NEIGHBOURHOOD

Protest fast enters Day 9
Tribune News Service

Ambala, October 3
Sameer Pal Srow, Deputy Commissioner, today said about 10,000 tonnes of paddy had arrived at the 14 grain markets in the district.

The moisture content in the crop was high at the moment, but farmers were getting a good price from private shellers, he claimed.

He appealed to farmers to bring their produce dry and clean so that they did not face difficulty in selling the produce.

The administration claimed that arrangements have been made at all procurement centres in the district.

A total of 2200 tonnes had arrived at Ambala City, 3000 tonnes at Barara, 1510 tonnes at Naraingarh, 1050 tonnes at Mullana, 400 tonnes at Saha, 650 tonnes at Shahzadpur, 395 tonnes at Bharedi Kalan, 320 tonnes at Sardehri, 100 tonnes at Ambala Cantonment, 400 tonnes at Ugala, 96 tonnes at Kadasan and 25 tonnes at Naneola.

Srow said over 4856 tonnes of paddy had been purchased by Hafed, over 1310 tonnes by the food and civil supplies department, over 395 tonnes by the warehousing corporation and over 3720 tonnes by Confed.

Ambala, October 3
A teenage girl of Kaula village, near Ambala City, has accused Laadi, Neeraj and Sagar of gang-rape and preparing a vulgar video of hers.

According to police sources, the victim worked with a beauty parlour. On the complaint of the victim, the Model Town police started investigations.

The sources said the complainant met Laadi at a marriage function two years back and took nude photographs of hers while she was changing clothes in a bathroom. She had reported that thereafter, he had started blackmailing her, adding that he and his friends Neeraj and Sagar gang-raped her some time back.

Police station in charge Dharamveer said the police had registered a case after medical examination of the victim.

He added that arrests would be made only after the receipt of the report from the laboratory at Madhuban, confirming gang-rape.

1 held for drugging, robbing passenger

The Government Railway Police (GRP) at Ambala claimed on Monday to have arrested one member of a gang involved in robbing passengers in trains and at railway stations after drugging them.

GRP sources said Mawal Mehto of Lakhisarai in Bihar, who regained conscious after 36 hours at the Ambala Cantonment Civil Hospital on Sunday, informed them that someone drugged him at the railway station while he was travelling by train. On the complaint of the victim, the GRP arrested Lokesh of Saharanpur from a platform during a search operation while he was moving around in a suspicious manner.

During preliminary investigations, Lokesh admitted that he had drugged Mehto by offering him a soft drink in an Ambala-Delhi passenger train and robbed him.

Mehto was found lying unconscious in the train at the Barara railway station. The police took him to the hospital. The sources said the gang, with over a dozen members, had been robbing train passengers during the festive season, adding that the GRP had started investigations.

Chandigarh, October 3
After failing to get any reprieve from the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Amar Nath Bansal, a resident of Sector 8 filed an appeal in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Co Ltd for suffering mental agony and deficiency in service.

The commission directed the insurance company to pay a compensation of Rs 20,000 along with litigation costs of Rs 5,000 to the complainant.

The counsel for complainant Amar Nath Bansal contended that the affidavit along with annexure filed by the opposite parties clearly showed their deliberate intention to mislead the district forum. It was contended that the district forum gave an erroneous finding that the son of the complainant could have got the policy cancelled within 15 days free look period as the case of the complainant was that he paid the premium and the policy was to be issued to him and his son was to only get free insurance cover worth Rs 1 lakh as the age of the complainant crossed 60 years.

However, the complainant immediately informed the opposite parties and their agent came and crossed the name of the son of the complainant on the document. It was stated that the complainant filed the rejoinder and annexed the original photograph of his son and also stated that the signatures were not of his son. It was further stated that the opposite parties deliberately manipulated the documents to mislead the forum.

The counsel for the respondents contended that the policy was issued in the name of Som Nath Bansal and not in the name of Amar Nath Bansal. It was contended that the policy was issued on the basis of proposal form filled and signed by the proposer Som Nath Bansal and he was given 15 days ‘free look period’ to seek cancellation of the policy if the terms of the same were not acceptable to him, but he failed to exercise that option.

It was contended that the policy stood lapsed due to non-payment of the premium, therefore nothing could be paid to the life assured.

The state commission comprising its president Justice Sham Sunder and Member Neena Sandhu observed that it was evident that all these documents were received by the proposer within eight days of filling up of the proposal form and thereafter, if he was not satisfied with the policy then he could have cancelled the said policy within a ‘free look period’ but he did not exercise that option. Therefore, this contention of the complainant that the opposite parties issued the policy wrongly in the name of his son is not sustainable and hence rejected.

The commission further observed that the contention of the opposite parties that the complainant is not a consumer because the above said policy was in the name of his son and as such he did not avail their services is not sustainable because the complainant being a proposer paid the due consideration for purchasing the policy in the name of his son.

Chandigarh, October 3
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on the municipal corporation for its refusal to provide a community centre to a city resident for use as a marriage venue.

The district forum, comprising its president PD Goel and members Rajinder Singh Gill and Madanjit Kaur Sahota, observed that the non-refund of the amount of Rs 4,635 to the complainant amounted to deficiency in service as well as unfair trade practice on the part of Sub-Divisional Engineer (HQ), municipal corporation, Chandigarh. The forum also directed the opposite party to pay Rs 3,000 towards costs of litigation.

The complainant, Rajinder Kumar, a resident of Maloya Colony, had booked the community centre in Sector 39 for three days to solemnise his sister’s marriage on May 5, 2011. He deposited Rs 4,635, including Rs 200 as cleaning charges and Rs 435 as service tax, with the e-Sampark centre in Sector 17 on February 8.

