Chandigarh, September 24
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Anshu Shukla today sentenced a 33-year-old man to 10 years of imprisonment for kidnapping a minor boy and attempting to sodomise him.

Gopal, a resident of Rajiv Colony, Panchkula, has been convicted under Section 363 of the IPC and various sections of the POCSO Act.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 13,000 on Gopal.

The incident occurred in April this year when the accused lured the boy on the pretext of giving him chocolates and took him to a secluded place in Mani Majra where he tried to sodomise him.

The boy raised an alarm. After the complaint by the victim’s brother, the police had arrested the accused.

Chandigarh, September 24
The crime branch of the UT police today arrested four persons for their involvement in robberies and incidents of chain snatching in the city.

The police arrested Sandeep, Suraj and two youths hired by them, identified as Chinu and Vijay, for their involvement in crimes committed in the city.

Mandeep, a resident of Janta Colony, Nayagaon, reported to the police that he had sold his plot situated at the colony to Sandeep Kumar and received Rs 3 lakh from him. On September 17, he, along with his friend Rahul, had gone to the SBI’s PGI branch to deposit the sale amount. However, due to a technical reason, the payment could not be deposited in the bank.

While they were returning to their house and reached near a laundry plant at the PGI, two boys appeared from the jungle area. One of them threw chilli powder into the eyes of the complainant and hit a hard object on his head. Thereafter, they took the key of the scooter from Rahul and fled with the entire amount kept in the scooter.

Police investigations revealed that Sandeep Kumar, who purchased the plot from the complainant, is involved in this robbery. Acting upon this information, a team of the crime branch, headed by SI Tarsem Singh, laid a barrier near Khuda Lahora village, Chandigarh, and apprehended Sandeep and his accomplice Suraj, a resident of Maloya.

During interrogation, Sandeep revealed that as he was aware that Mandeep was going to deposit the sale amount in bank, he hired two boys, namely Chinu and Vijay, residents of Sector 25, to rob him (Mandeep). As planned, Chinu and Vijay reached near the laundry plant and looted Rs 3 lakh from the complainant and escaped in a Bolero jeep.

On Sandeep’s disclosure, the team of crime branch laid a trap near the Sector 25/38 light point and succeeded in apprehending Chinu and Vijay. The police recovered Rs 2.5 lakh, the Bolero jeep used in the crime and a pulsar motorcycle from their possession. On further interrogation, they disclosed that they have committed 15 gold chain snatchings at different locations in the city.

With their arrest, these 15 cases of gold chain snatching too have been worked out, the police said.

While Chinu is involved in 15 cases, Vijay executed three cases of snatching and burglary registered with different police stations of the city. Sandeep and Suraj are also involved in a kidnapping case registered at the Sector 11 police station.

Chandigarh, September 24
The police today arrested two persons for selling duplicate products of renowned brands.

The police received a secret information that handlers of www.richkart.com are cheating innocent customers by selling duplicate watches of branded companies such as Rolex, Rado and Tissot, and have a godown in Ram Darbar, Chandigarh.

The accused used to upload the original photo of branded watches on the website to attract customers but delivered duplicate products to the buyers, the police said.

A team of crime branch, headed by SI Ashok Kumar, laid a trap near the railway bridge in Ram Darbar and apprehended Ashish Sobti, alias Ashu, of Suraj Enclave, Chhaju Majra village, Mohali district, and Karan Vir Singh, of Jagtar Nagar, Patiala, with two bags carrying duplicate branded watches. On interrogation, the duo said they were going to Plot No. 91, Ram Darbar, Phase II, Chandigarh, to get the products packed. The police recovered a total of 14 duplicate Rolex watches, three fake Omega watches, two duplicate Rado watches and a fake Tissot watch from their possession.

Both the accused were produced in the court today. The court sent Karanvir to judicial custody for 14 days while Ashish has been sent to police remand for one day.

Mohali, September 24
The ‘insensitivity’ of Mohali police came to the fore when two cops, who were on a PCR bike, hit a person and fled from the spot leaving him with a fractured leg at Sector 82 here this evening.

Satinder Singh, who was injured after his bike was hit by a PCR motorcycle, at the Sohana Hospital in Mohali on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

The victim, Satinder Singh, who works at the Indian Institute of Science and Research, was on his way to home at Kurari village at around 6 pm when two cops rammed their official Pulsar bike (PB-65-T-8738) into his (Satinder Singh) motorcycle. The cops were reportedly riding on the wrong side.

