Chandigarh, August 16
Testimony of a child witness who deposed in court against an accused identifying him as the rapist of his elder sister led to the conviction of the 33-year-old man with the court sentencing the convict to 10 years rigorous imprisonment today.

The Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Preeti Sahni today sentenced 33-year-old Arvind Kumar, a Colony Number 5 resident, to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on him.

While pronouncing the order, the court relied on the testimony of the nine-year-old boy, brother of the mentally challenged rape victim, who had deposed in court that he saw the accused raping his sister who kept crying for help.

“The accused had committed rape on a helpless mentally challenged girl and had taken advantage of her disability and also that he was aware of her condition prior to committing the crime upon her,” stated the court.

The incident occurred on January 28, 2011, when the 19-year-old victim was at home in Colony Number 5 and her siblings were playing on the terrace with their friends. Their parents, both daily wagers were not at home.

The accused, Arvind, came to their residence and took advantage of the girl. He was her neighbour and she used to address him as “Nana bhaiya”.

The accused then raped the girl even as she kept crying for help. Meanwhile, the girl’s nine-year-old brother came downstairs and saw the accused forcing himself upon his sister.

As the accused fled, the child narrated the incident and the police arrested Arvind the next day.

As the victim was mentally challenged and was not deemed fit to record her statements in court, it was the girl’s brother whose statements were recorded and he identified the accused in court leading to his conviction.

Public prosecutor Manish Dua said besides the testimony of the victim’s brother, the CFSL report had also confirmed that the semen stains found on the victim’s clothes was that of the accused.

“We had pleaded for maximum quantum of sentence as the accused took advantage of the girl’s helplessness and her being mentally challanged,” said Manish Dua.

Chandigarh, August 16
Municipal corporation Mayor Raj Bala Malik does not hesitate to pat on her back when it comes to development projects launched by her.

Fire department

While addressing a gathering on 66th Independence Day, she said computers at fire stations had been installed to improve communication and strengthen the department. The ground reality is that a sum of Rs 3 lakh was spent on the installation of computers in all fire stations, but till date there is no connectivity in any of the stations.

As per records of the fire department, computers were purchased for interconnectivity of two fire stations- Sector 17, the headquarters, and Sector 32, but those are lying in the office of station fire officer. Firemen of both the stations stated that there was a need to record day-to-day fire incidents, but the department has not introduced the online system in the stations.

Sources in the department said the fire department had not approached any organisation to develop a software through which the online system could be introduced. As per fire department report, the communication system needed to be upgraded.

Stray animals

The Mayor also claimed that the corporation had taken steps to curb stray dog and cattle menace in the city. While in the last General House, a majority of the councillors had expressed dissatisfaction over the action taken by the department concerned and challenged the authenticity of the status report on the dog population and sterilisation programmes tabled in the house.

Electricity department

The Mayor stated that the corporation had repaired the defunct streetlights in various roads and greenbelts while in the departmental report tabled last month, the electricity committee stated that for the past two years, the department had not purchased any material for rectifying faults.

Information technology department

After the failure of officials to resolve the problems of city residents uploaded on Facebook, the Mayor made an announcement that the authorities were working to develop a software to redress the corporation related problems of the general public online. But she failed to differentiate between the existing and proposed system.

Health department

The Mayor stated in her speech that 150 new garbage bins had been purchased. While recently in a Finance and Contract Committee meeting, it was pointed out that around 500 old garbage bins had gone missing from the sites where they were placed and the department was not taking any action.

Projects

Apart from the ongoing work on the overbridge in Sector 17 (from Anand Theatre to KC Theatre), the Mayor has not succeeded in commencing any other project in the past seven months. Whereas she assured that the construction of the multi-level parking in Sector 17 opposite Gurudev Studio and renovation of two primary schools at Mani Majra and construction of a new primary school in Sector 49 would commence shortly.

Chandigarh, August 16
UT Deputy Commissioner (DC) Brijendra Singh almost fainted during the Independence Day function at the Parade Ground, Sector 17.

