NEIGHBOURHOOD

Teachers sans salary for 8 months
Stage dharna, submit memorandum to DC; threaten state-level agitation
Surinder Bhardwaj

Fatehgarh Sahib, August 7
Hundreds of teachers of the Education Provider Teacher's Union today staged a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in support of their demands and to immediately release their eight-month salary.

The teachers raised slogans against the government and submitted a memorandum to the DC to be forwarded to government.

Addressing the dharna, Devinder Singh Punia, president Democratic Teacher's Front said it was unfortunate that the teachers had not been given salaries for the past eight months and that it had become very difficult for them to meet their both ends.

He warned the government to immediately release the salary adding that the government had back tracked from the compromise reached with the union and did not implement any conceded demand.

He said that government has assured to increase the salary, to resolve the transfer posting issue, to give the training to Education Providers on the expenses of the government and to withdraw the cases registered against teachers during agitation. He said no demand had been implemented and that they have staged protest dharna on the call of state body.

Devinder said that if their salaries if their salaries were not released and demands not implemented, they would start state-level agitation.

Fatehgarh Sahib, August 7
A new technical campus at Continental Institute of Engineering and Technology (CIET) at Jalvehra village on the Sirhind-Rajpura GT road was inaugurated by Education Minister Punjab Sikander Singh Maluka here this morning.

Earlier, executive director BPS Grewal said they have introduced more courses approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). He said that now students could opt for degree courses like M.Tech in mechanical engineering, Masters in Computer Applications (MCA) and three-year diploma courses in mechanical engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) from this academic session.

Grewal said the Punjab State Technical Board had approved the diploma programmes after carrying out an inspection. — TNS

Fatehgarh Sahib, August 7
District and Sessions Judge issued notices to three senior police officers including, Police Commissioner of Ludhiana, for not complying to the court orders today. The court has given two weeks time to the officers for presenting their case.

The other two officers include the Superintendent of Police (Head Quarter) and the Superintendent of Central Jail, Ludhiana. While issuing the notices the court said why action should not be taken against the three officers for not obeying the orders besides obstructing the working of the court. The court has given two weeks time to present their case.

According to information, statements of witnesses were being recorded in the court against one of the accused Amarjit Singh against whom a case has been registered in the Mandi Gobindgarh police station under Sections 307, 279, 427, 323, 506 and the 34 IPC on July 6, 2011. The Ludhiana police had also failed to present the accused before the court on July 25 and August 4.

The letter submitted in the court by the Jail Superintendent on August 4 mentioned that SP (HQ) had been directed to present the accused Amarjit Singh in the court but he failed to initiate any action in this regard.

The commissioner of police, Ludhiana, had stated that as most of the policemen were on VIP duty and moreover, there was shortage of policemen in the district so they could not produce the accused in the court.

However, District and Session Judge was not satisfied with the reply filed by the reply and issued notices to the three officers to present their case before the court within two weeks. — TNS

Panchkula, August 7
The CBI court today pronounced one year imprisonment to the assistant manager of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), who was convicted on August 4 by the court.

The accused, SP Singh, was caught by the CBI accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a rice mill owner along with another accomplice, YK Sharma.

Finding no circumstantial evidence against the other accused, YK Sharma, the court him.

The CBI had caught SP Singh and his accomplice accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a rice mill owner in 2009. It was after the complaint of the mill owner that the two were arrested.

Panchkula, August 7
In a major development in the Raipur Rani kidnapping case, the sessions court today dismissed the bail of the two accused involved in the case. The accused, Salim and Kamaljeet had applied for bail on August 3 when the case was committed from the lower court to the sessions court.

An 18-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped by the two youths from outside the factory where she was working. One of the youths promised that he would marry her.

The case dates back to April 28, 2012 when an 18-year-old girl was kidnapped by the two youths while she was on her way back home from her factory where she was working in Khera village near Raipur Rani. The victim and the accused were a resident of Khera village.

The accused were arrested on May 1, 2012. The police had registered a case under Section 363 (Punishment for kidnapping) and 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing women to compel her for marriage) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

According to the police, the victim was on her way back home after completing work at the factory where she was working when the incident took place.

Chandigarh, August 7
In a major seizure, the UT Excise and Taxation Department today seized 2,000 litres of diesel smuggled from Punjab.

