NEIGHBOURHOOD

48,000 capsules seized, 3 held
Our Correspondent

Fatehgarh Sahib, September 19
For the registration of new vehicles, the second phase of auction of fancy numbers from a new series PB-23P was conducted by Mahesh Garg, District Transport Officer, along with staff today. In the first phase, Rs 35 lakh were collected.

An amount of Rs 75,000 was earned from PB-23P-0008 against its reserve price of Rs 10,000. PB-23P-0005 was auctioned for Rs 60,500, PB-23P-0003 for Rs 52,000, PB-23P 0010 for Rs 33,000 and PB-23P-9999 for Rs 62,000. — OC

Dera Bassi, September 19
Following the movement launched by the state government to clean rivers and drains in the state, Punjab Pollution Control Board has been successful in persuading the pharma industry in Dera Bassi to set up a common effluent treatment plant (CETP), to control water pollution in the region. For this purpose, the officials have zeroed-in a seven-acre land in Saidpura village. The board officials said the total estimated cost of the project would be around Rs 45 crores, which would be shared by the industries and the operator of the common facility, and it would also treat sewage of nearby villages for free-of-cost.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Parliamentary Secretary NK Sharma assured all possible assistance to the success of the project, including subsidy by the state government. He thanked the Chief Minister for providing funds for the development in his constituency and hoped that the CETP will be a boon for more industries to come in the area enhancing its overall development as well as safeguarding the environment.

Ravinder Singh, chairman, PPCB, said the project has been conceived on the pattern of CETP installed by Pharmaceutical industries in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. He said he along with some industrialists visited Hyderabad last year to have first-hand information about the CETP and its operations.

Meanwhile NR Munjal, director, Mohali Green Environment, assured that the project would be completed within a year.

Ambala, September 19
Ambala SDM Vinay Partap Singh has directed all the banks across the district to ensure that the candidates eligible for the benefits of the self-employment schemes, initiated by the Union and the State government, should not be unnecessarily harassed. He directed the authorities concerned to make the services be made available to them without any delay and urged the officials concerned to complete their targets well in time so that they may not face any problem at the end of the year.

Speaking at the quarterly district-level review meeting, organised by the Lead bank in Ambala, the SDM expressed concern at the banks of the district for not fulfilling the targets fixed by Reserve Bank of India and stated that if they did not fulfil the targets by the end of the next quarter, then the administration will be forced to write to the concerned banks and the government. He gave a warning to the nationalised banks as well as the private banks to follow the instructions of the RBI.

He said the main function of the bank is to ensure implementation of the policies for the self-employment, welfare programmes and progress of the common man. The SDM directed the bank officials to coordinate with the women empowerment programmes as well, which is being run in the rural areas of the state.

On this occasion, the Lead bank manager, Dinesh Bhardwaj, gave the progress reports of banks in the district. Steps are being taken to open more branches to meet the needs of the people in the rural areas, said Bhardwaj.

Patiala, September 19
City-based doctor Harshinder Kaur has been selected as the member of National Academy of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. The honour has been bestowed upon her in recognition of her excellent and path-breaking work in the field of female foeticide at national and international level.

The award will be bestowed upon her on October 27 this year at the annual conference and convocation of the academy of medical sciences at AIIMS, Jodhpur.

Author of 28 books, Harshinder has also presented two papers at the Human Rights Conference of United Nations, Geneva, in 2008 and 2010 and was declared International Human Rights Activist. She was honoured by American Biographical Institute as Woman of the Year 2012, and is the recipient of two state awards by the Punjab government.

Zirakpur, September 19
Following the alleged rape and then suicide of a minor girl at her employer’s house in Dhakauli village, the employer of the deceased, RS Bhatia, has been sent to a three-day remand under the police custody today.

Bhatia, who was arrested yesterday, after the relatives of the victim staged a protest at Dera Bassi Civil Hospital, was produced before the court at Dera Bassi.

The 13-year-old victim, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday at Bhatia’s house in Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, Dhakoli, was cremated today evening under tight security arrangements.

The area’s station house officer (SHO), Tarlochan Singh, said as per the medical report, no injury marks were found on the body of the deceased. “We are yet to ascertain if she was raped or not. Only the medical report can confirm that,” said the SHO.

The other accused, Dilkaran Singh, son of RS Bhatia, is still at large.

Earlier, the relatives of the victim had refused to take the body alleging that the police was not serious in dealing with the case.

The police said, the father of the deceased, said his daughter was working at the Bhatia’s residence for the past one-and-a-half-month.

“On Monday evening, we were told by Bhatia that my daughter had gone somewhere without informing him,” said the father of the victim, claiming that he had come to know about his daughter’s death only on Tuesday morning.

RS Bhatia and Dilkaran Singh have been booked under Sections 365 (abduction) and 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC at the Zirakpur police station.

Chandigarh, September 19
The UT Consumer Court has penalised Oriental Insurance Company for 'deducting unreasonable amounts from the IDV value of an insured car even in a case where it had declared it as a case of total loss'.

A Santro car had been insured with the company with an insured declared value of Rs 63,500 for the period between September 28,2011, and September 27, 2012. On May 4, 2012, the car met with an accident.

The owner of the car died in the mishap. The intimation was given to the company which did not process the claim in time.

Complainant's counsel Pankaj Chandgothia contended that the car had been extensively damaged and cost of the repair would be more than the insured value. Chandgothia pointed out that the surveyor only allowed an amount of Rs 31,800 on a repair cash loss basis, which was illegal.

