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Cossets directors surrender in court
Remanded in police custody
Chandigarh, December 16
 The two elusive directors of the Rs 190 crore company, Cossets — Rajiv Dugala and Punit Nanda — surrendered in a local court this evening. The court remanded the two in police custody for five days.
Cossets directors Punit Nanda (right) and Rajiv Dugala in police custody at the Economic Offences Wing at Sector 17, police station, Chandigarh, on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Fasting law students: PU seeks parents’ help
Chandigarh, December 16
Unable to persuade students to discontinue the indefinite fast for condonation of lectures, the university authorities have sought the help of their parents.

Students of the Law Department on an indefinite fast outside the office of the Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University, Chandigarh, on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Excise Commissioner rejects club’s plea
Bar licence to remain suspended for three days
Chandigarh, December 16
The Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Mr Arun Kumar, today rejected an appeal of the Chandigarh Club seeking opening of the club bar and upheld its order suspending the bar license of the club for three days.

Drugs for HIV arrive, guidelines do not
Chandigarh, December 16
Awaiting the framing of guidelines and a defined protocol, anti-retroviral drugs for free distribution to HIV \AIDS patients in the city and its surrounding areas have arrived at the PGI here.

Police grills Muskan killer
Hotel authorities come under a cloud
Chandigarh, December 16
The murdered call girl, Muskan, had entered Hotel Shivalik View openly through the main gate. This fact has come out during the interrogation of the alleged killer Dildar Singh and his girl friend Shruti.

• Rodrigues praises police team

Sahgal breaks down during cross-examination
Chandigarh, December 16
Colonel Anil Sahgal, who is being tried by a General Court Martial for professional impropriety in the Tehelka case today repeatedly broke down during his cross-examination.

The artist-cop who is humbled by recognition
Chandigarh, December 16
Seldom though but humble beginnings do lend themselves to great glories. How else would a constable posted in a nondescript station of Punjab dream of big honours like the one that Balram Chand recently bagged at Patiala.

• 3 Estate Office employees  suspended
• 4 more diagnosed to be suffering from leprosy
• Excise raid on Golf Club

COMMUNITY

PUDA to consider partial possession of plots to allottees
Mohali, December 16
In a move that is expected to bring a sense of relief to thousands of allottees awaiting possession of their plots for the past four years in the newly developed Sectors 76 to 80 here, the Punjab Urban Planning and Urban Authority (PUDA) will now consider partial possession of these plots to the allottees.

Putting their lives on the line for a child
Mohali, December 16
Till last week, Deepika and Jatinder were just another young couple with a three-month-old child. But an invitation to a wedding in the family changed their lives forever. Jatinder Sachdeva (27), with no training in swimming, ended up with multiple fractures trying to save the life of a three-year-old child, whom he saw drowning in the swimming pool at the wedding venue.

Deepika and Jatinder at their Sector 23 residence in Chandigarh on Thursday. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Governor orders water table survey
Chandigarh, December 16
Engineers manning the water supply system in the city will conduct a sector-level hydrological survey to check the water table and take measures to effectively utilise the underground water resources for meeting futuristic needs.

Brick-kiln workers face starvation
Dera Bassi, December 16
Over five lakhs families of labourers in Punjab are on the verge of starvation following the ongoing tug-of-war between the brick-kilns owners and the state government over the use of ‘fly ash’.

Students of Baba Zorawar Singh Fateh Singh Senior Secondary Public School, Fatehgarh Sahib, during a visit to The Tribune office in Chandigarh on Thursday.  — A Tribune photograph

Vijay Divas observed
Chandigarh, December 16
A low-key ceremony was organised to mark Vijay Divas at Headquarters Western Command in Chandimandir today. The day is observed to commemorate the spectacular victory of the Indian Armed Forces over Pakistan on both the eastern as well as the western front in 1971.

Panchayat accused of trying to sell common land
Mohali, December 16
The MLA Kharar, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, today alleged that the panchayat of Tangori village was trying to sell the village’s common land in a clandestine manner to certain “land sharks”.

Dowry was not the issue: Brig
Chandigarh, December 16
It was not over dowry that the marriage of my son with Nancy, “daughter of Lt Col. Raghbir Singh, was called off on December 5, but due to serious differences between the girl and the boy in November, said Brigadier M.P. Singh. “My son decided to call off the marriage, as Nancy was abusive, short-tempered and exhibited lack of commitment, “alleged Brigadier M.P. Singh.

