Jalandhar, July 18
Vigilant shopkeepers of Lal Bazaar nabbed a youth trying to attack a goldsmith with a sharp-edged weapon last evening.

The youth, posing as a customer, came to a jewellery shop. He tried two gold chains by put them around his neck and asked the jeweller to show him another one. As the goldsmith, Suraj, turned around to get another chain from a showcase, the youth allegedly tried to escape from the shop. Noticing this, Suraj raised an alarm, following which the youth took out a dagger and attacked him.

Hearing Suraj’s shrieks, shopkeepers of the surrounding area rushed to the spot and nabbed the youth. They also thrashed him and later called the police and handed over him to the cops.

Suraj, who is a nephew of Ramesh Dhall, owner of the jewellery shop, was attending customers when the incident occurred. He sustained injuries during the attack, shopkeepers revealed.

The Station House Officer (SHO), Division No 3 police station, Dharambir Singh, revealed that the youth, Ashwani Kumar, resident of Nakodar, was arrested by the police for attempting to loot the jewellery shop on the complaint of Ramesh Dhall, the shop owner.

During questioning, Ashwani Kumar claimed to be a goldsmith, but had to wind up his business after facing crises a couple of years ago, the SHO revealed.

The debt-ridden Ashwani Kumar took to the crime like thefts, swindling and looting and finally landed in the police net, the SHO said. He was also an accused in the Nakodar temple silver idol theft case, the SHO added.

Ashwani Kumar visited the jewellery shop with an intention to loot it, so was carrying a dagger with him. The police had also recovered the weapon from him, claimed Dharambir Singh.

Jalandhar, July 18
After shopping malls, banks, departmental stores, electronic goods showrooms, jewellery shops, hospitals and educational institutes, even residents have started turning on to using CCTV cameras for security around their houses.

With the increasing incidents of burglary, residents seem to be relying on the digital eye, which can not only capture movement of people around their house, but also save it for two to three days to help identify any miscreant.

Further, those who have started using cameras tell that the gadget acts as deterrent to anti-social elements, who get wary of entering such houses for the fear of being caught. After success in nabbing thieves and burglars by means of video footages provided by such cameras in commercial places, more and more people are getting inclined towards making use of the technology.

Aruna Arora, councillor of the Model Town area, said nearly three to four houses in each lane of the posh colony now had CCTV cameras installed. “Rather than deputing a security guard, residents found it safer and cheaper in the long term to install a camera,” she added. She said such devices were most commonly seen in houses that had SUVs and luxury cars parked even outside their gates.

Tajinder Singh, a resident of Model Town, said a recent incident of some youths smashing windowpanes of their cars parked outside forced him to get the cameras installed.

Navjot Mahal, ADCP (Headquarters), says, “It is a good trend for financially well-off people to install cameras. It will, in the long run, help in warding off thefts and burglaries in posh colonies, while also helping catch miscreants in case any such incident occurs.”

Jalandhar, July 18
The Punjab Government today finally approved the establishment of the first-ever Rs 385-crore DAV University under the DAV College Management Committee (DAVCMC) at Sarmastpur village on the Jalandhar-Pathankot road.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal gave the nod for the varsity in a Cabinet meeting held today, which would now be forwarded to Governor Shivraj Patil for final clearance. The varsity would start functioning from the upcoming academic session beginning August 1 after the Governor passes the ordinance and a notification is issued by the state government.

While the first phase of the construction is over on the varsity campus, the governing body of DAV University is in the process of finalising fees structure for different courses, as the admission process would begin soon.

Talking to The Tribune, Regional Director of Engineering Colleges, Professor CL Kochhar said under the first phase, the construction on 7 lakh sq feet area was done with the required infrastructure. “The ordinance would be passed within a week’s time, following which the varsity would start functioning. We have completed the first phase of construction while the construction of the second and third phase would continue simultaneously,” he added.

Talking about the process of recruiting the staff for the varsity, Kochhar said the president of the DAVCMC,

Punam Suri, would be the Chancellor of the varsity, while the process in on to induct the other varsity staff according to the norms of the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and UGC.

In the first phase, the varsity would begin diversified courses in engineering and technology, management, sciences, languages, tourism and hotel management, computer applications, education, vocational courses, arts and design.

Spread in 75 acres, the Rs 385-crore multi-disciplinary varsity was launched in 2010. Earlier the varsity was scheduled to begin its academic session in 2011.

“The University shall have 12 schools of learning and seven centres of excellence, which would be established in phases. Apart from this, the underprivileged and economically weaker section of society, women and farmers will be given special assistance in the varsity,” he added.

Jalandhar, July 18
Even as the postponement of mayoral elections has already been a common debate in the political circles of the city, the dissolution of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust (JIT) has come as the second major issue for the local politicians.

Following the orders of the state government, former Chairman of the JIT and Akali leader Baljit Singh Neelamahal has gone into hibernation. “I want to live in peace for sometime and spend time with my family. I have also applied for a visa to the UK, where I plan to go for a 10-15 days,” he said.

Asked if he wanted to return to the post, he said, “This is not for me to decide, but the party president.” Enquired if he would plead his case for a repeat, Neelamahal said, “I really do not know. I want to relax and take a break for sometime as of now.”

A bunch of local SAD leaders, when quizzed as to who could be the next in line, said it was too premature to talk on the matter. They hinted that there could also be a possibility of the trust getting merged with the Jalandhar Development Authority (JDA) owing to austerity measures being adopted by the government.

