NEIGHBOURHOOD

Award for Pandit Yashpaul
Our Correspondent

Pandit Yashpaul (third from left) being honoured in Patiala. A Tribune photograph

Patiala, February 16
The first-ever Padmashri Ustad Sohan Singh Memorial Qward was conferred on the acclaimed Agra gharana vocal maestro, Pandit Yashpaul, of Chandigarh at the Gurmat Sangeet Bhavan auditorium of Punjabi University after a classical music concert here today.

The award, carrying a citation, shawl and a memento, was presented to him by Dr Jaspal Singh, Vice-Chancellor, and Harpal Singh, the Canada-based son of the legendary maestro Sohan Singh. Dr Jaspal Singh hailed the contribution of Pandit Yashpaul for maintaining the traditional purity and serenity of Agra gharana gayaki. He eminently deserved the honour which was in line with previous honours conferred on him like Punjabi Rattan Award and the national Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Dr Gurnam Singh, Head, Gurmat Sangeet, said the university had raised a memorial garden in the memory of artists where trees are planted after their names and “samriti” concerts are held in their honour.

Ambala, February 16
Parents today staged a protest against the authorities of Lord Mahavira Public School here. They said the hike in fee was unacceptable. They assembled at the Indira Chowk and raised slogans against the school authorities. They added that the hike would only add to their burden.

Meanwhile, the school authorities attributed the hike to the increase in the salary of staff.

They said they had no other option as the school did not receive any grant from the state government. — OC

Fatehgarh Sahib, February 16
“To fulfil the economic needs of the underprivileged, bank managers and officials concerned should coordinate with each other. It is unfortunate that certain bank officials do not pay heed to the government’s directions and have been ignoring the DRI scheme. Such officials will be dealt with strictly,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon, while presiding over a meeting of consultative committee of various banks organised by the State Bank of Patiala. The meeting was called to review the progress of various government sponsored schemes for farmers, traders and weaker sections of society.

He said up to December 31, 2011, an amount of Rs 1,993 crore was to be distributed as loan, but the banks in the district disbursed only Rs 1,655 crore. He told the bank officials to meet the target at every cost other wise they would be taken to task. He also directed them to implement the DRI scheme and make self-employment credit cards.

He told them to organise camps to distribute loan to the tune of Rs 15,000 at the rate of 4 per cent interest under the DRI scheme to all those whose income was less than Rs 18,000 in rural areas and Rs 24,000 in urban areas.

Chandigarh, February 16
Rapping incorrigible state functionaries on their knuckles for filing late replies, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the district chiefs of the Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh police to be ready with replies at least three days in advance.

The order, expected to go a long way in expediting the disposal of cases, including the ones involving life and liberty of people, was issued by Justice Ranjit Singh.

"It is seen that invariably replies are not filed in time despite the grant of sufficient opportunities in some important cases like habeas corpus petition. Time and again, it is impressed upon the state counsel to file reply before the fixed date so that the cases can be decided on the fixed date," Justice Ranjit said.

"Still, no improvement is seen and unnecessarily adjournments are sought for filing reply. Basically, officials bring replies on the fixed date and so are not available to the court and the opposite side, so the cases perforce have to be adjourned. The situation cannot be permitted to continue and must change," the Justice said.

"Directions, therefore, are hereby issued to the SSPs/SPs of all the districts in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to detail an officer to bring replies to the office of the Advocate-General three days in advance to make it ready for approval so that it can be filed in the registry before the fixed date for arguments," Justice Ranjit said.

Before delivering the order, Justice Ranjit directed the circulation of the order's copy to the heads of the district police in both the states as well as in the UT. The SSPs/SPs of each district would confirm the receipt of this order to the Advocate-General.

Leaving nothing to chance, Justice Ranjit said: "The Advocates-General of both the states will confirm before this court whether such confirmation has been received from them or not. If replies are not filed on time, the need for directing some action against the respondents may follow."

The directions came after a letter written to the High Court Chief Justice was treated as a petition and placed before Justice Ranjit.

Describing herself as a devotee of Dera Saidpur in Amritsar district, Lakhwinder Kaur Bhattal in the letter has said some accused wearing police uniform abducted dera devotees on December 8 last and there whereabouts were not known.

Chandigarh, February 16
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation today filed a reply in the court of Pritpal Singh in response to a public interest litigation filed by on behalf of the MCC. “It is denied that the MCC have failed in their duty to create more additional parking space. The parking areas are constructed as per plans issued by the Chief Architect.”, the reply submitted. It may be recalled that advocate Pankaj Chandgothia had filed a PIL contending that the paid parking system had become a public nuisance as there was total chaos and mismanagement in the paid-parking areas.

He said that there were no CCTV cameras installed, the attendants wore no uniform nor carried any identity cards and did not undergo police verification. There was overcrowding of vehicles in parking lots and thoroughfares had been blocked to create parking space.

