The court sentenced Mohammad Kafil, Navdeep Sharma, Manu Sharma and Shiv Kumar, alias Siddi, to life imprisonment for the murder of Tejinder Mattu, a resident of Nawanshahr, and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each of them. They have been convicted under Section 302 of the IPC. One of the accused, Karan, has been acquitted. 

The incident dates back to June 18, 2010, when a group rivalry had claimed the life of Tejinder Mattu, who was attacked with swords by the accused in Sector 24. Three of Mattu’s friends were also injured in the attack. 

The groups had clashed in Sector 41 a day before the incident and another clash took place in Sector 24. The incident took place around 10.30 pm near a liquor shop where both the groups clashed in public. 

The prosecution stated that the assailants chased the victims and stabbed them with sharp-edged weapons, besides hitting them with baseball bats. Tajinder Mattu, a resident of Nawanshahr and student of the Institute of Hotel Management Catering and Nutrition, Sector 42, died at a hospital. One of the three others, who were injured, had supported the prosecution theory in the court while two injured had turned hostile.

Mattu suffered a deep stab wound on his left side and on his back. The accused, Manu, had reportedly used abusive language for a girl known to the victim. 

Chandigarh, April 12
Former UT Adviser Lalit Sharma today moved an application in the CBI court for giving his submissions in the theme-cum-amusement park case in which he is framed as an accused. The application of Sharma has been allowed by the CBI court today.

The application stated that things that were untrue were being projected before the court in the case. In order to assist the court to ascertain the truth, Sharma stated that he might be allowed to assist the court in this regard. The application was filed by Sharma’s advocate.

The court of CBI Special Judge Vimal Kumar after hearing the submissions on behalf of Sharma as well as the complainant in the case allowed him to join in the proceedings. No objection was raised by the complainant or the public prosecutor to the application.

Sharma was also permitted to examine the court file and the contents of the various applications and documents relied upon by the complainant.

When contacted, Sharma said that after reading media reports he felt that “a fog of innuendos and half truths had been created before the court, which needed to be dispersed.”

Meanwhile, the CBI has also filed a reply to the protest petition filed by the complainant. The CBI has stated that it has thoroughly investigated the allegations and since no case is made out, the case be closed. The protest petition filed this week had demanded reinvestigation of the case.

The closure report submitted by the CBI stated that the agency had already recommended and written to the UT Ministry of Home Affairs, recommending action against Krishan Mohan, the then UT Home Secretary, and Vivek Attray, the then IT director, for departmental lapses.

The first CBI closure report was rejected by the court on May 18, 2012, and a fresh probe was ordered on August 30, 2012. The scam names Sharma, former home secretary Krishna Mohan and Unitech Limited and its managing director Ajay Chandra as the accused.

All four were booked on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, destruction of evidence and corruption by the CBI in 2010.

In the case registered in the connection with the scam, it has been alleged that top UT bureaucrats, in connivance with Unitech Limited, indulged in criminal conspiracy and awarded 73.65 acre of land in Sarangpur village to the firm at Rs 5.5 crore fixed annual license fee and 1.1 per cent revenue sharing.

Chandigarh, April 12
The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) today recommended a departmental inquiry against two retired inspectors and a serving SHO of the Sector-19 police station, as they had allegedly shown undue favour to an accused in a trespassing case.

The PCA had ordered an inquiry against three inspectors Janak Singh Rana (retired), Pargat Singh (retired) and the present SHO of Sector-19 police station Inspector Harjeet Kaur after the PCA had found that the three officials were guilty of showing undue favour to Virsa Singh Sandhu and had directly and indirectly helped him in occupying a house which belonged to Amritbir Singh.

The PCA also stated that action against the trespasser had deliberately been delayed and avoided by the officials. The officials were found guilty for unnecessarily referring the matter to the Additional District Attorney (ADA) and the Deputy District Attorney (Dy DA) for legal opinions.

The PCA has also ordered registration of a case against Virsa Singh under Sections 452, 454, 380 and 34 of the IPC for speedy trial of the case.

In another order, the PCA had recommended action against Sub-Inspector Sheesh Pal for violating mandatory provision of Section 154 of the CrPC by not registering an FIR in a property grabbing case. The PCA has also ordered registration of an FIR in a matter related to fraud, forgery and fabrication in a case of property grabbing against Gurminder Singh, a Sector-37 resident and others.

