Chandigarh, July 19
Moving ahead with the investigations into the barbaric murder of Pooja, the UT police sent the DNA samples of the victim to the Central Forensic Scientific Laboratory (CFSL) for examination. An investigating officer said the samples had been sent to gather staunch evidence that the body recovered from Hoshiarpur was that of Pooja.

The police said Pooja’s body was found in a highly decomposed state and was partially burnt. It was dumped in the bushes on July 13 and the body was recovered on July 17. By that time, maggots had eaten parts of her body and it was beyond recognition.

“We want to gather full evidence in the case and make it foolproof. With the help of the DNA report confirming that it was Pooja's body, our case will become strong,” the investigating officer said.

In addition, the police will also be scrutinising the CCTV footage at toll barriers from Chandigarh to Hoshiarpur.

Pooja was allegedly murdered by her husband Vajinder in connivance with his girlfriend Renu. The victim was given a drink laced with sedatives before strangling her. She was then set afire and her body was dumped in the bushes in Hoshiarpur by the accused couple. The accused are in police custody and will be produced in court tomorrow.

Chandigarh, July 19
Hundreds of commuters, including college students, were stranded at the ISBT in Sectors 17 and 43 and at various bus stops across the city as CTU buses remained off the road for over two hours.

Demanding the implementation of their demands, the CTU Workers Union had given a two-hour strike call from 12 noon to 2 pm, paralysing the public transport system of the city. The effect of the strike was visible till 3 pm as buses ran behind schedule.

The worst affected were the busy routes from the PGI to Panchkula and Sector 17 to Mohali. CTU officials said the strike was during the peak load hours when a number of college and school students use the public transport.

Chaos prevailed at the Sector 17 ISBT as commuters were caught unawares and were seen impatiently waiting for the strike to end. Not only local route buses, but also those of long route went off the road. The woes of the commuters were further aggravated as the CTU Workers Union addressed a rally in the passenger waiting area at the local bus stand in Sector 17.

The commuters had no option but to pay five times more to autorickshaw drivers, who made most of the situation. Autorickshaw operators charged up to Rs 40 per passenger for going from the Sector 17 ISBT to the Sector 43 ISBT. Anirudh Sharma, a student of DAV College, said he paid Rs 40 to reach the Sector 43 ISBT. Haphazardly parked buses blocked the entry of other transport buses at the Sector 17 ISBT.

Natasha, a student of Government College for Girls, said she came to know about the strike only after reaching the bus stand. Manpreet, who had to board a local bus from Sector 17 to reach the Sector 43 ISBT to take a bus for Amritsar, was late. A number of commuters complained about the CTU failing to make any alternative arrangements for commuters.

The CTU employees are demanding recruitment of regular drivers and conductors, new buses, payment of pending overtime and disposing of condemned buses. Bhupinder Singh, president of the union, said if the UT Administration did not respond to their demands, they would go on a strike on August 14.

Chandigarh, July 19
A sharp increase in the prices of green vegetables in the region has burnt a hole in the pocket of common man. While the price of tomato has escalated to Rs 80 per kg in many of the local markets, the potato is being sold at a price of Rs 30 per kg.

However, the prices of these vegetables in the Sector 26 main market have been towards the lower side, but the buyer in the “rehri markets of different sectors had to shell out a big amount for the veggies.

At the Sector 20 market, 250 gram of tomato was available at Rs 20. However, the traders were offering a discount of Rs 10 for those buyers who were buying one kg or more.

The prices at other markets, including Sectors 22, 23, 37 and 15 were more or less the same. Various markets of Mohali and Panchkula too have witnessed rise in vegetable prices. In phases IV, VII and XI of Mohali and Sectors 7, 9 and 15 of Panchkula the tomato was being sold between Rs 60 and 80 per kg. The traders said that since the tomato crop had been damaged in Himachal, the prices had witnessed an upward trend. Due to the rain in the region, the transportation was affected resulting in short supply, saida retail seller.

Chandigarh, July 19
Additional District and Sessions Judge Shalini Nagpal today sentenced Nitinpreet Singh Brar, a DAV College student, to one-year imprisonment under the Arms Act. The accused was booked in August 2007 for firing two gunshots on the college premises. Amandeep Singh Multani, a SOPU leader, had a narrow escape as the shots were directed towards him.