The Additional Commisioner-I, Municipal Corporation, has stated in the reply that "the defaulting licencees/contractors of paid-parking areas are frequently challaned for the violation of terms and conditions of paid-parking area" The CCTV cameras are installed and when they are found non-functional, action is taken against the contractor. CCTV recording of at least three days is required to be kept by the contractor. The attendants are supposed to wear proper uniform and name plate, otherwise the licencee is penalised. The MCC while admitting that they are duty bound to facilitate the convenience of the citizens and general public, said that “public cooperation is required for proper use of the parking areas”.

Panchkula, February 16
In a failed attempt of kidnapping, a few unknown persons today tried to kidnap a Sector 7-based property dealer near Indradhanush Auditorium in Sector 5. They, however, managed to take away Rs 1 lakh in cash.

On the complaint of the property dealer, Nitin, the police registered an FIR under Section 365 (kidnapping with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences) of the IPC against unknown persons.

Nitin said he was returning from the Sector 2 petrol station. When he reached near Indradhanush Auditorium, two cars overtook him and blocked his way. He alleged that suddenly 10-12 masked youths alighted from the cars and snatched his car’s key. Thereafter, they tried to kidnap him, but when he started shouting a few youths who were playing cricket at a nearby ground came to help him following which the youths fled. He added that in the process, they also took away Rs 1 lakh. The police said robbery was not their motive, as the dealer was wearing a number of gold and diamond rings, but did not loot those. ACP Dheeraj Setia said the car, which was used in the crime, was registered in Jalandhar and teams had been formed to solve the case. A similar incident had occurred with Nitin last year in Mansa Devi Complex.

Mohali, February 16
After a gap of six years, a new fleet of motorcycles is being added to the PCR vehicles of the Mohali Police. In the first lot, three motorcycles were today handed over to the beat patrol parties of Phase IX, X and XI.

Presently, there are around 33 two-wheelers and 40 four-wheelers in the PCR of Mohali Police. Of these, 17 vehicles are with the city wing of the PCR. The GPRS is being installed in every vehicle.

The GPRS will be connected with the Police Control Room (PCR) established at a cost of Rs 1.8 crore. The modern PCR is equipped with GIS/GPS based on automatic vehicle tracking system, electronic form management and integration with the digital land map of Mohali. With the fully-computerised system, the PCR controls a fleet of GPS-enabled 33 motorcycles and 40 four-wheelers. Besides, the GPS has been installed in the vehicles of the SHOs, traffic and other police officers for better monitoring and pooling of resources.

Chandigarh, February 16
A 23-year-old married woman allegedly set herself on fire after a fight with her husband over the health of their children, at her residence in Sector 45, Burail,here today.

The woman has been identified as Namita, who was married three years ago to Deepak, poured kerosene on herself and set herself on fire in her room during the wee hours today.

According to information, the family of the women took her to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, with 30 per cent burning injuries. The police had not filed any complaint till the filing of the report.

Panchkula, February 16
Tightening its noose around hookah bars, the Panchkula police today registered an FIR against four hookah bars.

Till now total five cases have been registered against the hookah bar owners. The FIRs were registered against Ali Shah, manager of Sheesha hub in Sector 5, Mohan of Dream Pipeline, Sector 9, Amit Verma of Arabic Infusion, Sector 9, and Aman Verma of Café Beans, Sector 5, Mansa Devi Complex (MDC) under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection or disease dangerous to life) and 272 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale) of the IPC in various police stations of Panchkula.

During last two months, officials of the state drug controller department took samples of tobacco molasses being served in the bars to clients. The report of chemical analysis of these samples confirmed that these tobacco molasses contained nicotine.

Thereafter, they submitted the complaint to the Panchkula police following which FIRs were registered today.

A senior official of the state drug controller department said that samples of nine hookah bars were found positive and in the coming days FIRs would be registered against the remaining four hookah bars.

Maneesh Chaudhary, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Panchkula, said that hookah bars had already been banned in Panchkula and directions were issued under Section 144 of the CrPC Act to stop these hookah bars from serving tobacco molasses containing nicotine, which was injurious to health, especially of college students and the youth.

Chandigarh, February 16
The UT police has solved a case of murder within hours after a body was found lying at the Industrial area near Raipur Kalan (towards Panchkula), here this morning.

The body of Sanjay Rajjak (23) of Rotganna village in Bihar was found in the green belt area behind the Industrial Area during the wee hours and the police later arrested 19-year-old Sushil for committing the crime.

During the investigation, it was found that Sushil and the victim were employed together at a Panchkula-based factory and the victim was killed due to serious head injuries.

According to police officials, both of them had stolen Rs 39,400 from the factory. At the place of the incident, both of them consumed liquor and fought over the distribution of theft money.

