Panchkula, February 10
In the Samjhauta blast case, the interim bail plea of Kamal Chauhan, one of the accused, was rejected by the special National Investigating Agency (NIA) court here today.

During the last hearing of the case, the National Investigating Agency court had framed charges against the four accused, Swami Aseemanand, Kamal Chauhan, Lokesh and Rajender Pehelwan. They were charged with murder, attempt to murder, sedition and various other sections.

In the early hours of February 19, 2007, 68 persons, mostly Pakistanis, were killed in the blasts on the Samjhauta Express, a peace train. The train was going from Delhi to Attari, the last station on the Indian side. The passengers were to board the train to Lahore in Pakistan the next day. The blasts took place in two coaches at Diwana village, near the industrial town of Panipat.

Chandigarh, February 10
A local court today sentenced a man to 5-years rigorous imprisonment in a drug trafficking case. A fine of Rs 50,000 was imposed on him.

The convict, Surinder Singh Kala was booked on September 13, 2009. A police team was conducting an inspection near an eatery at Mani Majra following the incidents of snatching when they arrested Kala with 1 kg of opium. Delivering the judgment, the court held that it couldn’t take such type of crime lightly. To combat and discourage the commission of such offences, the court should deal with the perpetrators strictly. — TNS

Chandigarh, February 10
A 37-year-old cyclist and his seven-year-old daughter were injured after being hit by a car in Sector 26 last night.

The condition of the daughter, Komal, is stable while her father, Ram Charan, is said to in a critical condition. The police have registered a case of rash and negligent driving and efforts are being made to identify the accused. The driver rushed the injured to the PGI. His address on the PGI records was found to be fake, the police said.

The mishap occurred when Ram Charan, a labourer of Kansal village, was going to his home along with his daughter on a cycle. A speeding car hit them at the Shri Guru Gobind Singh College (SGGSC), Sector 26, light point at around 9 pm. The police said eyewitnesses reported that the car driver shifted the injured to his car, claiming that he was taking them to the nearby government hospital.

The information about the road accident was received from PGI. The registration number of the car was revealed to the local police control room by a passerby.

The police said the residential address, on which the car was registered, is being obtained from the Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA) and the accused would be identified soon.

Chandigarh, February 10
In yet another incident of snatching, young bikers snatched a purse containing Rs 70,000 from a woman today.

The police said Narinder Kaur, a resident of Sector 41, alleged three persons, who were riding a motorcycle, snatched her bag. The woman was coming out of the Krishan market in Sector 41 when the incident happened. The woman claimed the bag contained Rs 70,000, two mobile phones and some documents.

Meanwhile, Himanshu Goel of Sector 11 reported that someone stole a Nikon camera and Rs 8,000 and other articles from his residence on February 9.

Chandigarh, February 10
Amidst ongoing construction work of new shooting range and girls’ hostel at the Panjab University, teams from various universities have started arriving at the campus to take part in the All-India Inter-University Shooting Championship for Men and Women scheduled to be held from tomorrow.

In a new deadline, the company concerned was asked to complete the construction work before February 7. However, the workers are still giving final touches to the shooting range and as well as to the girls’ hostel. Earlier, the project was expected to get complete by 2012. About 400 shooters from 66 universities are participating in the five-day tournament. Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Arjuna Awardee and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, will inaugurate the Air Pistol Shooting and .177 Air Rifle Peep Sight Shooting (Men and Women) events tomorrow.

According to sources in a meeting, headed by organising secretaries for all visiting coaches and their managers, it was informed that the shooters can perform a pre-tournament trial of the new shooting range after the formal inauguration. Also, the main events of the championship will be held on February 12. On the other hand, some male members of different teams alleged that no facility of hot water and drinking water was available at the newly built girls’ hostel. “Earlier, we were staying at sports hostel, near swimming pool, however after women’s teams started arriving, we were asked to shift here in the new hostel. The hostel is still under maintenance and is lacking facilities. However, an official visited the venue and ensured to provide us with the same till evening,” said a group of players from a men’s team preferring anonymity.

