NEIGHBOURHOOD

Wildlife Dept officials lay trap for leopard
Bipin Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service

Mohali, May 7
The Permanent Lok Adalat (public utility services), Mohali, has quashed the electricity bill of Rs 1,00,003 issued by it to one Jasbir Singh, besides imposing on it Rs 50,000 as damages.

Singh had filed an application before the Permanent Lok Adalat under Section 22-C of the Legal Services Authorities Act alleging that the electricity consumption at his house was between Rs 300 and Rs 500 for two months, but after a new meter was installed, the respondent issued a bill of Rs 32,520.

Singh challenged the correctness of the meter but the same was not tested. Meantime, the meter became defunct.

The respondent issued the bills at an exorbitant rate i.e. Rs 53232, Rs 69056 and Rs 1,00,003.

Singh requested the authority to charge a reasonable amount from him, which they did not agree to and disconnected the power supply in December 2012.

The applicant then challenged the action of the respondents in which a notice was issued to the respondent.

The respondent in its reply did not deny that the electricity bill of the applicant used to be between Rs 300 and Rs 500.

It was admitted that the bill issued to the applicant was incorrect in view of the power load of 0.500 KW.

They claimed to have overhauled the account and found that as against Rs 1,26,974, a sum of Rs 4577 only was due from him.

The applicant deposited the said amount but even thereafter, in the next bill dated March 16, 2014, arrears of Rs 10551 were shown.

Repeated notices were thereafter issued to the SDO, XEN and SC, Electricity, but they did not oppose the application and did not file any documents or affidavits of other evidence.

The Permanent Lok Adalat, while deciding the application, quashed the bill of Rs 1,00,003 and also the subsequent bill dated March 16, 2014, showing arrears of Rs 10551.

It was held that the respondent did not act reasonably towards the consumer because the meter was installed outside his premises and he was not at fault if the meter was running fast or was defunct.

It was observed that as per the regulations of the respondent, a new meter was to be installed within five days failing which the electricity supply should be restored direct from the lines but the respondent did not do that.

The electric supply was restored in June 2013 and during this period, the applicant remained without electricity, thereby causing mental, physical and financial harassment to him.

The Permanent Lok Adalat observed that in such cases the calculation formula, if any, adopted by the respondent to issue the tentative bill is faulty and requires revision.

It is a glaring example that where the actual dues were only Rs 4577, the respondent issued a bill of Rs 1,00,003 which may be difficult, and sometimes impossible, for a consumer to collect such a huge amount to save his connection.

The Permanent Lok Adalat, therefore, set aside the unreasonable bills issued by the respondent and imposed damages of Rs 50,000, besides cost of Rs 5,000 which the respondent is to pay within 30 days from the date of receipt of the order failing which, it will be liable to pay an interest of 12 per cent per annum thereon.

It has also been directed to re-issue the bill keeping in view that the amount of Rs 4577 has been deposited by the applicant.

The PSPCL was free to recover the amount of cost and damages from its officials who did not comply with the regulations.

Mohali, May 7
A local court today sent a Bathinda-based doctor, Parneet Singh, and his mother, Manjit Kaur, to two-day police remand in a dowry case. The mother-son duo was arrested yesterday on the charges of harassing the victim (Parneet Singh’s wife) for dowry.

The case was registered under Sections 406, 498-A and 506 of the IPC against Dr Parneet Singh, his mother Dr Manjit Kaur, his father Dr Sukhdev Singh and his brother Rana Ramneek Singh at the Mataur Police Station on the complaint of the victim, who is also an ENT doctor at the GMCH, Sector 32.

Today, both the accused were produced in the court of the Mohali Judicial Magistrate, which sent them to two-day police remand.

The two other accused, Dr Sukhdev Singh and Rana Ramneek Singh, are yet to be arrested. The doctors’ family has been running a nursing home at Bathinda. — TNS

Zirakpur, May 7
Vigilant residents nabbed a youth red-handed while he was trying to break into a house in Sarv Mangal Society this afternoon. The residents later handed over the suspect to the police.