After the complaint was filed, the company offered to pay the total loss of Rs 63,500. The court observed "The company woke up from its deep slumber only after it received a notice from the forum."

Chandigarh, September 19
Central bureau of Investigation special court rejected the closure report filed by the CBI sleuths in the Sector 53 slum rehabilitation scam, here today. The CBI had filed the report on July 5.

The case dates back to 21 March, 2009, when four accused, identified as Hari Singh, Om Parkash, both employees of the Chandigarh MC, and Vishwas Kumar and Ram Bhagat were found forging the documents for allotting the houses in their names. — TNS

Chandigarh, September 19
A local court has provided the copy of the charge sheet to both defence and prosecution relating to the teachers’ recruitment scam that had rocked the Chandigarh Education Department in 2009, here today.

The next date of hearing in the case has been fixed on October 28.

Earlier, the Delhi Central bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths had filed the charge sheet in a local court here on July 13. In the charge sheet, the court had given a clean chit to the former DPI (schools), Samwartak Singh, who was questioned for his alleged involvement in the scam in Delhi in 2012.

As per the charge sheet, there are two main accused in this scam; Hardev Singh and Jolly, and no official of the Chandigarh Administration was involved in it. Both of them had acted as touts in the scam and were working on contract basis with the Chandigarh Education Department in 2009, when the racket was busted.

Chandigarh, September 19
High drama was witnessed on the dividing road of Sectors 3 and 4 after two youths in an inebriated condition created a ruckus on the road leading to a traffic jam for over 10 minutes. The youths were held for driving car in a negligent manner.

The police said that Mithilesh Kumar was driving the car while Sukhbir Singh was sitting beside him on the next seat.

Sources said Sukhbir after being stopped by the police came out of the car and slapped him.

The police stated that the youths began arguing with the policeman and abused him, the accused also claimed that the traffic staff allegedly slapped him.

DSP (Central) Ashish Kapoor who reached the spot to pacify the car driver stated that a glass of liquor was lying in the car and the occupants were drunk.

The car has been impounded and a medical examination of the accused conducted at Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, confirmed the presence of alcohol in their bodies.

Mithilesh was arrested for drunken driving and Sukhbir was arrested for thrashing a policeman on duty. A case was registered at the Sector 3 police station. The police have impounded the car.

Zirakpur, September 19
A 29-year-old was killed and another was injured in a road accident on the Zirakpur-Panchkula road today. The deceased has been identified as Munish Pandey, a resident of Panchkula, while the injured youth has been identified as Sunil Kumar.

Police said the motorcycle on which the victims were going was hit by an unidentified vehicle from rear side. A case has been registered under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC. — OC

Chandigarh, September 19
Finally the Football Stadium of Sector 17 is getting some make-over attention ahead of the upcoming All-India level UT Administrator’s Football Tournament for Boys (U-17), to be started from September 22.

The stadium, that remains unnoticed throughout the year, is being looked after on regular basis these days. The UT Sports Department is going to host the 11th edition of the football championship. Leaving no stone unturned, the department seems to have taken all the measures to give its best. Also the gym, which would remain closed and was being used as a mini-store, is being treated well with painted walls.

The ground is being upgraded with regular water sprinkles and the bald surfaces are being covered by grass. The Advisor to the UT Administrator is scheduled to inaugurate the tournament on September 22.

“We are happy that the gym and the ground are getting a decent look. This is the only time in a year that the authorities turn their focus here,” said Santosh. On other hand, the department has also purchased two ultra-modern grass-cutting machines to level the grass in the ground and to give it a proper look.

A total of 18 teams have confirmed their entries and will vie for the Rs 2 lakh winning prize and a running trophy. The runners-up team will be awarded with a total cash prize of Rs 1 lakh followed by Rs 50, 000 prize for the second runners-up. The third position-holders will be awarded with a cash prize of Rs 50,000.

The tournament will start from September 22 and the matches will be played at Football Stadium of Sector 17 and Football Ground of the Sports Complex, Sector 42.

Chandigarh, September 19
The executive committee of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) will request Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, to be chairman of the organising committee for the India Vs Australia one-day international match to be held on October 19, at the PCA cricket stadium, Mohali.

The matter was put forward by MP Pandove, honorary secretary of the PCA, during the executive members meeting headed by IS Bindra, president of the PCA, at Dhruv Pandove Conference Hall. At the outset, the president also condoled the death of Late Desh Prem Azad, the noted cricket coach and director of the PCA Non-Residential Cricket Academy. The members stood in silence for a minute as a mark of respect. The honorary secretary also informed that the efforts are being made for starting the construction of boundary wall of PCA’s New Cricket Stadium at Mullanpur at the earliest, so to start the other construction work soon. — TNS

Chandigarh, September 19
The Chandigarh Ball Badminton Association will organise the 17th Sub-Junior and Junior State Ball Badminton Championship for Boys and Girls from September 28 to 29 at Aanchal International School, Sector 41.

The players born on or after February 1, 1994 (junior) and February 1, 1998 (sub-junior) are eligible to participate in the tournament. The interested teams are advised to submit their entries before September 26. Also, during the same championship, the players will be shortlisted to represent the city in the national championship to be held in Bhilai and Pune in November.

The association will also conduct a written test for referee on September 28 (2pm). The eligibility age for this test is 18 years.

Panchkula, September 19
Satluj Public School, Sector 4, will organise the Satluj Inter-School Champions League Cricket Tournament for Boys (U-14) category from September 27, at school grounds. The players born on or after January 1, 2000, will be eligible to take part in the the tournament.

The interested teams can confirm their entries in the tournament before September 22. — TNS