Later, he approached the watchman of the community centre to take possession of the hall and lawn but the same was not given to him on the grounds that some construction work was going on there. He said he had to solemnise the marriage by the roadside in Sector 39 under severe heat conditions after the officials concerned of the corporation failed to redress his grievances.

He also maintained that he had not received any communication from the opposite party to change the venue in view of the construction work at the centre.

The counsel for the opposite party pleaded that bookings had to be cancelled to avoid any mishap, as construction work on the first floor of the building was under way then.

The respondents had requested the complainant to contact them to seek a change of venue so that no inconvenience was caused to him at a later stage.

The opposite party also contended that most of the permission holders had contacted them and their venues were changed accordingly. However, the complainant approached them 45 days after the issuance of letter even though he was provided with an alternative venue.

Denying complainant’s material allegations and pleading that there had been no deficiency in service or unfair trade practice on their part, the opposite side prayed for the dismissal of the complaint.

Chandigarh October 3
While vehicle thefts and burglaries are quite common in the city, the theft of sanitary items from at least 128 overhead water tanks installed at the CHB Complex in Sector 51 on the intervening night of October 1 and 2 has confounded residents. The thieves climbed atop the buildings and stole valves, made of copper, installed inside the water tanks.

Dinesh Kumar Tewari, general secretary, Resident Welfare Association of the Society, said the thieves targeted 48 water tanks of flat Nos. 31 to 36, 32 water tanks of flat Nos. 55 to 58 and 48 tanks of flat Nos. 107 to 112.

The water tanks were left open by thieves and the theft came to light after a resident climbed the rooftop and found the lids of 128 water tanks open. “It is a matter of grave concern for residents, as thefts have become a regular affair in the locality. On September 8, wheels of a motorcycle were stolen,” Tewari said. The residents filed a police complaint, following which an inquiry was initiated.

Chandigarh October 3
A day after the vigilance wing of the UT police unearthed the racket of preparing fake driver’s licences by forging DSP’s (Traffic) signatures, the vigilance department summoned employees of the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA), Sector 17, for questioning today.

The vigilance sleuths also questioned agents operating outside the RLA office and home guards posted at the Chandigarh Traffic Park, Sector 23.

Vigilance inspector Dalip Rattan said the role of some police personnel and employees of the RLA-17 was under the scanner following which they were questioned in the case.

“We are yet to establish RLA employees’ involvement in the racket. Meanwhile, all employees are being questioned,” he said.

Official sources said the involvement of RLA employees couldn’t be ruled out.

Agents operating outside the RLA office by assisting people arriving at the office for various works were also summoned for questioning.

The vigilance officials had yesterday arrested two members of a gang for their involved in making fake driver’s licences.

Agents, home guards also under scanner

n The vigilance sleuths also questioned agents operating outside the RLA office and home guards posted at the Chandigarh Traffic Park, Sector 23, to probe their involvement in the case

Mohali, October 3
Thirty-year-old Kirti Bhardwaj of Phase X here has allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself.

She has a three-and-a-half-year-old daughter. The police has booked her husband Ajay, mother-in-law and sister-in-law, who are absconding. She was being harassed by her in-laws.

Illegal centre

The Kurali police has booked Mandeep Singh of Phase 2 here for running an unauthorised de-addiction centre there and is probing its functioning.

Chandigarh, October 3
Punjab (II) team restricted Mumbai to a total of 232 runs during a match of the third round All-India Cricket Tournament for Boys (U-19) Dhruv Pandove Trophy being held here today.

Batsmen of Mumbai failed to face the bowling attack of Karan Kaila (four for 55) and Vinay Chaudhary (two for 79) and bundled out for 232 runs in 98.4 overs.

For Mumbai, Akrishit Gumail (44) and Aditya Dhumal (40) were the main scorers for the team.

In another match of the day, Bengal posted a total of 387 for nine in the allotted 100 overs against Hyderabad. Kaushik Ghosh (55) and skipper Abhishek Raman (66) guided the team to achieve the total.

For Hyderabad, Akash Bhandari took four for 110 and CV Milind took three for 61. In the third match at Dhruv Pandove Stadium, Patiala, MPCA team was all out for 221 runs. Mukul Raghav made highest 60 runs for the team, while Sidharth, Rahul and Sandde took two wickets each. In reply, Punjab (I) scored 50 for two till the end of day’s play.

In another match played at GMSSS, Sector 26, Himachal Pradesh scored 327 for nine in 100 overs against Kerala.

Brief scores (Match I):

Mumbai: 232 all out in 98.4 overs (Akrishit Gumail 44, Jaideep Pardeshi 29, Akash Parkar 25, Ninad Kadam 27, Aditya Dhumal 40 not out; Karan Kaila 4 for 55, Vinay Chaudhary 2 for 79).

Match II:

Bengal: 387 for 9 in 100 overs (Kaushik Ghosh 55, Abhishek Raman 66, Sandipan Das 86, Vivek Singh 77, Abhijit Mondal 30; Akash Bhandari 4 for 110, CV Milind 3 for 61).

Match III:

MPCA: 212 all out in 77.1 overs (Mukul Raghav 60, Abhishek 29, Anuj Kumar 23; Amrit Pal Singh 4 for 95, Siddharth Sharma 2 for 21, Rahul Kanojia 2 for 36, Sandeep Singh 2 for 48).

Punjab (I): 50 for 2 in 22 overs (Jaskaran Singh 15, Ankit Pursharthy 21; Abhishek Pathod 2 for 8).

Match IV:

Himachal Pradesh: 327 for 9 in 100 overs (Shashank Sharma 46, Monish Sharma 45, Nakul Raj 87, Kunal Chandela 39; Abhishek Mohan 5 for 98, Akshay Chandran 2 for 51).