Chandigarh, July 6
It was a moment to cheer not only for the PGI for having completed 51 years of existence, but also for 58-year-old Kartar Singh, who finds himself to be the most fortunate non-faculty employee of the institute to have been recognised and honoured by the Vice-President for his sanitation services on the PGI’s foundation day today. Until yesterday while very few recognised him among thousands of safai karamcharis at the institute, he has now emerged as a hero among them.

A resident of Daddu Majra in Sector 38, Kartar is a highly respected fellow in the area. But, his existence was unknown to many at the PGI despite his unconditional services to many patients and support to the medical staff of the institute. He prefers to walk from his home to the PGI. "I start two hours in advance for reaching the PGI to cover the stretch of 7 or 8 km. People often wonder at my preference to walk and sometimes pity me thinking that I cannot afford a vehicle. But I never bother," he said.

"Though I had never asked for much from God, I have always remained sincere and honest towards my work. My hard work and honesty seem to have borne fruits now. Such activities encourage the people of our class to do well in life," Kartar added.

There were a few others like Kartar who were honoured for their services. A total of 10 PGI employees were honoured by Vice-President Hamid Ansari along with Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. They were presented with appreciation certificates and mementos.

Malkeet Chand, UDC, Procurement Branch, Naresh Mahajan, Sanitary Inspector Grade-I, Sanitation Department, Jagdish Parsad, Hospital Attendant Grade-II, Department Of Gynaecology, Raj Mal, Laboratory Attendant Grade-I, Department of Nephrology, Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Laboratory Attendant Grade-I, Department Of Immunopathology, Kartar Singh, Sanitary Attendant Grade-III, Department Of Parasitology, Raghunath Singh, Laboratory Attendant Grade-II, Department Of Biochemistry, Kundan Lal, Hospital Attendant Grade-II, Nursing Cell, Randhir Singh, Hospital Attendant Grade-II, Oral Health Sciences and Chander Shekhar, Bearer/Masalchi Grade II, Department of Dietetics, were those honoured for exemplary services.

Relief for patients

Mohali, July 6
Ranjit Singh, alias Rode, an accused in yesterday's firing that took place at Mauli Baidwan village, fled from General Multi-Speciality Hospital in Sector 16 where he was undergoing treatment.

Following a clash between two groups of the Akali Dal, Rode had opened fire on the opposite group.

Village sarpanch Kulwinder Kaur and former sarpanch Avtar Singh alleged that the police might have helped him in fleeing from the hospital.

Mohali Superintendent of Police (city) Swarndeep Singh refuted the allegations. Avtar Singh alleged that Rode was among the seven accused who were handed over to the police after the incident.

"We were shocked to see that he (Rode) was not produced in the court today. When we asked about him, we were told that he had fled from the hospital," said Avtar Singh.

SP Swarndeep Singh said, "Rode was sent to the hospital as he had suffered injuries. No case was registered till then. He ran away when he learnt that a case was being registered against him," said the SP.

He said raids were on to nab him and the other accused. The police today produced five accused Baljit Singh, alias Jeet, Sukhwinder Singh, Gurwinder Singh, Gurjinder Singh and Bikramjit Singh in a local court which sent them to a two-day police remand. Six persons, including the village's sarpanch, Kulwinder Kaur, and her three brothers-in-law Satnam Singh, Gursewak Singh and Gurwinder Singh, were injured in the firing. The others who suffered injuries included Harjot Singh Gabbar, an international kabaddi player, and village panch Bhupinder Singh. Satnam Singh, Gursewak Singh and Gurwinder Singh were shifted to the PGI, Chandigarh.

The incident is reported to have taken place around 7.30 am when Satwinder Singh, husband of Kulwinder Kaur, the newly elected sarpanch, was allegedly challenged and threatened by Baljit Singh.

This led to heated arguments and soon the supporters of both the groups opened fire. A case under Sections 307, 336, 451, 148 and 149, IPC, and Section 25/27 of the Arms Act has been registered against 15 persons at the Sohana police station. 

