The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Ghaggar river bed
Illegal quarrying goes on with impunity
Bipin Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service

Dera Bassi, April 23
Despite a ban, quarrying is going on unchecked at the Ghaggar river bed right under the nose of authorities concerned for the past couple of months.

Taking the benefit of the unclear boundary of Bakarpur and Chhat villages at the Ghaggar river bed, a clan of politically well-connected persons is allegedly involved in illegal quarrying in connivance with the local police.

Violators of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act-1957 are having a field day with the officials of all government departments busy in the Lok Sabha elections.

Though the issue was brought to the notice of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Dera Bassi, last month, those involved in the illegal trade are operating during the night.

“Since demand and supply graph of the construction material has witnessed a downward trend due to the ban, sand mafia is making a quick buck by selling sand, gravel and loose soil in the grey market,” said Amarjit Singh, a resident of Bhankharpur village.

The illegally quarrying came to light when a sub-divisional officer (SDO) of the Punjab Irrigation Department wrote to the Dera Bassi police in this regard yesterday.

In the application, the SDO told the police that some tractor-trailer owners descend on the Ghaggar river bed during odd hours and indulge in illegal quarrying. They had even challenged the employees of the Irrigation Department deployed at a site of a ready mix concrete plant at Bakarpur village.

Inquiries revealed that tractor-trailer owners reach the spot between 10.30 pm and 11 pm and continue to ferry sand till next day at 3 am.

“Deep pits dug up by officials of the Irrigation Department on the route to the Ghaggar river bed have failed to deter the violators,” said an employee of the department.

Sanjeev Kumar, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Dera Bassi, claimed to have received information about the illegal quarrying at the Ghaggar river bed.

“I have asked the police and the employees of the department concerned to keep a close watch on the quarrying at various places. I will also look into the matter,” the SDM said.

COURTS

district bar association poll
Court allows 57 lawyers to vote
Had been disentitled for being enrolled with bar councils of other states
Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 23
Just over a month after advocates enrolled with other state bar councils were disentitled to cast their votes in the Chandigarh District Bar Association elections, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today allowed 57 lawyers to exercise their right to vote on fulfilling other requirements.

The interim order came on a petition filed by Gurdass Singh Walia and other advocates against the UT District Bar Association and other respondents. The petitioners were seeking directions for setting aside a paragraph in a communication dated March 10, “wherein advocates enrolled with other state bar councils were disentitled to cast their votes in the election of office-bearers”.

Directions were also sought to the respondents to permit voting by advocates denied the right to “exercise their right to vote for the election of office-bearers” despite being members of UT District Bar Association, solely due to the reason that they were enrolled with the bar councils of other states.

The elections are scheduled to be held on April 24, 2014.

The petitioners were members of the UT District Bar Association, where they were practicing as advocates, but were enrolled as lawyers with the bar councils of different states. They were nevertheless not members of any other bar association for the purpose of casting votes, except UT District Bar Association.

Their counsel, Kanwalvir Singh Kang, contended that the circumstances compelling the filing of the present writ petition arose out of total arbitrary, illogical and illegal action of the respondents, wherein the present petitioners were denied a right to vote in the election, despite being members of the UT District Bar Association.

Kang elaborated: “The sole reason assigned to disentitle the members/advocates is that they are enrolled with the bar council of other states and not with the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana.Such an action is in conflict with the rules and regulations of the District Bar Association, Chandigarh, as well as the rules and regulations of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association. It was also against the principles of natural justice”.

murder outside school
Three get life imprisonment
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 23
The Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Shalini Nagpal today sentenced three youths to life imprisonment for stabbing to death a 24-year-old man outside the Sector 19 Government School in 2011. The court also slapped a fine of Rs 20,000 on each convict.

As per the prosecution case, convicts Ashwini, Hanish, and Harish were charged for the murder of Pushkar Singh outside Government Model School in Sector 19 in September 2011. The fourth accused in the case is a juvenile and the case against him is pending before the juvenile court. Two convicts, Ashini and Hanish, were students of Government Model School in Sector 19 when the incident occurred. Hanish is the son of a woman UT police constable.

The incident took place on September 26, 2011, when two school students of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 19, accompanied by the third accomplice, Harish, had brutally stabbed 24-year-old Pushkar Singh to death. The victim had intervened to end a scuffle between two groups of school students .The incident occurred just outside the premises of the school and a few metres away from the Sector 19 police station. Pushkar Singh was stabbed several times in the chest by the accused. He had succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. The assault occurred at 10.30 pm when Shalender, a class X student of the school, was attacked by four persons, who came on a bike, as he was walking out of the school premises. The attackers, who came to avenge an old issue, were brutally beating up Shalender when his friend Pushkar intervened to help. Pushkar rushed to save him when the three attackers stabbed Pushkar and fled leaving him in a pool of blood.The prosecution stated that the statements of the main eyewitness in the case Shalender were crucial in leading to the conviction of the three.Pleading for leniency regarding the quantum of sentence the convicts stated, “That they are young boys, students of class XII. Hanish Chauhan further stated that he was the only son of his widowed mother while Harish stated that was the only son of his parents, having two younger sisters.”

