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3 get life term for Khushpreet’s murder
Chandigarh, April 18 While pronouncing the order sentencing the convict brothers, Sukhdev Singh and Gurwinder Singh, and their servant Nand Kishore to life imprisonment today, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Atul Kaswana said the accused had a motive and demanded ransom for the release of Khushpreet Singh and "this circumstance connected the accused with the crime". “The chain of circumstances proved by the prosecution is so complete that it leaves a reasonable ground to draw the conclusion that the accused in all human probability committed the murder,” the court said. Asserting that the motive was clear, the court said the child had identified the accused and they killed him with the intention of screening themselves from legal punishment,” the court said. “The prosecution has also proved that accused Sukhdev Singh and Gurwinder Singh, along with Nand Kishore, kept Khushpreet Singh in detention after kidnapping him in order to compel his father, Lakhbir Singh, to give ransom,” the court said. Five-year-old Khushpreet was kidnapped for ransom from Burail village on December 21, 2010. His body was recovered on January 5, 2011, from a pit in Phase X, Mohali. The three convicts, who were Khushpreet’s neighbours, had kidnapped the child for ransom. Sukhdev, the mastermind behind the kidnapping, was under a heavy debt and thus hatched the conspiracy. They killed the child after he recognised Sukhdev as his neighbour while in captivity. The child was given intoxicants for 14 days when he was confined by the convicts. The police had received a lot of flak after the child was found murdered as a police trap laid to arrest the kidnappers when they had come to collect the ransom amount had failed. There was a huge public outcry and violent protests against the police after the murder. It was only after three months of the crime that the accused were finally arrested on the basis of technical surveillance. Three policemen
yet to be punished
While three officers found guilty of mishandling the Khushpreet murder case were punished with
forfeiture of increments, the orders are yet to be implemented. Those indicted were Inspector Uday Pal Singh, Inspector Narinder Patial and Sub-Inspector Balraj Singh. The three policemen were found guilty during a magisterial probe, which had been initiated after Khushpreet's death. The policemen had filed an appeal against the findings of the magisterial probe and the punishment in the office of Home Secretary Anil Kumar, who accepted the plea and forwarded it to the office of the IG, Chandigarh, which is still pending. The punishment of forfeiture of increments is yet to be implemented.
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Victim’s, convicts’ kin come to blows
Chandigarh, April 18 It all started when three women, including the wife of one of the convicted brothers and their sister, were allowed by their counsel to meet the convicts in the court, much to the chagrin of Khushpreet’s family members, who objected to it. The relatives of both parties moved out of the court and continued fighting during which they hurled abuses and slapped each other. The judge was yet to
pronounce the orders at that time. The scuffle during which Khushpreet’s mother and aunt as well as the wife of one of the convicts and their sister slapped and beat up each other occurred right outside the court of ADJ Atul Kaswana. The UT police were again caught napping and swung into action only after a violent scuffle was witnessed and cordoned off the area. More than 60 residents of Burail village were also present outside the court today to hear the final orders. Kamaljit Kaur was manhandled and slapped by relatives of the convicts outside the court and she also, in turn, slapped the wife of one of the convicts. “Their relatives should meet them in Burail jail; the court is not the place to meet them,” said Kulwinder Kaur. “I was also slapped by the wife of one of the convicts and I defended myself by slapping her. They took my child away from me," said Kulwinder Kaur while breaking down in the court. The violence was controlled by the police. A huge crowd of Burail residents also tried to attack the convicts when they were being taken to the Bakshikhana. Khushpreet’s relatives hurled abuses and cursed the convicts and their relatives while venting out their anger. Later, Khushpreet’s relatives also staged a protest outside the court. “We are satisfied with the order; the convicts will die for the rest of their life in prison,” said Khushpreet’s father, Lakhbir Singh.
