NEIGHBOURHOOD

Asst Prof gets Rs 18.3 lakh research project
Our Correspondent

Dr Varinderjit Kaur

Fatehgarh Sahib, July 2
Dr Varinderjit Kaur, an assistant professor at postgraduate department of physics, Mata Gujri College, has been awarded a research project by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), New Delhi, (India) worth Rs 18.3 lakh under the SERC Fast Track Proposals for Young Scientists Scheme for 3 years.

The project is related to the area of theoretical nuclear physics. Dr Kaur did her PhD from the School of Physics and Materials Science, Thapar University, Patiala, in 2011.

While talking to the media persons, Dr Varinderjit Kaur said that environment and facilities at the MGC are very congenial for research. Such type of projects will encourage more students to opt out research in physical sciences and provide better exposure. She thanked Dr Jatinder Singh Sidhu, director principal of the college for his continuous motivation and support.

Kalka, July2
A policeman, who was allegedly making nuisance at the T-intersection of the Kalka MC roundabout, adjacent to the NH-22, was severely beaten up by some shopkeepers. The policeman sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a hospital. The eyewitnesses said the incident took place on Monday night night, when Bhulla Rana, a head constable, who in an 'inebriated condition', came in his personal car and started creating nuisance and started abused the shopkeepers. — OC

Ropar, July 2
A total of 104 polling booths have been declared sensitive for the panchayat elections to be held here on Wednesday. Five polling booths in the district have been declared hypersensitive.

Beside this, out of the 596 gram panchayats, 120 panchayats have already been elected unanimously.

Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-Additional District Returning Officer SS Marar said while 120 panchayats had been elected unanimously in the district, 4,246 candidates were in the fray in the remaining gram panchayats.

A total of 1063 candidates would vie for the posts of sarpanch, he said. — TNS

Fatehgarh Sahib, July 2
The administration has made elaborate arrangements to conduct the panchayat elections in a free and fair manner and nobody would be allowed to disturb the poll process, said Arun Sekhri, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer while dispatching the polling parties along with the election material.

He said 63 sarpanchs and 1,022 panchs had been elected unanimously in the district and now 2,88,540 voters belonging to 1,459 wards of 376 villages will cast their votes for the rest of the seats.

He said 419 polling booths had been set up and 3,000 employees would be deployed for election duty.

One presiding officer, assistant presiding officer and three polling officials each have been deputed at every polling booth. He said 1,450 police personnel, including 2 SPs, 6 DSPs and 10 Inspectors, had been put on poll duty.

There are 27 hyper sensitive and 120 sensitive polling stations where special security arrangements have been put in place. Besides, 22 patrol parties have been formed.

Voting will take place tomorrow from 8 am to 4 pm and results will be declared the same day.

Patiala, July 2
Trisha Deb, an eminent archer of BA-II of Khalsa College, Patiala, has brought laurels after winning a bronze medal with her team members during the first stage of the 
World Archery Cup in Shanghai, China. Avtar Singh, president, SGPC, Amritsar, congratulated her and declared to honour her by giving Rs 51,000.

College Principal, Dr Dharminder Singh Ubha, honoured Trisha by giving her Rs 11,000 and a shawl. While extolling her stupendous achievement, Dr Ubha said she is a motivational force for others players of the college to carve their niche at international level. He also assured that all types of facilities will be provided to the budding players. Trisha said that she will represent India at third stage World Cup which will be held in Columbia.

She also expressed her gratitude to Prof Gursharan (HoD) department of physical education and sports, Dr Paramdeep Kaur of the same department, Dr Raj Kumar, Director Sports, Punjabi University, Patiala and her coach, Jiwanjot Singh Teja and Surinder Singh for their role in shaping her as a player.

Chandigarh, July 2
Acting on a petition for an independent probe into the Jyoti murder case, which involves a Congress MLA from Himachal Pradesh, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Panchkula trial court to consider the report of the special investigation team and take action accordingly.

The directions by Justice Ritu Bahri came after State of Haryana told the court that it had already submitted the report prepared by a SIT to the trial court. Taking note of the assertion, Justice Bahri directed the trial court to consider the SIT report in addition to the challan presented by the police and take action accordingly.

