Chandigarh, June 13
The Chandigarh Police today obtained a four-day remand of suspended constable Basant Kumar, alias Bunty, and his accomplice Sarita, who allegedly killed UT traffic police inspector Sucha Singh.

The police cited the recovery of the weapon used in the crime and blood-stained cloths of the accused as the main evidence in the court for obtaining the remand.

The police informed the court that it was looking for persons who might have helped the accused in fleeing from the spot and later providing shelter to them.

After hearing the public prosecutor and the defence counsel, the court remanded the accused in police custody till June 17. The court also directed the police to keep Basant handcuffed and his accomplice Sarita in the custody of a policewoman during the remand.

The accused were sent to the Sector 17 police station after their medical examination at the GMSH-16.

The accused were presented before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Rajnish Kumar Sharma about 10.15 am after they were brought to the city on a production warrant from Haryana. As the remand papers were not complete and the accused had no defence counsel, the judge postponed the hearing till 12.30 pm.

Public prosecutor Jatinder Pal Singh advocated for a five-day police remand citing seriousness of the crime and pending police interrogation.

He said the accused were to be interrogated for the recovery of the weapon, blood-stained clothes of the accused and involvement of any other person in the crime.

Defence counsel Amit Kumar, who was provided to the accused through legal aid, contented that the five-day remand was more than enough since the crime had taken place in the city and the police would not need much time to recover the weapon.

The accused were arrested from a hotel in the Paharganj area in Delhi by the Haryana Police on June 9. They were wanted by the police for a double murder in Sonepat on April 18 when Basant shot Sarita’s husband and her mother-in-law.

He also stabbed inspector Sucha Singh to death as the latter incidentally rounded him up along with Sarita during a routine checking near Sector 17 on the intervening night of June 7 and 8. 

Chandigarh, June 13
It took the accused only nine minutes — between 2.15 am and 2.24 am — to kill inspector Sucha Singh on the intervening night of June 7 and 8.

The UT police stated in its remand papers that at 2.15 am on the intervening night of June 7 and 8, inspector Sucha Singh saw the couple standing under a tree near the old district courts complex in Sector 17. After both of them failed to give a satisfactory reply, Sucha Singh asked them to sit in the PCR vehicle. 

But the accused, Basant, got infuriated and attacked Sucha Singh with a knife in his chest, neck and back. When the driver of the Gypsy tried to intervene, Basant attacked him with the same knife. At 2.24 am, nine minutes after Sucha Singh saw both the couple, a message was received from the PCR that a stabbing incident had taken place. At 2.32 am, another message was flashed that the Gypsy had been taken away at knifepoint. — TNS 

Chandigarh, June 13
There was no hint of remorse on the face of the suspended UT police constable, Basant, who was brought to the city today on a production warrant. During the hearing in the court, Basant kept staring at Sarita showing his desperation towards her. Basant and Sarita are accused of killing Chandigarh Police inspector Sucha Singh.

While Sarita entered the courtroom number 6 and sat in one corner around 10.15 am, Basant was brought to the court amid tight security.

Basant repeatedly tried to make an eye contact with Sarita. The only word the accused spoke in the court was ‘nahi’ (no) when the judge asked him whether he had any advocate to defend his case.

After about 10 minutes, the court asked the police to take two hours to complete the paperwork and present the accused before the court at 12.30 pm.

While moving out of the courtroom, Basant said something to Sarita.

The duo was then taken to ‘bakshikhana’ (room in the court where the undertrials who arrive for hearing are kept).

Their families did not come to meet the accused in the court.

After around two hours, the duo was again presented before the court. 

Chandigarh, June 13
Soon after getting the four-day police remand, the police took the same route that was taken by the accused after committing the crime. The accused fled in a police Gypsy after killing inspector Sucha Singh and injuring a Home Guards volunteer.

“The accused was taken from the route till the point they abandoned the police Gypsy. He was also taken to the forest area from where he and Sarita had escaped,” said a police official.

The accused had made their way from Sector 17 towards the Sector 16 stadium, then towards the Sector 16/24 roundabout before proceeding towards Dakshin Marg and then towards Dhanas from where they turned towards the Ambedkar colony.

Chandigarh, June 13
In order to streamline its functioning, the PGIMER has planned to link the database of patients with Aadhaar cards. This will help the staff upload and maintain the records of nearly 38 lakh patients who have visited the OPDs in the past two-and-a-half years.

Now, patients coming for a follow-up will have to show Aadhaar cards to doctors.