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Road safety: Close illegal crossings in medians, Admn told
Chandigarh, April 18 The Administration has also been asked to consider the feasibility of providing rough “paving/stones at the zebra crossings instead of just demarcating zebra crossings with white lines”. Taking up the traffic safety case, Justice Bhalla asserted: “The UT shall file a detailed affidavit with respect to the location, nature and dimension of the cycle tracks and whether lights have been provided." “The UT shall also ensure that all unauthorised cuts in berms are closed forthwith. An affidavit should also be filed with respect to the progress of installing CCTV cameras." Referring to the traffic hazards on the outskirts, Justice Bhalla directed: “A necessary decision on a working traffic plan vis-ŕ-vis the bus stand constructed in Zirakpur should be taken within 15 days and placed before this court…." “The Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police and the Dera Bassi MC shall ensure that no person accesses the national highway without legal authority. A detailed affidavit with respect to compliance should be filed….” The HC had on a previous date of hearing directed the Administration to make operational the cycle tracks in the city. The HC had also made it clear that the Administration should ensure easy identification and utilisation of the tracks. It had further directed the Administration to deploy extra Home Guards volunteers to regulate the traffic. The HC had also taken note of the fact that the bus stand constructed in Zirakpur was without a proper exit. Justice Bhalla asked the authorities concerned to come up with a detailed plan. It had further reproached the Mohali and Panchkula authorities for their inability to regulate traffic in Zirakpur and Panchkula. The Bench had asserted that the practice of loading vehicles and boarding of passengers near the flyover was still a major cause of concern and a safety hazard. The Bench was of the view that buses were still not being parked in the service lane; and directed the Mohali DC and the SSP to file an affidavit on the functioning of the bus stand and further arrangements for traffic regulation in Zirakpur. Justice Bhalla had also taken a serious note of illegal hoardings and banners in Panchkula; and directed the Panchkula Municipal Corporation to file a status report on the issue. The Bench also directed the Panchkula administration to install CCTV cameras at vital public places such as malls, markets, parking lots, light points and roundabouts. The Bench also recommended night vision camera with video recording.
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Principal, driver arrested; get bail
Hina Rohtaki Tribune News Service
Panchkula, April 18 Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ashwin Shenvi said, “Wilful omissions were found on the part of the school management, which violated almost every norm or direction issued in the Namit Kumar case. That is why the action was taken.” Commissioner of Police Ajay Singhal said, “No stone will be left unturned to implement the court directions.” While the principal of Durga Public School, Barwala, Rita Singla, was arrested under Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) and 336 (act endangering the life or personal safety of others) of the IPC, the driver was arrested for rash and negligent driving causing death. Singhal said the Panchkula police had issued notices to all schools in the commissionerate for complying with the norms fixed for school buses and vans. “Next week onwards, we will start issuing challans to drivers of school buses violating the norms. If need be, we will also impound the vehicles,” said Singhal. Natasha's family members and irate villagers had yesterday blocked the busy Panchkula-Yamunanagar National Highway No. 73 by keeping her body on the road in front of the Barwala police post.
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'Low’ solar power tariff UT Dept of Science & Technology says JERC’s decision will jeopardise solar power project Rajinder Nagarkoti Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 18 The JERC had recently approved selling solar power to the UT Electricity Department at the rate of Rs1.13 per unit, as against Rs 8.75 per unit, the price the Chandigarh Renewable Energy Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) had demanded in a petition filed on behalf of the UT Department of Science and Technology. Santosh Kumar, Director, UT Department of Science and Technology, and CREST CEO, said the JERC move would endanger the future solar power projects in Chandigarh. “The Commission has not considered any capital cost and the tariff is fixed at a low rate of Rs 1.13 per unit only,” he added. The project had hit a roadblock after the UT Electricity Department raised certain objections. To get the project going, the CREST agreed to make amendments in the draft proposal which was submitted before the JERC. In its petition filed with the JERC last year, the CREST had sought permission to sell power to the UT Electricity Department at Rs 8.75 per unit. In the past two years, the CREST has installed solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plants on government buildings. The plants can jointly generate 2790 KWp of power. These government buildings included the Model Central Burail Jail in Sector 45, Paryavaran Bhawan in Sector 19, Government Model Senior Secondary School in Sector 46, Government College of Commerce and Business Administration in Sector 42 and GCG-11 among other places. The aim of installation of these SPV power plants was to produce electricity that could be put to use in the buildings, thus cutting down on the power bills. Grid interactive solar voltage power plants (GISVPP) were also installed so as to transfer the extra power supply to the main grid of Chandigarh.
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Firing: Protest in Mullanpur
Mohali, April 18 Protesters raised slogans against the government on the occasion and demanded quick action against the attackers. Kang said the police must arrest the suspects by Monday. Otherwise, the stir would be intensified, added Kang. “There is no law and order in the area and people believe that only ‘jungle raj’ prevails in the area,” said the MLA. Residents have threatened to boycott the elections if no action was taken in this regard. Sub-Inspector Harbans Singh, who is investigating the case, said the police have rounded up 15 to 20 persons for questioning. According to information, three motorcycle-borne persons had opened fire at a jeweller, Goldy, near his shop in Mullanpur last evening. He was carrying a bag containing cash and jewellery. The victim has sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh. His condition is stated to be serious. The police have registered a case under Sections 394 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25 and 27-54-59 of the Arms Act against three unidentified persons on the complaint of Gurpreet
Verma.
