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Auto fury Dawns on city
Chandigarh, August 6
PU girl student hurt
in snatching attempt
In the first incident, three occupants of an auto-rickshaw allegedly attacked a girl student of Panjab University early this morning and made an attempt to rob her. Shikha Mittal, a student of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), was approaching gate number 3 of the university on foot when the incident took place at 4.30 am. She was on her way to board a bus to Shimla where her classmates were going on a trip. A resident of Sector 15, Shikha, was accompanied by her classmate Sumit. As they reached the Sector 24-25-14-15 roundabout, one of the occupants of an auto-rickshaw made an attempt to snatch Shikha’s bag and showed her a knife. Shikha resisted and raised the alarm following which the assailant attacked her with a knife on her head. The girl managed to save herself and received minor bruises. The assailants fled when Shikha and her friend raised the alarm. The police took the girl for medical examination at the Sector-16 hospital. Shikha was discharged after first aid and she joined her classmates on a trip to Shimla. The police has registered a case of robbery attempt under Sections 392, 511 of the IPC at the Sector 11 police station. Inspector Gurmukh Singh, SHO, Sector 11 police station, said they had identified the accused to be a resident of Dhanas and attempts were on to arrest him.
Tailor attacked
An auto-rickshaw halted by his side and three assailants attacked him. “I was walking on the road when the occupants of the auto intercepted me and attacked me. I also hit them with a helmet following which they fled,” he said. A case was registered.
Man robbed, cops insensitive
Even 18 hours after the incident, the police was not clear about the jurisdiction of the crime scene. The victim, Promod Kumar Shahi, was robbed at knifepoint in a running auto and then thrown out of it near the Sector-20 gurdwara. The police of the Sector 34 and the Sector 19 police stations were unable to decide the jurisdiction, adding to the woes of the victim. The victim, who arrived from Rai Bareilly at the Chandigarh railway station at 3.30 am, took a bus and alighted at Labour roundabout towards the Sector 34 side. “I hired an auto which had three occupants. While one was sitting with the driver, another person was sleeping at the area meant for luggage. As we reached the Sector 20-30 gurdwara roundabout, the person sitting on the rear kept a knife on my neck,” the victim said. “They then robbed me of my mobile phone and purse and pushed me out of the moving auto,” he added. “I went to the Sector 34 police station and SHO Kirpal Singh told me that the area falls under the jurisdiction of the Sector 19 police station. When I went to the Sector 19 police station, I was told that the area is in Sector 34 police station. I am running between both the police stations since morning and nobody is registering the case,” said a harried Promod Kumar. Inspector Janak Rana, SHO, Sector 19 police station, said they have sent a report to the Sector 34 police station as the area falls in their area.
Organised gang?
The police is suspecting it to be the handiwork of one gang as all three incidents have common link — three assailants riding
auto-rickshaws.
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CITCO hotels slide deeper into the red
Chandigarh, August 6 Though the corporation’s revenues in Q1 of this fiscal have risen 1.38 per cent, its major units including Hotel Mountview, Hotel Shivalikview, Hotel Parkview and the Steel Depot recorded a significant fall in profits over the corresponding period last year. While Hotel Mountview posted a 6.33 per cent dip in profits, the cases of Hotel Shivalikview and Hotel Parkview are no different. Hotel Shivalikview recorded a 7.33 per cent fall in revenues and Hotel Parkview’s profits plunged 9 per cent. Except Hotel Shivalikview, the room occupancy of the other two hotels also declined. As against 6,820 room nights sold in Q1 of 2010-11, Hotel Mountview could sell only 6820 room nights in the first quarter of this year, whereas Hotel Parkview’s room occupancy fell to 10,195 as against 10,836 last year. However, Hotel Shivalikview sold 122 room nights - more than
The profits of CITCO’s other major unit - the Steel Depot - also declined by Rs 4.99 lakh in Q1 of FY12. The unit earned profit of Rs 51.80 lakh as against Rs 56.79 lakh in the first quarter of 2010-11. Sales have fallen from 11,222 mt in Q1 of last year to 8,620 mt in the latest quarter. The situation at the CITCO-run petrol station in Sector 9 is also not encouraging, as it sales fell significantly. As against sales of 2,234,991 litres of petrol (ULP and Speed) in Q1 of last year, sales in the corresponding period this year were 2,163,504 litres. Similarly, sales of high speed diesel was also down to 1,186,437 litres in Q1 this year compared to 1,226,307 litres in the same period last year. The corporation’s other units including Baithak and Drop In, which were already in the red, posted a rise in losses. While losses recorded by Baithak have gone up by Rs 2.2 lakh, those of Drop rose by Rs 1.4 lakh in Q1 of FY2011-12 over the same period last year. “The reason behind the higher losses posted by these units is an increase in salary overheads,” said a senior CITCO official.