At present, the patients are identified with the help of a 12-digit PIN provided to them by the PGIMER and only the demographic details are available and accessible to all departments.

"Our software has a provision for linking the database with a patient's national identification number or Aadhaar. Once the records are linked with the Aadhaar cards, a patient will have to carry the card or remember the number for availing the facilities at the PGIMER," said Dr LN Yaddanapudi, vice-chairman, Computerisation Monitoring Committee.

The hospital is currently integrating the lab investigation records (lab tests) and clinical data.

The admission, discharge and transfer (ADT) module launched recently is being used to update doctors about a patient's movement.

The ADT module will form the basis of all other modules that will be developed in the next phases of the computerisation process and will help locate patients. The admission process, acceptance in wards, transfer from one ward to another and discharge or death of patients will be available online on the ADT module.

More than 500 nursing staff of 77 wards have been trained to admit, transfer and discharge the patients using the software. The automated process will replace the manual process of patients' movement entries. The PGIMER will start linking Aadhaar cards with patients' records in the next phase of the computerisation process.

Later, a system of electronic patient records will be introduced where patients will be able to check their records online by paying a nominal fee to the institution.

These modules are a part of the Hospital Information System (HIS) being developed by the PGIMER.

Mohali, June 13
With water collecting on roads in certain parts of the town, pre-monsoon showers this morning exposed the poor draining preparations made by the Municipal Corporation for the rainy season ahead. Although the rain was moderate, people felt harassed as the storm water system did not prove effective enough. The rainwater that collected at various points adversely affected vehicular traffic and created problems for the people living in different residential pockets.

Till this evening, there were no reports of water entering the houses, as is usually the case whenever there is a heavy downpour. But residents complained that the situation could have been much better had the corporation carried out a thorough cleaning of the road gullies, storm water channels and repaired the potholed roads in various areas, well before the onset of the monsoon. The water got collected on the roads in Phases I, II, III B2, IV, V, VII, XI and near the PCL roundabout and was drained out only after the rain slowed down. Notably, the rain damaged a recently recarpeted road in Phase I. The residents of Matour village suffered a lot, when the water got collected in the streets as a result of an improper drainage system.

SS Barnala, a former municipal councillor living in Phase XI, said there was a lot of rainwater on roads in the area because of which residents faced problems. Water, however, did not enter houses as the rainfall was moderate. He said though road gullies had been cleaned, there appeared to be some blockage in the stormwater sewer and until that was cleared, the system would not be effective.

Ravinder Bansal, a resident of a waterlogged pocket in Phase III B2, said about 40 per cent of the road gullies were not functioning properly.

He said though the residents had been facing the problem of water getting collecting on roads and even entering houses during a heavy rain over the years, another problem which had now cropped up was that sewer lines were overflowing and dirty water from these was getting mixed with rain water.

Mohali, June 13
More than 1.32 lakh children in the age group of 0 to five years will be administered polio drops in Mohali district during a three-day campaign starting on June 16.

Parveen Kumar Thind, Additional Deputy Commissioner, said a meeting with members of the District Task Force was held here recently to ensure that 100 per cent targets were achieved during the pulse polio campaign. The meeting was attended by SMOs and representatives of social welfare organisations.

He said 1,067 teams had been formed in connection with the campaign. Apart from this, 65 mobile teams, 20 transit teams and 12 transit booths would be set up to administer polio drops. As many as 117 supervisors had been deployed for the work. — OC

Panchkula, June 13
Strange but true: The Health Department has only one vehicle-mounted fogging machine for a population of 6 lakh in Panchkula. In the past two months, 25 cases of malaria were reported in the town.

Sources said the department was getting awareness placards readied to fight malaria, but no concrete efforts are being made to equip itself with the requisite paraphernalia.

Last year in 2012, 314 cases of malaria were reported from Raipurrani and the Kalka-Pinjore belt.

There are eleven hand-held fogging machines which are used for minor preventions.

"To prevent the outbreak of an epidemic, only the vehicle-mounted machines are effective," said an official.

The machine consumes 60 litres of diesel and 11 litres of petrol for one sector. The vehicle is borrowed from the Haryana Urban Development Authority.

The department has decided to take out rallies and organise awareness programmes at different places, including villages.

District malaria officer Dr Anil said, "The number of cases has declined. This year, 314 cases were reported while last year the number was 418”.

"Fogging is carried out on a regular basis that is why the number of cases has gone down," Anil said.

