Cyclist killed in mishap, scooterist held
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — The police has arrested a scooterist who hit and killed a cyclist in Sector 21 here this afternoon.

According to police sources, cyclist Praladh Singh was seriously injured when Rajes Kumar, a mechanic, hit him with the scooter. The latter was driving on the wrong side of the road. The injured was rushed to the PGI where he succumbed to his injures in the evening.

A case has been registered at the Sector 19 police station.

Woman molested: Surinder Kaur, a resident of Hallo Majra village, reported that a person called Jaswant Singh trespassed her house and molested her. When she tried to raise the alarm, he beat her up. When some persons came to her rescue, the accused ran away.

A case has been registered under Sections 452, 323, 354 and 506 of the IPC.

Scooterist hit: Kashi, a scooterist, was injured when he was hit by a car (HR-03-A-8998) which was hit by a truck (CH-01-J-0946) in an accident near the NAC area roundabout. The truck driver, Subash Kumar, a resident of Daria village, has been arrested and a case under sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered at the Mani Majra police station.

Gamblers held: The crime branch has arrested six persons from various parts of the city on the charges of gambling.

Mohinder Singh and Sham Lal, residents of Milk Colony in Dhanas, and Maloya resident Raj Bahadur, were arrested from near 'rehri' market in Sector 23. Rs 1,113 was seized from them.

Khuda Lahora residents Dharam Chand and Pritam Chand and Mullanpur resident Bhupinder Kumar were arrested while they were gambling near the main gate of the PGI. Rs 400 was seized from them.

Thieves caught: Ram Darbar Phase I residents Jai Bhagwan and Mukesh Kumar were arrested for stealing Rs 200 and a driving licence of Gulshan Kumar, a resident of the same colony. They had visited his house the previous night and had stolen the document and the money.

Assaulters booked: The police has registered a case against Amarjot Singh and his accomplices who assaulted Rajiv Thakur, a student of the Department of Physics, in front of the department today. Sources said a sister of the accused was reportedly teased by some person known to the complainant.

PANCHKULA

Bus overturns: A bus turned turtle at Shakti Chowk near Sector 6, injuring three persons in the morning, here today. The bus, on its way from Naraingarh to the city bus stand, turned upside down while the driver tried to cross the roundabout at a high speed, the commuters said. Those injured in the accident include Raj Kumar, Amrik Singh and Amar Singh. "There were only nine passengers in the bus and the driver had thrown caution to the winds during the entire journey. We tried to reason with him to drive slowly but to no avail,'' one of the injured said.

Sumo-scooter collision: A speeding Tata Sumo, HR-01-E-7134, hit a scooter, CH-01-1960, near Zirakpur. The scooterist sustained minor injuries and the driver of the Sumo, Umesh Kumar, was arrested. A case under Sections 279, 336 and 427 of the IPC has been registered against the driver at the Sector 19 police station.

SAS NAGAR

Cars stoned: Residents living in a pocket of Phase 3B-1 here were jolted awake late last night by a group of car-borne miscreants who hurled abusive language and threw stones at glass panes of cars parked on roads.

According to information available, at around 11.45 pm last night, a Cielo car packed with youths in an inebriated state hurled abusive language. A chwokidar, who had been employed by the Park Four Residents Association of the area a few days ago, saved himself from being run over by the car.

About half-an-hour later, three scooter-borne youths came in the same locality and hurled stones at three cars parked on the road outside the houses, 510 to 633. A window pane of a house was also broken.

Immediately after the incident, a resident of the area, Mr Arvinder Singh Bedi, called up the police control room vehicle. The chowkidar on duty was taken away by the police to look out for the miscreants.

After the incident, there was a sense of insecurity among the residents of the area. They have demanded adequate patrolling by the police. The incident is being investigated by the police.

Cheating case: Three persons have been booked by the Sohana police for cheating a resident of Rurka village on account of transferring the ownership of a piece of land in their name, originally owned by the latter.

According to the information available, Mr Balwinder Singh, a resident of Rurka village, complained to the police that three persons — Puran Singh, a resident of Sector 19, Chandigarh, Ajay Kumar, a resident of Sector 21, Chandigarh, and Krishan Singh, a resident of Rurka village — on the pretext of getting him married, got his signatures on blank papers.

The three suspects took him to Chandigarh and got his signatures in order to transfer the ownership of eight kilas of land owned by him in the village. The police has registered a case under Sections 420, 423, 465, 468, 470 and 120-B of the IPC.

