Chandigarh, March 14
The statement of the five-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped by her neighbour and then abandoned, was recorded before the Magistrate today.

The girl identified the accused. The victim narrated the trauma she went through when the accused raped her.

However, the victim’s father alleged that there was one more accused in the case who has been let off by the police. “My daughter is identifying the other accused, named Sajan, and says he had tied her mouth with a cloth and left her. Even then the police have taken no action against him,” he said.

However, she didn’t mention about the other accused when her statement was recorded in the court.

Yesterday, the police had arrested 35-year-old Sanjay Kumar under Section 376 of the IPC.

On March 12, the accused took the girl to a deserted area in Mauli Jagran on the pretext of buying her a chocolate and raped her. Later, he dumped the profusely bleeding victim on the roadside. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 14
The Chandigarh Police today virtually placed their own personnel in the dock for negligence in the Sharmila accident case.

In a status report submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Chandigarh Police claimed that no less than seven police personnel had been indicted for negligence, including women constables and an assistant sub-inspector. The status report also suggested initiation of action against them.

Sharmila was crushed by a CTU bus in Sector 10 on May 7 last year. The police allegedly failed to rush the injured woman to a hospital that was about 100 m away, as the SHO reached the spot two hours late.

Sharmila’s husband too had died in October 2012 due to alleged negligence of the Panchkula police, which delayed timely medical assistance.

As the case came up for resumed hearing this morning, amicus curiae or friend of the court Onkar Singh Batalvi said the financial aid for the children of the victim was being released, but prior to the court hearing.

He also asked the court to direct the payment of the amount by the seventh of every month.

Batalvi had earlier told it that Sharmila was taking care of both children after her husband’s death. She had also taken up the issue of compensation for the negligent death of her husband.

"Now both children have become orphan on account of negligence on the part of the Chandigarh and Panchkula authorities, the governments concerned should not only provide them monetary assistance but should also secure some job for them for their survival in future,” he had submitted.

Virtually admonishing the Chandigarh Police for shielding the police personnel in the Sharmila case, the HC on a previous date of hearing had directed that independent witnesses in the matter would not be exempted from recording their statements against the erring police personnel.

The HC had also told the administration to give at least a week’s prior notice to the witnesses before summoning them for recording their statements.

The directions came after Batalvi informed the Bench that attempts were apparently being made by the UT Administration to shield the erring cops. Batalvi said the authorities were giving one-day prior notice to prevent the independent witnesses from giving evidence against the erring cops before the departmental probe. The Bench was also told that the authorities concerned have started moving applications before the probe panel for exempting the independent witnesses from making deposition.

"By adopting such measures, the authorities are making the departmental probe an eyewash to save the erring cops responsible for the victim's death due to negligence," Batalvi said.

He added that the UT Home Department had disbursed three months' maintenance allowance to the children of Sharmila in accordance with the HC directions.

Panchkula, March 14
In a major breakthrough in the murder case of the driver of Marketing board that took place in May 2013, the police today revealed that the victim, Jitender, was murdered by his own friend Ram Kishan due to his alleged relations with Kishan’s wife.

Ram Kishan was arrested by the Panchkula police today. The victim was found dead in Sector 15 on May 26, 2013, near a park. The postmortem report revealed several injury marks on his private parts. It was only after the viscera report from the Central Forensic Science laboratory and doctor’s opinion that a case of murder was registered by the police on February 26, 2014.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Adarshdeep Singh said Ram Kishan was also working as a driver with the Marketing board. During interrogations he stated that Jitender was having illicit relations with his wife Neetu.

On the day of incident, when Jitender was travelling in the official vehicle, Ram Kishan accompanied him. They entered into a scuffle on the way. In order to save himself, Jitender got down the vehicle and tried to run but Ram Kishan held him and hit him repeatedly with a brick. Later, Kishan dumped his body near a park and fled,” stated the police.

The police also said the accused did not leave any evidence on the spot.

Inspector Baljeet, station house officer of the Sector 14 police station, solved the murder with his team.

Chandigarh, March 14
A team of the Chandigarh Police Crime Branch along with the enforcers of the Intellectual Property Rights (EIPR) raided six shops in Sector 22-B and seized duplicate Samsung accessories worth over Rs 60 lakh.

During the enforcement action, the EIPR representatives and cops have seized duplicate mobile accessories that were being stored and sold under the brand name of Samsung. A total of six people have been arrested in this connection. — TNS

Mohali, March 14
Two thieves targeted three cars in Sector 78 and took away their tyres last night. The unidentified thieves apparently belong to well-off families as they came in a white Verna car.

“The CCTV footage showed that one of the thieves was wearing turban. They came at 1.38 am and took just 15 minutes to steal tyres of our Swift car,” said Sukhdeep Singh Sandhu, one of the victims. Sandhu’s son had parked the car in front of their house (number 773) at around 12 midnight. Sandhu added that they were shocked to see the car lying on bricks in the morning.

