged in Ambala Central Jail managed to flee from the police custody this morning. The police said Shiv Kumar, who was booked in a criminal case, had asked the jail officials to take him to a hospital as he was not feeling well. Following which he was admitted in the Civil Hospital at Ambala City.

Security guards were deployed outside his ward.

In the morning, he requested the security guards to allow him to go to answer the nature’s call. When he did not return even after half an hour, the security guards got suspicious. On opening the door of the toilet, they found the prisoner missing. The matter was brought to the notice of the senior police officials. The police cordoned off the entire hospital, but the prisoner could not be nabbed.

It is not a first incident, a number of such incidents have occurred in the past.

Fatehgarh Sahib, June 10
Fatehgarh Sahib Deputy Commissioner Yashvir Mahajan today stated that out of the total amount received by the district under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Rs 8.23 crore had been spent on various development projects.

The district had received a grant of Rs 8.71 crore.

The DC today visited various villages to inspect development works. He said job cards of 25,000 persons had been made so far. Most of these job card holders were women, he added. The DC today visited Jalalpur, Salani, Noorpura, Baina Buland, Baraunga Buland and Bhambri villages of Amloh block. He also listened to the problems of people working under the scheme.

Fatehgarh Sahib, June 10
The Democratic Midday Meal Cook Front today held a protest in front of the district administration in support of their demands.

State president of the front Harjinder Kaur led the agitation and said cooks preparing food for children in non-government schools had become victims of apathy. Cooks preparing food get a paltry sum of mere Rs 1,000 per month.

“Despite demanding a hike in salary, nothing has been done in this regard. Money has been deducted from the salary of those who avail leave,” they lamented. The agitators demanded that they be regularised and must get a good hike in their wages besides an insurance of Rs 2 lakh. They also demanded that contract system be abolished and proper kitchens be provided. 

Morinda, June 10
Eleven-year-old Chandni, daughter of tea-vendor Bashir, has gone missing since June 4.

In his statement to the police, Bashir said that on June 4 his daughter had gone out of house around 1 pm and has been missing since then. “Around 5 pm my wife informed me about missing Chandni. I looked for her, but in vain,” he said.

Chandni was the eldest of four siblings and was studying in class IV of local Khalsa School.

The family lived in quarters constructed near Shivnanda School. Bashir said that he suspected his neighbour from Bihar of playing a role in the incident. The police was investigating.

Chandigarh, June 10
The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed Taneja Developers to refund Rs 12 lakh to an assistant professor with the Panjab University for not allotting her the plot for which she had paid within the stipulated time of 12 months. The forum also directed the developer to pay Rs 7,000 as costs of litigation.

In her complaint, Chanchal Narang stated that she had booked a plot with Taneja Developers in their MCP (II) project at Sectors 110 and 111, Mohali, by depositing Rs 12 lakh in September, 2008. As per the registration letter, the company was to offer the plot within 12 months.

The complainant approached GMADA for knowing the status of the project. She was surprised to know that the developer had accepted the advance without obtaining the statutory clearance, in contravention of government stipulation. She was also told that the required approval and exemption was not granted till August, 2009.

Since the allotment was not made to the complainant within a period of 12 months, as promised in the original letter of offer, she made some enquiries with the developer. When she could not get any satisfactory reply regarding the ongoing development, she asked for the refund of Rs 12 lakh.

In its reply, the developer stated that no advertisement was ever given by the company in order to launch booking of plots in its project at Mohali. It said the complainant had deposited Rs 12 lakh with the company and got herself registered for the allotment of a commercial plot. An offer of allotment was sent to her on March 7, 2010, and later in September, 2010, but she refused to accept the offer and did not pay the remaining instalments as per the payment schedule.

The forum, comprising its president Lakshman Sharma and members Ashok Raj Bhandari and Madhu Mutneja, stated that the complainant had convincingly proved her case that the developer illegally and wrongfully enticed her to make a booking of a commercial plot by accepting Rs 12 lakh and making a false promise of allotment within a stipulated time frame without getting clearance from the authorities at the time of booking and during the next one year or so.

The forum stated that the act of making offers of booking of a plot without obtaining essential and mandatory clearances from the government authorities concerned was a clear deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice by the developer.

Mohali, June 10
Holding Pancham Cooperative House Building Society Ltd, Sector 68, responsible for deficiency in services, the Mohali District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the society to refund Rs 9,16,500 to an allottee as the cost of a flat.

Pronouncing the order on a complaint filed by Bachan Singh Rai, a resident of Phase II, Mohali, the forum comprising BS Mehandiratta, president, Dr SS Dhaliwal and HK Ghuman, both members, directed the society to refund the cost of the flat with interest at a rate of 9 per cent per annum till the date of payment. The interest part has to be paid with effect from the date on which the cost of the flat had been deposited in instalments.

The complainant stated that he became member of the society on March 22, 2004, soon after depositing the membership fee. He sought allotment of an HIG flat of three bedrooms to be built at Sector 68, Mohali. An amount of Rs 9,16,500 was deposited as the cost of the flat on being demanded by the society. The society also issued a provisional letter to the applicant. But later the society failed to allot him the flat, despite various representations, whereas other members and shareholders had been allotted flats.