The suspect, Jaspal Singh, was selling the diesel to truckers in Daria village. A team of the Excise Department intercepted a vehicle carrying three containers of 1,000 litres capacity each. While two containers were carrying diesel, the third one was empty.

The officials in the Excise Department said the seizure could be the tip of the iceberg. It is being believed that the smuggled diesel was regularly sold in Chandigarh. Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner Naresh Dubey said a fine of Rs 35,683 had been imposed on the violator.

The owners of petrol stations in Chandigarh had been complaining of losing business to Mohali (Punjab) due to difference in the diesel prices. They have been demanding a reduction in VAT to lessen the difference in prices of petrol and diesel.

The Chandigarh Petroleum Dealers Association has been seeking the removal of disparity in the diesel prices in Punjab and the UT. About 12,700 kilo litres (KL) of petrol and 4,000 KL of diesel is sold at 41 filling stations in the city.

The association has been urging the administration to revise the tax structure as it is losing Rs 15 crore annually on account of sale of diesel as the customer base has shifted to Punjab, where the diesel is cheaper.

Chandigarh, August 7
A team of the UT police today raided a juice and drinks unit in Industrial Area and seized over 600 bottles of adulterated cold drinks, beer and juice that were being manufactured under the most unhygienic conditions. The police has arrested two persons who are the owners of the unit under sections 272 and 273 (adulteration of food) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC.

The police arrested VK Malhotra and his son Ranjan Kumar, both owners of Vikay Enterprises.

The police seized duplicate brands of Himalyan Dew, Foster premier fruit beer, Mango Mazza, mango drinks and Orange Cola from the site. The sample of drinks and raw material were taken by the Inspector, Food and Supply, and sent to a laboratory.

The bottles of cold drink and beer were supplied to Sri Ram Trading at Sector 26 from where these were supplied to shops at the ISBTs at Sector 17 and 43 as well as a number of other shops in the city.

The UT police acted on a complaint filed by PepsiCo director Ramesh Dutt. A team of Special Technical Operation Cell (STOC), headed by Inspector Ranjit Singh Dhillon, unearthed the racket manufacturing duplicate brands of PepsiCo. The operation was carried out under the supervision of SP (City) Deshraj Singh and DSP Roshan Lal. Food and Supply Inspector Sukhwinder Singh of the UT Health Department also accompanied the police during the operation. 

Chandigarh, August 7
The UT police arrested a Panjab University student for hitting a UT police constable when he was signalled to stop at a police barrier.

The police arrested Yogesh Kumar, a BSc student in a case of rash and negligent driving and obstructing public servant from performing duty under Sections 279, 332 and 353 of the IPC.

The police said Yogesh, a resident of Sector 20, was driving a Pulsar motorcycle (CH-01AJ-0238) without helmet when he was signalled to stop by constable Rajesh Kumar in Sector 18.

The accused tried to flee and rammed his bike into the constable injuring him. The constable was rushed to the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16.

This is the 12th incident in the last two months when a UT policeman has been assaulted while on duty.

Chandigarh, August 7
Three students of Panjab University have been arrested by the Chandigarh Police following a minor scuffle between the members of Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) and Panjab University Students Union (PUSU) outside the department of geology today morning.

Sources said members of both the parties entered into an argument outside the department building in the morning. Following the argument, a minor scuffle ensued between the students. However, before the situation could get out of control, the police and the university security staff reached the scene.

Later, three students were arrested by the police. Inspector Gurmukh Singh, SHO, Sector 11 police station, identified the arrested students as Ashish, Deepak and Sunil Bhanot. While Sunil is a member of the SOPU, other two are members of the PUSU.

Security was beefed up on the campus soon after the incident. Inspector Gurmukh Singh said policemen had been deployed at various locations on the campus, including the law department, Student Centre and arts block, apart from the University Institute of Engineering and Technology in Sector 25, to keep a close check on incidents of violence.

Chief Security Officer PK Dhawan said the security staff deployed at the entry gates had been asked to thoroughly check all the vehicles entering the campus and to verify identity cards of those driving them.

The PU authorities have also called three companies to demonstrate the working of high resolution cameras, on August 14, to be installed on the campus. "The high resolution cameras will be installed at strategic locations, including all the gates, so that the images of people entering the campus and the registration number of their vehicles can be captured," said Dhawan.

Chandigarh, August 7
The Chandigarh Cricket Association conducted trials to select the girls cricket team for the Non-Residential Women Cricket Academy today. The academy will start functioning at the Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 26, from August 11.