Corporation’s Q1 results
y Unit Profit this Profit in Year-on-year year previous year decline Hotel Rs 2.45 cr Rs 2.61 cr 6.33% Mountview Hotel Rs 1.02 cr Rs 1.10 cr 7.33% Shivalikview Hotel Rs 1.12 cr Rs 1.23 cr 9% Parkview
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Kidnapping, murder charges framed against three accused
Rajinder Nagarkoti Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 6 Additional District and Sessions Judge VP Sirohi framed charges against prime accused Sukhdev Singh, his brother Gurvinder Singh and labourer Nand Kishore. The court framed charges under Sections 302 (murder), 364-A (kidnapping for ransom) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the IPC. All the accused were present in the courtroom when the judge framed charges. The kidnapping and murder case of five-year-old Khushpreet was cracked with the arrest of two brothers on March 22. The accused lived in the vicinity of the victim’s house and had planned his kidnapping to tide over their financial liabilities. Khushpreet, a kindergarten student and the son of a dairy owner, was kidnapped on December 21 near his house in Burail. The family, which informed the police within a couple of hours of the crime, bemoaned that the casual attitude of the police resulted in the escape of kidnappers with the ransom amount of Rs 4 lakh from a police trap on December 23. The boy’s body was recovered on January 5 in Mohali.Accused Sukhdev Singh was a daily wage earner with the water works department and was under huge debt. He then eyed his neighbour, Khushpreet's father Lakhbir Singh, who runs a dairy shop in Burail, and hatched a plan to kidnap one of his two minor sons for ransom. Sukhdev’s liabilities and expenses were nailing him down. He was under the impression that Lakhbir had recently won a huge amount in a committee, but in reality Lakhbir had never won any money.
How kidnapping was planned and executed
Sukhdev's wife, who was pregnant at that time, had gone to her native village along with her mother. Sukhdev allegedly hatched a conspiracy along with his brother Gurvinder Singh and labourer Nand Kishore. The trio decided to kidnap Khushpreet for ransom. On December 21, 2010, Sukhdev noticed Khushpreet walking alone near his house and after putting his hand over his mouth, he took him inside his house. He then gave him sleeping pills and also tied his hands and feet. Sukhdev called his brother, Gurvinder, who works as a driver, and labourer Nand Kishore and told them to look after the child and Sukhdev made a ransom calls from a PCO. After collecting ransom amount, the accused allegedly killed Khushpreet after the child recognised them as their neighbours.