Chandigarh, June 13
It seems that the UT electricity department has turned a blind eye towards the problems of those residing in southern sectors. Frequent power cuts have made the lives of residents miserable.

New transformers are yet to be installed at the Sector 47 power substation. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Three 66 kV transformers, which cater to the power demand of southern sectors, have been lying non-functional for the past one year.

Sources said 66 kV transformers in Sectors 39, 47 and Industrial Area, Phase II, had developed a snag.

Though the department had arranged new transformers, it had failed to install the same, said the sources.

The department had also purchased around 50 new 11 kV transformers.

A majority of them were to be installed in southern sectors, but till date only 10 transformers have been installed by the authorities.

JP Singh, a resident of Sector 44-D, said power cuts had become the order of the day. Today, the supply was disrupted at 4.30 pm and despite a number of complaints, the department failed to restore the power supply. UT Powermen Union general secretary Gopal Dutt Joshi said poor planning had led to the delay in the repair of transformers. MP Singh, superintending engineer (electricity), said it would be wrong to say that the UT Administration was adopting different policies for different sectors. He added that the population had increased in southern sectors. "The transformers will be installed soon,"  he added.

MC officials ‘powerless’

A two-hour power cut was imposed at the MC building in Sector 17. The supply was disrupted on account of construction work being carried out in the building. as it was raining, the MC authorities had shut down the supply. The Mayor and MC officials had to meet residents in a dark room. 

Chandigarh, June 13
A Haryana Roadways bus conductor was robbed of a bag containing cash, bus tickets and other valuables by four unidentified youths near Mani Majra today.

The police stated that Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Mari Wala town, Mani Mjara, alighted from the bus near Fun Republic light point. He was on foot when the youths robbed him. The bag contained Rs 2,500, two ATM cards, identity card, driving licence, mobile phone and long-route bus tickets. 

Chandigarh, June 13
The process of selecting the Chief Engineer of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has been delayed again with the Chandigarh Administration seeking clarification on the panel of five engineers whose names have been forwarded to it.

It is learnt that the CHB had forwarded a list of engineers from Punjab and Haryana to the Chandigarh Administration. For the past over one year, the post of the Chief engineer in the board has been lying vacant, resulting in the delay of housing projects.

In the absence of a regular Chief Engineer, technical sanctions for various works in the ongoing projects and new projects cannot be granted.

Last year, the candidature of four engineers from Punjab had been rejected by the Administration. As a result, the CHB has to rely on the UT Chief Engineer to sanction the projects.

Chandigarh, June 13
For families facing difficulty in taking a mentally challenged patient to a hospital for treatment owing to the latter's erratic behaviour or resistance to step out of home, the department of psychiatry, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, has come up with a home-based treatment (HBT).

On the request of family members, a team visits the patient's house to assess the required treatment. After the assessment, the HBT initiates home-based treatment or in some cases it makes arrangement for brief hospitalisation of the patient.

"For handling such a patient, a person needs to be exceptionally empathetic and calm. It is quite common among such patients to show resistance to go out for treatment," said experts.

"My wife has been suffering from depression for the past few years. She gradually lost interest in almost everything. We somehow managed to take her to a doctor, but her frustration level seems to be rising as we pushed her for treatment. It was then that I requested doctors in the psychiatry department at the GMCH to provide home-based assistance to us," said Suresh Sharma.

"In the past two months, the HBT team has visited us six times and my wife has shown improvement. I have observed that she cooperates a lot with the mental health professionals as she feels secure while talking to them at home. She keeps herself busy doing household chores and appears to be quite energetic. It is a learning process for me as well, Suresh stated.

The service was introduced in April this year. The HBT is currently serving 10 families in the city. The team comprises assistant psychiatry social workers and nurse. 

Mohali, June 13
As many as 85 cancer patients have been given Rs 1.27 crore as financial aid from the Chief Minister’s Cancer Relief Fund in the district. Giving details, Mohali Deputy Commissioner Tajinder Pal Singh Sidhu said Rs 45 lakh would be distributed among as many as 45 patients soon.

The state government has been providing Rs 1.5 lakh as financial help to every cancer victim from the fund to get quality treatment from the hospital of his/her choice.

“We have received as many as 115 applications from cancer patients for government aid so far. Earlier, this grant was directly given to the hospital from where the patient was getting treatment, but now it was being given directly to the patient to enable him to receive treatment from the hospital of his/her own choice,” said Sidhu.