High drama by convicts’ kin

As soon as the orders were pronounced on Wednesday, relatives of the convicts broke down and yelled that they were falsely implicated. Hanish’s mother, who is posted as a constable in the Chandigarh Police fell down after the order and said that her son was falsely implicated in the case. Similarly, Ram Narayan, Aswani’s father, and Vijay Pal, Harish’s father, said that they would appeal in the High Court as they had not been given justice and their children were innocent.

Man gets 5-yr jail for kidnapping minor
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 23
A local court today sentenced a man to a five-year imprisonment after holding him guilty in a case of kidnapping a minor and causing harm to him.

The court convicted Dharambir Singh under Section 367 ( kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery, etc.) of the IPC. The court while sentencing the convict also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on him.

The complainant said, the grandfather of the victim on September 28 last year sent his six-year-old grandson to buy milk from a verka store which was located near a gurdwara at Sector 22 D. However, when the child returned he was scared. The child then told him that a man had stopped him on his way back home and sodomised him. The complainant took the child along with him to the spot, and the child pointed towards the convict who was still standing there. The complainant caught hold him and he was identified as Dharambir Singh(40), a resident of Bhaskar Colony. Following which the police were informed and a case was registered against the convict.

Man convicted of sexual harassment

In another case, the same court convicted a man, Ram Kumar, of sexual harassment of a minor girl. According to the police on December 19, 2013, the convict had trespass the house of the victim aged 10 and tried to sexually harass her.

CRIME

Software engineer attacked in Mohali

Mohali, April 23
A software engineer sustained serious injuries after unidentified persons attacked him at Sector 69 here this morning. The victim, Abhilash Chopra (30), a resident of Sector 69, went to drop his son at Genius Public School in the same sector when four-five persons armed with rods and sticks attacked him.

The victim told the police that they (the attackers) came in an Innova car, bearing a Haryana registration number. Abhilash claimed that he could not identify them and had no clue to the motive of the attack.

Inspector Gurdip Singh, station house officer of the Phase VIII police station, said investigations had been started in the case.

“We have registered a case under Sections 323, 341 and 34 of the IPC against the unidentified persons. The details of the vehicle are being extracted,” said inspector Gurdip Singh. — TNS

Son of cop arrested for snatching

Chandigarh, April 23
The UT police have arrested two persons, who allegedly snatched the purse from a woman lecturer. One of the two accused was identified as the son of a serving Head Constable of the Chandigarh Traffic Police.

The accused have been identified as Vishu Sharma (25) and Vikram Sharma (26). They were arrested by the police on Wednesday. Vikram is the son of Ram Gopal, Head Constable, posted with the traffic wing of the UT police. The complainant,, Surinder Kaur, a lecturer at GMSSS, Sector 23, reported to the police that on Tuesday ,while she was going back to her residence after shopping on a scooter, a car (CH-01AS-1387) stopped at the red light junction of Sector 34 and 35. Surinder alleged that a young boy came out of the car and snatched away her purse. The incident was later reported to the police. The victim said the purse had Rs 10,000, one mobile phone and documents.On Wednesday the victim also identified him . Vishu and Vikram were produced in the district court where they were sent to one -day police remand. — TNS

Four persons convicted of dacoity
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, April 23
A local court today convicted four persons, including a woman, and acquitted three others of dacoity. The dacoity took place at the residence of a businessman, last year.

The convicted have been identified as Gokul, Tabassum, Ankush and Imran Sheikh. Due to lack of circumstantial evidence, Sujata, Rajvinder and Tejpal were acquitted.

The quantum of punishment for the convicts would be announced on Friday.

According to information, on May 13, 2013, the accused had barged in the residence of a businessman at Sector 4 and decamped with gold and silver ornaments, cash and other valuable goods. The accused overpowered the persons present in the house and decamped with the items. The owner, a local businessman Rajiv Garg, was not at home at the time of the incident. His son Anirudh Garg (17), his accountant Parveen and a servant Reena were at the house. According to the police, a girl in her early twenties rang the doorbell and asked Anirudh to call his father. It was then that the accused barged in the house with knives and committed the crime.

Thieves strike at five houses in P’kula

Panchkula, April 23
Thieves struck at five houses in two different sectors last night. While four houses fell on the same road in Sector 6, one was in Sector 7. The thieves decamped with cash and jewellery amounting to Rs 10 lakh when they struck at the residence of a businessman in Sector 7 here.