Timeline December 21, 2010: Khushpreet was kidnapped from near his house in Burail village January 5, 2011: Khushpreet’s body was recovered from Mohali March 22: The police cracked the case and arrested two accused May 1: The police arrested third accused Nand Kishore May 5: The court allowed the UT Police application to match the voice samples of the accused May 27: The UT Police filed the first chargesheet against the accused July 7: The police filed a supplementary chargesheet in the court July 25: Case committed for session trial August 6: The court framed murder and kidnapping charges against the accused
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Alert PGI doc spots fake medicine bill
Chandigarh, August 6 The incident came to light when Vineet, son of the accident victim, Raj Kumar, who was admitted to the hospital about a month and half ago, approached a senior neurosurgery resident in the morning with a request to sign a medicine bill of Rs 226,527. The alert doctor, who was apparently aware of the treatment administered to the patient, a “poor free patient” case, got suspicious after seeing the bill’s contents that included a long list of surgical equipment that were not even procured for Kumar’s treatment. The doctor immediately informed the security department as the bill was generated from the hospital’s designated chemist
According to sources, preliminary inquiries conducted by security officials indicated the possibility of the bogus bill being generated by Kumar and his family members for seeking a claim. It was also revealed that Kumar’s family had obtained the bill from Super Medico Centre with the help of one Negi, an employee of an STD phone booth operating in PGI’s Kairon block. The sources added Negi’s brother, Ram, was working as a salesman at Super Medicos. While the complicity of the drugstore’s owners has not yet been ascertained, it is learnt they had admitted the fact that Negi’s bother was working for them. Expressing fears this could expose an ongoing racket of claiming reimbursement of fake medicine bills from insurance firms or government departments, including the Employees’ State Insurance Corp, a senior PGI professor said on condition of anonymity: “Why would any one go to the trouble of getting fake bills worth lakhs of rupees made and then get them signed by doctors to establish their veracity unless there was monetary gain involved”. According to hospital officials, the security department had prepared a case and was in the process of handing it over to the PGI police post for further investigations. As for the involvement of the chemist, the officials said the department would conduct its own probe.
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Tricity scan
chandigarh Awareness camp: A breastfeeding awareness camp was organised at Colony No 5 as a part of the breastfeeding week on Saturday by the School of Public Health, PGI. Around 70 antenatal mothers and 17 aanganwari workers from various aanganwari centres of Colony No 5 attended the camp. Dr Suraj Senjam, senior resident, School of Public Health, PGI, highlighted the benefits of breastfeeding. Dr Rashmi, junior resident from the same department, gave a talk on technique of breastfeeding.20 challaned: In a special anti-encroachment drive, the municipal corporation enforcement department challaned 20 violators, lifted two advertisement vehicles, dumped tyres and one three-wheeler in the Sector 21 motor mechanic market here on Saturday. The drive was carried out under the directions of Additional Commissioner-II Lalit Siwach and supervised by enforcement inspector Kashmira Singh, along with supporting staff of the enforcement wing of the MC.Alumni body formed: Alumni of St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, Chandigarh, on Saturday announced launch of The Old Stephenians’ Society (TOSS), along with its website www.tosschd.com and an official kit. TOSS is the alumni association of the school, which will act as a great platform for the alumni to come together and be a part of the Stephenian family.Chief elected: At an annual general body meeting of the Property Consultants Association, Kamaljit Singh Panchhi was elected as the president. Panchhi assured the house that the new executive body and office-bearers of the association will be declared shortly.Lecture on personal hygiene: The Community Hygiene and Sanitation Society of Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Sector 42, organised a lecture on personal hygiene and sanitation with special reference to segregation of household garbage on August 6 on the college campus. The society aimed at sensitising students about personal health and hygiene.Over 201 donate blood: The Thalassaemic Children Welfare Association (TCWA), Chandigarh, organised its 122nd blood donation camp, sixth in a series of six blood donation