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Berkeley Auto robbery cracked, 5 of gang held
Panchkula, June 21 Those apprehended have been identified as Anil Kumar, a resident of Kathura village in Sonepat district, Sandeep Siwach, a resident of Budana village (Hisar) and three final year BTech students of Lovely Professional University Jalandhar - Mohit Chauha, a resident of Nunagali village in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, Navin Kundu, a resident of Butana (Sonepat) and Arvind, a resident of Jaisinghpura village (Karnal). A sixth suspect, Amit Kumar, a resident of Datapur (Sonepat), is still on the run, according to the police. A case under section 392 (robbery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document), 473 (possession of forged document), 216 (harbouring an offender) & 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 25, 54 & 59 of the Arms Act was filed at the Sector 20 police station on April 24. On Tuesday the five youths arrested were produced in court that remanded them to seven days’ police custody. The cops have also recovered a Suzuki Zen car (registration no: DL4CE 9655) and a Hyundai i20 car with fake registration. Giving details to reporters, deputy superintendent of police (headquarters) Badri Parshad said the police picked up some clues after recovering the Suzuki SX4 in a workshop. “The car had met with a mishap and the suspects had left it at the accident scene. After receiving specific information the police raided a house in Phagwara and arrested the suspects”, he added. Parshad stated during preliminary investigations it transpired that Anil, the gang’s leader, along with Amit had committed the Berkeley car robbery. “Anil is involved in about 20 cases of robbery, murder, attempted murder and illegal possession of arms and ammunition in Sonepat, Rohtak, Kaithal, Jind and Panchkula
Profile of accused Mohit Chauhan A B.Tech final year student of Lovely Professional University at Jalandhar, he is a resident of Nunagli in Muzzafarnagar district in Uttar Prdesh. Mohit was known to main accused Anil Sharma and Amit through Navin and had provided pistol and other ammunition to Anil. Navin Kundu Navin, a resident of Butana village in Sonepat district, was living Phagwara in a rented house with Mohit and Arvind. He is also a B.Tech final year student of Lovely Professional University and had provided shelter to Anil. Arvind Arvind, also a B.Tech final year student of the same university, is a resident of Jai Soingh Pura village in Karnal district and was known to two accused Anil and Amit. Earlier, he did not have any criminal background.
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Drunk driving: Another five imprisoned till ‘rising of court’
Chandigarh, June 21 This is the first time in the history of Chandigarh that drunk drivers have been convicted after the traffic police sought their imprisonment from court. Today, nine persons appeared in the Special Traffic Court of Deepak Raj Garg to get their challan released and five of them were imprisoned and a heavy fine imposed on four of them. All those convicted were confined to the courtroom for more than eight hours today. The court convicted all those whose alcohol content in blood exceeded 100mg while they were driving and were hence challaned. The prescribed norm under the motor vehicle act is 30 mg per 100 ml. The five who were imprisoned for drunk driving today till the rising of court were identified as Ashwini Kumar, a resident of the PGI, Parveen Singh, a resident of Mohali, Kiran Kumar, a resident of Sector 28, Jagdeep Singh, a resident of Mohali and Rahul, a resident of Ram Darbar. The court imposed the highest fine on an autorickshaw driver, who was found drunk while driving and was not having valid documents, as a result of which his vehicle was impounded by the police. The court imposed a fine of Rs 3,500 on the auto driver Vinod Kumar, a resident of Sector 45. “Though the alcohol content in his blood was less than 100 mg, he was saved from imprisonment, but the court imposed heaviest fine on him as he was driving without any documents of his vehicle,” said DSP (Traffic) Vijay Kumar, adding that the police was set to act more tough with those found drunk while driving and would seek more stringent punishment for them.
Defaulter imprisoned Alcohol content Fine
Ashwini Kumar 114 mg ~1,000 Parveen Singh 215 mg ~1,500 Kiran Kumar 197 mg ~1200 Jagdeep Singh 126 mg ~1000 Rahul 193 mg ~1500
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500 drugs to be given free at 2 hospital OPDs
Chandigarh, June 21 The UT health department has prepared a list of 500 generic medicines, used in different common ailments, which will now be given to 6-lakh odd patients irrespective of their income visiting these OPDs annually. Though the provision of free medicines does exist in the two hospitals, it covers only a handful of medicines, which are mostly out of stock. The department had recently conducted a survey and calculated that a patient visiting an OPD ends up spending a minimum of Rs 150 for buying medicines from chemists. On the contrary, if these medicines are provided by the hospital concerned, the department will have to bear a total cost of about only Rs 20-30 per person or a total of Rs 1.2 crore, which can be utilised from the annual health budget.“The hospitals do provide medicines free of cost, but the choice is limited and sometimes even common medicines are out of stock. It is shocking that despite all funds and infrastructure, simple medicines like paracetamol have to be bought from chemists at varied rates. There is no restriction of income. When we can afford, why not make services more cheap for patients?” said a senior UT official. This will also help in ending the doctor-chemist nexus. There have been complaints that rather than prescribing generic medicines, many doctors ask patients to go in for costly medicines, which are generally available at specific chemists. We will also hold a meeting with doctors to update and discuss the medicines to be provided free of cost and ask them to prescribe the same wherever applicable, said another official.
