The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

COURTS

Forum directs Birla Sun Life to pay Rs 15,000 compensation
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 14
The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited to pay Rs 15,000 as compensation to complainant, Shiv Kumar Sharma, for not refunding surrender value of insurance premium.

The forum has also directed the company to refund Rs 66,010.96 with interest to the complainant. Shiv Kumar Sharma being not satisfied with the insurance policy surrendered it in the month of June, 2013, and requested the opposite party to credit the policy amount in his account or issue cheque. However, when the refund was not made, the complainant sent e-mails, which ultimately were replied on October 7, 2013, mentioning that the surrender value of the policy amounting to Rs 66,010.96 was transferred in his account but the same was not transferred.

The opposite party admitted the issuance of policy in question and it having been surrendered by the complainant in May, 2013. It stated that as per the request of the complainant, their banker was instructed to credit an amount of Rs 66010.96 but it was rejected.

“Once, the policy had been surrendered and the complainant, admittedly, had been intimated by the opposite party about the surrender value of Rs 66,010.96 to be transferred in his account, then it was the sole responsibility of the opposite party to make refund of the said amount by transferring the same in the account of the complainant provided by him,” the forum ruled.

Man gets 7-yr RI for rape

Chandigarh, May 14
A local court today sentenced a man to seven years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a rape case. The court also ordered the convict to pay the victim Rs 1 lakh as compensation.

As per the prosecution, the victim, aged 30, stated in her complaint that she was residing with the wife of her late brother.

Arun Kumar, a resident of Ambala and son of her maternal uncle who died some years ago, came to Chandigarh in 2011 and started living with them.

The victim said the convict's mother assured her on many occasions that she would get her married to Arun as it was not against norms in their society.

She stated that the accused developed physical relation with her and later, refused to marry her. She added that the convict's mother also refused to fulfill her promise.

The victim felt cheated and lodged a compliant against the convict. — TNS

CRIME

dsp raka gira bribery case
Complainant names two politicians
Says CBI misinterpreted facts; bribe money was part of the amount he owed to the DSP
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 14
In a major twist in the corruption case registered against Punjab DSP Raka Gira, the complainant in the case turned the tables on the CBI and stated in court that the investigating agency allegedly misinterpreted facts and wrongly booked Gira.

The complainant, KK Malhotra, named two prominent Punjab politicians and five Punjab police officials, who allegedly extorted Rs 60 lakh from him. Turning completely hostile in the case, Malhotra stated that Rs 1 lakh given to Gira, which the CBI had seized as bribe money, was in fact the money he owed to her. He said Gira had given him Rs 4 lakh to purchase a land and as the deal could not be executed, he returned the money to her, which the CBI misinterpreted as bribe.

Recording his statements during cross-examination today, Malhotra stated that there were inquiries registered against him for which two Punjab politicians as well as police officials posted with the Economic Offences Wing extorted Rs 60 lakh from him on pretext of giving him a clean chit. He also named DSP Raka Gira’s reader Manmohan Singh, who is now an approver, and told the court that the reader also took Rs 10 lakh from him.

“DSP Raka Gira had given me Rs 4 lakh for a land deal as I was into property dealing. The deal could not be executed and I told her that I will return the money in parts. I paid her an instalment of Rs one lakh, which the CBI mistook as bribe and arrested Gira. The CBI never acted against any of the politicians whom I had named,” he told the court.

In the last hearing, the complainant had turned hostile in the court. Mullanpur-based builder KK Malhotra had failed to identify the DSP’s voice in the audio recording. He also failed to identify the accused in the video recording submitted by the prosecution.

The case

The CBI had arrested DSP Raka Gira in July 2011 after the investigating agency laid a trap at her Sector-15 residence and caught her accepting Rs 1 lakh as ‘bribe’. The CBI had acted on the complaint of KK Malhotra, who had stated that the DSP was demanding Rs 2 lakh as bribe to free him of the cases registered against him and the deal was then settled for Rs 1 lakh.

Then, the CBI had recorded a telephonic conversation between Gira and Malhotra and also videographed the exchange of money.

Rape accused doctor surrenders
Says he has been falsely implicated in the case & is being blackmailed by victim
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 14
More than a week after the UT police booked a doctor for allegedly raping a woman at Hotel Shivalik View here, the accused was finally arrested today after he surrendered before the police. The doctor was taken for a medical examination and later, produced in a court, which sent him to judicial custody.

Former Panchkula District Health Officer (DHO) Lalit Vermani was booked for the alleged rape of a 30-year-old woman on May 5. In her complaint, the woman had alleged that she was raped on the pretext of providing her a job, in a room at Hotel Shivalik View, Sector 17 here.