CRIME

6 more held in Meher murder case
Mohali, December 16
The police here has arrested six persons, all residents of Mataur village near here on charge of the murder of 46-year-old Meher Singh. Meher Singh was allegedly shot dead by Tirlochan Singh, a head constable with Punjab Police, on December 10 morning following a fight over the ownership of a piece of land. Sukhvinder Singh (27), who was also shot at allegedly by Tirlochan Singh while he was trying to click photographs of the shoot out, was gravely injured.

Suicide by youth
Chandigarh, December 16
Kartik (20) ended his life by hanging from a ceiling fan hook with a piece of cloth this afternoon in Burail village.

Rs 1.86 lakh stolen from a car
Chandigarh, December 16
Three vehicles were reportedly stolen, including two cars, in the city while in another incident Rs 1.86 lakh were stolen from a car parked in Sector 20, as per information released by the police here today.

Rs 80,000 stolen from police employee’s house
Panchkula, December 16
Jewellery worth Rs 80,000 and some cash was stolen from a house in Sector 12- A, when the house owner, Mr Kashmiri Lal Sharma, and his family were away to Amritsar to attend a family function. Mr Sharma, who is a Chief Pharmacist in the medical team of the Punjab Police, came back today afternoon and found that the lock on the front door of the house was broken.

Youth held for stealing phones
Panchkula, December 16
The police has arrested a youth, Ramandeep, for stealing mobile phones and batteries near Nadda Sahib, and the police has recovered nine batteries of mobiles, three earphones and a few mobile phone chargers from him.

4 hurt in bus-car collision
Zirakpur, December 16
Four persons were seriously injured when the car in which they were travelling had a head-on collision with a Punjab Roadways bus on the busy Chandigarh-Patiala highway near Nabha village here, this afternoon.

Doctor assaulted
Lalru, December 16
Provoked by enmity, some unidentified youths attacked a doctor inflicting him serious head injuries on him. The incident took place on the Kalka-Ambala highway in Sarseeni village near here, this afternoon.

BUSINESS

SPIC MACAY to open new chapter
Chandigarh, December 16
SPIC MACAY is all set to open a fresh chapter in Punjab. To be inaugurated with a recital by kathak exponent Shovana Narayan at Nangal tomorrow, the new chapter will see an active participation from Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) people.

PROs’ conference
Chandigarh, December 16
Members of the Chandigarh chapter of the Public Relations Society of India will participate in the 26th All-India Conference on Public Relations Society of India, being held in Kolkata from December 17 to 19. 

Punjab and Sind Bank organises Hindi workshop
Chandigarh, December 16
A workshop on Hindi was organised by the Punjab and Sind Bank. Zonal Office (Haryana) in Sector 17, here today.

EDUCATION

UBS alumni meet on December 18
Chandigarh, December 16
University Business School, PU, will celebrate the jubilee year of its 1979 batch passouts at the alumni meet slated for December 18. Disclosing this at a press conference held at the department, the chairperson, Prof Satish Kapoor, said over 300 former students were expected to attend the reunion.

The chairperson of the University Business School, Prof Satish Kapoor, along with faculty and alumni at a press conference at PU, Chandigarh, on Thursday.
 — A Tribune photograph

Christmas celebrations at Little Flower
Panchkula, December 16
“Inspired life, with the glow of His love is the virtue absolute; all else is immaterial. The humans engrossed in worldly pursuits must strive for harmony and mutual brotherhood by assimilating the teachings of Jesus Christ, the prince of peace” observed father Jerald, Bishop of Shimla and Chandigarh diocese.

St Soldier’s kids dazzle
Mohali, December 16
The five-day celebrations of Saint Soldier’s International Convent School, marking ten years of the school’s existence, started on a rather delayed note here today. Hundreds of students who were to perform at ‘Razzmtazz’ the opening ceremony of the celebrations, waited for over one and a half hours before beginning their presentations. The cause of the delay was the late arrival of the chief guest Dr Narinder Bhargav, PPS, posted as Commandant, Bahadurgarh.

Children of St Soldier School, Phase-VII, Mohali, wait for their turn to perform in a cultural programme on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Tiny tots celebrate annual day
Mohali, December 16
Students of AIMS Kindergarten school phase II celebrated annual function here yesterday evening. Councillor Amrik Singh Mohali was the chief guest and the guest of honour was Mr Amarnath founder and promoter of Dev Samaj Educational Institutions.

