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I stand by what I say: Khatta Singh
Chandigarh, August 18 In an interview with The Tribune, Khatta Singh refuted media reports about the revision petition filed by him under Section 164 of the CrPC in a special CBI court in Ambala yesterday. “There is no truth in the media reports stating that I had approached the court to change my statements,” he stated. “I had already recorded my statement under Section 164 of the CrPC through CBI in district court against the dera chief regarding cases of murder and rape registered against him,” he said. Besides, he levelled serious allegations on dera regarding the nefarious activities prevalent on its premises. Going back into the details of the matter, Khatta Singh alleged that the dera chief, along with his accomplices, had forcibly got signatures of several persons, including him, on blank papers and on some affidavits. He further
alleged that the same signed papers and affidavits were now being misused by the accused. He clarified that he had already recorded his statement in a district court here about three months’ ago. As he had already recorded his statement, the Special CBI Court in Ambala had dismissed the petition filed on his behalf. Making a bold statement, Khatta Singh, averred that he would stick to the statement recorded before magistrate. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against the dera chief on July 30. Besides Khatta Singh, several other persons had recorded their statements in connection with the cases involving the dera chief under Section 164 of the CrPC.
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UT funds misused to please deputation officials: Staff
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 18 Demanding details of the funds spent on providing housing to the officials and employees of other states, the employees have written to the union minister of home affairs, the minister of state for finance and the UT administrator to register their protest against the demolition of type-13 houses in Sector 10 here. “Is it desirable to demolish small houses of the employees instead of big houses of type 4 and 5 (old) in Sectors 4,5,7 and 16, which are spread over one acre. Instead of these ‘mansions’, flats could be constructed for the officials residing there,” the employees asked. After the reorganisation of states, Punjab and Haryana Governments have been provided subsidised land to construct houses for its employees. Even till this day, the UT employees have not been provided 100 per cent accommodation. The employees wanted to know whether constructing housing for Punjab and Haryana government employees was the responsibility of Chandigarh Administration. They also pointed out that the houses constructed in Sector 39 have ultimately been shifted to the Punjab quota. “Officials and the policy makers are only interested in having a house in the north, while the employees are left to live in the southern part of the city,” said an employee. The employees, who have been given 14 days’ time to vacate the type-13 houses, today met the minister of state for finance and MP Pawan Kumar Bansal. The employees said a number of them had been allotted ground-floor house in Sector 10 on humanitarian grounds due to a number of personal reasons. But the alternative houses offered in sectors 20 and 24 are located on first floor. The employees, who are trying to meet the Home Secretary, are seeking two months’ time to vacate the houses.
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Family blames city hospital
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 18 The family alleged that the Chaitanya Hopsital authorities kept the family in dark about the critical condition of the child, Bhanwar, who was referred from an Ambala cantonment hospital on August 14. Jitendar, father of the child, alleged that the hospital continued to take money from him saying the child would recover from disease even as it never bothered to tell them the disease’s name. Ultimately the child died on August 17 morning. From the beginning of the treatment till the child was referred to the PGI at family’s insistence, the hospital had already charged more than Rs 29,000 for two days’ treatment only. However, Dr Neeraj Kumar, head of the department of pediatrics of the hospital, claimed that the child was very serious and the family was told that his chances of survival were very less. The child was treated intensively in the ICU and parents were kept fully informed about his condition, he claimed. Even on August 16, the relatives were told that the child was “brain dead” but they wished to continue the treatment, the doctor added.
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Trees to make
way for sewers
The work is being executed through a contractor. As the public health people dug 6-foot deep and 6-foot wide trenches to make way for sewers, roots of Arjun trees stood horribly exposed and damaged. Several trees were affected today, when 35-foot-length of sewer pipes were laid. Horticulturists were shocked to learn of the development. They admitted that the trees thus affected won’t be
able to survive the next storm. If they do, they will dry up. Later during the day, the UT horticulture department staff reached the spot and halted the work lest the greens are further endangered. The road in question belongs to the UT administration and has 82 full-grown Arjun trees, which have reached their prime after 55 years of care. Sources in the UT horticulture department say that the sewers should not have been laid in this manner, as it would weaken the tree foundation by damaging roots necessary for nutrition. Huge trees like Arjun get their anchorage from roots. No wonder the MC’s work invited instant wrath of horticulturists. “Arjun is a precious medicinal tree and takes years to grow. Unmindful planning will squander these greens. We will have to prevent the MC from going further down the road. Top horticulture officials in the UT have been informed of the damages and of those that are impending,” said an SDO in the UT horticulture wing. Although the MC’s public health XEN Rajinder Singh Ahluwalia said the works would not endanger trees in any way, horticulturists think otherwise.