Since then, the police had been conducting raids in Panchkula along with parts of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to arrest the accused, who was on the run.

The 57-year-old doctor has a clinic-cum-residence in Sector 2, Panchkula.

The victim, who hails from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, was staying in a rented accommodation in Sector 11, Chandigarh.

A CCTV footage obtained from the hotel showed the woman entering the room along with the doctor and then leaving after some hours.

While talking to mediapersons after surrendering, the doctor said he had been falsely implicated and was being blackmailed by the victim as part of a conspiracy.

The victim had stated in her complaint that she was getting her son treated by the accused doctor. On May 4, the doctor had called and picked her from her Sector 11 residence for an interview at Hotel Shivalik View as she had told him she needed a job. She had alleged that she was taken to a room and was raped after being given a drink laced with sedative.

The woman alleged that she was threatened by the doctor and later, dropped to her residence.

Plea to obtain CCTV footage dismissed

The defence counsel moved an application in the court seeking the CCTV footage of the hotel, but the court declined the request as the case is at an initial stage. The accused’s counsel informed the court that the CCTV footage had played a big role in the infamous alleged rape case against journalist Tarun Tejpal and it was also important in the present case as Dr Vermani had been falsely implicated.

3 women snatchers held
Our Correspondent

Mohali, May 14
A gang of four women attempted to snatch a gold chain from a woman travelling in an auto-rickshaw here today. Kuldeep Kaur, a resident of Phase XI, and her husband hired an auto-rickshaw from near the Phase VI bus stand to go home.

The four women snatchers also sat in the auto-rickshaw. On the way, near Franco Hotel in Phase I, the suspects removed the gold chain that Kuldeep Kaur was wearing but it fell and the victim raised an alarm. As the four women tried to flee, passersby caught three of them. However, one of the suspects managed to escape.

Later, the police arrested the three women, identified as Sheena, Shanti and Vinita, all residents of a a jhuggi colony near Delhi railway station.

SPORTS

Local golf prodigies to go places
Deepankar Sharda
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 14
Paving their way to success, local budding golf prodigies are hogging limelight and are set to make 2014- a year of performance. At an early age, when one usually likes to learn alphabetical orders, these young golfers, Hunnar Mittal and Vasundhara Thiara, are looking ahead to nurture and shine in the upcoming season.

Hunnar Mittal Hunnar Mittal

For nine-year-old Hunnar Mittal, golf happens to be the only thing that she can learn to the best of her capability. In her recent feats, she won the sub-junior golf talent hunt series organised by ALHO Golf Society. And making it bigger, she is all set to play in the three-day European championship to be held in Scotland from May 19. Earlier, starting her campaign on a good note, she bagged the title of the US kids championship held at Noida on May 9. She has many US Kids and Indian golf union sub-feeder tours in her kitty so far. A student of Class III of Strawberry Fields World School, Sector 26, she received a wild card entry to represent India in the US Kids Golf World Championship-2014 after finishing at the 18th spot in the championship held last year held in Pinehurst, North Carolina (USA). She practices under the supervision of Mahesh Kumar at the Chandigarh Golf Association (CGA), Sector 6, and is going through physical fitness and psychological training.

Vasundhara Thiara

For 11-year-old Vasundhara Thiara, a student of Vivek High School in Chandigarh, year 2014 is bringing more responsibilities. Thiara, who contended for a higher category of ladies and finished top in girls’ Category-D as per the Indian Golf Union, will now mark her aim in the Category-C. She entered in the girls’ Category -C by playing the main ladies tour with girls under 13 years. In her recent feat, she played excellently in the IGU Tour for the year 2014 conducted at the Army Golf Course AEPTA, New Delhi, from April 29 to May 2 and continued her winning streak in Delhi Golf Club. Vasundhara’s focus this year as advised by her coach Jessie Grewal is on training and would therefore be playing tournaments that do not interfere with her training schedule.

Learning from past mistakes

So far, I have started my 2014 on a good note and the forthcoming three-day European championship is on my mind right now. My priority remains to select best of the shots and bring laurels. Golf is all about maintaining patience and concentrating on the aim. And hopefully, I will perform the same in the upcoming championships. To play at international level remains a big challenge as one faces problems in surviving the change of climate and maintaining the level of performance. So, keeping in mind my past mistakes, I am rigorously training hard under the supervision of my coach Mahesh Kumar

Aiming high

I spend adequate time with my mental strengthening trainer Irina Brar. I am looking forward to the upcoming international events in 2015 and taking coaching for these. I will try to maintain my top ranking in the IGU list this year as well. The recent championships went good and riding high on these achievements, I am looking to start my Category-C career on a high note. In the coming days, it will become difficult to perform in humid and extreme hot conditions. So, in order to give my best, I am practising hard under my coaches