Woman harassed: Arvinder Kaur, a resident of Phase 3-A, in a complaint to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, has alleged that her husband, Janaki Dass, assaulted her on several occasions.

In the complaint, copies of which have been sent to the Director General of Police of Punjab, the Financial Commissioner and the Department of Home Affairs of Punjab, she has sought action against her husband, who she claimed was wanted by the Kharar police in several cases.

Wedded to folk music
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — A direct descendent of Sham Chaurasi Gharana, young Ustad Shafaqat Ali Khan, has taken upon himself the task of bringing Punjabi folk artistes and singers together.

Though born and brought up in Lahore and presently settled in the United States, this young maestro has strong connections with the ancestral town of his parents, Sham Chaurasi in Hoshiarpur. To commemorate the golden jubilee of his father, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, he is planning to hold a major festival at Lahore in March next year.

"I want all top Punjabi singers to be present at the festival. I am sure that Hans Raj Hans, Daler Mehandi and other Punjabi folk singers will attend this festival. Cultural and folk links between India and Pakistan are very strong and can defy any physical barrier," he said.

Shafqat Ali Khan, who migrated to the United States where he has set up a music school, says that he is dedicated to the cause of classical and folk music.

His powerful and melodious voice, combined with a phenomenal range which scales the mandra, madhya and the tar saptakas with graceful ease, makes him one of the most talented musicians in the world.

His albums include 'Parampara' in classical music, 'Surma', 'Ishq Diwana', 'Lathe Di Chaddar' and 'Tu Mainu Vekhi Janwan' in Punjabi folk; 'Waho Waho Gobind Singh, Aappe Gur Chela' and 'Badshah Darvesh' in devotional music and 'Rukh Se Parda' in Urdu ghazals. All his albums have been released by Sarthak Music World.

Talking to newsmen here this afternoon, Mr Bhupinder Singh of Sarthak Music World and Shafaqat Ali Khan said that they were into quality music. Shafaqat Ali Khan said his style though vibrant, did not compromise on 'ghayaki' and reflected the highest standards of singing associated with Sham Chaurasi Gharana of which Hans Raj Hans was also a disciple.

He will perform at Carnival Plaza here tomorrow evening.

Exhibition on Sapru’s photographs
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — What prompted the American explorer, Clarence Dutton, to name certain rock features in the Grand Canyon — the world’s most intricate and complex system of canyons, gorges and ravines — located in the south-western America after Indian temples?

Similarity in shape, says Subhash Sapru, a city-based photographer, who recently captured some of those captivating shapes protuding out conspicuously from the rock mass in his camera. Some of the pictures will be on display at the five-day exhibition of his photographs opening at the Finearts Museum on the Panjab University campus on November 2.

Not many know that the Grand Canyon has land forms which have their tops similar to the shape of temples. Dutton who took keen interest in the Asian culture, made this observation and named these conspicuous peaks as Shiva temple, Vishnu temple and Buddha temple. The guide map of the Grand Canyon not only shows these temples but also the ancient Egyptian God, Osiris, and the Egyptian goddess of fertility, Isis, he explains.

It will be perhaps for the first time that an exhibition of photographs on diverse aspects of a distant land is being organised in the city.

The exhibition is being sponsored by the Haryana Cultural Affairs department.

New phone bill ordered
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Oct 29 — The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has ordered the Department of Telecommunications to prepare a fresh bill for the period from June 6, 1998, to August 15, 1998, on the basis of average calls consumed by the subscriber and pay Rs 25,000 for mental agony and harassment and Rs 1,000 towards cost of proceedings to Mr Amar Singh of Raipur Rani.

In his complaint, Mr Amar Singh had alleged negligence and deficiency in service by the department. He was issued a bill for Rs 418, which was higher than the last bill received. He was issued a bill for Rs 18,733 in addition to a surcharge of Rs 400 last September, following which a notice was issued to the department.

The department, in turn, sent a notice to disconnect the telephone and the telephone did not function for nearly a month. In the written reply, the department said the complainant was running a poultry business, had used the telephone for domestic and business purposes and the bill in question was sent for actual consumption during that time.

It added that the telephone had been provided from an electronic exchange with STD and ISD facilities. Upon receipt of notice, the matter was investigated and no fault was found in the metering equipment. The complaint was attended to immediately.