On being asked, the society stated that the complainant had failed to comply with the terms and norms of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority. It requested the complainant several times to submit the required affidavit, but the complainant failed to submit the same stating that he or his spouse or dependents did not own any residential house/plot/ flat at Mohali, Chandigarh and Panchkula. Due to this reason, the allotment of the flat had been cancelled.

“Since the complainant is not entitled to allotment of a flat, the society should have refunded his deposited amount with interest,” the forum observed.

Zirakpur, June 10
The Zirakpur police today arrested a travel agent for duping a resident of Chandigarh. The accused has been identified as Sandeep Singh, a resident of Ferozepore and presently residing in a rented accommodation at New Generation Apartment, who runs his office opposite Sekhon Marriage Palace, Neelkanth Complex, Ist floor, Zirakpur-Panchkula highway.

The police said the arrested accused would be produced in the local court tomorrow. In his complaint to the police, Om Parkash Sharma, a resident of Sector 15, Chandigarh, alleged that Sandeep had taken Rs 1.48 lakh from his son Sanjeev on May 15 for getting four return tickets from New Delhi to Canada. However, he did not hand over the tickets to his son till June 6.

The complainant stated that Sandeep told his son that he would hand over the tickets to him at Delhi airport. Accordingly, Sanjeev left for Delhi along with his three sons to board the flight and kept waiting for Sandeep. Om Parkash alleged that neither Sandeep handed over the tickets nor did he reach at the Delhi airport. He alleged that Sandeep had cheated his son.

A case under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC has been registered against Sandeep.

Zirakpur, June 10
A 22-year-old cyclist died after being hit by an unknown vehicle near Shagun Hotel on the Panchkula-Zirakpur highway late last night. The deceased was identified as Mewa Lal, a resident of Lohgarh village.

The police said the incident took place when Mewa Lal was going towards Lohgarh from Panchkula on his cycle. When he reached near the hotel, an unknown vehicle hit him from behind.

A passerby called the police and took the victim to a Panchkula hospital where doctors referred him to the PGI as his condition was critical. Later, he died during the treatment, the police added.

A case has been registered against the driver of the unknown vehicle.

Chandigarh, June 10
Devinder, a resident of Sector 20, was killed when a four-wheeler hit him near the light points of Sectors 49 and 50 last night.

Chandigarh, June 10
In a tough three-set clash Abhay Sarma defeated Aniket Khosa to win the boys (U-12) category of the CLTA-YPS Open Tennis Tournament held at Yadavindra Public School, Mohali, here today.

Abhay Sarma defeated Aniket Khosa 0-1, 4-2, 4-1. In the final of boys (U-14) category, Aniket Khosla defeated Abhiuday Singh 4-2, 4-2.

In girls singles (U-12) group, Akshita Singh defeated Abhilasha 5-4(8), 5-3, while in the senior category, Abhilasha defeated Kriti Soni 5-3, 4-5(8), 4-1.

Chandigarh, June 10
LIC Cricket Academy defeated DP Azad Cricket Academy to move into the final of the ongoing LIC Challenger Cricket (U-16) Trophy Tournament being held at Government Model School, Sector 26, here.

A quick fire by Shubham Vij (61 off 45) helped the hosts defeat DP Azad Cricket Academy by nine wickets.

Earlier, batting first, DP Azad academy were bundled out on 117 runs in 27 overs. Karan Aggarwal (28), Abhijeet (29) and Davinder Singh (22) were the main contributors. Left arm-spinner Anish took 3 for 11. In reply, LIC team achieved the target in the 16th over of the game. Ajay Kumar contributed 49 runs.

Scores

DP Azad Cricket Academy: 117 in 27 overs (Karan Aggarwal 28,Abhijeet 29, Davinder 22,Anish 3 for 11, Megha Pandey 2 for 22 and Chetan 2 for 30). LIC Cricket Club: 118 for 1 in 16 overs (Shubham Vij 61 not out and Ajay Kumar 49). 

Chandigarh, June 10
Saupin’s School, Sector 32, defeated Rider Club, Kharar, in the ongoing third Ashok Vij Memorial Cricket (U-15) Tournament being held at Banyan Tree School, Sector 48, here.

Ramandeep with the help of his ton guided the team to overcome the opponents by a margin of 170 runs. Batting first, Saupin’s team made 259 for 2 in 20 overs .

In reply, Rider Club batsmen were bowled out on the total of 89 runs in 15 overs. Harshul of Saupin’s took three wickets.

Scores

Saupin’s School: 259 for 2 in 20 overs (Ramandeep 100, Swapnil 86 and Shubham 1 for 33). Rider Club: 89 all out in 15 overs (Inderpal 17, Shubham 15, Harshul 3 for 13 and Prithvi 2 for 18).

Panchkula, June 10
Six budding skaters set a new record of covering a distance of 720km in 31 hours at Shivganga Roller Skating Club. Rekhansh Ram Pal Sharma of Bhawan Vidyalaya, Anuj Sud of Gurukul School, Shubham Aggarwal of DC Model School, Anshul Sood of Bhawan Vidyalaya, Ayushi Aggarwal of DC Model School, Aneesh Sood of Gurukul School took part in the “Continuous Speed Skating Marathon”.

The skaters broke previous record of covering a distance of 410km in 24 hours that was set in 2009 at Singapore to register themselves in Limca Book of Records and India Book of Records.