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UT Admn to file reply in SC next week
Rajinder Nagarkoti Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 18 The Administration will file its reply to the three petitions filed against the project. Two of the petitions were filed by the Sarin Memorial Legal Aid Foundation, while the third one was filed by a PIL petitioner, Alok Jagga. On these petitions, the Supreme Court had sought the UT’s reply on or before April 22. The petitioners have challenged the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s August 21, 2013, order giving green signal to the Tata project, subject to the company getting all necessary clearances. The petitioners said the proposed project would destroy the fragile ecology of the region, comprising Sukhna Lake, Shivalik range and a wildlife sanctuary. The petitioners pleaded that allowing the construction of towers would prove catastrophic. The petition states the mammoth project spread over 52 acre will have 1,800 apartments, which will destroy the fragile ecology of the region, as the plan is to have 19 towers, each 92m high with 28 floors. “The northern face of the original city of Chandigarh comprises Sectors 2, 3, 4 and 5. In all the said sectors combined, there will be less than half the number of houses (as compared to the Tata project). In the face of the fact that the project admittedly falls within the (Sukhna Lake) catchment area as per the map of the Survey of India, the High Court erred in lifting the ban only on the Tata project,” the petition stated. The Punjab and Haryana High Court in its order on August 21, 2013, had cleared decks for the Tata Camelot Housing Project, which falls in the Sukhna catchment area, by vacating a stay on the construction of the housing project. The court had ruled that no other construction activity would be allowed in the catchment area. It had also made it clear that the housing project wwould be allowed only after the builders obtained all mandatory clearances from the Central and state government authorities. The project’s fate has been hanging in the balance since November 2010 when it was challenged in the HC. Timeline Nov 17, 2010: HC takes suo motu notice of a news item and also issues notice on a PIL filed against the project Jan 20, 2011: HC stays the project Jan 13, 2012: On Tata’s plea, Supreme Court orders HC Chief Justice to dispose of the case at the earliest Feb 15, 2012: HC reserves its judgment Mar 26, 2012: HC disposes of the PIL with directions to obtain permissions Aug 21, 2013: HC clears the deck for construction of the project Oct 7, 2013: SC stays HC orders, maintains status quo on the project
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Housing Board penalised
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 18 The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the CHB to pay the interest on Rs 70,000 (earnest money ) at the saving bank interest rate and also pay Rs 7,000 to the complainant for mental agony.Ashok Kumar, complainant, alleged that he being an employee of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, applied for a flat and deposited Rs.70,000 in response to the scheme floated by the CHB in 2008. The complainant remained unsuccessful in the draw. He visited the office of the opposite party many a time to get the money refunded but to no avail. He received the refund finally on February 7, 2013.The complainant contended that since the CHB had failed to return the amount well within time, the former was entitled to the interest on the delayed payment."The amount of Rs 70,000 should have been refunded to the complainant immediately instead of retaining the same till February 7, 2013”, the forum ruled.
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Finally, meter installed in
Panchkula
Kundi connection was being used to power hoardings Hina Rohtaki Tribune News Service
Panchkula, April 18 Now, a meter has been installed and no direct supply is being taken through the transformer. Earlier, a burnt meter hung around the pole and supply from the transformer was being taken. On Thursday, Chandigarh Tribune reported how right under the nose of the the Panchkla Municipal Corporation (MC), the power for advertisement hoardings in sector 6 were being drawn illegally using a kundi connection. It was found that 12 Kilowatt power was being supplied to four hoardings with the help of a kundi connection from a transformer. Sources said that the power was being taken illegally for the last eight months. Three halogen lights of about 1000-2000 watts were put up on each hoarding. The contract of the hoardings is given to a private company in Panchkula that gives a rent of about Rs 1.08 crore on a yearly basis to the Panchkula Municipal Corporation.
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Panchkula, Chandimandir’s water share to be
delayed
Chandigarh, April 18 Sham Lal, Xen (Public Health), said, “The pipelines to supply the water has been laid and now, they are in the process of installing machineries at the Sector 39 water works from where the water will be supplied. It will take few more months to install the machinery after which Panchkula and Chandimandir will get their share of water”, he added. The water has to be released to Panchkula and the Chandimandir area as per the water-sharing agreement signed by Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana governments in 1983. Punjab is already taking its share from Bhakra dam, but Haryana’s portion was being used by Chandigarh since then. At present, the water availability of UT is 87 MGD. Of it, 67 MGD comes form Kajauli canal, which is about 27 kilometers from Chandigarh, and the remaining 20 MGD is generated through tubewells. The MC is already supplying 3 MGD water to Chandimandir. The MC plans to install 40 new tubewells in the city to meet the city’s demand during summers as it goes up to 116 MGD. Since 9 MGD is to be supplied to Panchkula and Chandimandir, the city will be left with only 79 MGD of water.
