Chandigarh, June 26
Three years after the accident near the Kiran Cinema at Sector 22, in which a 20-year-old youth died, a reinvestigation into the case by the Haryana Police held UT police sub-inspector Jaspal Singh Bhullar guilty of rash and negligent driving, causing the accident which resulted in the death of the youth.

The Haryana Police recommended that a case of causing death due to negligence under Section 304-A of the IPC be registered against Bhullar. The reinvestigation was carried out on orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court last year after the victim’s family cried for justice and filed a petition, seeking reinvestigation.

The UT police had closed the case to shield its sub-inspector and had instead, made Gagandeep Singh, the deceased, the accused who caused the accident. The mishap occurred on the night of June 27, 2009.

Twenty-year-old student Gagandeep of Fatehgarh Sahib, staying as paying guest in the city, was on his motorcycle with his friend Mandeep Singh, who was riding pillion. At the traffic light point near the Kiran Cinema, a speeding Santro car, being driven by Bhullar, hit the motorcycle.

Gagandeep sustained a severe head injury and died. Investigations carried out by the UT police held that the youth was responsible for the mishap, as a result of which Bhullar was let off.

In July last year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acted on a petition by victim’s family and ordered the Haryana DGP to nominate two IPS-level officers for reinvestigation into the case.

Chandigarh, June 26
“By holding the sub-inspector guilty of the tragic death of my son, the Haryana Police has applied much-needed balm on my amputated arm. Losing my son was like losing an arm, but at least getting justice relieved me of my pain, though the loss would never be compensated,” were the words of Gagandeep’s father Balwinder Singh.

Sharing his pain during his battle for justice, he said, “The UT police had only rubbed salt on my wounds by giving a clean chit to the sub-nspector and holding my son responsible. Justice came after three years as my son was killed on June 27. I hope that the sub-inspector is booked soon,” he added.

For Balwinder and his wife Gurvinder Kaur, the three years did not just pass by. Every day meant a battle of sorts. “We prayed and hoped that his killer would be brought to book. The day has finally come,” said the duo.

The UT police had closed its doors on the couple after filing the report and naming their dead son as an accused. Their faith in the judiciary was kept when the reinvestigation held the policeman guilty.

“We ran from pillar to post and no senior UT police officer lent us an ear. Our statements and those of eyewitnesses were recorded after over six months. The investigation was transferred from the crime branch to the special cell after Bhullar filed an application for transfer. It seemed that the top brass was bent on shielding him,” said Gurvinder.

“I last spoke to my son that morning. He was so happy and looking forward to going abroad. He was hard-working and intelligent. I felt proud of him. He never troubled me and was so caring,” she added.

Panchkula, June 26
The recent incident of the alleged kidnapping and robbing of a businessman of his car and other valuables after making him unconscious has shattered his mother Ishwari Devi, who lost her grandson in a kidnapping and murder case last year.

Ishwari Devi of Maheshpur village, near Sector 21 here, today said more than 11 months had passed, but the police had failed to trace the accused who kidnapped her grandson Gaurav Bhardwaj and later set him on fire and dumped him near Basualan village in Pinjore on July 21 last year.

“Will the police try to nab the accused to provide justice to people like us,” she asked. She said Gaurav, managing a hotel at Morni, was reportedly kidnapped by nearly six youths from Sector 22 in Chandigarh and was later set on fire and dumped at Basaulan village, near Pinjore. Gaurav could not tell more details to the police and his father before he fell unconscious, only to succumb to his injuries at the hospital later, she added.

She further said two incidents of kidnapping occurred in the family within a year and the police had failed to solve the case that took place last year. She said if the police failed to nab the accused, she would stage a 'dharna' outside the police station.

Four unidentified persons reportedly kidnapped businessman Vinay Kumar after making him unconscious near Sector 12 when he went to answer nature’s call. The accused had later taken away his Ford Icon car and other valuables, including gold jewellery, Rs 10,000, a laptop and ATM cards, before throwing him out of the vehicle near Tangori village on the Banur-Landran road.

The police had registered a case under Section 392 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act.

Mohali, June 26
The 157 acres at Saini Majra village, which a former Punjab DGP 'forcibly' tried to take possession of last month, was 'shamlat' land owned by the village panchayat.

This was what the Mohali Deputy Commissioner (DC) observed in his report, which he recently forwarded to the Finance Commissioner (Revenue).