The court had convicted Nitinpreet in the case yesterday. In August 2007, two shots were fired during a group clash at DAV College, in which Multani had a narrow escape. While he has been convicted under the Arms Act, he has been acquitted in the attempt-to-murder case registered against him as the prosecution failed to prove the charges.

Chandigarh, July 19
A resident of Mohali has been arrested for allegedly blackmailing a student of BA-II and extorting Rs 18,000 from her, claiming that he had made an MMS and threatened to circulate it. The girl, a student of a private college in Chandigarh, had been his friend for the last one year.

The accused, who has been identified as Ravi Verma of Mubarakpur village in Mohali district, was arrested on the complaint of the girl’s father who is a resident of Sector 44, Chandigarh.

The complainant stated that Ravi took his daughter to a hotel and made an MMS, after which he extorted cash and gold earrings from her. The police said the accused would threaten to make the MMS public. “The girl initially succumbed to his threats, but later confided in her father, who approached the police,” said a police official.

Preliminary investigations made by the police revealed that the accused had not made any MMS and was just using it as a pretext to blackmail her.

A case under Section 384 of the IPC has been registered in the Sector 34 police station. The accused was produced in the court and sent to police remand for a day.

Chandigarh, July 19
The UT Administration has failed to address the monkey menace in the city. Recently, the administration had hired Gurgaon-based trained monkey catchers. It was decided that the administration would pay Rs 550 to monkey catchers for each monkey they caught. Despite traps laid at various places in the last one month, the monkeys have outsmarted the catchers.

The problem is widespread especially in the northern sectors of Chandigarh. The fear of a monkey attack is making residents stay indoors in the morning and the late evening hours.

According to an estimate of the UT forest and wildlife officials, around 500 monkeys roam freely in the city. At present, the department has only two 'langoors' — Manu and Basanti — to chase away the monkeys. The department is paying around Rs 7,500 each month to the trainers of both the 'langoors'.

A senior official of the UT Administration said in India people usually believed that a monkey was an image of the lord Hanuman and they started feeding them bananas, fruits and other eatable items. Forest department chased away these monkeys every month but they came back in search of these food items.

Chandigarh, July 19
Amit Sarkar, General Manager of the CTU, today visited Anupma, a schoolgirl whose leg was crushed under a speeding CTU bus on Tuesday. The officials inquired about the health of Anupma and expressed their sympathy with the parents of victim. The CTU is concerned about the plight of the girl and the family, CTU director TPS Phoolka said.

“I had asked the officials to visit the PGI and enquire about the health of Anupma. We will take all possible steps to help the family in the need of hour,” he added. Meanwhile the union leaders of the CTU said they along with the driver of the bus under which her leg was crushed will again visit the family at the PGI and offer their help.

Meanwhile, the surgery of Anupma has been postponed to Thursday night. According to the PGI spokesperson due to heavy rush of critical patients at the Advance Trauma Centre the surgery of Anupma could not be carried out yesterday.

Chandigarh, July 19
The UT police today issued a formal notification regarding promotions of over 800 constables who are waiting in the wings for the last 25 years.

As per the notification sent to all police stations today, the police will follow the Punjab pattern and a total of 70 per cent of the constables in waiting will now get promoted on the seniority basis while 20 per cent will have to clear the written recruitment test (B1test). The rest five per cent seats are reserved for the sports quota.

The decision will clear the grievances of the constables who were waiting since 1988 to become head constables in the force. The promotions were stuck all these years owing to legal hurdles. Many constables had gone into litigation against the Government’s decision that 100 per cent promotions will be based on written examination alone.

The constables were fighting to get promoted on the basis of seniority. Many of these constables had moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

Chandigarh, July 19
A 24-year-old two-wheeler rider without a helmet died in a road accident at Sector 42 on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.

The police said the deceased identified as Neeraj was heading back home at 12.15 am on his scooter when he reportedly lost control due to high speed.

The police said the victim’s scooter skidded. He sustained severe head injury and died on the spot.