Joginder Kumar, owner of the house, in a complaint to the police, said he heard some noise outside while sitting in his bedroom. He immediately came out and noticed a stranger trying to break the windowpanes of the house.

Kumar said he raised an alarm and managed to arrest the youth with the help of the neighbours. Later, the residents informed the police about the incident and handed over the youth to them.

Investigating officer Ajit Singh said the accused seemed to be under the influence of any narcotic substance. He was not in a condition to give statement.

The police have started investigations after lodging a complaint in this regard.

Chandigarh, May 7
The UT police have registered a case against an immigration firm for duping a city resident of Rs 3.46 lakh on a false promise of sending him abroad.

In his complaint to the police, Nikhil Kumar, a resident of Sector 56, Chandigarh, stated that Viabhav Raj Arora and Aayush Raj Arora of Sector 37-B, Chandigarh, and others cheated him on the pretext of sending him abroad through an NCLEX course and also threatened him. The case was registered on the directions of the court.

Sector 39 police station SHO Inspector Gurmukh Singh said the accused had an office in Mohali and had taken the money from the complainant but failed to send him abroad. "The case has been registered on the directions of the court and we are investigating," he said.

Chandigarh, May 7
An unidentified woman has been booked for cheating a jeweller in Sector 17 by exchanging a diamond ring worth Rs 1 lakh with an artificial ring.

The UT police today registered a case against the unidentified woman after obtaining a legal opinion. The incident had occurred a month ago.

Gulshan Lal, the owner of Society Jewellers in Sector 17, had reported to the police that a woman posed as a customer and asked their salesman to show diamond rings. On getting an opportunity when the salesman attention was diverted, she replaced the diamond ring with the artificial one she was wearing. She then moved out of the showroom while talking on her phone asking someone to come to the particular shop where she had selected a ring. However, she did not return into the shop.

The salesman counted the number of diamonds rings in the tray but failed to notice that one of them had been replaced with a fake. However, the shopkeepers later realised that one of the rings was artificial and suspected that the woman committed the fraud.

The shop owner informed the police.

A CCTV footage obtained from the shop showed a 'sari'-clad woman looking at diamond rings and then cleverly changing one of them with the one she was wearing.

However, the accused woman's face was not clearly visible in the footage, said investigating officer Sub-Inspector Sohan Lal.

A case of theft and cheating under Sections 380 and 420 of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 17 police station.

Chandigarh, May 7
With a win coming out of the first innings' lead against Patiala, the Amritsar side claimed the trophy of the ML Markan Cricket Trophy for (U-16) boys, today.

Amritsar with 23 points won the title while Patiala with 18 points secured the runners-up position.

In the match, played today, Patiala started their innings from the overnight score of 190 for 6 in 79 overs and went on to score 238 runs in 107 overs.

Tejpreet Singh (53 runs) and Dhruv Verma (44 runs) contributed to the team’s total while for Amritsar, Rahul Kashyap, who claimed 4 for 72, remained the pick of the day.

In the 2nd innings, the Amritsar team were all out at 126 runs in 34 overs. Kunwar Pathak (55 runs) and Surinder (24 runs) were the main scorers for the team.

For Patiala, Prince Balwant Rai damaged Amritsar’s innings by claiming 6 for 29 while Harshdeep Singh took 2 for 22.

Mohali, May 7
In view of the IPL matches to be held in Mohali on May 21, 22 and 25, special arrangements to facilitate the general public should be ensured and proper traffic management should be done during the period.

This was stated by Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Parveen Kumar Thind while addressing a meeting of the officers concerned at the District Administrative Complex.

Thind directed the managers of the Kings IX Punjab team to coordinate with the departments concerned so that timely NOCs could be issued.