The mutation (rectification of ownership of revenue record) done in favour of the former DGP by the naib tehsildar of Majri was questionable, he observed.

It was clearly mentioned in the report that rules were flouted. The Deputy Commissioner raised doubts about the authenticity of the exercise carried out by the naib tehsildar.

The naib tehsildar had changed the ownership in favour of Parmadeep Singh

of Sector 16 in Chandigarh as part of the exercise to rectify the record on January 27.

The patwari concerned, who was absent that day, was marked present in the entry of the spot inspection by the official concerned.

The other main party in the case, the panchayat, was neither heard, nor involved during the exercise of 'darusti girdavari' (rectified mutation), stated the report.

It was also stated that no entries in the record regarding crop cultivation were found while checking the spot. Cultivation was the main objective of 'girdavari'.

It was also mentioned that the land in question fell under the Punjab Land Preservation Act 1900 and so, any kind of tilling of land was prohibited.

Talking to the Chandigarh Tribune, Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam said rules were flouted by certain officials to change the ownership of the land recently.

"Strict action has been recommended against the guilty. I have put forward the report to the Finance Commissioner (Revenue) for further action," he added.

Chandigarh, June 26
Power supply to the PGI was interrupted today. There was a power breakdown at the PGI this morning due to overloading.

The electricity department of the PGI struggled for more than five hours to locate the fault and resume power supply in the afternoon, when there was a short-circuit.

Sources at the hospital said power supply was interrupted around 6 am due to a blast in the main electricity panel board of the Nehru Hospital.

After this, power supply to three blocks of the Nehru Hospital was affected. The sources said officials rectified the fault, but power supply was irregular for about four hours.

A PGI spokesperson said there was a power cut from 11 am to 12 noon and another from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

in the afternoon. But it does not affect much on the functioning of the public services as the power interruption is on the reception side of the hospital.

The sources said services not connected to power back-up were affected. Officials said the services included diagnostic tests like MRI and CT scan.

The offices of the medical superintendent and the faculty were without power. Sources in the electricity wing said the reason for the power failure was heating due to overloading.

Around 4 pm, there was a short-circuit at the F block of the Nehru Hospital. The electricity wing failed to find the fault and resume supply till the time of the filing of this report. This power failure did not affect hospital services much as it occurred at the administrative area, which included main reception.

Mohali, June 26
Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu today again raised the demand of setting up a 'Drug Prevention Board' (DPB) to deal with the drug menace in the state effectively.

Bittu, who represents Anandpur Sahib Parliamentary seat, said that the Badal government did not seem serious on the issue as they only talked but did not do anything concrete in this direction.

“There is a need to set up the DPB, consisting of expert doctors, police officials, members of NGOs, political leaders and senior officials of the government. Also, the DPB should be empowered to take immediate action against those who are indulge in this dirty trade,” said Bittu, who visited the Drug De-addiction Centre at Civil Hospital, Phase 6, today morning.

After interacting with the inmates in the centre, Bittu said that drug addiction was the one of the major challenges before the state government. “One can see four to five illegal medical stores in every village which have been flourishing by selling synthetic drugs to addicts. But nobody is serious to check such businessmen,” said Bittu.

He also flayed the state government for not providing any funds in its Budget to deal with the menace.

Mohali, June 26
“Due to lack of awareness regarding the health risks involved, the youth in the state have been taking to drugs at an early age. This is really a big cause of concern”, said Madan Mohan Mittal, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Punjab, while addressing a gathering at a state-level function at the State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Phase 6, here today.

The function was organsied by the Punjab State AIDS Control Society (PSACS) to commemorate the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking under the theme “Global action for healthy communities without drugs”.

Showing concern, Mittal said that public health scenario in Punjab has been affected due to the rampant use of drugs, particularly among the youth, which also resulted in the increase in HIV/AIDS cases in Punjab due to the sharing of contaminated needles and syringes by drug addicts.

“The national survey conducted by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in 2010 revealed that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among Injectable Drug Users (IDU) in Punjab is 21.02 per cent, which is comparatively higher than other states,” said Mittal, adding that the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, has set up seven drug de-addiction centres in six districts.

Besides, the department was also running as many as 27 Targeted Interventions (TIs) Projects through NGOs to provide harm reduction services to IDUs in the state, he added.

Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary, Health, stated that last year a total of 549 chemists were raided and drugs worth Rs 2.30 crore were seized. She also informed that licenses of 114 chemists were cancelled.

Similarly, this year till April, a total of 264 chemists have been raided and drugs worth Rs 95.33 lakh have been seized. License of 23 chemists have also been cancelled across the state.

Chandigarh, June 26
With frequent power cuts becoming a norm, city residents have started changing their daily schedule to save themselves from these power cuts.

29-year-old Girish Sharma, a resident of Sector 45, said whenever there was a power cut in his Sector, especially during night, he called up his friend who resides in Sector 15 if there was a power cut in his area as well. If the answer was no, then he simply went to his house to have a sound sleep.

Kamal Singh, a software professional and resident of Sector 33, says that earlier he used to work during the night hours, but these days he has started working early morning, between 4:00-10:00 am. Kamal said that during the night hours when he used to work from his home, he witnessed a number of power cuts which adversely affected his work. Therefore he decided to work early morning as there are less power cuts during this time.

Echoing a similar view, Ramesh Verma, who works in a real estate company, said that earlier he used to go home in Sector 42 for lunch, but has now stopped the practice. These days he prefers to stay in office for lunch as in Sector 42 continuously faces power cuts.

Sneha Pandit, a resident of Sector 46, said that she used to teach children in her locality at her home during the afternoon hours. But whenever there was a power cut in their Sector, it became very difficult to teach students. As vacations are going on these days, she changed the teaching timings to avoid power cuts.

Notably, on Monday night and today afternoon, Sectors 19, 22, 23, 32, 33, 46 and Manimajra witnessed 2-4 hour power cuts due to overloading and tripping problems.

Chandigarh, June 26
Do not hesitate to encroach upon the public parks of the municipal corporation as there is no check of the authorities on the violators. The encroachment in the public park of the centrally located Sector 27 is a classic example. A resident there has stored construction material in the neighbourhood park of the residential area for the past fortnight and the corporation has not taken any action against him.

During a visit to the site it was found that the raw material was lying all over the park, and even the machinery was placed at the corner of the park. Residents of the nearby houses revealed that when they complained about it to the owner of house number 1051, asking him to remove the raw material, he stated that the contractor who is developing the park has stored the material in the park. But after a few days, they found that the construction material was being used for house construction.

One of the residents, pleading anonymity, said that a few months ago the corporation had issued a challan to a resident as he had stored construction material on the roadside, but it was strange that now another resident had spoiled the whole park and no action was being initiated against him.

Residents revealed that the foot path of the park had been recently constructed by the corporation and its beautification was still pending.

Passing the buck on each other, the encroachment department said that the area is under the road wing but the officials of the road wing stated that it is the duty of the horticulture department to keep a check on such encroachments.

A senior official remarked that the owner might have taken permission from the corporation to place the construction raw material in the park; but if no permission had been sought, the authorities could take stringent action against him.

Chandigarh, June 26
The complainant in the booth allotment scam, Dinesh, has demanded that the UT estate office should complete inquiry in a time-bound manner. He said UT officials had been dilly-dallying completion of the report.

Out of 88 beneficiaries, who were issued show-cause notices by the UT estate office as was alleged in Shergill’s report, the committee has found illegalities in over a dozen allotments, said sources.

After going through each of 88 replies, which the EO received in response to their show-cause notices, the committee has found that the allotments were made illegally in over a dozen cases and the connivance of certain insiders in the estate office is also not being ruled out.

But nothing has happened after that, said Dinesh Kumar.

Chandigarh, June 26
A delegation of residents of Central Government Employees colony, Sector 7, met MC Commissioner VP Singh and public health superintending engineer RC Dewan today to discuss the water problem being faced by the residents in the colony.

The residents complained that for the past fortnight due to low water pressure the underground tank of the colony has not been filled in the morning hours.

The MC Commissioner directed the officials to conduct a joint inspection with the residents of the colony every day during the morning supply to assess the improvement in the supply till the residents a are satisfied.

The officers of the corporation assured the delegation that the situation will be improved in a few days. The concerned department officials said that in case the underground tank within the colony does not get filled by the direct water supply, the corporation will provide water tanker to fill it up.

Meanwhile, it has been decided that the officers of the MCC and CPWD will hold a joint meeting to discuss the problems of undersized pipelines laid by the CPWD and increasing the capacity of the sump as per the requirement of 6000 residents.

