The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

COURTS

Santokh Singh remanded in two-day police custody
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 16
Seventy-year-old Santokh Singh Bajwa, who was arrested by the crime branch last week in connection with a bus bomb blast near Kurukshetra in 1985, was produced in the court which sent him to a two-day police custody.

Bajwa was declared a proclaimed offender in a murder case in 1981. He had murdered a Sector 34 resident after taking him to Punjab. He had been absconding since then.

The custody has been extended for further questioning of Bajwa in the murder case.

"A file pertaining to the case is to be located since there is nobody available from the side of the victim," said a police official.

Bajwa had been on the run for the past 27 years. He was involved in the Haryana Roadways bus bomb blast. Two persons were killed and 15 injured in the blast. Bajwa has been a national-level athlete and has served as an ASI in the Punjab Police for over one year in 1963. A pistol, rifle and 24 cartridges were recovered from Bajwa.

Bajwa, a resident of Adhoi village in Kurukshetra district of Haryana, had changed his name to Balwant Singh and was residing at Shalai village, near Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh.

Bajwa, who was arrested during Emergency in 1975, was going to Kharar in his car bearing a registration number of Delhi to meet someone, when the Chandigarh Police received information. A naka was set up near a small roundabout on the road separating Sectors 37 and 38 and Bajwa was arrested at night.

The bomb, which was fitted on a transistor, was planted on a bus by the accused and his three accomplices. The accused managed to escape while three of his accomplices, Gurbaksh Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Pritam Singh, were arrested by the Haryana Police in a case registered on May 10, 1985, at Shahbad Markanda in Kurukshetra district.

Blast accused files bail plea

Panchkula: In the Samjhauta blast case, Swami Aseemanand today moved a bail plea in the Additional District and Sessions Court. In his bail application, Aseemanand stated that four agencies were investigating the case and could find no evidence against him.

On a hunger strike observed by Aseemanand and Kamal Chauhan in the Ambala jail, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) said it was a political move.

On August 9, 2012, the NIA had filed a chargesheet, accusing two persons, including a disgruntled RSS worker Kamal Chauhan, of planting bombs in the Indo-Pak train which claimed 68 lives.

On November 19, 2011, Aseemanand, a member of the right wing Hindu group, Abhinav Bharat, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from Haridwar in Uttarakhand for his alleged involvement in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast at Hyderabad. Fourteen persons had died in the blast.

The NIA had questioned Aseemanand about his role in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blasts at Diwana village near the industrial own of Panipat that shook two bogies of the Samjhauta Express, a peace train between India and Pakistan.

The train was going from Delhi to Attari where passengers were to board the train to Lahore in Pakistan the next day (February 19).

sarita suicide case
Victim’s husband identifies accused
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, February 16
In the infamous Sarita suicide case, the victim’s husband, Subash, today identified the accused who had allegedly raped his wife before she committed suicide. Both the rape and the abetment to suicide cases had come up for hearing before a CBI court today.

However, in the abetment to suicide case, Subash turned hostile against one of the accused, constable Silak Ram. But during cross examination, he revealed that he was threatened by Ram saying that his children would be eliminated if he identifies him in the court.

Consequently, Subash has moved an application in the CBI court stating that Silak Ram’s relatives had threatened him of dire consequences if he identified Ram.

The rape case involves five accused, including head constable Balraj, constable Silak Ram, Ram Phal, Randhir and Ram Dhari. The abetment to suicide case also involves five accused, including head constable Balraj, constable Silak Ram, Ram Phal, the then Rohtak DSP Dheeraj Setia and inspector Pawan Kumar.

On April 2008, Sarita (26), a resident of Rohtak, was allegedly raped by police personnel. After the shocking incident, Sarita tried to get a case registered against the accused, but in vain.

In her complaint, she had alleged that no action had been taken against the police personnel who had allegedly raped her on April 10 at a police station. In June 2009, she committed suicide by consuming poison at the Pachkula police headquarters.

CRIME

Scuffle at Golf Club
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 16
A sitting Congress MLA from Punjab reportedly entered into a scuffle with a retired Lieutenant Colonel at the Chandigarh Golf Club in Sector 6 here today.

Both the club members, Randeep Singh, MLA from Nabha, and Lt Col Vijay Singh Sandhu (retired) allegedly had an argument over a game, which later turned ugly. Both of them sustained injuries in the brawl, following which they were taken to the Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16. The police also reached the spot.

Randeep Singh and Lt Col Sandhu (retired) have filed complaints against each other at the Sector-26 police station. DSP (East) Vijay Kumar said a cross case for threatening was booked under Section 506 of the IPC.

SPORTS

Panjab University cagers win inter-varsity championship

Chandigarh, February 16
Cagers of Panjab University won the North-Zone and All-India Inter-University Basketball Championship for Men, held at Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur.

The team won the championship under the guidance of coach and former international player, Jaldeep Dhaliwal. In the final, they defeated University of Madras by 69-55, while in the semifinals, the team registered a 62-60 win over Satyabhama University, Chennai. Earlier, in the quarterfinals, the team overcame GNDU Amritsar at 56-51. — TNS