Chandigarh, June 22
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-I has directed New India Assurance Company to pay Rs 5 lakh to a Panchkula-based trader for the loss of a consignment of apples in an accident.

The forum comprising president PD Goel and members Rajinder Singh Gill and Madanjit Kaur Sahota also directed the respondents to pay Rs 15,000 as compensation for mental agony and harassment, besides Rs 10,000 as litigation costs.

The complainant, Anoop Singh, a trader dealing in sale and purchase of fruits, had obtained a marine insurance policy of Rs 50 lakh, subject to the limit of Rs 7 lakh from the opposite party. He sent a consignment containing 655 boxes of apples from Chandigarh to Bangaluru (Karnataka) through Haryana Golden Roadways, Chandigarh. However, the truck met with an accident while trying to save a Maruti car and turned turtle causing damage to the apple boxes near the Mohol-Mandrup bypass road. It was further averred that 50 persons of nearby villages gathered and took away the apples.

The intimation was passed on to the opposite party in writing following which a surveyor was appointed for assessing the loss.

The surveyor went to the spot on the same day and inspected the spot, recorded the statement of Rakesh Kumar, cleaner, and also made enquiries from nearby villagers, who confirmed the looting of apples after the accident. The surveyor had also confirmed that the cause of loss was due to theft. However, the truck driver wrongly mentioned the loss of apples to the tune of Rs 3 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh. The value of the consignment had already been declared by the complainant to the opposite party as Rs 5 lakh.

The counsel for New India Assurance Company Ltd (opposite party), submitted that the total loss was Rs 3 lakh only. "The complainant is intentionally not supplying the invoice as the goods value is not more than Rs 3 lakh and moreover every insured is required to prove the value of the goods by producing the invoice," the surveyor added. 

Chandigarh, June 22
Negligence on part of the police in handling a hit-and-run case once again came to the fore with the police failing to arrest an accused driving a Lancer car even after 24 hours.

Moreover, the police has even failed to gather clues and it was the victim's family that recovered the number plate of the accused's car from the accident spot and handed it over to the police.

A pedestrian was critically injured after being hit by a speeding car in Sector 56 last evening. The car fled the spot and its number could not be noted down. The victim, 20-year-old Tejbir Singh, was critically injured and was admitted to the PGI, where he is battling for life. He is a mechanic.

Paramjeet Singh, victim's father, told the Chandigarh Tribune that the police never bothered to visit the spot after the mishap and it was he who recovered the number plate of the accused's car from there.

"I went to the accident spot this morning and found the broken number plate and then handed it over to the police. Till then, it had made no efforts to get clues regarding the car, which hit my son. Moreover, even a day has elapsed and it has done nothing to arrest the accused even though it has traced his address," said Paramjeet.

Sub-Inspector Nand Kishore, in charge Pulsora police post, said they had traced the number. "There is no negligence on our part and the accused will be traced soon," he said.

The UT Police had received flak last week for a considerable delay in lodging an FIR and failing to arrest an accused driving a car which hit an ambulance at the Transport lights.

Mohali, June 22
Chandigarh annexed the U-19 Dhruv Pandove Trophy by defeating Mohali on the first innings lead and garnered three points to take their points tally to nine and lead the league table followed by Amritsar with nine points. Chandigarh moved ahead of Amritsar because of their outright win against Jalandhar.

Mohali resuming at 39 for 1 were bowled out for 338 in 93.5 overs. Their skipper Maninder Singh blasted 128 before being castled by Bhagminder. Middle order batsman Abhijit Garg remained unbeaten on 62. For Chandigarh, off-spinner Abhilash Sharma took 3 for 78, Bhagminder Singh 3 for 60 and Asim Wadhwa 2 for 58.