Chandigarh, April 12
City Mayor Subhash Chawla today inaugurated the newly developed green belt, dedicated to girls, “Daughters’ Dream Park” in Sector 44 B.

On the occasion, the Mayor said that the City beautiful had the provisions for green Belts and all the functions of the Chandigarh MC was dedicated to saving the girl child and he appreciated the project, Daughters’ Dream Park, as it was also dedicated to them.

In the park, special photographs of girls and messages to save them were pasted on the plaques. Besides, benches, hut, plantation of ornamental trees, grassing and boundary wall etc. will be provided in the green belt at a cost of Rs. 26 lakh.

On this occasion, Deputy Mayor Satish Kainth, area councillor Harjinder Kau,r and the office-bearers of the Residents’ Welfare Association of Sector 44, were also present. 

Last-minute preparation

Hours before the inauguration, MC employees were seen painting the walls and cleaning the green belts. Heaps of garbage was being removed from the green belt. From the areas, where grass cover was missing, the employees were planting fresh grass one hour before the inauguration. 

Chandigarh, April 12
On the demand of school bus operators, truck operators and other commercial vehicle operators, the Chandigarh Administration has decided to register and collect their taxes in the office of the Secretary, Transport Authority, Chandigarh.

Previously, to get passing and fitness certificate commercial vehicle owners had to go to STA Office and to get registration and taxes of vehicles, they had to go to the RLA Office. They were inconvenienced as they had to move from one office to another.

According to the decision taken in the 137th meeting of the STA under the chairmanship of Anil Kumar, Home Secretary-cum-Chairman STA, and as the powers conferred in the Chandigarh Motor Vehicles Rules 1990 Chapter-IV Registration of Motor Vehicles Section 65(2) Deputy Commissioner U.T., Chandigarh, can authorise the Secretary, STA, to register all types of commercial vehicle in the jurisdiction of 
Chandigarh. Earlier, the commercial vehicle operators were facing allot of inconvenience.

Mohali, April 12
If you are entering Mohali, ensure that your vehicle has super shock absorbers and that you don't suffer from severe spondylitis because potholed roads in certain parts of the town can turn out to be a nightmare for you.

Resentment prevails among residents over the apathetic attitude of the municipal corporation and Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).

The road leading from the Diplast chowk to Yadavindra Public School has been in a bad shape for long. The stretch is full of potholes.

Another road leading from the PTL chowk to the JCT chowk is also in a pitiable condition and requires repairs.

Another road near the cremation ground in Industrial Area is also full of potholes.

One such pothole has turned out to be a deathtrap. Roads in the area need to be recarpeted.

The condition of internal roads in residential areas is no better. The road along the rehri market in Phase III-B1 is in a bad condition. It becomes difficult for residents to commute on the road near the Phase IV rehri market.

Sukhminder Singh Barnala, former councillor, said the condition of the road separating Phases X and XI was even worse.

He said potholes on the road leading from the Mandi Board complex to Sector 66 were almost 1 ft deep.

Several accidents have taken place on the stretch.

President of the Mohali Industries Association Anurag Aggarwal said the condition of roads in Phase VII, Industrial Area, was bad.

The condition of a stretch in Phase V, Industrial Area, is the same.

He said the situation remained unchanged over the years and complaints made in this regard were not attended to most of the time.

He said a truck had got struck in a pothole near Idea office. The part of the road was to be repaired by the PSIEC. 

Mohali, April 12
Condemning the recent hike in power tariff by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Anurag Aggarwal, president, Mohali Industries Association, said the industry was reeling under financial crisis.

"Now the hike will aggravate the woes of the industry. It seems that the government is not serious about promoting industry in the state," said Aggarwal.

The association members demanded that the government should roll back the hike at the earliest.

Mohali, April 12
Three sisters of Anuradha Bali, alias Fiza, the estranged wife of former Haryana deputy chief minister Chander Mohan, today made a plea to the court seeking the possession of Fiza's house and cars till the settlement of the case.

The assets case will come up for hearing on May 7. Her sisters' counsel Raghujit Singh Madan said they had appealed to the court that the house and cars needed proper care and maintenance.

The three, Aditi , Monica and Anjali had earlier filed a suit in the district courts staking claim to her assets. They had filed a suit seeking the release of her movable and immovable assets. The assets include a house in Sector 48-C, Mohali, cash, jewellery and cars. Fiza had not left a will and her sisters claimed that they were her legal heirs.