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Suman case: 2 GMSH docs surrender
Chandigarh, June 21 Dr Navdeep, an intern, and Dr Manpreet Kaur, a house surgeon at the Government Multispecialty Hospital, Sector 16 gave themselves up at the Sector 17 police station following which they were taken into custody. Both were booked under sections 211 (destroying evidence) and 304A (death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code but were later released on regular bail. The police filed an FIR (first information report) in the case on June 14 after a magisterial probe found both doctors guilty of negligence. A third suspect, Kirti Sood, a lab technician at the hospital, is yet to be apprehended, the police said. On December 16 last year Devi was admitted to the hospital’s gynecology ward and given a wrong blood transfusion that led to acute renal (kidney) failure. Due to a low hemoglobin level she was then given a unit of blood the same morning. Though her blood type was A positive she was given a unit of B positive blood that was meant for another woman, whose first name was also Suman. After the blunder came to light Devi was referred to PGI but by that time her foetus had already died. A magisterial inquiry was marked and the report concluded Sood had issued the blood bag without crosschecking for the patient’s necessary details, particularly about her blood type. Later on she concealed the facts and tampered with the blood samples, the report added. The report stated Navdeep initiated the blood
The report further stated that without even checking details on the blood bag, Manpreet passed on the responsibility for the blood transfusion to her amateur junior colleague who also failed to follow up and monitor the patient.
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Commuters bear the brunt as MC sleeps
Chandigarh, June 21 The classic example of this is a road in Sector 36 near MCM College, which was dug up about six months ago for re-carpeting. However, except barricading the road to block the movement of the vehicles, nothing concrete is been done till date. Resultantly, hundreds of commuters have to take alternative routes to reach their destination. MC sources reveal that the contractor has withdrawn from the work and fresh tenders are called but nobody turned up to undertake this work due to which it is being delayed. Satish Verma, a resident of Sector 36, rued that residents had to suffer for no fault of theirs. Another example of the indifferent attitude of MC authorities is the construction work of a concrete road in Industrial Area, Phase I. The road was blocked around two months ago for laying concrete as the road was washed away due to waterlogging last year. MC sources said that initially the railway authorities had not given the permission for undertaking the work and later the MC had to call tenders four times as no contractor turned up for taking the work. Shama, an IT professional, who uses this road very often for going to the railway station, said that it was strange that for construction of around 300 meters of road, the MC was taking more than three months. The construction work of an overbridge near Uppal Housing Project in Mani Majra is also going on at a snail’s pace and is awaiting completion for the past seven months. MC records reveal that the work had commenced in December 2010 but due to difference with the contractor, it was withdrawn twice resulting in the delay. “Why don’t the MC officials commute on this route to enjoy the bumpy ride in their vehicles so that they could realise what kind of difficulty the residents face,” said Rajiv Chadda, a resident of Mani Majra.
MC Chief Engineer SS Bidda, however, assured that by the first week of July, the work of the overbridge at Mani Majra would be completed. He said by July 15, the construction work of the concrete road in Industrial Area would also be completed.