The other two victims were Hardip Singh of house number 469 and Daljit Singh of house number 474. The thieves took away all the tyres of the Polo car belonging to Hardip Singh and of the I-20 car of Daljit Singh.

“It seemed that some gang has been active in the area. As the police presence is missing during night hours in Mohali, thieves are striking at their will,” lamented area residents.

Notably, some miscreant(s) had also targeted a Zen car, which is lying without wheels at the paid parking of the Mohali bus stand at Phase 8.

The car, bearing the registration number HP 11B 0900, was parked in the parking lot around one month ago. The car owner said the parking contractor was responsible in case of theft or damage to vehicles parked there. “So, the owner refused to take the car till the contractor paid for the tyres that were removed while the car was parked at the parking lot. We have registered a case and investigations are on,” said Inspector Gurdip Singh, SHO, Phase 8 police station.

Mohali, March 14
Three persons, including two women, died and two others were injured in four separate accidents occurred in the past 48 hours here.

Dilbar Singh of Kalhedi village died today after being hit by an unidentified speedy vehicle in Kurali.

Dilbar, who was in his early thirties, was returning to his home from his workplace when an unidentified vehicle hit his motorcycle from behind. He died on the spot. Meanwhile, Swarndeep Kaur of Hasanpur village and Manjit Kaur of Kurukshetra were killed near Khanpur bridge in Kharar in separate accidents yesterday. Cases have been registered in all incidents. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 14
Determined to prove that passion can combat any challenge, city-based woman motorist Vaneeta Kang is all geared up to give her male contenders a tough competition on the dicey terrains of 27th SJOBA Thunderbolt Sub-Himalayan Open Rally that would be flagged off on March 22.

Driven by the adrenaline of speed and the quest for excitement, Vaneeta, who is the only female contender in the league, said: “For the first time in my life I would be competing in the extreme leg. Though last year I had taken part in the Raid De Himalayas, Santa-Banta Car Rally and Speed Sprint Rally, this year I thought of testing my skills in the next level.”

The motorist, who is also an entrepreneur, said: “My biggest support has been my family, it was my husband who motivated me get into the sport and since then I have fallen in love with the mean machine. Speed and adventure thrills me.”

Mother of a 12-year-old son, Vaneeta, said, “Motor sporting has still not made it to the list of favourite and preferred sports category in North India, especially among women as it involves a lot of risk and money. However, I feel women can dominate more in this field if they give it a shot.”

With big plans in the pipeline that include competing more in motor sport leagues post the event, the motorist said, “So far, my strategy has been to concentrate on safety measures and finding a female navigator for myself, I want to prove that when women take to wheels they can beat anybody on my terrain.”

On a piece of advice for her competitors, she said: “Drive safe, for this competition will test the survival of the fitness and strongest both mentally and physically.”

Chandigarh, March 14
"Born to race" is their mantra, driving mean machines is what gets them going and their only aim is to finish at the podium spot. The 'Thunderbolt' team members, who are the top contenders of the SJOBA Thunderbolt Sub-Himalayan Open Rally, are all set to hit the tracks.

Leading from the front team, captain Harpreet Singh Bawa, who has been on the tracks since 2000, said: "I took no formal training before I started racing, with no background in the field, the first hurdle that I had to overcome was to learn to drive safely with caution and to keep the vehicle intact."

On what makes the event interesting this year, he said: "This year a 11-km riverbed stretch has been introduced in the track that will increase the level of difficulty and adventure in it."

The squad includes six drivers, navigators and bikers. The navigator of the team, Jatinder Singh, who has been with the team since 2007, said: "The toughest terrain to compete is desert, which includes a 105-km night stage. The job of a navigator is equally challenging as a driver since it involves taking care of time, GPS and road books."

Jatinder said over the years the sport had marked its presence in the region.

"The game still has not got its due recognition due to the lack of financial assistance from the government and the sponsors. "Only a few motorist get sponsors. While others have to spend every penny from their own pocket," he added.

Panchkula, March 14
The annual athletics meet of First Step Montessori School, Panchkula, was held at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here today.

Over 250 students competed under various categories to claim the top spots.

Speaking on the occasion, Madhu Trehan, principal of the School said: "We were one of the few to adopt the edusports curriculum wherein the technical qualified instructors work on the agility and fitness of students."

Prabhat was adjudged as the best athlete of the year. In the relay 4x50 M Relay Race, Disha, Nipun and Akshara bagged the first three positions while in the 50-M flat race Shresth, Amaye and Kushan bagged the top positions. The long jump witnessed a tough competition with Ajitesh, Vishwender and Guntaas bagging the first three positions. Rasmi won the 'steep chase' race in the girls' category, whereas Vishwender won it in the boys' category.