A total of 45 players participated in the trials conducted by a panel of selectors Jaswant Rai, RP Singh, and Jagdish Bains, along with PCA representative Renu Kaura.

According to Mohinder Singh, honorary secretary, CCA, and convener, Non-Residential Cricket Academy, 18 girls in the under-19 and 7 in the senior category were short listed after the trials.

Short listed players:

Seniors: Harpreet Kaur, Aakriti, Kamalpreet, Sunaina, Mamta, Jaskiran Kaur, Amarjeet Kaur; U-19: Manisha Badhan, Tanya Bhatia, Suman Thakur, Rajni, Preeti Saxena, Aakriti Kapila, Priyanka, Monika Pandey, Nandini, Himanshi, Anita, Reena, Divya Sharma, Nehal, Muskan, Anu, Kusum, Gagan; stand by: Damini, Jyoti, Dancy, Nancy, Sumanrajput, Rakhee, Kajol. 

Chandigarh, August 7
Disha Goswami won top honors in the girls’ (U-14) weight category of 26-29 kg during the ongoing interschool tae-kwan-do championship for girls here today.

Priyanka of Government Model High School, Sector 39, attained second place, while Deepali and Preeti got the bronze medal.

In the 29-32 kg category, Muskan of Government Model High School, Manimajra, won the gold medal while Radha of Government Model High School, Sector 35, won silver. Aarti of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33, and Neha of Chandigarh Baptist school, Sector 45, won the bronze medal in the same category.

Results: 32-35 kg: Pooja-gold medal (GMSSS 33); Priya Joshi-silver medal (Moti Ram-27); Sonia-bronze medal (GMSSS 21); Atamjol- bronze medal (SNPS- 43); 35-38 kg-Rubal Grover- gold medal (GMSSS-16); Seema-silver medal (GMSSS 33); Sarushi-bronze medal (Ashiana Public- 46); Kajal- bronze medal (GHS- 38).

Chandigarh, August 7
The host team of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 23, defeated Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 44, by 2-1 to win the finals of inter-school throwball competition for boys (U-19) today.

The team of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 40, attained the third place after defeating DAVM, Sector 15, by 2-0.

In the finals of boys (U-14) competition, Government High School, Sector 32, overcame Government High School, Kishangarh, by a margin of 2-0. Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 56, defeated Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, by 2-0 to finish third in the competition.

Chandigarh, August 7
Judokas of DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, attained the first place with 28 points during the ongoing inter-school judo competition for boys (U-19) being held at the Sector 42 sports complex today. The team from IS Dev Samaj, Sector 21, finished runners-up with 21 points, while Government Model Senior Secondary School-35 came third.

Results: Boys: 40kg-Sagar, Babinder, Sumit and Pradeep kumar; 45kg - Sumit, Prince, Deepak and Rajat; 50kg - Deepanshu, Parmod, Parvinder and Shahur; 55kg - Madan Lal, Rahul, Himanshu and Dilip; 60kg - Gagan, Vishal, Deepak and Bhanu Thakur; 65kg - Kuldeep Rawat, Harmaneet, Vikas and Daljeet; 71kg - Jaswinder, Kuldeep, Ravinder and Alapjinder; +71 kg- Dharminder, Damandeep, Karan and Rakesh Kumar. 

Chandigarh, August 7
Arshdeep of Ryan International School bagged the gold medal while Raziya of Government High School, Mouli, won the silver in the 42-45 kg category during the ongoing choi-ko-wang-do inter-school championship of girls (U-19) today. Ashu of Government Senior Secondary School sector 44 won the bronze medal.

In the 45-48 kg category, Ruksana of Government High School, Mouli, Deepa of Government High School, Sector 43, and Geetika Arora of Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 20, won the top three positions in the event. In the 48-51 kg category, Jassimar of Ryan International School won the gold medal while Anjali of Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 20, and Pooja of SD High School won the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Results: 51-54 kg- Monika of GSSS 20-gold medal; Oshin of Ryan International-silver medal; Vandha of GSSS 44-bronze medal; 54-57 kg-Himani of GSSS MM-gold medal; Nisha of GSSS 44-silver medal; Nitu of GHS 43-bronze medal; 57-60 kg-Aanchal of GSSS MM - gold medal; Bhavina of GSSS 20- silver medal; Neha of GSSS 44-bronze medal.