Two more arrested

The police arrested two more accused Gurdeep Singh and Gurjinder Singh, alias Puppy, late on Saturday evening.

“We have arrested seven accused so far. Gurdeep Singh is a nephew of Ranjit Singh. Raids are on to nab the remaining accused,” said SP Swarndeep Singh. 

Chandigarh, July 6
Teachers of various government schools will gather on July 8 at the Jama Masjid ground in Sector 20 to discuss the latest letter issued by the UT Education Department regarding the anticipated extension of their school timings under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

Ravinder Sharma, a government teacher, said the latest move would not only put mental pressure on the teachers but also affected their families.

In the RTE Act, 2009, there is not only one provision i.e. extension of time but there are many more essential provisions in the Act such as teacher-student ratio, school infrastructure, school uniform, and books to students in time and formation of a teachers’ grievance committee, which are not fully addressed by the department.

All these issues would be discussed by them on July 8, said Ravinder Sharma. Several teachers association too gave a call for this meeting.

It is the second time the UT administration is pushing for the extension of the teachers’ timings. In April this year, the Education Department had to postpone its decision over the matter due to a massive protest by teachers.

Chandigarh, July 6
A day after a bloody clash was reported on the Panjab University (PU) campus, the university authorities have decided that strict action will be taken against the university students involved in the incident and ban the entry of the outsiders’ involved in the clash that left two seriously injured.

Top officials of the university today held a meeting over the issue. PU Registrar, Dean University Institutions (DUI), Adviser to Vice-Chancellor, Dean Students Welfare (Women), Chief of University Security and the Wardens were among those who participated in the meeting.

The videography of the incident was also done.

DSW (W) Kalpana K Mahajan said the officials had decided to take strict action against the erring students of the university for indulging in violence.

“We will not allow outsiders booked in the case to enter the PU campus,” she said.

DSW (W) said the university would also take the list of PU students and outsiders with criminal background from the Chandigarh Police.

“We will try to restrict outsiders from participating in the students’ politics on the campus,” she added.

The university administration has asked the Chandigarh Police to take strict action against the persons involved in the incident while ensuring that no innocent was put to any undue harassment.

The meeting also discussed measures to beef up security on the campus with focus on strict monitoring on the entry of outsiders. It has also asked hostel wardens to be more vigilant about the occupants in hostels and frequent raids be conducted with the help of the police.

Chandigarh, July 6
The four-member committee constituted by Panjab University (PU) in the incident of two University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) students reportedly involved in racing on the campus has rejected the demand of the student for waiving the fine of Rs 41,300 imposed on him for damaging the PU property.

While the girl who was driving one of the vehicles has already paid the fine, the boy was reluctant to pay the same.

A meeting of the four-member committee comprising Kalpana K Mahajan, Dean Student Welfare (DSW) Women, and Senate members Yograj Angirsh, Dinesh Kumar and Nandita Singh was held yesterday, which was also attended by DSW AS Ahluwalia.

The reckless driving by both students, who were in two vehicles, had led to a major accident on April 16 leaving five vehicles, including a motorcycle, damaged and one person injured.

One of the committee members said the boy claimed that the accident did not happen due to his mistake.

“The student claimed that he had already paid around Rs 30, 000 to owners of the vehicles which were damaged during the accident. He wanted that his fine should be waived,” said a committee member.

Dinesh Kumar, a Senate member and also the member of the committee, said the decision to impose fine 10 times the cost of damage made to the university property during the accident was taken keeping in mind the lives of scores of students that were at risk when both UILS students were driving recklessly on the campus.

“There are over 14,000 students and several thousands of PU employees on the campus, both students risked their lives and waiving-off the fine would be no less then encouraging reckless driving on the campus,” said Kumar.

One of the committee members said though the committee’s decision over the matter was final, however, there was an apprehension that the university might form another committee to wave his fine.