The deceased was working as a manager in a private hotel in Gurgaon, while his family is residing at Sector 40. He was living with his widow mother and a sister. An autopsy was done and the body was handed over to the family members. — TNS

Chandigarh, July 19
A team of Central Bureau of Investigation questioned Inspector Charanjeet Singh, SHO, Sector 39 police station, in connection with the teachers recruitment scam at the Delhi branch of the CBI today.

The CBI had also questioned former UT DPI (Schools) Samwartak Singh after taking over the investigation from the UT police and registering a fresh FIR in the case last month.

On May 27, the CBI had registered a case against Hardev and Jolly and 'unknown' civil servants in connection with the scam. The UT police had first registered the case in September 2009 but failed to nail any big fish in the scam.

The CBI took over the case acting upon directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The teachers recruitment scam rocked the education department in 2009 when the Chandigarh education department had initiated the process of recruitment of 536 teachers for different government schools. It was alleged that Jolly and Hardev had approached one of the candidates with an assured job in lieu of Rs 4.5 lakh.

The UT police had registered a case at the Industrial Area police station and arrested them.

Chandigarh, July 19
Showing its seriousness about the security at Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, the UT Administration has decided to raise the issue with the states of Punjab and Haryana. At present, although, there are security checks along the UT's side of the boundary, the area is quite open along the Punjab and the Haryana side. Due to a lack of security, people managed to enter the sanctuary on a number of occasions. Incidents of illegal cutting of trees were also reported from the area.

A senior official of the UT Administration said that they were making every effort to protect Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary and would seek support from Punjab and Haryana as well. He added that they would raise this issue in the upcoming meeting between the officials of the UT Administration and the two states.

Official said the UT forest and wildlife department would soon provide an opportunity to nature-lovers in the city to explore the sanctuary. The PEC University of Technology has been given the task of preparing a digital model of the 26-sq-km area, and it would be soon accessible on the Internet, he said.

The project would help improve the management of the area, he said, adding, the digital model would also help trekkers explore different routes, water bodies and wildlife habitats, and observe the relative gradient of the landscape.

Chandigarh, July 19
Narinder Kumar, a Sector 23-based businessman, has been arrested for allegedly manhandling officials of the excise and taxation department who had gone to raid the premises of the businessman after receiving a complaint of evasion of value added tax (VAT).

The businessman, who runs a jewellery store under the name of Vikas Chain Company, has been booked under Sections 201, 332 and 353 of the IPC for obstructing government officials from performing their duty and destroying evidence.

Excise officials said they conducted a surprise raid on his premises. But as soon as they entered the premises, he manhandled them and destroyed crucial documents. The papers were destroyed using a shedder. The team has confiscated documents pertaining to transactions.

Chandigarh, July 19
Department of Endocrinology, PGIMER, organised an education programme for young diabetic mellitus patients.

Chandigarh, July 19
The students seeking admission to BCom courses under sports category (outside UT pool) faced harrowing time due to the lack of coordination between Panjab University (PU) authorities and UT Sports Department.

As per the PU guidelines, the students seeking admission in BCom under sports quota (outside UT pool) should have a gradation certificate of the UT Sports Department. On the other hand, the sports department refuses to provide any gradation certificate to the players of other states.

“We have not received any notification from the PU authorities. Moreover, this department works under the home department (UT administration), not under the PU. We cannot provide any gradation certificate to the players playing for other states. The authorities should take consent before making such rules. How can we grade a player who is representing Haryana, Punjab or some other state? There is a big loophole. We have received about five applications till date and we have to deny them as we are not authorised to give the certificates to them. These students have represented their states and they are suppose to get the certificates form their states,” said District Sports Officer KS Bharti.

“The PU has opted for the centralised admission procedure and they have their own sports committee. Why don’t they give their own grades? They opted for a two-way policy and the ultimate loss will be faced by the players,” added Bharti.

Coordinator of BCom admissions PU SK Chadha, on the other hand, blamed the UT Sports Department. “We are following the rules and recommendations of our sports committee. We are holding admissions for the UT colleges and it is understood that only the UT Administration will provide the gradation certificates for it. For us, the competent authority as mentioned in the brochure is UT Sports Department,” said Chadha.

When asked whether the PU authority has exchanged any written consensus with the UT Sports Department, he said: “I am not sure but we have clarified it in our admission criteria. It is understood that they will grade if the students are taking admission here for the UT colleges.