camps, at Zakir Hall, Block A, PGI, Chandigarh. The camp was inaugurated by Prof Sunit Singhi, head, paediatric medicine, PGI. More than 201 persons donated blood during the camp.Workshop by Rotary Club: Rotary International District 3080 organised a “Public Image Workshop” for the club members and chairmen of public relations committee at the PHD House on Saturday. Hosted by Rotary, Chandigarh, the workshop was conducted by noted television personality Surendra Seth from Jalandhar, who is the Regional Rotary Public Image Coordinator this year. Former world president of Rotary International Rajendra K Saboo spoke on effective public relations and crisis management, while District 3080 trainer JPS Sibia dwelt on the process of developing a communication plan. Charanjit Singh, district public image coordinator, underlined the need for the Rotarians to understand the working of the media, prepare appropriate news release and then reach out to ensure appropriate media coverage of service projects.mohali Students win laurels: Jasdeep Singh and Deepakjit Singh, students of Class X of St Xavier’s, Mohali, made their school proud by grabbing the third and fifth position in the state-level tae-kwon-do championship held at Faridkot in the under-17 boys’ (+64 kg) and (60-64 kg) categories, respectively.Talk on moral values: Students of Classes I and II gave a mesmerising performance at Shishu Niketan, Mohali. Tiny tots of Class I talk about moral values taught to them by their class teachers. Students of Class II narrated various moral value based stories with actions. Audience, including parents, was spellbound by the performance of their little ones.Prize distribution function :To honour achievers of St Soldier School, Mohali, the annual prize distribution function was held on Saturday. SP Bhupinder Singh, Mohali, presided over the function as a chief guest. Jaspreet Kaur, Mohali topper of commerce stream), Aanchal Vats (medical), Raman Singh Guleria (non-medical) and Puneet Virk (humanities) bagged the accolades. Bismin Brar was honoured for the highest marks in fashion studies and Arshpreet Kaur, V Shruti and Sarjana Singh of Class X were felicitated for getting perfect 10 CGPA. The best sportsperson award was bagged by Ankush Khepar of Class VII A. The best house trophy was awarded to Sahibzada Fateh Singh House.Skit contest: A skit competition was held at Shivalik Public School, Mohali. Students from different branches of Shivalik Public School participated. All participants showcased their dramatic talents in different languages. Skits depicting a spectrum of human emotions, misuse of our mother earth and mockeries on the blatant realities were also enacted which enthralled audience.PANCHKULA Rakhi with noble cause: Students of Jainendra Public School celebrated Rakhi with great pomp and show on their school premises on Saturday. This special day was celebrated keeping in mind specially those students who are deprived of their families and have been staying at the Bal Bhawan and Shishu Snehalaya in Sector 15. All four houses of the school, Nehru, Gandhi, Sarojini and Patel, presented their handmade items, including cards, rakhis and decorative plates.
Exhibition at school: Students were at their creative best in their maiden initiative “The Effervescence”, an exhibition of various models, charts and live shows in subjects like mathematics, science, social studies and art/craft at Hansraj Public School here on Saturday.
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Posh area of P’kula in state of neglect
Panchkula, August 6 The sector having a picturesque location with a hill view and forests has attracted prominent personalities of the tricity, including bureaucrats, judges, doctors and politicians, to reside here. A visit to the area, however, reveals that a road adjoining house numbers 200 and 213 is full of potholes in the absence of repair for a long time. The rainy season has added to the woes of residents as these potholes are filled with water and has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The other road in the very next street has met with same fate portraying the apathy of the authorities concerned. The slip road once laid in front of houses measuring two kanals in the sector is missing as no repair work had been carried out for long. “I have raised the issue with municipal council president Ravinder Rawal. The tenders for repair of these roads will be floated very soon,” said Kuljeet Waraich, municipal councillor, Sector 4, MDC. The repair work of the said road in front of the two kanal houses would be taken up after the monsoon is over, said Bhupinder Cheema, Xen, Huda. Residents’speak
— CP Bansal, DGP (retd) When the condition of the basic amenities in this area inhibited by several VIPs is in a pathetic condition the fate of remaining town is not difficult to
visualise.