Sidhu said a special school health programme was being launched for all government and recognised non-government schools of the district.

“Under the programme, students are being examined to identify any serious ailment. If any such student is found suffering from cancer or any 
heart disease, he will be provided free medical treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh,” said the Deputy Commissioner.

He said as many as 7,352 students of 93 schools were medically examined last month and three students were found suffering from heart diseases and one from thalassemia. They were being provided treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh of late.”

Chandigarh, June 13
Even as the city-based private schools asked the committee appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the issue of fee hike to take their annual accounts directly from their respective boards and regulatory authorities, these records are simply dumped with the authorities concerned.

The High Court in its judgment on April 9 stated that as per the replies filed by official respondents, most of the schools are fulfilling the requirements of submitting the annual reports, etc. But at the same time, it is also a matter of record that there is hardly any examination of these records, which are simply dumped by the schools with the boards/regulatory authorities and keep lying there in there archives.

It was on the basis of this judgment that directions were issued to Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana to examine the feasibility of establishing permanent regulatory bodies/mechanism to check the issue of fee hike, and till that is not done, the committee entrusted with the task to go into the accounts of schools and find out the reasonableness of increase in their fees was set up for Chandigarh, besides Punjab and Haryana.

However, the response of the local private schools to the Chandigarh committee headed by Justice RS Mongia is not satisfactory as the schools recently asked the committee to take their financial records directly from the boards.

A committee member said these were simply dilly-dallying tactics by the private schools as they didn’t want the committee to gather their financial details at the earliest.

“The fact that the records of the private schools are dumped with the regulatory authorities and boards concerned, it is difficult to access them on time,” he said.

An official of the Education Department said the annual accounts submitted by the private schools with the regulatory authorities did not have necessary details like per child per class annual fee or admission/readmission fee and other funds charged from the students as it was more a compiled profit and loss statement of the schools.

He said these details were specifically asked by the Chandigarh committee from the private schools here and were vital for its members to go into fee hike issue.

A committee member said even as the private schools had been asked to submit the date of submission of their accounts with their respective boards, but they should cooperate with the committee and themselves submit their financial details, along with other information, to the committee.

“We are not at all going to the reasonableness of the hike in fee for the session 2011-12 as apprehended by the schools. Our job is to seek the reasonableness aspect for the academic session 2012-13,” he said.

As per information, the committee has again sent the questionnaire on June 6 to the private schools to gather the required information.

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Chandigarh, June 13
The sale of prospectus for admission to Class XI in government schools has crossed the total number of available seats. As per information, more than 13,500 prospectuses have been sold in the past three days against the total number of 12,700 seats for Class XI in 39 government senior secondary schools.

Officials said more than 16,000 forms were expected to be sold in the next few days.

As per information, more than 500 forms were sold today in six government model senior secondary schools here.

As far as the submission of forms is concerned, more than 1,800 forms have been submitted at several venues designated by the Education Department so far.

The officials said the last date for the submission of forms was June 20. By June 28, the common merit list of the students would be displayed, followed by the stream-wise and school-wise list.

Chandigarh, June 13
Defying the orders of the Deputy Commissioner, the Chandigarh police has failed to act against the market committee chairman.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-Secretary, State Agricultural Marketing Board, Mohammad Shayin on November 29, 2012, had directed the police officers to lodge an FIR against market committee chairman Dinesh Mahajan for evading market fee of Rs 26 lakh, but the officers failed to do the same.

On November 24, 2012, an inspection committee, constituted by the Deputy Commissioner, had conducted a surprise check at shop number 24 in the Sector 26 vegetable market. The committee had seized some records. The committee found that the firms, M/s Mahajan Fruit Company and M/s Mahajan Trading Company, owned by Dinesh Mahajan, had evaded market fee of Rs 25,59,228.

The DC had stated, "The provision of the Act, rules and bylaws have not been complied with which is a serious lapse. An FIR may also be lodged against M/s Mahajan Fruit Company and M/s Mahajan Trading Company for indulging in fraudulent and illegal activities."

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shayin said he had recommended an FIR against the companies, but he did not know why the officers failed to act. His office did not receive any communique from the UT police in this regard, he added.

Former market committee secretary Jarnail Singh said he had forwarded the DC's report to the UT police and area SHO. Reminders were also forwarded to the police, but to no avail, he added.

UT SSP Naunihal Singh said he had no idea about the case.

Anokh Singh, SHO, Sector 26 police station, said he had never received any communication in this regard.