The bench, comprising Mr R.C. Taneja and Mr B.S. Badhran, stated that this amounted to a case of excessive billing since prior to this, the bill had not exceeded Rs 418. It observed that the sudden spurt in calls and the exorbitant bill could be attributed to some fault in the meter or due to misuse of the line at the exchange. It thereby quashed the bill.

Grapes become costly
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — Prices of a number of fruits witnessed fluctuation in the local market during the past four days.

During a survey of markets, it was found that if a kg of delicious apple was priced between Rs 25 a 30 a week ago, it could be had today between Rs 20 and Rs 25. There was a dip in the wholesale price of the fruit from Rs 300 to Rs 275 per 17 kg pack. On the other hand the price of the Kinnaur variety has increased during the period. A kg of the fruit, priced at Rs 40 a kg in retail and for Rs 600 per 17 kg pack in wholesale last week, was available for Rs 50 and Rs 800,respectively. According to traders, the decline in the common delicious vareity was due to the fact that market was overstocked with the fruit unlike the Kinnaur variety, the price of which was hit due to truckers' strike.

The stir had its impact on the price of grapes which could be had today for Rs 80 per kg. The wholesale price has jumped from Rs 125 to Rs 150 per 2.5 kg pack as there were no arrivals in the local market from Maharashtra during the period of strike.

Same was the case with orange.If a dozen of the fruit could be purchased for Rs 50 in the retail and a pack of 8 dozens for Rs 350 last week, the same could be had between Rs 60 and Rs 70 and for Rs 400, respectively. The mausambi price has also jumped from Rs 50 to Rs 60 a dozen in retail and from Rs 110 to Rs 140 per 3 dozen pieces in wholesale market.

There was, however, no change in the prices of a number of fruit during this period. A kg of guava was still priced at Rs 20 in retail and for Rs 13 in wholesale market. Similarly, a kg of papaya could be had for Rs 20 in retail and for Rs 14 a kg in wholesale market. Banana was available for Rs 20 a dozen in retail and for Rs 120 per 100 pieces in wholesale market.

School team felicitated
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Oct 29 — The under-17 hockey team of IS Dev Samaj Girls Senior Secondary School, Sector 21, which had won the silver medal in the Nehru hockey tournament at National Stadium, New Delhi, was felicitated at a function held at Sports Training Centre, Sector 18, here today.

All players were trainees of this centre. The team comprised Eram Rizvi, Sadhna Singh, Prakash Chaudhary, Prem, Suman, Savita Singh, Poonam, Mandeep, Geeta, Anu Chaudhary, Sunila, Pawandeep, Mukesh and Rajnesh. The coach Jaswinder Singh was praised for his contribution to hockey.

In the final on October 22, the team lost to Government Girls High School, Ranchi. The team was led by Sadhna Singh. The team was awarded Rs 30,000 by the organising committee at Delhi. Manjit Kaur, the coach, was given a special prize of Rs 5,000. Savita Singh of Chandigarh was chosen as one of the four best players and given a cash prize of Rs 2,000 at Delhi.

At the function today, SAI Assistant Director, Ms Ritu Pathik, posted at STC, felt proud in announcing the feat of these girls, whose clearance was done at last minute. She also highlighted other achievements of STC trainees. The centre imparts training in athletics, hockey, basketball and volleyball.

Retired volleyball coach Pritam Singh announced to donate Rs 250 each every month to five needy girls of the centre for their expenses. The beneficiaries would be Asmita Topo, Kanta, Mohinder Kaur, Prakash and Asha.

St John's champs: Medium-pacers of St John's High School, Sector 26, restricted batsmen of Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, to 115 runs in 26.5 overs in the under-14 final of the Edmund Rice cricket tournament.

Fine spells by Saurabh Arora (2 for 26), Chaitanya anand (3 for 13) and Inder Pal singh (3 for 14) helped St John's beat Shivalik Public School by 9 wickets. The St John's batsmen scored the runs in 16.4 overs.

On the basis of performance upto the semi-finals, Harneed Singh Arora of St John's was adjudged best allrounder, Gauhar Pruthi of St John's best batsman and Asim ali Gupta of St John's best bowler of the under-14 group.

Scores — SPS 115 in 26.5 overs (Karan 20, Gaurav Kumar 16, Chaitanya Anand 3 for 13, Inderpal Singh 3 for 14, Saurabh Arora 2 for 26); St John's 117 for 1 in 16.4 overs (Gauhar Pruthi 33 n.o., Avneet Singh 32, Jasraj Bhatti 30 n.o.).