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PU violence: Recommendations made by panel not implemented
Chandigarh, June 21 A key recommendation of the committee to involve student leaders in important decision-making processes of the university was never executed. Besides, there was a recommendation to check the entry of college students visiting the campus, which was hardly practised. Barring the student council members, who themselves remained divided on most of the issues related to students’ welfare this year, student leaders claimed that the university officials never approached them for any “crucial decision making”. “Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) had not been approached even once in the past one year. Be it students related issues or adding new courses. Not once did the university take opinion of student leaders from across all parties. It was only through agitation and dharnas that students’ voice was heard,” said Robin Brar, president, SOPU. Mocking at second recommendation of the committee, students from across all colleges are spotted at almost every protest staged outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office and Naval Kishore, Dean, Student Welfare, has been seen nabbing a few such students on numerous occasions. The high-power committee headed by Senator GK Chathrath was formed after violent clashes were witnessed between student leaders both on and off the campus last year. Later, the recommendations were also accepted by the university (statements issued by university officials on April 20, 2010). However, in the past few months, the university has witnessed unprecedented dharnas outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office, including a massive agitation by the dental college students and also a hunger strike by certain members of the Panjab University Students Union (PUSU). Yet another recommendation given by the committee was the enforcement of “stringent admission rules” for students engaged in such violent activities by the departments. Although the university has added a clause to its admission forms cautioning students against indulging in violence, such an exercise becomes useless when students involved in such activities get permission from courts to take exams.Besides, the 21-member committee also resolved to bring all department festivals under the Dean University Instructions (DUI). “The process needs to be streamlined. Not all recommendations have been followed but an effort is being made. In the forthcoming session, student leaders will be involved in more decision making processes,” said a senior functionary of the university on condition of anonymity.
Suggestions of the 21-member committee
Involve student leaders in important decision-making processes Keep an eye on college students visiting the campus Bring all department festivals under the Dean University Instructions
(DUIs) Enforce stringent attendance and admission rules
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UT to issue PDS smart cards
Chandigarh, June 21 Come September, the beneficiaries of the PDS, including below poverty line (BPL), above poverty line (APL) and Antyodaya schemes would be issued smart cards to get rations under the PDS. At a meeting held under the chairmanship of Home-cum-Food and Supplies Secretary Ram Niwas, it was reiterated that the ongoing drive to issue smart cards should be intensified to complete the job in another two months. “The issuance of smart cards to city residents is a step in the right direction of making the PDS more robust through the use of technology,” Ram Niwas said. Recently, an updation survey was started in five ration depots of the city, sources said, adding that all 44 depots in the city would be covered in the coming months. Sources said the persons missing out on enrolment for smart cards could make them in the Sector 17 office of the Food and Supply Department. The project to issue smart cards had been hanging fire since long. Keeping in view the deadline fixed for the project, the work had been expedited now. It is argued that the issuing of smart cards will limit the role of middlemen in the preparation of rations cards.
Fortified flour for APL families y The UT Administration is actively considering supplying fortified flour under the PDS. At a meeting on Tuesday, depot holders said there were not many takers for wheat supplied to the APL families as they had to pay Rs 2 per kg as the grinding charges. Ram Niwas said that keeping in view the submission made by depot holders, the UT Administration would consider the demand of supplying fortified atta for the APL beneficiaries under the
PDS.
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Sector 44 residents get muddy water
Chandigarh, June 21 Though area residents have made several representations to the Municipal Corporation authorities, but in vain. One of the resident, Kusum, said they had collected the contaminated water in buckets to show to MC officials. She said nobody had bothered to call on the residents or visit the area to verify the compliant. Another resident Rakesh Sharma said it was not convenient for the residents to boil water every time.
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Over 100 families suffer due to sewer blockage
Mohali, June 21 The drain, which was got opened by government officials earlier, was once again blocked yesterday causing a lot of resentment among people who got adversely affected. As no proper outlet for sewer water is available in a part of the village, unhygienic conditions prevail in this area. Dirty water even flows into the houses of some people. Balwinder Singh, president of the Mohali unit of the Panchayat Union, demanded that a permanent outlet for sewer water be provided in Kumbra village within a week by the district authorities, failing which residents would gherao the Mohali Deputy Commissioner. He said a dispute over the flow of sewer water was going on over the past 12 years, but the authorities concerned had failed to find a permanent solution to the problem. The drain was got opened several times by government officials after residents raised their voice in this regard, but was allegedly blocked again every time by Jaswant Singh, who lived in the village. Jaswant Singh was related to the chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, Dr Dalbir Singh Dhillon, Balwinder added. However, Jaswant Singh, who retired from the Air Force, said he had blocked the drain only after he had won the case filed in a court in this regard. He said the direction of the flow of dirty water was moved towards the area where he lived after a pond in the village was filled. He said residents should look for a proper outlet of sewer water instead of making it an issue.