He said during the matches, strict compliance with the Tobacco Control Act should be ensured as the Punjab Government had declared SAS Nagar district as a “smoke-free district”.

He directed Additional Civil Surgeon Dr JK Bansal to form a team of two doctors to ensure the implementation of the Tobacco Control Act.

The ADC also asked SP (City) Swarndeep Singh to prepare a route plan for the proper management of traffic during the matches and make arrangements for the proper parking of vehicles.

The Municipal Corporation was directed to maintain proper cleanliness and lighting arrangements in the town.

Panchkula, May 7
The Satluj Stunners' Cricket Academy, Sector 4, defeated Satluj Juniors' Cricket Academy (B-team) by 69 runs, to win the finals of Satluj Cup Cricket Tournament for boys (U-14), concluded, here, today.

The winning side, while batting first, posted 187 runs for 4 wickets in 25 overs.

Ashish Choudhary (51 runs) and Sukhrajbir Gill (38 runs) remained the main scorers for the team. Sahil Vashisht also scored a quick fire 28 off 13 to help his team score big.

In reply, the losing side was bundled out on a mere total of 118 runs with Akash Chamoli (28 runs) and Saksham Thakur (24 runs) scored a major share. In bowling, Sukhrajbir Gill claimed 4 for 13. Ashish Choudhary (2 for 28) and Rishab Nischal (2 for 20) were the other wicket takers.

Ashish Choudhary was declared the man of the match, Aditya Pratap Singh best wicket keeper and best batsman, Sukhrajbir Gill best bowler and man of the series and Suraj Malik best all rounder.

Chandigarh, May 7
In a well-contested final, cagers of Strawberry Fields World School, Sector 26, defeated St Soldier's Public School, Panchkula, to win the finals of Strawberry Fields World School's Inter School Basketball Tournament for Girls (U-14) concluded, here, today.

In the finals, played amidst the home crowd, the host side flipped off the score board in their favour 33-28. Once trailing behind, in eight match, players of Strawberry Fields World School made an excellent comeback and won the game in the last quarter. The second and the last were thrilling matches played between Strawberry Fields and St Soldier's.

After a tough fight between the teams, the Strawberry Fields team was declared the winner (33-28).

In the match to attain the third position, Holy Child School, Panchkula, trashed St Xavier's High School, Panchkula, (30-12). Tarini Boparai of Strawberry Fields was declared the best player of the tournament.

The members of the winning team are Tarini Boparai, Anadya Sibal, Navya Chawla, Soumya Nayyar, Mannat Nurpuri, Sehjnoor Dhillon, Mahira Sood, Kaavya Bogra, Sejal Goyal, Anandita Kapoor, Ananya Anand and Siya Ahuja.

Chandigarh, May 7
Riding high on unbeaten contributions by Satnam Singh and Sher Singh, the Chandigarh Police cricket team defeated Akzo Nobel XI by 8 wickets, in a match of the ongoing Mohali Industries Association (MIA) T-20 Cricket Championship, held here.

Batting first, the losing side posted 96 runs in the allotted slot of 20 overs with both Sushil (36 runs) and Sandeep (22 runs) contributing their major share.

For the Chandigarh Police, Jaswinder claimed (3 for 10), Yash Dhiman (2 for 11) and Parminder (2 for 24).

Chasing the target, Chandigarh Police’s Sher Singh (32 runs) and Satnam (27 runs) ensured their team’s win with their unbeaten contribution. In other matches, the host MIA defeated the NCD Association by 32 runs and HK Enterprises overpowered Siemens by 8 wickets. — TNS

Chandigarh, May 7
The Chandigarh Amateur Cycling Association will conduct Chandigarh cycling championships for senior, junior and sub-junior categories (boys’ and girls’) on May 10 and 11 at the Panjab University grounds (6am), here.

The races will be conducted for mountain bike, road, track and BMX events. Interested persons can report with their date of birth certificate at the venue, along with an entry fee of Rs 100, for each participant.