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CII’s four-day exhibition gets going with cool offers
Chandigarh, April 18 The new launches included inverter heat pump AC that retains power and sustains the temperature during fluctuations. The WiFi AC can be operated through a mobile app even when the user is not at home. “With the Coolex 2014, the CII aims at bringing the latest green technologies and energy-saving cooling solutions at attractive prices for residents and other commercial establishments in the Tricity,” said Pikender Pal Singh, regional director, CII. Earlier, UT Home Secretary Anil Kumar inaugurated the exhibition.
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International flights from Mohali in two months if NDA voted to power, says NK Sharma
Our Correspondent
Mohali, April 18 Sharma, who was addressing an election rally in support of Prem Singh Chandumajra, SAD-BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha elections from the Anandpur Sahib constituency, in Phase XI here last evening, said shortage of sand and gravel would also end as permission for mining and setting up crushers would be given. He sought votes in the favour of Chandumajra so as to strengthen the hands of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Sharma said if the SAD-BJP combine won all the seats in the state, Badal would be able to get a lot of benefits from the Centre for the state. As it would be an ally of the BJP-led government at the Centre, it would have a say in formation of policies.
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Degrees conferred on 665 students
Chandigarh, April 18 Out of these 665 students, 352 were from the
UIET, Chandigarh, 160 from the UICET and 153 from the UIET, Hoshiarpur. As many as 70 meritorious students of the
UIET, Chandigarh, 51 of the UIET, Hoshiarpur, and a number of students from the UICET were also honoured on the
occasion. Manoj Chugh, global head, business development, Mahindra
Satyam, was the chief guest and Ashwani Sharma, executive director, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, was the guest of
honour. In his convocation address, Manoj Chugh motivated the students by giving humorous and inspiring examples on how the world is changing rapidly. He said the technology was transforming the world. Touching an instant chord with the students, he gave practical examples of the social media and said the students now had the power of Internet, technology and social ecosystem. “The virtual and real world were coming together and every industry is transforming fast,” he
said. Ashwani Sharma, executive director of the Refineries Division of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, described the convocation as a day of recognition for the success that has come through hard work and
dedication. PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Arun Kumar talked about the challenges and opportunities for engineering students. The first five finest students of each year were also presented with 'vitalizing' certificates. More than 600 students attended the ceremony and were awarded degrees according to their grade points.
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Chandigarh College of
Architecture
Chandigarh, April 18 The COA is planning to complete the inspection of the college before the due date of the admissions for the next batch. The UT Administration has sent a communication to the COA requesting it to conduct the inspection of the CCA as per the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972, in order to get the affiliation of the COA for the next academic session 2014-15. COA president Professor Uday C Gadkari said usually the council team took around one-and-a-half month to inspect the college but keeping in view the ensuing admission session they would try to complete the process at the earliest. He revealed that a compliance report had been asked from the UT Administration for the inspection of the college. On the basis of the observation of the COA experts’ inspection team, which visited the college on May 15 and 16, 2012, the college affiliation was cancelled for the next session of 2014-15. The college was asked to recruit adequate faculty, especially the senior, at the level of professor, set up a computer laboratory with licenced software and also upgrade the labs and instruments. The council had also asked the college to deposit the inspection charges of Rs 50,000. — TNS
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Farewell party
Kharar: GGS Polytechnic College of GGS-Sachdeva Group of Educational Institutions, Kharar, organised a farewell party, “Sayonara 2014”, on Friday to give a warm send off to the final-year students. Noted Punjabi singer and actor Gippy Grewal and famous Bollywood actress Zarine Khan, both lead actors in an upcoming Punjabi movie, “Jatt James Bond”, gave scintillating performances. Singer Ranjit Bawa also performed. Diplomatic syndicate
Chandigarh: “Les
Amis”, an NGO of PEC students, organised “fourth front: a diplomatic syndicate”, an all-India political party meet, showcasing participation from top brass schools and colleges of the Tricity at Chandigarh Judicial Academy, Sector 43, on Friday. Dr Veer Singh, director of academics at Chandigarh Judicial Academy, was the chief guest and judge of the event. During the event, participants represented ministers of their preferences and built consensus on the agenda “division of existing states and formation of new states”. Guest lecture