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BKU leader’s claim backfires
Panchkula, August 6 While the police has arrested accused Ramsarup, Sukhbir and Ombir, the fourth accused, Guni, is undergoing a treatment for bullet injury at the PGI. Ramasarup (73), a resident of Solu Majra village in Kaithal, used to be a notorious criminal and had faced 11 cases of dacoity in 1973. The other two accused and Guni belonged to Pharal village in Kaithal, said Jungsher, SHO of Chandimandir police station. Guni was admitted to the hospital with a bullet injury on his shoulder on July 31. He alleged that Ashok, Soni, Randeep and Ratanmaan, along with another unidentified person, had attacked him. The police, however, found out that all accused were at their houses within an hour of the incident. Even the locations of their mobile phones were found to be in their respective village areas at the time of the incident. Guni had duped Soni, a resident of his village, of Rs 3 lakh on the pretext of arranging a job for him. Later, when Soni’s mother went to his home to ask him for a refund he allegedly thrashed her, following which a case was registered at the Pundri police station. While his anticipatory bail was rejected by the local court, he was trying to get it from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, said the police. Meanwhile, he tried to implicate Soni and his brother Ashok in the criminal case, said the police. According to the police, on the night of July 31 Sukhbir injured Guni firing on his shoulder at Barwala.
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GMADA proposes three new bus routes
Mohali, August 6 The proposals were made at a meeting held to discuss the introduction of the local bus service in the GMADA area. The meeting was chaired by Sarvjit Singh, Chief Administrator, GMADA. Sources said detailed discussions were held after which it was decided that initially there should be a mix of both air-conditioned low-floor buses and air-conditioned mini-buses in Mohali on the pattern followed by the Delhi Transport Undertaking. It was proposed that the routes should be planned in such a way so as to provide bus service after an interval of 10 to 20 minutes on each route. It was deliberated that keeping in view the volume of traffic, three main routes should be considered in the first phase. The first one was from the upcoming bus terminus to Phase XI through the shopping lane, which was being widened with a frequency of 10 to 12 minutes service on both sides. The second route should be from Puncom chowk to Madanpur chowk to The Tribune chowk to Zirakpur and back with a frequency of 20 minutes. The third one was from shopping street to Sohana and Kharar and back with a frequency of 15 to 20 minutes. It was also decided at the meeting, which was attended among others by Manvesh Singh Sidhu, Managing Director, PRTC, Parveen Kumar Thind and Manjit Singh Brar, Additional Chief Administrators, GMADA, and KK Kaul, Adviser (projects), GMADA, that the development authority would provide requisite land for a bus depot as well as for bus stops on all routes after these were finalised. The land would be identified by the GMADA town planner after which a common design for the bus stops, keeping in mind the aesthetic urban planning norms, would be finalised. Sources further said that it was pointed out that as GMADA did not have any expertise in the operation of transport services, the same would be looked after by the PRTC. As a first step there was a need to have a “special purpose vehicle” (SPV) registered in the form of a limited company under the Companies Act for which approval of GMADA authorities would be required. Heavy costs were involved in the procurement and the operation of the local bus service and the entire financial burden and losses from the project would fall on GMADA. The anticipated average occupancy in the buses during the peak hours was 60 per cent and with the fare structure prevalent it would take “quite some years” to achieve a break-even point in the service. Keeping in view the long-term needs of the SPV, it was decided that drivers could be appointed on a contract basis whereas the conductors could be hired through a service provider.