In the second match played at Dhruv Pandove Stadium, Patiala, Patiala got three points against Ludhiana. Resuming at overnight total of 39 for 3, Ludhiana were bowled out for 190 in 61.5 overs. Sandeep Singh 68 and Khushwinder 38 were the main run-getters for Ludhiana. Sukhwinder 7 for 64 and Manpreet 2 for 36 pf Patiala did most of the damage. Ludhiana, who were forced to follow on, were at 140 for 6 in their second innings in 50 overs when stumps were drawn for the day. Abhinav Bhatia 32, Nimit Malahan 29 and Sandeep Singh 40 were the main scorers for Ludhiana. Sukhwinder 2 for 60 was the main wicket taker for Patiala.

In the third match played at Burlton Park, Jalandhar, between Amritsar and Jalandhar, Amritsar, were bowled out for 397 in 99.2 overs. S Devgan 5 for 77 and Kamaljot 4 for 107 were the principal wicket takers for Jalandhar. In reply, Jalandhar started in a positive manner as their openers Mansab Gill and Mandeep Singh added 102 runs for the first wicket in 37.3 overs before Mansab was caught by Marwaha off Rahul Kanojia for 55. Mandeep Singh followed soon after being trapped in front by Rahul Kanojia for 58. Thereafter, Jalandhar suffered a mild slide as they were reduced to 146 for 5 in 67.1 overs. Then Tarun Sareen kept one end up and did not allow Amritsar bowlers to gain ascendancy. He remained unbeaten on 65. Jalandhar were 240 for 7 in 93 overs when stumps were drawn for the match and the two teams ended up with no point as the first innings had not been completed. This pushed Amritsar to the second spot as Chandigarh won the race because of their solitary outright win. Rahul Kanojia 3 for 65 and Satbir 3 for 85 were the main wicket takers for Amritsar.

Brief scores

Chandigarh: 420 for 6 in 79.1 overs (declared).

Mohali first innings: 338 all out in 93.5 overs (Maninder Singh 128, Abhijit Garg 62, Gurpreet Singh 33, Kinderpreet 37, Abhilash Sharma 3 for 78 Bhagminder Singh 3 for 60 and Asim Wadhwa 2 for 58).

Patiala: 304 for 8 in 77 overs.

Ludhiana first innings: 190 all out in 61.5 overs (Sandeep Singh 68, Khushwinder 38, Sukhwinder 7 for 64 and Manpreet 2 for 36).

Ludhiana second innings: 140 for 6 in 50 overs (Abhinav Bhatia 32, Nimit Malahan 29 and Sandeep Singh 40 and Sukhwinder 2 for 60)

Amritsar: 397 all out in 99.2 overs (Rohan Marwaha 93, Vikramjit Singh 88, Karan Sharma 56, Manul Kumar 33 Jatin Rana 36, S Devgan 5 for 77 and Kamaljot 4 for 107).

Jalandhar: 240 for 7 in 93 overs (Mansab Gill 55, Mandeep Singh 58, Tarun Sareen 65 not out, Rahul Kanojia 3 for 65 and Satbir 3 for 85).

Patiala, June 22
Black Elephant Cricket Club (BECC), Patiala, defeated Mahamaya Club, Ghaziabad, by 213 runs in the second one day match being played at the BECC ground for the CSF Cup. After winning the toss, BECC decided to bat first and piled up a mammoth 318 runs in the stipulated 50 overs. BECC captain Arun Bharti played a super knock of 76 runs, and he was well supported by Dilpreet Singh who scored 43 runs in just 24 balls.

In reply, Ghaziabad started their inning in a disappointing fashion and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. At one point, they were at 3 for 23 and were eventually bundled out on 105 runs in 23.4 overs. For the visiting side, Abhilesh made 54 runs while Amarjeet claimed 3 for 7.

Score

Black Elephant Cricket Club (Patiala): 318 all out in 50 overs (Arun Bharti 76, Tanish Gill 40, Amarjit 31 Dilpreet 43 no, Jashan 26, Vikas 3 for 71 and Abhilash 2 for 57).

Mahamaya Club (Ghaziabad): 105 all out in 23.4 overs (Abhilesh 54 n.o, Abhisek 10, Amarjeet 3 for 7, Gagan 2 for 28, Ekjot 2 for 21 and Ramandeep 2 for 10).