Satinder Singh, who received two fractures in his right leg, claimed that he kept calling the cops, who were in uniform, for help but they did not listen and rode on.

“I was in severe pain for at least one hour. I had called up my colleagues, who shifted me to the Sohana Hospital,” said Satinder Singh.

The victim’s elder brother, Jaspal Singh, claimed that they called up at the police helpline (100) after the incident, but even after passing of over three hours, no cop turned up either at the spot or the hospital.

‘Insensitivity’ to fore

The victim, Satinder Singh, who received two fractures in his right leg, claimed that he kept calling the cops, who were in uniform, for help but they did not listen and rode on.

Panchkula, September 24
Three bookies were nabbed from a hotel in Sector 10, here, by a team of Crime Investigating Agency. The police also recovered Rs 2.5 lakh from them.

Mohali, September 24
Youngsters out to make their mark in athletics are finding their ambition thwarted with the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) shutting the door of a sports complex here.

The youngsters, a few of whom have given creditable performances in athletics at various levels, have been banned from training at a complex in Sector 78, set up by the state government. The decision has come as a crippling blow to the ongoing practice of the players.

“There was no problem over the past two years. They practiced unhindered and achieved success,” said Swarn Singh, a retired coach of the Sports Authority of India, who has been doing voluntary work in training youth at the complex.

Swarn Singh said over the past three months they had been facing harassment. “While their contemporaries could freely make use of the swimming pool and skating facilities in the complex, those training for athletic events were at times stopped at the gate by the security staff,” he added.

In a letter to the president of the Athletics Association, sports complex, Sector 78, on August 14, GMADA informed that the use of the athletics track had been prohibited. Permission to use it could be taken from the Sports Department, which had been asked to run the complex. Moreover, the letter said, there were allegations that a fee was being charged from athletes for private coaching, which was illegal.

Another letter by GMADA to the association on September 18 asked the president to vacate a room in the complex which was being illegally used for keeping training items.

However, the parents of several athletes who train in the complex and the association have categorically denied that any fee is being paid for private coaching.

A worried parent, Amarjit Singh, said his son, Harnoor Singh, had got gold medals at the district level in the 200m and 600m events and was now to participate in the state-level competitions in Sangrur from October 3. “Irregular practice sessions were likely to hit his performance and that of others,” he added.

Another distressed parent, Ram Kumar, said his daughter, Niharika, had won a bronze medal in the North-Zone Junior Athletics Champoinship at Aligarh and two gold medals at the Punjab School Games in Ludhiana last year. Her future was at stake, he added.

Balwinder Singh, executive engineer, GMADA, said the Sector 78 complex was being run by the Sports Department and, as such, permission for use of the track had to be obtained from that department.

However, Manohar Singh, District Sports Officer, insisted that the complex was still under GMADA control and would be taken over only after shortcomings in it were removed. Private coaches could not be allowed to function in the complex as the government had deployed its own coach, he added.

Chandigarh, September 24
Delhi eves continued their dominance and defeated Punjab to win the First Rama Atray Memorial Women Cricket Tournament that concluded here today.

Batting first, Punjab received an early set back with opener Jasia Gull caught trapped in front by Soni Yadav without troubling the scorers. Skipper Anureet Kaur joined opener Reva Arora and the duo added 58 runs for the second wicket before Anureet was caught by Soni for 24 off 61 balls inclusive of two boundaries. Parveen Khan stitched a useful 63-run partnership for the third wicket before Reva was caught by Lalita Sharma at deep cover off Reema Malhotra for 51 off 111 deliveries. Parveen also left soon after she was claimed by Lalita Sharma for 44 off 74 balls. Harpreet Kaur (17 runs) and Manisha (15 runs) put on 36-run partnership for the sixth wicket pushing Punjab’s total to 179 for 7 in 50 overs. For Delhi, Lalita Sharma scalped 4 for 45.