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Fly menace takes toll on residents’ health
Panchkula, June 21 People are complaining of various health problems. They lamented that in the absence of any check on fly menace in the area, they were left to fend for themselves. Surinder Singh, a resident of Kot Barwala, said at least one person in each house in his neighbourhood was suffering from diarrhoea or some other disease due to unhygienic conditions prevailing in the area. He said all efforts to cover food items proved futile. Advocate Vijay Bansal, patron, Shivalik Vikas Manch (SVM), through his counsel Ravi Sharma, had served a legal notice on the Financial Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary, department of health, Haryana, and others to formulate a stringent law to deal with the menace posed by poultry farms. Owners of poultry farms had failed to adopt “proper and modern house sanitation management”, Bansal had alleged. Virender Kumar, a student, said despite several reminders regarding shifting of poultry farms from the area, nothing had been done so far. He said he had been bed-ridden for a week due to stomach infection and had to miss his classes. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Ashima Brar today held a meeting with poultry farm owners directing them to take remedial measures to stop the menace. She said if no steps were taken to check the menace, the authorities would be forced to take stringent action against poultry owners.
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’84 riot victims protest eviction notice
Mohali, June 21 The occupants were given notices after GMADA allotted plots to other riot victims after inviting applications. Those who could not fulfill the conditions have been asked to vacate. Some of the families residing in the houses, who had lost everything in the 1984 riots, have meagre sources of income. Terming the rules adopted by GMADA as arbitrary, Kharar MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu said the government should have verified the economic condition of the riot victims and decided on case-to-case basis. “Uprooting a riot victim at the cost of another is unfair,” said the MLA.
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Foundation stone of Army dwelling units laid
Chandigarh, June 21 Spread over 22.46 acres, the scheme includes several types of units in multi-storey towers to cater to serving and retired Army personnel. Adequate open spaces and recreational facilities are being provided to ensure a healthy ambience on the campus for all age groups. Movement of traffic has been planned to ensure zero conflict of vehicles with pedestrians and children. The Army Welfare Housing Organisation was set up in 1978 to build residential units for serving and retired Army personnel in various stations to enable them to own a house of their own. AWHO functions on “no profit-no loss” principle and the funds are contributed entirely by the Army personnel. So far AWHO has completed 21,368 dwelling units. About 6,500 units are under construction at 11 different stations, while planning is in progress for another 5,500 units.
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Police administration course to be introduced in 2 city colleges
Chandigarh, June 21 Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Sectors 42 and 11, had sought permission from the Panjab University authorities to introduce the subject in their curriculum this year. The proposal has already been approved by the university. The course was introduced in Panjab University as part of masters in police administration four years ago. MA in police administration at Panjab University presently has 34 seats, with six NRI seats and 10 other seats, for in-service personnel in the police. The centre for police administration is gearing up to commence training sessions and research programmes in collaboration with the UT police this year. “We have been admitting students on the basis of merit. Last year, we received a decent response. Students are increasingly becoming aware of the course, both at the bachelors and masters levels,” said Anil
Monga, coordinator, Centre for Police Administration, UIASS. Although strenuous duty hours have been keeping the in-service UT police personnel away from getting enrolled in the course, the department has been mulling over to start short term and correspondence courses for policemen.
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Syndicate okays hike in salary
Patiala, June 21 The Syndicate gave its nod to add environmental sciences to the nomenclature of department of zoology and for starting MSc (environmental sciences). Proposal to start new courses on the campus was also approved. Courses to be introduced include BA (honours) in journalism, mass communication and media technology; BSc in tourism management, PG diploma courses in child care and skill development; computer maintenance and networking; Internet and web designing; Sikh theology; agricultural marketing and BBA/MBA.
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Sale of coolers takes a dip
Chandigarh, June 21 Coolers manufactured in North India are supplied to neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana. Low investment and high profit have attracted a number of small-time businessmen, but many of them may end up suffering losses this year. Imtiaz, a cooler dealer, said the business was facing ups and downs for the past few years. The business grew leaps and bounds from 1996 to 1998. “But sudden showers in May and June this year have affected the sale of coolers,” he added. This was primarily due to the rain at short intervals. He repented having stored huge stocks of coolers, hoping to sell these across the counter during the first half of the month. He said, on an average, he would sale four to five coolers every day in June last year, which had dropped to hardly one unit this year. Rajan Chopra, a shopkeeper, said coolers with a plastic body were out of demand this year and most of his customers bought exhaust coolers. “Customers ask for specific parts of a specific brand while buying a cooler,” he added. DP Bansal, who purchased two coolers this season, said an air-conditioner would consume more power as compared to a cooler. As many international brands are now available off the shelf, AC dealers are hopeful that some of them may reduce power consumption too. The trend of hoarding coolers in advance to make a fast buck during the peak season has cost many of the city businessmen dear.