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Comparing Indian, German legal systems
Chandigarh, August 18 One such effort has been made by Harpreet Sandhu, a lawyer who has penned a book titled “Law Functioning in Germany and India -A Comparative Perspective”. The book was released at the Federal Court of Justice on July 23 in Karisruhe, Germany.
Sandhu has not only captured the essence of constitutional functioning of the two countries, but also explored the dimensions of a multi-faceted relationship that can exist between Germany and India in the domain of laws. Making a comparative analysis of German and Indian courts, the writer discusses their structure and impact on the public domain extensively and lucidly. Sandhu is a member of the International Bar Association and is working as faculty to probationary officers at the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur. The book has an entire section devoted to the role of lawyers in tackling terrorism and promoting individual liberty. It stresses on the need for international legal cooperation.
It cites the practical difficulties faced by lawyers of various countries in seeking mutual recognition of judgments or in seeking to use evidence from a different jurisdiction. He argues that the understanding of such limitations in current international legal arrangements, coupled with the ability and knowledge to identify workable solutions, would be of assistance in reshaping the contours of cooperation. The writer also emphasises that the development of the law is not confined to judiciary alone. When hearing cases, judges rely on the counsel to feed them with the law and to bring up novel points of law. If a counsel fails to do so, law will remain static. The book also highlights the fact that traditional legal drafting style has let lawyers down badly in public relations and presentation stakes. “Because it is so self-evidently shoddy and so contrary to the normal understanding of satisfactory language use, that many suspect lawyers of venal motives in writing in the traditional style,” he asserts.
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NDA govt order proves stumbling block
Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 18 A four-year-old order of the last NDA government, halting demolitions in the city, is proving to be a stumbling block for the Chandigarh Administration in different pockets of Mani Majra. The fact came to light when the administration was gearing itself to remove encroachments in different parts of the city. Now, the administration has referred the matter back to the ministry of home affairs (MHA). “There is an administrative order on not carrying out the demolitions. The matter is being clarified by the Finance Secretary,” confirmed sources. In 2003, the MHA had sent a missive to the administration that no demolition drive be carried out in slums and urban areas. The “instructions” were issued after former union minister of state for home affairs I.D. Swami had visited the city then. The anti-encroachment drive initiated by then Governor O.P.Verma had come to a grinding halt after ministry’s missive. Officials say that hundreds of unauthorised structures have mushroomed in different pockets of Mani Majra. The land has to be ultimately transferred to the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation after being acquired by the Administration. Residential areas in some of the pockets have been exempted by the administration. In withdrawal from its stand on the encroachments, the administration in the past has exempted about 40 acres under Section 48 of the Land Acquisition Act in Mani Majra. At the time of acquisition, dense construction existed on the land. Around five acres was exempted in pocket no 6 of Mani Majra, as religious structures stood on the land. Similarly, 4.5 acres in pocket no 8 (Darshani Bagh) was exempted from acquisition in 2003. Sources said a similar logic was given for exempting 30 acres in different pockets. However, the sparsely constructed area around these pocket were not exempted from acquisition. Over the years, hundreds of structures have come up in the sparsely constructed area, as the acquisitions were challenged by the affected persons. Most of the houses have been built on plots measuring less than 5 marlas. The land in these cases have either been transferred or are to be transferred to the municipal corporation.