The victim, Satish Chander, was away to Patiala with his family. When he returned home this evening, he found the grill of his house broken. The police said the thieves decamped with six wrist watches, Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh, 20 tolas of gold and other silver ornaments.

Meanwhile, the thieves also targeted four houses in Sector 6 here, including that of a former justice. All families were at home but they did not come to know about the theft.

An LED was stolen from the house of justice Amarjit Chaudhary, while Rs 15,000 was stolen from Rajeev’s house. The thieves decamped with a silver jewellery set from Parabjit Singh’s house and an LED from the house of another resident.

Inspector Malkiat Singh, station house officer of the Sector 5 police station, said it seemed to be the handiwork of the same person. The forensic team was also called on the spot. “Window panes were found broken in the houses but the family members did not come to know about the theft. Our investigations are on,” said Singh.

All four houses fall on the same road. A case has been registered at the Sector 5 police station. — TNS

Two die in road mishaps in Zirakpur
Tribune News Service

Zirakpur, April 23
Two persons, including a woman, died in separate accidents here. In the first incident, the victim, Manju from Gazipur village near here, was walking with her husband, Pritam, when she was hit by a motorcyclist.

Umesh Sahni, a resident of Ashiana Complex, Panchkula, was riding the motorcycle.

Manju sustained head injuries in the accident and was taken to a nearby dispensary at Dhakoli village. She later succumbed to her injuries.

In the second incident, Jasbir Singh of Chhat village was injured when a truck, bearing registration number HR68-5514, hit the car in which the victim was travelling with his friend, Manoj Kumar, on Monday.

Jasbir was shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Sector 32, here.

Later, he was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, where he succumbed to his injuries yesterday.

The police have registered two separate cases at the Zirakpur police station.

One killed, 3 hurt as car overturns

Panchkula, April 23
A man died and his three friends were seriously injured when the car in which they were travelling in hit a tree and overturned near Mauli village last night.

The victims were taken to the General Hospital, Sector 6, here. One of the victims, Rajesh Kumar (30), was declared brought dead, while the others were admitted to the hospital. All of them hailed from Karnal. — TNS

SPORTS

All is well, says Chandigarh Hockey Academy
UT Sports Department yet to initiate action against the goof-ups reported in the recent past
Deepankar Sharda
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 23
The state-run Chandigarh Hockey Academy seems to be least bothered about the recent goof-ups made by the coaches and authorities of the state-run academy. The authorities believe all is well and there is no need to initiate any action in this regard. Till date, the competent authority has not questioned anyone or given any explanation related to the series of goof-ups that were published in these columns. As per a source, the only suggestion the management was given was to keep calm and support each other.

Notably, players from outside the academy were fielded under the banner of Chandigarh Hockey Academy (CHA). It was also revealed that in a certain tournament, a team was supervised by a trainee’s parent and the trainee was the captain of the team for that particular tournament.

When the appointed coach was approached, he said he would do whatever he wants to and that he can manage well. Indeed. So far, no written action has been initiated at the UT Sports Department. And if sources are to be believed, tainted officials and coaches have no problems in continuing their attachment with the UT Sports Council.

Various coaches, staff members and officials at the Sports Department have opposed the ongoing scenario in the department but, with a silent lip. “Many officials have been transferred, some have been promoted, while there are few who are still caught in the web. Nobody is answerable to anyone. The Chandigarh Hockey Academy for boys is another victim of the ongoing scenario. All other academies and even players have fallen victims to pick and choose policy. Supervisors of the team have been taking full advantage of their so-called good links with the top officials. Policies are made in years but changed in minutes,” said a coach, on the condition of anonymity.

Earlier, also no questioning was conducted when the top officials of the UT Sports Department allowed a private firm to use the stadiums on special rates. The department had faced a loss of over Rs 1 lakh at that time. Interestingly, even after the reports, the annual audit staff failed to plug the loophole.

Substandard kits

Players in the state-run Chandigarh Football and Hockey Academy were found living in shabby conditions and their playing kits were found of sub-standard quality. They were purchased at a rate higher than the prevailing market rates.

Many overage players were found playing in the academy. Rather than taking action on the officials, the authorities reduced the contract of the players from seven years to six years.

During a recently held championship, players of the academy were caught playing under a forged team name and the team was supervised by a trainee’s father.

Parents of junior hockey players, who were denied admission to the academy after failing in the age determination test last year, had demanded induction of their wards back in the academy, under the newly approved policy.

The UT Sports Department provided 12 sports venues on concession rates to a private firm, under the patronage of Chandigarh Olympics Association (COA), for a four-day Mini Olympics. The organiser had submitted a total of Rs 31,000 instead of submitting commercial usage charges of above Rs 1, 30,000 in the year 2012.