Fiza was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her residence on August 6. Her death is still a mystery, though the postmortem report and forensic examination showed the presence of poison in her stomach.

Questions arose whether she consumed the poison on her own or it was administered by someone else. She lay dead for six days and nobody from her immediate relatives even got to know that she had passed away.

Her maggot-ridden body was recovered from her house after six days. 

Mohali, April 12
The Defence Accounts Pensioners Welfare Association has demanded that the notification of dog bylaws should be issued and a dog pound should be set up in the town.

The association members, who have taken up the matter with the authorities, including the Deputy Commissioner and the Chief Administrator of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA)-cum-Municipal Commissioner, said the stray dog menace had assumed serious proportions. The problem is severe in the newly-developed sectors which have not yet been handed over by GMADA to the Municipal Corporation.

It said as per the civic body figures, there were 1,500 stray dogs in the town. Last year, a Central government pensioner suffered a bite from a stray dog and had to undergo treatment at the General Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh.

The association said the work of sterilisation was undertaken by the civic body in 2005 and 891 animals were operated upon till 2011.

Chandigarh, April 12
The representatives of bhawans today demanded that the UT Administration should stop issuing notices to them for holding marriage functions. In a meeting held between the UT officials and the representatives of 68 bhawans in the city, the latter stated that instead of harassing them by sending notices, the Administration should allow them to hold marriage functions at these bhawans.

It is against the rules to hold such functions at these bhawans. UT Adviser KK Sharma said they had heard the grievances of the representatives and would soon take a decision on the issue. The issue pertaining to inadequate parking space was also discussed. Sources said the Administration was mulling over allowing only those bhawans to hold functions where adequate parking space was available.

The officials had issued notices to owners for the resumption of property in 2005. 

Chandigarh, April 12
The Education Department today issued fresh notice to private schools strictly asking them not to convert their reserved seats under the RTE Act to general category till further instructions are issued.

The department's fresh notice came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court's judgment, which asked Chandigarh along with Punjab and Haryana to bring more clarity on their neighbourhood policy.

DEO Ram Kumar said, "We have asked schools to hold their conversion till the next three weeks and wait for further instructions."

Schools on the other hand are agitated by the fresh move of the department. HS Mamik, president of Independent Schools Association, Chandigarh, said the schools were literally being made puppets in the hands of the Education Department—TNS

Chandigarh, April 12
The Chandigarh Administration has rolled out 40 buses, 20 each for morning and evening, for ferrying the government school students. The administration is also in touch with private schools across the city for making buses more affordable for students.

This became apparent during the hearing on a petition on safety of school students. As of now, the administration is charging a monthly fare of Rs 60 for ordinary and Rs 120 for AC buses from the government school students. It intends to extend the service to private school students by charging Rs 250 for ordinary and Rs 500 for AC buses. The administration also proposes to take the total number of such buses to 100.

The Chandigarh Administration had earlier informed the High Court of its decision to provide common buses at half the fare. Irrespective of the school they studied in, a common bus would pick up students from each sector and drop them at their respective schools. The UT was also in the process of preparing a scheme to lower the bus fare from Rs 500 to Rs 250 per month, the administration had earlier claimed during the resumed hearing of a petition seeking contempt proceedings against Chandigarh and the states of Punjab and Haryana for not complying with the traffic guidelines issued by the High Court in 1998.

The scheme was being prepared by the UT administration as per the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act. The counsel for the administration had informed the High Court that it was collecting data from government schools on the number of children, their addresses and routes, which the common school buses would have to follow for picking up and dropping them.

PU finds complaint genuine, forms inquiry panel

Accepting students’ complaint regarding the goof-up in the cost accounting paper of BCom-II examination as a genuine one, Panjab University has formed an expert panel to give a report based on which the fate of around 4,000 students who appeared for the exam would be decided. Controller of Examination, Panjab University, Parvinder Singh said the department concerned in the examination branch scrutinised the question paper and guidelines after which it was found that the complaint submitted by the students was genuine. Officials said in order to ensure that students did not suffer, the inquiry would be conducted on an urgent basis. The students had demanded that the exam should be conducted again so that students got a fair opportunity. Giving grace marks could not be justified as students who had worked hard could not be treated on a par with other students, said a student of SD College, Sector 32