Apparently unable bear the heat, he complained of uneasiness before being rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32. Doctors attending on him said that the uneasiness was the outcome of the heat. It was around 10 am when the UT Administrator Shivraj V Patil was reading his Independence Day speech and DC Brijendra Singh was standing behind him, when suddenly, Brijendra Singh feeling uneasy stepped down from the stage and immediately went back stage at that time he was sweating. Meanwhile at the function, SDM (South) Parshuram V Kavle replaced the DC on the stage.

Mohali, August 16
In a shocking incident, three youngsters stabbed a 50-year-old woman and her 16-year-old daughter with knives after breaking into their house at Phase IV and left them seriously injured this evening.

Acting swiftly, the police arrested two accused, identified as Maninder Singh from Landran village and his friend Tajinder Singh, a resident of Phase IX, here on the charge of attempt to murder and outraging the modesty of women. However, their third accomplice, identified as Lucky, is still at large.

The victims, a 50 year-old woman and her daughter, who were taken to Civil Hospital, Phase VI first, were referred to Government Medical College Hospital, Sector 32, here. While the mother received injuries in her chest, her daughter had injuries on her hand and face.

DSP RS Sohal said the woman had also lodged a complaint against the miscreants at the Sector 39 Police Station, Chandigarh, this afternoon in which she alleged that the boys used to tease her daughter while on her way to her tuition in Sector 41 and her school, Ajit Karam Singh International Public School in Phase 11.

The accused were miffed over lodging the complaint and broke into their house and attacked the mother-daughter duo with knives at around 7.30 pm. They came on a Bullet motorcycle, bearing registration number PB 65 M-8169.

Sohal further said that following complaints by the girl about the harassment at the hands of the accused daily, her mother accompanied her daughter to her tuition at Sector 41this morning.

“The woman told us that when she scolded the accused and threatened them of lodging a police complaint against them, the accused arned them of dire consequences”, said the DSP.

Meanwhile, the police also claimed that the Maninder Singh was allegedly the girl’s former boyfriend.

“Their third accomplice will soon be nabbed”, said Sohal.

Mohali, August 16
The three lockers, belonging to Anuradha Bali aka Fiza, in different banks here could not be opened by the Mohali police today. The police said that the Income Tax officials who were to accompany them to the bank did not come today.

Notably, the police had already recovered Rs 92.8 lakh cash, about 1.5 kg gold jewellery worth Rs 45 lakh from Fiza’s Sector 48 residence and about Rs 28.50 lakh from 16 different accounts in various banks and two local post offices. “Since a large amount of money has already been recovered from her home and bank accounts, now we are expecting the same from the lockers, so the presence of Income Tax department officials is a must at the time of opening of the lockers”, said a senior police official.

Chandigarh, August 16
The external committee constituted to probe the case of 17-year-old Anupama, who died due to alleged negligence at PGI, will meet for the second time on August 18 to record the statements of the doctors who were on duty on July 17.

Sources confirmed that five doctors, including three resident doctors, one senior resident doctor and one unit in-charge, will be called for questioning by the committee.

On the day of Anupama’s death, Dr Arun Aggarwal was the duty in-charge, confirmed an official from the PGI.

When contacted, chairman of the external probe committee Dr SS Gill, vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences, Faridkot, said, “We are going to record the statements of all the people involved in the case, including the doctors.”

The case has been filed against PGI, Advanced Trauma Centre, Dr Jujhar, the doctor who undertook Anupama’s treatment and Dr Murali, who conducted the postmortem and the CTU. The complaints have sought compensation of Rs 85 lakhs. The case will come up for hearing on August 29.

Anupama, a student of Government Model School Sector 18, died on July 25. She was brought to PGI on July 17 when her leg was crushed under the rear tyre of a CTU bus.

The external had, last week, met the parents of the girl and recorded their statements. The parents had complained of negligence on the part of the hospital staff.