The fight took an ugly turn when the accused claimed more money (Rs 7,000) from the victim. On this issue, Sushil hit the victim with a heavy stone on his head and fled away from the spot after taking the whole amount, documents and the mobile phone of the deceased.

“The situation became clear after a person from the factory approached us. After interrogating, it was found that both of them had stolen the money from the factory last night. The accused was later arrested on a tip-off by a source” SH) Rajesh Shukla and SI Ranjit Singh said.

Zirakpur, February 16
One person was killed while another sustained injuries in road mishaps that took place on the

Zirakpur-Patiala highway here last night. While the deceased was identified as Lok Bahadur (45), a resident of Maya Garden, VIP road, the injured has been identified as Parveen Kumar, a resident of AKS Colony, Zirakpur.

Lok Bahadur was on foot. When he reached near Shalimar Hotel, an unidentified vehicle hit him.

A passerby informed the police about the incident which took him to a hospital. He was referred to the GMCH-32, Chandigarh, where doctors declared him brought dead.

The body of the deceased was handed over to the family after conducting 
an autopsy.

The police said after recording the statement of the son of the deceased a case was registered against the driver of the unidentified vehicle.

In another incident, Parveen Kumar, a resident of AKS colony, stated that he was on his way to Zirakpur when a Jeep rammed into his car. He sustained injuries. A case has been registered.

Chandigarh, February 16
The police has arrested two youths from Punjab for their involvement in various cases of snatching and vehicle thefts. A countrymade pistol of .315 bore along with two live cartridges were also recovered from the possession of an accused. Seven motorcycles have been recovered from their possession.

22-year-old Preet of Mohali and 19-year-old Jasbir Singh of Dhanas have been arrested.

According to police officials of Sector 39, the accused fled away after snatching the purse of Mahananda from the dividing road of Sector 39 and 38 (West) on a stolen Motorcycle.

The accused had stolen the bike from Sector 17 on December 28 last year. They were riding the bike with a fake number plate and they were arrested by the police near Sector 25 and 38 light point. — TNS

Chandigarh, February 16
Recorders & Medicine System, an industrial area-based company, has registered complaint against one of its employees for misappropriating funds worth Rs 58 lakh.

According to the complaint filed by company’s MD Suman Jolly S. Elumalai, company’s regional head in Chennai the employee had duped them of the money.

A case under Sections 420, 408, 467, 468, 471, and 120-B of the IPC, has been registered against him.

Panchkula, February 16
The district police has registered a case of dowry death against six members of a family at the Pinjore police station, near here, today. Inder Singh, a resident of Patiala, in his complaint to the police, said his daughter Sukhpinder tied the knot with Gurmeet of Pinjore

15 years ago. The accused kept harassing her for dowry. On February 1, he received a phone call from Sukhpinder’s in-laws that she had died, said Inder. When he reached Pinjore, they had already cremated Sukhpinder. Though no arrest has been made so far, the police said it had registered a case under Sections 302, 201,498A and 120B against the accused. 

Chandigarh, February 16
A knock of unbeaten 73 runs, studded with eight boundaries, by Raman Bishnoi helped DAV Senior Secondary School (Lahore), Sector 8, defeat Guru Nanak Public School by seven wickets in a match of the Coca Cola Cup played here today.

DAV (Lahore) won the toss and elected to field first. Shivam Bhambri of Guru Nanak Public School hit a century. The team score 214 runs.

Bishnoi, who came to bat at number 3, when the total score of the team was 70 runs in 23 overs and the required run rate was 5.55 per over. He started steadily and scored 73 (not out) to lead his team to victory. He was well supported by Kulbir Singh who played well by scoring 45 in 32 balls.

Brief score:

GNPS: 214 in 47.5 overs. Shivam Bhambri 100, Harsroop 46, Nawansh 26. Bhagminder Singh 3/33, Vineet Dhaka 2/36 and Raman 3/20.

DAV (Lahore): 218/3. Raman Bishnoi 73, Bhagminder Singh 52, Kulbir 45. Charanjit 1/46.

Chandigarh, February 16
Dr CK Jerath, president of the Chandigarh Amateur Boxing Association (CABA), has been nominated one of the members of the Indian Boxing Team Selection Committee, which which will select players for the Olympic Qualifying (London Olympics 2012 ) Tournament to be held at Astana in Kazakhstan.

The trials will be held at the NSNIS, Patiala, from February 24 to 26. A 16-member selection committee has been constituted which include 12 Arjuna Award recipients, the national coach and the president and the secretary-general of the federation. The top boxers of the country, including Vijinder Singh, Akhil Kumar, Suranjay Singh, Shiva Thapa, Dinesh Kumar, Manpreet Singh and Paramjeet Singh Samota will take part in the trials. — TNS