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Dogra Scouts to scale Mt Kamet
Chandigarh, August 6 With seven Everesters in its ranks, the unit has produced an unparalleled set of mountaineers over the past 30 years. India’s only mountaineer to summit six out of 14 peaks above 8,000-metres, Sub Maj CN Bodh belongs to this outfit. Besides, four others have been honoured with the “Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award”. India’s 3rd highest peak One of the most challenging peaks in the country, the 7,756-metre-high Mount Kamet (25,440 feet) lies in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, bordering Tibet. It resembles a giant pyramid with a flat summit area having two peaks. Tibetans call it “Kangmen” or “huge grandmother of a sacred snow chain”
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Talent unlimited despite disability
Chandigarh, August 6 “I have been playing tabla in cultural programmes for the past four years. I have delivered scores of stage performances. It was a dream to study music as a subject,” said 23-year-old Deepak Kumar, a former student of the Institute of the Blind, Sector 26. Kumar has taken up music vocal and instrumental as his subjects in BA (I). Another student Mahipal of first year batch at PGGC, Sector 11, is a gifted vocalist. “I do sing, but I am not perfect,” said Mahipal humbly. His friends, however, added that he was a wonderful singer and would join the college chorus for cultural functions in future. Ramandeep Singh (23), who has also taken admission in the same batch, is a talented dancer. “I am fond of bhangra and western dance. Although dancing is a hobby, I am looking forward to perform on stage sometime,” said Ramandeep. While these students are talented musicians, dancers and singers, there are certain others who aspire to complete their postgraduation and join teaching. “I want to do MA (Hindi) after finishing BA and then pursue BEd. I aspire to be a teacher and it is a wonderful experience in the college hostel with seniors helping us out in everything,” said 19-year-old Kavit, a student of BA (I) of PGGC-11.
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Conflict between ideas, thoughts
Chandigarh, August 6 The play “Laal Kaner” directed by Anita Sabdeesh revolves around more than 20 characters, compromising professors, religious leaders trying to misguide people in order to shield the king as the common people try to break away from the repression. There are repeated conflicts of ideas and thoughts of these people, but finally they all join hands against the king to revolt. Rabindranath Tagore’s “Laal Kaner” reveals the lesser known facts of the gold mine workers. These workers have been uprooted from their villages and have been rehabilitated in newly developed colonies, where they find the environment suffocating. In spite of being cut off their roots, there is a burning desire to live on is in these workers’ minds, and this becomes a cause of concern and fear for the king of Yaskshapuri so much so that he starts living in a strong iron cage and he only comes out occasionally to perform religious rituals.
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7 bakers suffer burn injuries
Panchkula, August 6 One of the workers was heating the oil at the basement of the shop. He came up on the ground floor to attend a phone call. Meanwhile, the edible oil put on the stove got excessively hot and caught fire. On returning the worker removed the container from the stove and the hot oil spilled on the floor, causing burn injuries to him. His colleagues on the ground floor rushed to save him and as soon as they stepped on the floor their feet got burnt, sources added.
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3 injured as members of HSA, SOPU clash
Panchkula, August 6 The injured have been identified as Anil Bishnoi, Praveen Chaudhary and Prateek. Earlier, both the groups had entered into a scuffle at DAV College, Sector 10, in Chandigarh. According to Vicky, president of SOPU, following the tiff both the groups were taken to the Sector 3 police station. When the students left the police station, a group of HSA members attacked the victims with rods and swords in Panchkula. One of the assailants possessed a pistol, he alleged. Anil told the police that he, along with his friends, was in market of Sector 4 when a group of youths attacked them. Shopkeepers in the area informed the police about the incident. The assailants had managed to flee from the spot, he said. The Panchkula police, however, has been verifying the facts and identification of accused by recording the statements of the victims and shopkeepers
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In yet another incident involving robbery bid by auto-rickshaw drivers, city resident Mohammad Feroz Khan was hit by three assailants in Sector 18 last night. Khan, who runs a tailor shop in Palika Bazaar, Sector 19, was manoeuvring it ran out of fuel.
Laying bare tall claims of the police of quick registration of FIRs, a city resident was made to run from one police station to another to lodge his complaint after he was robbed by three occupants in an auto-rickshaw. 
Teej celebrated:
Camp concludes:
Plantation drive:
Huda has failed to fulfill its obligations completely. While the authorities are supposed to provide roads, streetlights and put drainage system in place even before giving the possession of plots, these facilities are nowhere in sight despite the fact that a majority of people have constructed their houses here. 
Roads with potholes filled with rainwater have forced everybody to think over that whether they are living in a village or a sector of Panchkula having big
bungalows
After finding no response from the authorities in the civic body and Huda, we now have approached the Panchkula Deputy Commissioner. We hope she will make the authorities concerned do the
needful