Chandigarh, August 16
With their innocent minds unable to comprehend the gory world of crime, a number of child witnesses have stood up against the accused in the courts and have given strong worded statements identifying them as the "bad men" much to the shock of the entire courtroom.

While the testimony of a nine-year-old boy led the court to sentence the accused to 10 years imprisonment, this is not the lone case as child witnesses have led to major convictions in the past in sensational cases of murders. A number of minors have also identified the child abusers in court leading to pronouncement of harsh punishments.

On July 27, the court had sentenced four kidnappers to life imprisonment for the kidnapping of six-year-old boy Japjit who had testified in the court against them.

In 2009, a court had sentenced Sunil Kumar to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife. Their eight-year-old child was the lone eyewitness in the case.

In April this year, a 10-year-old boy had deposed against his mother accused of killing her husband, along with the help of her paramour, in September last year. The boy, who was then nine, is an eyewitness in the case. He told the court that he had seen his mother Sunita and her alleged paramour Naresh Kumar suffocating his father Pathri Ram with a pillow. The boy told the court that he had seen the incident through a slit in the door.

In February this year, a seven-year-old stood bold, in the witness box to identify the killer of her grandmother. Pratibha (7) testified before the Panchkula district court and identified accused servant Akhilesh Paswan who allegedly killed her grandmother.

On July 16, a 14-year-old girl deposed against her father and grandfather accusing them as being responsible for her mother's suicide last year. The girl, a Class IX student, who is staying with her father and grandfather at her Sector 38 (west) residence shocked everyone in the court when she admitted that her mother was indeed tortured by her father resulting which she committed suicide by hanging herself last year.

While child witnesses in the above cases have been crucial, there is a need of a child witness protection programme to encourage more of such rare testimonies, say advocates.

"Child witnesses are good, though rare witnesses and the courts take them very seriously. The court forms an opinion after understanding their psyche and takes a decision if their statements are trustworthy. However, children are prone to tutoring and courts need to exercise extreme caution in such cases," says advocate Rabindera Pandit.

Chandigarh, August 16
The number of bidi smokers has not only gone up in the North Indian states but has also emerged as the key factor for the continued highest prevalence of squamous cell cancer-caused due to smoking-over these years.

A PGI study, published in the International Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Detection and Prevention in 2010, has determined that the ratio of bidi (the hand rolled form of tobacco) smokers has gone up in comparison with filtered-cigarette smokers. Three decades ago the ratio was 2.6:1, whereas in 2010 the ratio stands at 7:1.

Also, 73 per cent of the people studied were found to have developed squamous cell cancer. On the contrary, the ratio between bidi smokers and cigarette smokers declined by 30 per cent in North America and European countries due to the “shift to filtered and low-tar cigarettes in Western countries.”

“The increasing use of bidi has been found to be one of the key reasons for the lack of change in the nature of cancer among the people in the northern states in contrast with the developed countries where adenocarcinoma (cancer found in non-smokers) has emerged as the most common form of cancer over 30 years,” said Dr Navneet Singh, the corresponding author of the study.

A total of 250 people from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand were included in the study. Among these, 84 per cent of males were smokers and 76.1 of females were non-smokers.

“Lung cancer continues to be the most common type of cancer among males and remains the most common cause of cancer related to mortality in both sexes,” said the authors. The authors included Dr Ashutosh N Aggarwal, Dr Dheeraj Gupta, Dr Digamber Behera and Dr Surinder K Jindal from the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGI.

Chandigarh, August 16
Twenty-two candidates will contest for the eight Senate seats reserved for the Arts College teacher's constituency during the Panjab University Senate election. The final list of candidates was declared today. All the eight sitting Senators under the constituency are again contesting the election.

This year, the number of contenders has considerably risen since the previous election held in 2008.

Dalip Kumar, a sitting PU Senator, said the competition this time was going to be tougher as compared to the last election held in 2008 in which 12 contestants had competed for the same number of seats under the constituency.

"A few names have come as a surprise to me, as these candidates had not even campaigned for the elections," Kumar said.