The Desh Bhagat University Faculty of Business Management and Commerce organised a guest lecture on learning managerial value from our scriptures. Technocrat-turned-management thinker Dr Jagdish Khattri was the key speaker on the occasion. While speaking on the occasion, University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Dr Shalini Gupta said: “Values are must for every person and our country's value system is much stronger than others”. In his lecture, Jagdish Khattri discussed the importance of values for a human being. Applications
invited
Centre for IAS and Other Competitive Examinations, Panjab University, has invited applications for admission to the coaching classes for the
UGC-NET examination. The candidates can apply at the centre by May 3. The application forms are also available at the website
http://iasc.puchd.ac.in/. Coaching classes will commence from May 5. - TNS
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35 students from Dhanas honoured
Chandigarh, April 18 Dharennavar said these 35 students would be given scholarships for a year and would also be provided with Punjabi books. He said the endeavour was being taken to promote and support non-Punjabi students to take Punjabi as their first subject in Class IX. “Students in Dhanas have a passion for learning the Punjabi language. It is interesting to know that out of 35 students, a majority are non-Punjabis and Muslims,” he said. Though Dharennvar is a sociology Professor, he has being teaching Punjabi at various places. He has translated Sri Jap Ji Sahib, Sri Sukhmani Sahib and Zafaranam into his native Kannada language. At present, he is working on translating Sri Guru Granth Sahib into Kannada.
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International Olympiad
Panchkula, April 18 The school average in the Olympiad of Mathematics, Information Technology and Science is much higher than the national average reflecting the high standards of academic achieved by the students and the school. The students have put up brilliant performance in the second level of the International Informatics Olympiad - 2013 organised by the Computer Literacy Foundation, New Delhi. Yash Vabhav Bhardwaj has bagged the first position in India by scoring 100 per cent marks and will be receiving a cash prize of Rs 10,000. Saarthak Goyal of Class IV, Swapnil of Class VI and Aditya Sharma of Class VII have stood first in Haryana. In the second level of the International Olympiad of English Language, Anushka Aggarwal of Class X has bagged the first position in India and has won a mini laptop. In the International Olympiad of Science, Drishti Kharbanda of Class X has stood first in Haryana and third in India. Drishti will be awarded a cellphone. Harshdeep Singh and Ananya Bhatt of Class V have secured first positions in Haryana. In the International Olympiad of Mathematics, Akash Gupta, Ananya Aggarwal, and Muskan
of Class VI have secured the first position at the state level in their respective categories at the final level. Sandeep Sardana, principal of the school, lauded the efforts of the students and the teachers alike.
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‘Talking books’ to make learning process easier
Panchkula, April 18 The Gurukul in Sector 20, here, has got the "talking books" for its students. The dolphin teacher with each book would teach the child. Till now, the highest level of innovation in the books was “Touch and Feel”, “Scratch n Sniff” or “books with pop-up pictures”. But this book itself speaks with the help of a special decoder (dolphin teacher), which narrates and explains the chapters, even rhymes and vocabulary. “These books have bar coded characters and pictures that are recognised by a dolphin pen. The dolphin reads the story aloud, which makes the learning process a lot of fun,” said Harsimran Kaur, principal of the school. She said: “The habit of reading storybooks, which is dying these days, is being rekindled through the 'talking books'. These books also help in developing listening skills, pronunciation and sentence structure in an autonomous way”. “The ‘dolphin teacher’ is supported by a battery and it runs for a week after being charged. When the students hear the characters of the story speaking, it gives shape to their imaginative world. They relate to these books as they are technically advanced and do not require computers,” said a teacher. Till now, these books have been introduced in primary classes. They would be introduced in other classes soon.
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FROM SCHOOLS Chandigarh: Sharda Sarvhitkari Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 40-D, celebrated World Heritage Day on its campus here on Friday. A paper-reading contest was also organised. Easter egg hunt event Panchkula: Over 700 students of the middle section of Satluj Public School, Sector 4, here, took part in an Easter egg hunt event held on the school grounds. The story of Easter and the significance of the Easter egg were told to the students. Good Friday observed Mohali: Sherwood Convent School observed Good Friday. The school showed a short video to the students on Passion Week and the last days of Jesus Christ before he was crucified. Principal of the school told the students about the importance of Good Friday. Genius Public School Genius Public School observed Good Friday. Students of senior classes were asked to make different pictures on the day. Dental workshop A dental workshop was conducted at St Soldiers by Dr Mohit Dhawan. It was held to apprise the junior school students of the do's & dont's for their dental health.
— TNS
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