Chandigarh, June 26
Residents of the third phase sectors, which include Sectors 48 to 61, today submitted a memorandum to Advisor to the UT Administrator K K Sharma about their grievances. Residents complained that the administration has annually collected several hundred crores of rupees as development charges from the third phase sectors, but no plan has been carried out for the development of this area.

Referring to their problems residents stated that there is no facility of shopping centers, schools, dispensaries or polyclinics, and community centers in Sector 50 and 51. In fact there is no bus connectivity to destinations like railway station, PGI, the university, Panchkula, and Mohali. There are no police stations, post office, sports facilities, green belts in Sector 50 or master park in Sector 51D.

In the memorandum, the residents alleged that due to the non-existence of market places in sectors 48 to 61 the residents have to go to markets in Mohali and other nearby sectors in Chandigarh, causing loss of time, money and convenience.

Demanding setting up of temporary day markets, residents said that till a proper market is not developed by the authorities should allow ‘rehris’. Residents said that in the absence of health facilities, they have to spend heavily for treatment at the dispensaries and polyclinics in other parts of the city.

The administration has no doubt earmarked sites in the third phase sectors, including Sectors 48, 49, 50, 51 and 61, for primary, high and senior secondary government schools, but no conscious efforts are being made to develop such sites on a priority basis. The existing police stations in Sector 34, 36 and 39 have to bear the brunt of maintaining law and order in third phase.

Chandigarh, June 26
The UT Administrator Shivraj V Patil today issued directions to senior officials of the UT Administration to take immediate steps for burning the weeds from those areas of the Sukhna Lake bed where the de-silting operation is not being carried out at present.

Patil was presiding over a high-level review meeting on the de-silting of Sukhna Lake. Patil, who had visited Sukhna Lake last week and had issued a number of directions, today asked the officers to expedite the de-silting work.

Chief Engineer SK Chadha apprised the Administrator that 63 machines, including excavators, JCB, dumpers and tractors, are in operation at the lake. He said that 56 lakh cft (cubic feet) of silt has been removed from the Sukhna Lake so far.

The long-standing weed menace has been spoiling the picturesque image of the lake and has now resulted in a dismal picture of the main tourist spot of City Beautiful.

Besides this, the weeds are also hampering the movement of oars and boats. The weeds under the water also cause skin allergies, if touched.

Chandigarh, June 26
Can a financial institute grant a loan worth several lakhs to a stranger against a vehicle, which already stood hypothecated with it against the loan of the complainant.

The issue came up before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-I, which observed that any prudent man can understand that how a financial institution like the respondent bank can grant loan of lakhs of rupees to a stranger against the vehicle, which already stood hypothecated with it against the loan of the complainant.

So far as the grant of loan to Liakat Ali (driver of the complainant) by the opposite party bank against the vehicle legally owned by the complainant is concerned, the same is held to be illegal and arbitrary. Granting of loan to Liakat Ali or any other person/stranger, who has no right, title whatsoever, etc, on the vehicle registered in the name of the complainant, amounts to gross negligence on the part of the opposite party, the forum observed.

The district forum directed the respondent, ICICI Bank, to pay Rs 4,45,600 towards the cost of the car, along with an interest at the rate of 9 per cent with effect from February 9, 2008, the date on which it was put on sale by it. The forum also directed the bank to pay Rs 25,000 as litigation costs to the complainant.

The complainant, Harmesh Goel, a resident of Modern Housing Complex, submitted that he purchased a second-hand Toyota Qualis after availing a loan of Rs 3,45,600 from the bank. On repaying and clearing the whole loan amount, the bank returned the post dated cheques to the complainants. Thereafter, he visited the bank for issuance of no dues certificate and deposited the requisite fee of Rs 200, which it declined to issue on the ground that a loan of Rs 3 lakh was still outstanding against the vehicle. On inquiry, it was revealed that his driver Liakat Ali pledged the same vehicle with the bank against a loan of Rs 3 lakh. As such, the bank took possession of the vehicle on account of the non-payment of loan availed by Liakat Ali.