Chandigarh, February 10
Second-seed Ashpreet Kaur Bajwa defeated Khushbeen Kaur while Sahishnu Sharma thumped down Anmol Rattan Kamboj in the finals of girls’ and boys’ category, respectively, during the concluding day of the Tennis Excellence Academy’s Tennis Talent Hunt Tournament held at Tennis Courts of Sunny Enclave in Kharar today.

In the finals of the girls’ category, second-seed Ashpreet Kaur Bajwa outclassed her rival Khushbeen Kaur by 6-2 and 6-2 to win the tournament. Earlier, in the semi-finals of the competition, Ashpreet beat Nandini by 6-1 and 6-1 while Khushbeen beat Rahat by 6-3 and 6-3.

In the men’s final category, top-seed Sahishnu Sharma defeated his opponent second-seed Anmol Rattan Kamboj. He registered a 6-3 and 6-1 victory over her rival. Sahishnu claimed the first set easily however he faced some resistance in the second. In the second set, Savneet was leading at 5-2 but Sahishnu held his nerves and bounced back, with ace serves, managed to claim the set by 6-1.

In the semi-finals, Sahishnu fought hard to defeat Savneet Singh Bajwa by 4-6, 7-5 and 6-2 while Anmol beat Kunwar Aishwarya by 7-5 and 6-2.

Chandigarh, February 10
The third tournament of Chandigarh Golf Academy (CGA) Juniors 2013-14 kicked off at the Chandigarh Gold Club here today.

Chandigarh, February 10
Panjab University judokas (in men’s category) secured the runners-up position in the All-India Inter-University Judo Championship for Men and Women, organised by Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, from February 6 to 8.

In the men’s category, members of Panjab University won a gold medal and three silver medals along with a bronze medal. The women’s team of Panjab University also won three bronze medals in the same championship.

Results

Men: Vishal of GGDSD College, Sector 32- First in 73 Kg; Vikas Thakur of SCD Government College, Ludhiana- Second in 56 Kg; Rahul of SGGS College, Sector 26- Second in 66 Kg; Jaswinder Singh of SGGS College, Sector 26- Second in 81 Kg; Nitin of SGGS College, Sector 26- Third in 60 Kg; Women: Anjali of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town, Ludhiana- Third in 48 Kg; Seema of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town, Ludhiana- Third in 57 Kg and Suman of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town, Ludhiana- Third in Open Weight category.

Chandigarh, February 10
Men’s basketball team of Panjab University attained the second spot in the recently concluded All-India Inter-University Basketball Championship, organised by Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. The championship was conducted from February 3 to 8.

In the finals of the All-India level competition, PU cagers faced defeat against Hindustan University, Chennai. The latter got better off Panjab University by 72-62. Earlier, in the beginning of the tournament, Panjab University defeated Pt Ravi Shankar University, Raipur, by 79-48.

Later, in the semi-finals, PU cagers marched ahead to finals by defeating Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, by 93-74. Hindustan University, Chennai, won the championship followed by Panjab University, Chandigarh, securing the runners-up spot. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and Jain University, Bangalore, secured the third and fourth position, respectively.

Mohali, February 10
Indo Global Colleges celebrated their 11th Annual Sports Meet here today. Around 900 students competed in athletics, including track events, long jump, high jump, javelin and discuss throw and hurdles.

Team events, including cricket, football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis and badminton were organised.

Akshay Manhas of Mechanical Department won the first position in the 400 m and 800 m track race while Gaurav Lakra from IT Department claimed the top spot in 200 m race

In the girls’ category, Gurpreet Kaur bagged the first position in 100 m and 200 m. — TNS

Chandigarh, February 10
Junior golfers played the ‘Playing on Course’ game under the guidance of Harmeet Kahlon, director of Academy of Golf from Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

A total of five players attended the teaching session that included basics of golf, putting, alignment, techniques and golf etiquettes.