Chadha also said that it’s happening for the last three years. When asked whether the PU authority provided any seat or cancelled the admissions for those candidates last year, he said: “I am not sure and exactly aware of this thing but the UT Administration must be looking after it. We have cancelled three admissions and moreover, if a player (outside UT Pool) does not provide a gradation certificate he or she will not be entertained,” said Chadha.

Sources said a total of six seats fall under this category. Till date no player (outside the UT pool) has been allotted the seats due to the issue of gradation certificates. “The colleges initially accepted our admission fee and asked us to get the gradation certificates. The sports department, on the other hand, denied us any certificate and by the afternoon we got to know that our admissions were cancelled. The flaw is in the system and we are suffering for that,” said players seeking admission in BCom courses under sports category.

Information on Brochure

2011: Those candidates who do not belong to Chandigarh must submit gradation certificate from the sports authority of their respective states duly countersigned by Sports Authority Sector 42 in Chandigarh.
2012: Candidates applying in general pool (other than UT) should have certificate from the competent authority.

Officials SPeak

We have not received any notification from the PU authorities. Moreover, this department works under the home department (UT Administration)and not under the PU. We cannot provide any gradation certificate to the players playing for other states

— KS Bharti, District Sports Officer 

We are following the rules and recommendations of our sports committee. We are holding admissions for the UT colleges and it’s understood that only the UT Administration will provide the gradation certificates for it

— SK Chadha, Coordinator of BCom admissions PU

Chandigarh, July 19
An orientation programme was organised in Postgraduate Government College for Girls Sector 11 today.

The aim was to acclimatize the new students with the college environment. Achila Dogra, principal of the college, welcomed the students and highlighted the rules and regulations of the college. They were informed about lecture attendance requirement of 75 per cent in all the subjects and the significance of house examination. Besides, they were guided about the rules for subject change, fee concession, bus passes, library facilities, NSS, NCC, scholarships and various do’s and don’ts to be observed in the college.

The students were also briefed about various committees that have been constituted in diverse areas like traffic awareness and Road Safety Society, Preservation and Protection of Heritage Society, Aids Awareness and Public Health Society, Community Hygiene and Sanitation Society, Drug De-addiction Society, Gender Equity Society, Best from Waste Society and Environment Awareness Society.

Classes at the GGDSD College also commenced today. The college precincts buzzed with activities as the students arrived. The senior students and teachers were seen guiding the freshers to their respective classes.

Principal Meena Prabhakar welcoming the fresh batch said, “College life is a new experience for the first year students and we are here to guide them at every step. While it takes time for them to understand and settle down in this new role, our teachers ensure that the students learn to tackle the challenges to the best of their ability.”

Chandigarh, July 19
Studying at Panjab University library is turning out to be a nightmare as students’ belongings are often stolen from the library.

In four days, four students have lost their bags containing books. Such incidents are more frequent at the entrance of the outer section of the library.

Interestingly, the CCTV camera installed at the entrance was not working.

One of the victims, Mehar Verma, a research scholar at Economics department, said that he was studying in the outer section of library on July 18. Before going for lunch at the Student Centre he kept his bag, containing books and university identity card, on the rack used for keeping belongings.

“After fifteen-minutes I found that my bag was not on the rack. I searched it in the library as well. Later I reported the matter to the university security and police,” he said.

Ayush, another PU student, also lost two books in the library on the same day, while he had gone out of the library for a few minutes.

On July 17, Deepak Dhillon, a student of PU’s English department, lost his bag. Dhillon, who was also studying at the outer section of the library, came outside to attend a call. When he returned after ten minutes he found that his bag was missing from the library. “The bag had books, charger of my mobile,” Dhillon said.

On July 15, another research scholar had lost her bag from the library containing books and other belongings. The students blamed university for the incidents. They said that the culprit could have been identified if the CCTV camera was functional.

“The incident has exposed that the university’s claim of keeping a strict vigil on the movements of the students inside the library,” said a PU student.

Chief Security Officer (CSO) PK Dhawan said the CCTV installed at the library that was not working was replaced today. “The security guards on duty at the library have been asked to be vigilant and check identity cards of everyone to restrict the movement of outsiders,” Dhawan said.