He added that although the large number of candidates would make a dent in the vote bank, the candidates who had worked for the teacher fraternity would clearly take a lead over the others.

RPS Josh, another sitting Senator, said new faces would not affect those candidates who had worked for the cause of teachers for the last four years.

Dr Jagdish Chander, head of the sociology department at the DAV College, Sector 10, who is contesting the election for the first time, said the performance of the sitting Senators had not been impressive. "The sitting Senators focused on working for individual teachers to build their vote banks," Chander said.

He said new and younger contestants should be given a chance to join the Senate as they would be least interested in politics and would work for the teachers' cause.

Of the total candidates contesting the election this time, around 10 are from Chandigarh and the remaining belong to Punjab. The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be held on August 20.

Chandigarh, August 16
The candidates contesting the Panjab University Senate election under the constituency of the Principal of Professional and Technical Colleges are all set to get elected unopposed on September 9. Only three candidates are left in the fray for the three seats under the constituency, with one contender withdrawing his nomination today.

Of the three seats, one seat was reserved for the principals of professional and technical colleges of Chandigarh, one seat for the principals of colleges in Punjab, and the third is an open seat on which principals from either Chandigarh or Punjab can be elected.

KK Dhiman, principal of the homeopathic medical college and hospital, Sector 26, had already emerged as a winner with no nomination filed against him. Three candidates -- SS Sangha of Dashmesh Girls College of Education, Badal; NR Sharma of Guru Gobind Singh College of Education, Giddarbaha; and Kushvinder Kumar Sharma of the BCM College of Education, Ludhiana -- were in the race for the remaining two seats. Kushvinder Sharma, however, withdrew his nomination, clearing the way for the remaining two principals.

Sharma said candidates under the constituency were generally elected unopposed, and to maintain the tradition he withdrew his nomination.

"I feel that the principals who get elected unopposed will also work for the interests of the professional colleges," he added.

The senate elections are held every four years for 47 seats divided under various constituencies.

Chandigarh, August 16
Refraining from its earlier mistake of allowing candidates of Haryana and Punjab eligibility tests to apply for posts of contractual teacher under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan society, the UT education department has strictly followed the National Council for Teachers' Education (NCTE) norms in its fresh advertisement issued earlier this week.

The department has invited applicants to fill as many as 226 posts of Trained Graduate Teachers (TGT). According to sources, the draft of the advertisement was checked a number of times by the senior authorities before releasing it. The recruitment of Junior Basic Training (JBT) teachers, however, has been delayed for the time being. A fresh advertisement for the recruitment of about 650 JBT teachers would be issued soon, said DPI (Schools) Upkar Singh. All the recruitments would be done as per the NCTE norms, he said.

The fresh advertisement was necessitated after the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in a decision taken last month, directed the Chandigarh Administration to withdraw its earlier advertisement issued for the recruitment of JBT teachers in March this year.

In the earlier advertisement, the UT education department had invited applications from candidates of Haryana and Punjab eligibility tests along with the Central Teachers Eligibility Test (CTET) candidates.

Fifty-three CTET candidates, who filed a joint petition against the said advertisement, proved in the court that the UT education department had flouted the NCTE norms in allowing candidates of other states. They argued that since, the Union Territory of Chandigarh was without any legislature, it had to follow the results of the CTET, conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), for the recruitment of school teachers.

The fresh advertisement, uploaded on the department's official website, clearly mentioned that only those candidates were eligible to apply for the TGT contractual posts who had qualified the eligibility test conducted by the CBSE.

Ruby, a CTET candidate and one of the main petitioners in the court, welcomed the fresh advertisement that follows the NCTE norms. "We hope there would be no further delay in recruiting the teachers," he said.

The candidates have been given the deadline till September 4 to submit their online applications at www.ssachd.nic.in. The list of candidates would be displayed for the confirmation of fee deposit on September 11. Thereafter, a provisional merit list would be displayed, followed by a notification of category-wise cut-off scores. Candidates covered within these cut-offs would be required to report for the verification of original documents on September 27-28 at the Government Model School, Sector 10.