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Drunk driving With the Chandigarh Police tightening its noose around drunk drivers, escaping the clutches of law will not be easy now. In an endeavour to deter drunk driving, six drivers were convicted by the court yesterday and another five today under the Motor Vehicle Act. Deepankar Sharda talks to a cross-section of people to know their views on the issue. The conviction of drunk drivers has set an example. But the authorities should also do something to close down liquor vends. With so many vends all over the city, how can one be expected to avoid drinking Dharamjeet, a PGI employee. The step will help reduce the number of accidents on the city roads. As per police records, more than 50 per cent of the road mishaps are caused due to drunk driving Nisha devshali, a housewife. Apart from imposing fine and convicting drunk drivers, the authorities should impound their vehicles satish kaushik, a gmch employee. The authorities’ move is being hailed, but it may cause resentment among habitual drinkers. The police should challan such drivers by laying nakas on weekends Br sharma, a housewife The authorities’ move will definitely teach drunk drivers a lesson. Now, they will think twice before mixing drinking with driving. Driving a vehicle in an inebriated condition can be dangerous not only for the driver, but also for others Mahesh Rana, a PU student
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Play staged
chandigarh Scan Dance workshop concludes A cultural programme marked the conclusion of the 19th production oriented workshops in theatrical arts and dance organised by the Pracheen Kala Kendra. New AG principal takes charge Onkar Nath has taken over the charge as the new principal, Audit General(Haryana). A 1984-batch IAS officer, he has served as AG in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Meghalaya. Tips to lead healthy life Bharti Airtel today announced the launch of its 14 SMS-based health packs that would provide subscribers with information and content on a variety of health and medical care aspects - thereby giving them daily access to tips to lead a healthier life. Airtel’s SMS-based health packs are available in several categories relevant for customers and are priced at Rs 30 per month or Rs 1 per day. To subscribe, Airtel mobile customers can SMS ‘Health’ to 54444 (toll free) to select a desired pack and start receiving daily updates. Teachers continue chain fast Members of the Punjab Part Time Stitching Teachers Union on Tuesday continued its chain fast. The union has been fasting since June 13 in support of its demands. Admn finalises name The UT administration has finalised the name of PCS officer Gurpreet Sapra for replacing TPS Phoolka and Hargunjit Kaur, who were recently repatriated to their parent cadre of Punjab. Peace council’s meeting The National Welfare Peace Council held a meeting under the chairmanship of Harbhajan Singh Ahluwalia, chairman, on Tuesday. The council decided to work for the welfare of people besides planting saplings. MOHALI
Scan PANCHKULA
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Multiple-course options at PU
Chandigarh, June 21 Courses like masters in social work, for which the department conducts an entrance test, and masters in police administration, for which a merit list is released, have received a good response in the academic session 2010-2012 besides other new courses. The two have been introduced under the newly set up University Institute of Emerging Areas of Social Sciences (UIEASS). For other courses, including masters in English and masters in mass communication, admission is done through the Other Common Entrance Test (OCET) conduced by Panjab University. Students, who have appeared in the OCET for these subjects, are required to fill in admission forms and submit those in the departments concerned before July 4, 2011. Besides the rich alumni base of certain arts departments, many others continue to face teething problems like shortage of faculty members and inadequate infrastructure. “The departments of economics, public administration, political science and psychology continue to set high standards for others institutions that offer the same masters-level courses. A rich alumni base is a special feature of the university’s arts departments. Be it the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, noted musicians, lyricists or other dignitaries, PU’s arts departments have produced students who have done us proud at a global level,” said Ajaib Singh, director, department of life long learning. Admissions through OCET English (143), masters of journalism and mass communication (51) Admission without entrance Ancient Indian history, culture & archaeology (46), defence & national security studies (34), education (25), economics (115), French (17), Hindi (68), human rights and duties (30), Punjabi (68), philosophy (40), police administration (34+ 10 for in-service police personnel, political science (68), psychology (68), public administration (70), sociology (68), Urdu (34), women studies (17), community education & development (25). Number of seats Admission through entrance test by departments: Gandhian and peace studies (29), history of art (29), Indian theatre (23), music (17 instrumental & 17 vocal), Sanskrit (68), integrated BSc+ MSc in fashion & lifestyle technology, social work (30) and integrated BA+MA (economics honours 29).
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Submit forms by July 4
Chandigarh, June 21 Admission to BSc, MSc
The last date for submitting applications for admission to self-financed courses of BSc (hons school) and MSc (hons school) in physics and electronics (23+3 NRI seats in each course) for the academic session 2011-12 has been changed to July 4, 2011. For details applicants may check PU website www.puchd.ac.in
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