The counsel for the bank denied that the complainant had repaid the entire loan and added that the loan of the complainant was closed by transferring an amount of Rs 2,87,923 from the loan amount disbursed to Liakat Ali. It was also stated that the complainant was the beneficiary of the loan of Liakat Ali and no objection has been raised by the complainant for this. It is asserted that on account of default in making payment of the loan availed by Liakat Ali, the vehicle of the complainant was possessed and the same was put on sale on February 9, 2008, for recovery of the bank dues.

Chandigarh, June 26
From assisting students coming to Panjab University campus for admissions by accompanying them to the departments and getting their forms submitted, the student organisations are doing every bid to attract newcomers towards their party.

Supporters of the student parties can be seen going to the students, offering help and driving them to various departments for submitting the admissions forms.

SOPU president Manoj Lubana said supporters had been assigned duties at each department to assist the students. Apart from the help desks, we are also distributing the forms at the departments, Lubana said.

PUSU leader Sumit Goklaney said they were even filling the admission forms for the students, who even have the problem filling the form.

The student parties are even taking the students to the department concerned in their cars to ensure the student supports their party in the student elections. Meanwhile, the photocopied admission forms are also offered to the students by the parties free of cost.

The help desk of Panjab University was also inaugurated today by the Vice-Chancellor. Hostel wardens have been assigned the duties to guide the students with the admission details.

Chandigarh, June 26
Defacing the City Beautiful with posters won’t come easy for student leaders contesting elections at Panjab University and city colleges, as the Chandigarh police while taking a strong stance today booked five student leaders under the West Bengal Property Defacement Act, 1976, for defacing public property with posters.

Three student leaders were booked at the Sector 3 police station.

Ashish Saluja, all-India college president of Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU), has been booked for pasting party posters on a signboard near a Verka booth, Sector 8. Similarly, Ranjan Chopra, another leader of SOPU, has been booked for pasting party posters on the wall of DAV College, Sector 10. In another case, Baljit Choudhary, a leader of Panjab University Students’ Union (PUSU), has been booked for pasting posters on the walls of Hotel Mountview, Sector 10.

Another two student leaders have been booked at the Sector 11 police station.

ABVP leader Parvesh, alias Goldy, has been booked for pasting posters on the electricity box at DAV School, Sector 15, while Manna Sekhon of the Student Organisation of India (SOI), was booked for pasting posters at a bus stop in Sector 15.

All students have been booked under Section 3 of the West Bengal Property Defacement Act, 1976.

Police officials said a campaign would be initiated against such student leaders, who deface the public property and a case against all of them would be registered. A PUSU leader was also booked by the police in May for pasting posters near a road separating Sectors 15 and 16.

The defacement during the student elections is a major problem with the student leaders defacing the public property, despite several warnings. Last year, the university authorities had also slapped Rs 1,000 fine on the leaders of SOPU and PUSU.

PU officials said under the Lyngdoh recommendations, pasting of printed material is also not allowed and the parties using printed material will get disqualified for the elections.

Chandigarh, June 26
Even after years of their existence on Panjab University (PU) campus, youth wings of the national political parties have failed to make their presence felt in PU, which is dominated by regional parties. Parties like Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) is still struggling hard to take a lead over the local parties to win student elections independently.

The ABVP and NSUI, which are popular among students of various other universities across the country, hold minority status on the PU campus.

Parties like the Students’ Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) and Panjab University Students’ Union (PUSU) have played a major role in the student politics on the campus, along with secondary student organisations like Indian National Student Organisation (INSO), Student Organisation of India (SOI) and Himachal Pradesh Students’ Union (HPSU).

The history of the student elections at PU reveals that these two parties have failed to come in power with support from the local parties. PU has never witnessed president of the student council from any of these parties.

Admitting the fact, Sandeep Boora, NSUI leader at university, who is also a national delegate, said earlier the students, while studying in the campus, used to support the regional parties and join NSUI after passing-out of the campus, however, now the party has decided that only those who have worked for the party in the university would get an affiliation with the NSUI in their respective states. There are many instances that the students and former leaders of both SOPU and PUSU have joined the NSUI after passing-out, which would now change and that would help the party in cementing its base in the university, Boora said.

Dinesh Chauhan, ABVP leader at the university, said a majority of the students studying at PU are from Punjab and Haryana, who gets attracted to the glamour of the local regional student parties, following which they stick to the parties, which lacks ideology. We are working towards spreading awareness among the students about our ideologies, although it would take a few years, however, the ABVP will emerge as the leading party on campus, Chauhan said.