The directions came on a petition filed by the victim’s father, Buti Ram of Hoshiarpur. He had alleged that the Panchkula police was not conducting investigation in a fair and impartial manner as it had colluded with the prime accused, MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary.

Jyoti, a 24-year-old resident of Bhunga village in Hoshiarpur district, was found dead on a road in Sector 21, Panchkula, on November 22 last year. According to the post-mortem report, she had died of a head injury and had undergone an abortion.

In his petition, Buti Ram had sought directions to the state and other respondents to transfer the investigation of the Jyoti murder case from the Sector 5 (Panchkula) police station to some other senior police official or an independent agency.

Soon after his daughter’s murder, the petitioner had stated that sufficient incriminating evidence was found against Ram Kumar Chaudhary and the other accused. But from the very first day, the Panchkula police has been favouring the accused, he added.

He also alleged that the Congress leaders from Punjab, too, had pressurised and threatened him to maintain silence over the issue and not to pursue the murder case.

In an attempt to substantiate the allegations of the police dragging its feet in the matter, the counsel for the petitioner, Naresh Shekhawat argued that the police had also not invoked the provision of law relating to illegal abortion. Moreover, the police has not recovered the phone through which Ram Kumar was in touch with the victim.

Chandigarh, July 2
A Chandigarh police constable’s wife has alleged she was harassed, teased and liquid was poured on her by two masked bikers in Police Colony, Sector 20. The incident took place two days ago and an FIR was registered when a complaint was lodged with the police.

The registration number of the motorcycle is yet to be ascertained.

The victim claimed in her complaint that the miscreants had been throwing paper slips with objectionable comments in her house for the past two months. Earlier, three complaints were lodged but area police has failed to make any headway in the case.

The police has obtained the recordings of the CCTV cameras installed at the entrance to a local market.

A case of wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt, word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman, criminal intimidation and act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention under sections 341, 323, 509, 506 and 34 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 19 police station. 

Chandigarh, July 2
Acting on the complaint of a 20-year-old girl, the police has registered a case of rape against the owner of a Mani Majra-based institute. The accused, Chanderpal, is on the run.

In her complaint to the police, the victim said she had been working in the institute since June 2012, and the accused allegedly raped her on April 19, 2013.

The victim told the police that the accused forced her into marriage after threatening to kill her brother. They got married at a temple in Kalka on June 19. Later, they moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking protection on June 24.

After getting married, the duo was putting up in a rented accommodation at Baltana. The victim last week lodged a complaint with the Kalka police, which transferred the case to their counterparts in Chandigarh.

After investigating the case, the police has registered a case of rape, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation under Sections 376, 342, 506 of the IPC at the Mani Majra Police Station.

Chandigarh, July 2
Coming August, the local cagers will receive the news which they have been waiting to hear for the past three years. The construction work at the first indoor basketball stadium of the UT Sports Department, at the Sports Complex of Sector 42, is expected to get over by the coming month. Officials of the sports department are hoping that the arena will start functioning very soon.

The UT Engineering Department, which was expected to complete the construction work during the year 2009-10, would now handover the indoor court to the UT Sports Department once the installation of flood lights is completed. The court is being built as per the international standards.

“The construction is being done swiftly. Out of three layers to be laid on the court, only one is left after which the floods lights will be installed. According to sources, the work will be over till the end of this month. Once the court is handed over to the sports department, it will be made open for members-players, under the supervision of professional coaches,” said KS Bharti, District Sports Officer.

The original plan of the UT Sports Department was to organise an All-India Basketball (U-19) Tournament at this new indoor stadium during the year 2009-10. But due to the incomplete work, the tournament was postponed and now, according to sources, the Sports Secretary UT Administration is in favor of organising a school-level basketball championship for inaugurating this court.

“The top brass is thinking of organising a school level tournament. This indoor court is a gift for the local budding players. Also with this indoor court in hand, the city can always vie to host any national games of junior or senior level,” said an official.