BJP leader and former JIT trustee Shiv Dyal Chugh has taken the debate further, “If at all the trust is to be merged, it should be absorbed with the MC rather than the JDA. The JDA has no public representation and therefore less transparency. The MC, on the contrary, works with as many as 60 elected public representatives.”

He claims, “Even if there is no merger, I have another suggestion to make. Ideally the Mayor and the JIT Chairman should be of the same party for a better coordination between the two local bodies.” He quoted the case of Amritsar as an example wherein both the posts are held by the BJP. In Jalandhar, while the Mayor’s post is in the BJP quota, that of the JIT Chairman is in SAD’s kitty.

Jalandhar, July 18
It being an NRI belt and Raksha Bandhan just a fortnight away, the Department of Posts is witnessing a lot of rush at its parcel counters.

Men and women have been queueing up the day through at two special counters set up in the main post office for the dispatch of rakhis and related gifts to their siblings in India and abroad through registered post or other dispatch services available for the same.

While Italy perhaps is the most common destination for the senders, Canada, Australia and Gulf countries happen to be the other more sought-after destinations.

Manjit Kaur, who has her two brothers in Bahrain, said she was in the post office to send a pack of rakhis, greeting card, tilak and sugar crystals to her brothers.

The department is also selling Rs-5 waterproof (it being rainy season) and tamper-proof envelopes especially for the festival with a rakhi design on its cover. Senior Superintendent of Posts Avtar Singh Pahuja said the sale of such envelopes was much more than expected. “We have had to place order for another consignment of the same from our head office,” he claimed.

The officer added that the demand of its premium service World Net Express facility for sending parcels abroad was also receiving good response. “We are getting at least five customers daily for sending valuable gifts and items abroad through the service, which deploys the use of multi-mode track and trace facility for the same through the Web, mobile phone and even toll-free number,” he added. The service costs Rs 1,500 onwards depending on the destination and weight of the pack.

Pahuja said he had already directed his staff to handle all mail related to Raksha Bandhan very cautiously. “Our postmen will also go around distributing mail early on the festival day also,” he claimed.

He added that those sending their parcels to the four metropolitan cities were at an advantage as their consignments would get sorted out mechanically at post offices there and delivered quickly. “New machines have been installed at the main post offices in the four cities, which handle standardised mails that do not bear staples, have pin codes and go in five prescribed envelopes. The best part is that there are no additional charges for the same,” he added.

Jalandhar, July 18
It was proud moment for the city as rising cricket star Mandeep Singh was included among the World T20 probables.

No sooner the news spread, his family, coaches and friends were flooded with congratulatory calls and messages.

Mandeep’s selection has come up at a time when he has already made his presence felt in the Ranji trophy matches and the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) season-5.

Elated, Mandeep’s father Hardev Singh said he learnt about his son’s selection among the 30 probables through a news channels and the internet.

“I am yet to speak to him. I just feel proud with his selection. We are elated and glad to see him scale new heights in cricket everyday. This was the day for which he practised 24X7 and that too with devoted passion,” he added.

Hardev said, “At present he is away to Mohali to attend the Ranji camp, which started this Sunday.”

Surjit Rai Bitta, general secretary, Jalandhar District Cricket Association (JDCA), lauded Mandeep for making it to the list of the probables. He also praised the the cricketer for his humility. “We were looking forward to his appearance in the test cricket. He has scored so many centuries in Ranji matches.”

Bitta also added that despite his rise, he never forgets to visit his alma mater- JDCA for district-level tournaments too. “Just recently he participated in the U-22 district-level cricket tournament and scored 150 runs. We keep on giving the example of his humility to budding cricketers as well,” he added.

Avinash Singh, a cricket buff, said it was a pleasure to hear the news of his selection with big names at such a young age. “We are proud of the fact that after Harbhajan Singh and Rahul Sharma, now Mandeep was all set to make his mark in cricket. We have seen him practicing in the JDCA and his batting skills are a pleasure to watch. We wish to see him become an icon in the cricket world”, he said.

Mandeep has played 13 first-class matches for Punjab and North Zone, scoring 1074 runs at an average of 63.

Jalandhar, July 18
The cast and crew of film “Tantiya Bheel” came calling to the city here today.

Made under the banner of Indore-based production house DV Creations, the film is based on the life of revolutionary Tantiya Bheel (1842 to 1889), who has earned titles like the “Tiger of Nimar Malwa”, “First Indian Robin Hood” and “Sworn Enemy of the British”.

With actor Mukesh RK Chowkse playing the lead in the film, the movie, also written and directed by him, has been made in five languages - Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri and English. The film will release later this month.

Inspired by Tantiya’s little stories that he read in little books about the lesser known hero in his childhood, Chowkse did an depth research about Bheel, transporting documents on the hero from the British Library in 1985.

He also visited all the places concerned with Bheel and asked around about his life from village folk gathering information about him.

Set to release next month, the film will feature Bollywood stalwart Kader Khan and other cast members include Tarun Puri, Rakesh Khanna, Amrit Pal, Pramod Mouthe and Preeti Chowkse, among others.

With the film, Mukesh Chowkse will also plans to get his name listed in the Limca Book of Records as the only artiste who has dealt with 19 various departments (including acting, writing and direction) in a single film.

Due to its patriotic fervour and Chowkse’s attempt to bring alive a forgotten British era revolutionary, the film effort has also earned accolades from Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shiv Raj Singh Chouhan.