Chandigarh: Flag hoisting followed by various cultural events marked the 66th Indian Independence Day celebrations at the Tribune Model School, Sector 29. All the students and the staff came dressed in the Tricolour, adding to the patriotic fervour on the occasion.

Students present a dance performance at Shivalik Public School, Phase VI, in Mohali. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

St. John's High School

Patriotic poems, songs and dance performances were part of the Independence Day celebrations at St John's High School, Sector 26. The students of "Hamari Kaksha", an NGO, staged a street play on corruption on the occasion.

Bhavan Vidyalaya

Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 27, commenced the I-Day function with the unfurling of the National Flag followed by the National Anthem. The heritage club of the school, "Dharohar", presented a skit highlighting the significance of the day and duties of the citizens towards the country.

Ryan International School

Students of Ryan International School, Sector 49, celebrated the Independence Day with a patriotic-song competition. Students attended the school wearing fancy dresses.

Students of Dikshant School celebrate Independence Day at Zirakpur. A Tribune photograph

Government Model High School

Independence Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm at the Government Model High School, Sector 28. Different cultural items were presented by students of Classes VII and IX. The programme was concluded with sweet distribution.

GMSSS-33

The I-day function at the Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33, began with the unfurling of the National flag. Recitation of patriotic poems and songs by the students enthralled the audience.

GSSS, Mani Majra

Students of Class XII and junior wing of the Government Senior Secondary School, Mani Majra, presented a cultural programme during the Independence Day function held on the campus.

Students take part in the Independence Day celebrations at the KBDAV School, Sector 7, in Chandigarh. A Tribune photograph

KBDAV School

Nearly 1200 students came together to present cultural items at the KBDAV School, Sector 7, as part of the I-day celebrations. The special attraction was the performance by the young children from "Saral Ahsaas".

Delhi Public School

The Independence Day function at Delhi Public School, Sector 40, began with the unfurling of the "Tiranga" along with the rendition of the National Anthem. The school choir sang patriotic songs on the occasion.

Stepping Stones School

Patriotic songs marked the Independence Day celebrations at Stepping Stones Senior Secondary School, Sector 37. Students also performed giddha and other folk dances choreographed by the house captains.

Jawahar Navodyaya Vidyalaya

NCC Cadets, Scout and Guide Troup and students of all houses participated in a march past to mark the 66th Independence Day at Jawahar Navodyaya Vidyalaya, Sector 25. The school choir presented a patriotic cultural programme on the occasion.

Satluj Public School

Panchkula: The Independence Day celebrations at Satluj Public School, Sector 4, began with a flag-hoisting ceremony followed by the National Anthem. A quiz and a declamation contest was also organised on the occasion.

MRA Modern Public School

The students of the primary section at the MRA Modern Public School, Sector 7, expressed their patriotism through poems, songs, speeches and dances during the Independence Day celebrations. The cultural programme was followed by an inter-house quiz competition on the struggle for independence Struggle.

Jainendra Public School

Various competitions were organised for the students of Jainendra Public School, Sector 1, during the I-day celebrations. Students took part in poem recitation, and a flag-making competition.

Shemrock Senior Secondary School

Mohali: Students of Shemrock Senior Secondary School, Sector 69, celebrated the Independence Day on the school campus. Classes V and VI presented patriotic songs, while Classes VI-VIII staged a play on the theme of cruelty to animals.

Anee's School

The message to save the nature took priority during the Independence Day celebrations at Anee's School. Saplings were distributed among students on the occasion. Students of the primary section, dressed as freedom fighters, took part in a fancy dress competition. The student of Class III participated in a singing competition.

Lawrence Public School

A play on the life of Bhagat Singh by Class VII students was part of the Independence Day celebrations at Lawrence Public Senior Secondary School. The function started with a prayer, followed by a welcome song by the students of Classes VIII and IX. Students of Classes I and III presented a group dance and a group song, respectively. — Tribune Reporters