Students of AIMS Kindergarten School, Phase 2, during annual function at the school in Mohali.

Saupin’s school function held
Chandigarh, December 16
Saupin’s School, Sector 32, organised here annual function for junior classes at LECMA Auditorium, Air Force Station, here today. The function began with ‘Saraswati Vandana.’

COURTS

Lok adalat settles 51 cases
Chandigarh, December 16
Fifty one cases were settled at the Lok Adalat in the Central Government Industrial Tribunal-cum Labour Court through mutual understanding of representatives of the trade unions and the managements here today. In all 136 cases were taken up in the court. Presiding officer Mr Rajesh Kumar inaugurated the lok adalat while Mr T.R. Bansal, presiding officer of the Industrial Tribunal cum Labour court, Chandigarh, Mr Navdeep Sud, Regional Labour Commissioner and Mr K.S. Guru, Assistant Labour Commissioner were guests of honour.

HC reserves verdict on PGI Dean’s issue
Chandigarh, December 16
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today reserved its judgement on the controversy over the selection and appointment of the PGI Dean as well as the petition filed by Prof Sudha Suri, challenging the decision of the PGI Governing Body that declared Dr Gopalan senior to Dr Suri.

Lawyers decide to continue strike
Panchkula, December 16
Members of the District Bar Association has decided to continue their strike, till the Chairman of the Subordinate Services Selection Board, apologised for his alleged misbehaviour with lawyer, Amit Gupta.

CULTURE

New Release
Expectations high from ‘Swades’
After ‘Lagaan’ the much-hyped Rs 30 crore ‘Swades’ will be Ashutosh Gowarikar’s new release with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. The launch of the movie got delayed due to Shah Rukh Khan’s back problem last year. Finally ‘Swades’ is slated to be released today at Neelam Chandigarh and Fun Republic, Manimajra. It will be interesting to see what the Gowarikar and Shah Rukh Khan combination brings up.

A scene from “Swades”

LIFESTYLE

Shiamak: taking dance to spiritual heights
Shiamak Davar is wedded to novelty. No wonder he refuses to be part of the film rut where everything passes as dance. His kind of projects must essentially be ingenuity driven lest the fine art of dance gets a bad name.

Dancer-choreographer Shiamak Davar with his students at the rehearsals for his winter show to be held on Friday at Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh. — Tribune photo by Pradeep Tewari

Wax is her muse
It is difficult to suppress the creative spirit as creativity, like a volcano lava, finds ways to come out and express itself in myriad ways, says Mallika Ghosh, a city-based wax artist. Her life story proves it. Equipped with a diploma in fashion art and fashion merchandising from NIIFT, Delhi, she started her career in 1976 in an export house. 

— A Tribune photo by Malkiat Singh

HEALTH

TB awareness camp held
Chandigarh, December 16
Persons having cough and fever for more than three days should get themselves examined for tuberculosis so that this contagious disease does not infect others. This was stated by municipal councillor Surinder Singh while inaugurating TB awareness camp at the Civil Hospital, Manimajra here today.

SPORTS

Nikhil, Simranjit star in GNPS victory
Chandigarh, December 16
Nikhil Dwivedi and Simranjit Bathlana proved to be the star players for Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36, when they helped their team to beat Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 46, by four wickets and sailed in the last four of the Shivalik Trophy Cricket Tournament organised by the UT Cricket Association here today.

Bias alleged in cricket team’s selection
Chandigarh, December 16
A 16-member Panjab University cricket team today left for Delhi to take part in the North Zone Inter-University Cricket Tournament being held at Jamia Millia University grounds, Delhi.

19 athletes selected for championship
Chandigarh, December 16
The Amateur Athletics Association, Chandigarh, has selected 19 athletes in the bothboys and girls section to take part in the Junior National Athletic’s Championship to be held from December 18 to 22 at Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh).

Cop wins gold in rifle shooting
Chandigarh, December 16
Rajesh Kumar, a constable of the Chandigarh Police has won one gold medal and one bronze medal in the rifle-Shooting Championship at the 48th All-India Police Duty Meet 2004 held in Indore. Twenty six teams from various states, union territories and Para-military forces participated in the competition.

ADMINISTRATION

Last date for VAT applications Jan 15
Chandigarh, December 16
The Chandigarh Administration is all set to implement the Value Added Tax (VAT) shortly and all the dealers registered under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 and CST Act 1956 shall be brought under VAT.