Earlier, only the Basketball Court, Sector 46, was serving the local cagers and the court at the Sports Complex, Sector 7, was closed due to re-patching work since two years.

“The non-availability of any court used to hurt. But now the indoor stadium will cater to the needs. The courts will encourage the youth and help the budding players to clear the basics under the supervision of coaches,” said Navtej Brar, a senior basketball player.

Amarjeet Singh, a basketball coach with the UT Sports Department at Sports Complex of Sector 46, added, “It will be a great boost for the local players. They will have an advantage of attending practice sessions while beating tough climatic conditions. The players will be able to improve endurance work and will be bale to play till late evening hours,” said Amarjeet.

A local school player, Gurpreet Sahota, said, “A good tournament is always being played on wooden or synthetic indoor courts. The indoor court in the city will attract many corporate and local people to use the facility at the fullest. The advantage will directly boost the functioning of the department and will also uplift the standard of basketball among the local players.”

Chandigarh, July 2
The cricket team of St Attri Cricket Academy, Punjab, defeated Chandigarh Cricket Academy by 2 wickets to clinch the title of second North Zone Cricket Tournament, organised by the Vivek High Asian Cricket academy, at Vivek High School, Sector 38, here today.

The St Attri Cricket Academy elected to bowl first and restricted the home side on a total of 130 runs in the allotted slot of 20 overs. Vishal led the team’s score chart with scoring 45 runs while Kapil (17 runs) and param (15 runs) were the other main scorer for the team.

For the bowling side, Chirag claimed 3 for 12 runs while Aman took 2 for 31 runs. Malkeet for his 2 for 25 runs remain the other main scorer for the team.

In reply, the Attri Cricket Academy achieved the target with 8 balls to spare. Rahul with a 67 runs knock ensured the victory. He was equally supported by Ashu (16 runs) and Malkeet Singh (19 runs) in the team’s victory campaign.

For the bowling side, Jaswant hooged the limelight with taking 4 for 14 runs while Shubham grabbed 2 for 18 runs.

Man of the match: Rahul: 67 runs (St Attri Cricket Academy). Man of the series: Malkeet Singh (St Attri Cricket Academy). Best batsman: Param (Chandigarh Cricket Academy). Best bowler: Jaswant (Candigarh Cricket Academy). Best wicket keeper: Sachin Kapila (Vivek High Asian Cricket Academy).

Chandigarh, July 2
Two-day Champions Junior Golf Tour (CJGT) was organised at the Punjab Junior Golf Challenge, Forest Hill Golf and the Country Club. The championship was designed for giving junior golfers a strong competitive experience.

Total points: Divison A (15 to 17 years)-Karandeep (154 points); Khushmanraj (177 points), Mankirat (177 points), Amandeep (183 points), Virain (195 points), Mayank (198 points), Yashovardhan (216 points); Division B (13 to 14 years)-Karandeep (154 points); Virain (195 points); Mayank (198 points), Mayank (198 points), Yashovardhan (216 points); Division (11 to 12 years)-Inderpreet (176 points), Mivaan (180 points), Surya (198 points); Irman (206 points); Division (9 to 12 years)-Mandaar (152 points); Precious (193-points), Vanshika (271 points); Division (7 to 8 years)-Jujhar (75 points), Manjot (83 points); Division (5 to 6 years)-Arjun (125 points), Viren (128 points). — TNS

Panchkula, July 2
Priyanka Khanna got better of her rival, Luvya Lamba, to lift the title of girls (U-14) category during the final of Ideal Tennis Academy Tennis Championship being organised at DAV Senior Secondary Public School, Sector 8, here today.

In the final match of the championship, Priyanka defeated Luvya Lamba at ease with 6-3 and 6-2. In the final match of boys’ (U-14) category, Udday Vir Singh defeated Dhananjay Yadav to win the event. He trounced his opponent at straight sets by 6-3 and 6-4.

The final match of boys (U-12) was postponed due to heavy rains.

Chandigarh, July 2
A total of six teams will participate in the fifth Ashok Kumar Vij Memorial Cricket Championship for Boys (U-13) from tomorrow at the Guru Nanak Publc School, Sector 36, here. — TNS