In reply, Delhi started their run chase with Latika Kumari and Jasleen Jauhar collecting 21 runs before Jasleen was trapped in front by Diksha Dogra for six runs. Making a noisy start, Delhi fumbled at 73 for 5 in 26.2 overs. Thereafter, Mandeep Kaur and Amita Sharma stabled the team’s innings and pushed the total to 136 for 6 in 38.1 overs. Due to light rains Delhi was given revised target of 154 off 42 overs. Delhi reached 157 for 8 in 41.2 overs to win the match by two wickets. For Punjab, Rajni Devi claimed 4 for 33.

Lalita Sharma was declared the women of the match while Reva Arora of Punjab was declared best batswomen of the tournament. Lalita for her haul of 10 wickets was declared best bowler of the tournament.

Chandigarh, September 24
GGDSD College, Sector 32, defeated Arya College, Ludhiana, by 103 runs in the ongoing Inter-College Cricket Championship for Men being held here today.

Riding high on an unbeaten knock of 99 runs by Anshul Tripathi, the winning side posted 267 runs in the allotted slot of 40 overs. Sahil (42 runs) and Tanveer (37 runs) were the other main scorers for the side. For the bowling side, Parul claimed 2 for 20. In reply, Arya College, Ludhiana, folded up their innings on 164 runs with Parul (67 runs) and Chirag (26 runs) hogging the limelight. For the bowling side, Amish Sidhu claimed 2 for 16.

Chandigarh, September 24
Chandigarh’s baseball team bagged the gold medal by winning all their matches in the 13th Little League Baseball National Championship at Dehradun.

In the finals, the team defeated Uttrakhand by 2-1. Earlier, the team overpowered Chhattisgarh by 7-1, Maharashtra by 1-0 and in their last league match defeated hosts Uttarakand by 4-3. — TNS

Chandigarh, September 24
In total humiliation Mahilpur Football Academy trounced down Delhi Public School (DPS), Sector 40, the top finishers at the Chandigarh Inter-School Football Tournament, by 12-0 at the football grounds of the sports complex in Sector 42 here today.

Since the starting whistle, Mahilpur strikers started with ball possession and turned their strategy while creating more trouble for Delhi Public School custodian. The local side was nowhere in the match from the beginning and suffered till the last minute.

For the winning side, Jaskarn Singh scored a brace each in the 21st, 79th, 80th and 88th minutes while Mehtab Singh chipped-in two goals in 75th and 81st minute, respectively.

Sargam Kumar Singh also scored two goals in the 39th and 41st minutes while Mohd Rashid, Seiko Hao and Salman scored one goal each for the side.

This was followed by other teams, including Sahayatri Football Club, Howrah; Thou football Academy, Manipur; and Pune Football Club registering victories over their rival teams.

Chandigarh, September 24
Chandigarh Football Academy (CFA) lads once again proved their iron by confirming their berth in the quarterfinal of the ongoing Subroto Cup Football Tournament in New Delhi.

In their last league match, the CFA lads, while representing Government Model High School, Sector 36, defeated Zahira College Puttalam, Sri Lanka, by 7-0.

The team’s win was studded by three goals strike by Amarjit. He scored a brace each in 14th minute, 27th minute and 48th minute. Sanjeev (56th minute), Vikram (32nd minute), Dalbir (44th minute) and Jackson (12th minute) completed the tally by contributing a brace each.

In their previous matches, the same side defeated Army Boys (HRDC, BSC, 11 GRRC, Lucknow) by 2-0 with Amarjit and Jackson scoring a goal each. While defeated IPSC (Vallabh Ashram’s MGM Amin and VN Savani School, Killa Pardi, Valsad, Gujarat by 6-0, Amarjit again scored three goals while Vikram , Jackson and Failo scored a goal each.

The Chandigarh Football Academy team will face Manipur boys’ team in their quarterfinals game on September 26.

Chandigarh, September 24
The local Rock Rovers Club will host the 44th edition of the SN Vohra’s All-India Gurmit Memorial Hockey Tournament “A” Grade from September 27 to October 4 at the newly-built hockey stadium in Mohali.

The tournament will witness top hockey teams of India vying for a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh for winners and Rs 60,000 for the runners-up. Also, the orgainsers will shortlist the best goalkeeper, best full back, best half back and best striker and will award them with a cash award of Rs 3,000 each. The team playing in decent manner throughout the championship will be awarded with the PL Gupta Fair Play trophy.

A total of 18 teams have confirmed their participation in the championship. — TNS