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Kaleidoscope presents wide spectrum of designs
Chandigarh, August 18 Top models of the country, including Carol Gracias, Anupama Verma, Amanpreet Wahi, etc sashayed on the ramp showcasing the collections created by the students in 13 different rounds. An annual affair, this time the students had utilised different concepts and experimented with designs, making the entire collection much wearable. The show began with ‘Leather cats’ inspired by the free spirit of these wild creatures; the designers showcased a wide spectrum of designs in leather in hues of gold, brown leather and rexene garments. The next round, inspired by the eternal beauty of Helen of Troy, showcased intricately designed Indian sarees. Then came the ‘Zestful Flares’, the ‘flying machine’ which saw the models zoom down the ramp on bikes followed by ‘Walking through Snow Mountains’ displaying knitwear collection. ‘Destiny Denim’, a round dedicated to the denims displayed the creativity of students in giving the usual denims a different look. ‘Mizos’, the tribal round, brought alive the Northeastern state and their typical attires to the ramp with models flashing accessories such as feathers. ‘Dastaan-e-Umrao Jaan’ brought back the magic of rich and stylish Mughal garments in the form of sarees, lehengas with heavy traditional embroidery in deep pink, green and white colours. True to its name ‘Flirty Transparency’, the collection stood out with its flashy and funky designs. The show ended with the grand finale round that was ‘Vivah Vassan’ depicting the traditional Indian bridal wear.
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Kidwai releases book on biotechnology
Chandigarh, August 18 Speaking at the release, Dr Kidwai said the 21st century will be dominated by biotechnology as future developments and progress in every field of life-be it agriculture, medicine, environment and even food-will depend on it. He complimented the authors for writing a comprehensive book that would help popularise the subject. Professor Sobti referred to this ‘science’ as providing an incredible set of research tools in making revolutionary discoveries. Interestingly, the co-author of the book, released today, is a civil servant. Dr Suparana Pachouri is with the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, and is currently on study leave at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and London School of Economics.
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‘Poets must represent people’s problems’
Chandigarh, August 18 The highlight of the programme was the release of Mohanjeet’s seven poetry books like Ohle Wich Ujiyara, Turde Firde Maskhare, Sehkda Shehar, Var Vareek and Guhdi Likhat Wala Varka. The programme commenced with the poet reciting his choicest poems before Dr Sukhdev Singh read out an exhaustive paper on 20 literary works and achievements of Mohanjeet. Presiding over the function, Dr Satinder Singh Noor revered Guru Nanak Dev as the greatest celestial poet. Dr Ravel Singh, Dr Kiran Jeet, Dr Sahib Singh also spoke. Meritorious students of the Punjabi language were given prizes. Dr Sarabjit Singh of the Sahit Sabha thanked the poets and participants. Later talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Punjab state Shiromani Kavi awardee for the year 2004 Mohanjeet reiterated that poetry writing was a 'saadhna' like the music or dance realms of art and reading good literature was 'riyaz' for it. A poet was a part of society and as such he must represent the problems of the people in his creations. He asserted that writing meaningful poetry was a curious craft of articulating the spontaneous emotions in suitable archetype of words.
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Dhanas resident alleges police inaction
Chandigarh, August 18 Blaming the police for shielding the accused, Devinder Parsad of Ambedkar Colony, Dhanas, alleged that taking advantage of their ignorance about Punjabi language, police officials at the Dhanas police post distorted facts of their statements, showing that they did not want any action against the unidentified accused. This despite the fact that he had apprised the officiating UT senior superintendent of police (SSP) about the issue. No action has been taken on his complaint till date. Parsad, in his complaint to the SSP lodged on July 17, alleged that an unidentified turbaned man came to his residence in the afternoon when his wife, Usha, was alone at home. The man, claming to be an official from election department, told his wife to open the gate, who allowed him inside. She, however, told him that any enquiry could be made from outside the gate, as she was alone. The man refused to budge and forced open the gate and entered the house and abused her. At this, his wife warned him, saying she would raise an alarm , forcing the man to go away. Parsad stated that this application was marked to the police post concerned, following which he was summoned to the police post on August 4. He alleged that despite their request that they did not know Punjabi and their statements should be recorded in Hindi, head constable Balbir Singh posted at the police post did not pay heed to their pleas and recoded their statements in Punjabi. He told them that he would read out the statements to them, which he did. But, later when they read out the statements from another person, to their astonishment the facts were completely distorted, and it was stated that they did not want any action against the man, as he did never appear again. He stated that he had also taken up the matter with the deputy commissioner of the city, but to no avail. In charge of the Dhanas police post sub-inspector Diwan Singh said Parsad had, in his statement, mentioned that he did not want any action. Parsad had never brought it to his knowledge that his statement was distorted or changed. If he had any complaint in this regard, he could meet me.
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Swastik Vihar ailing
Tribune News Service
Panchkula, August 18 Poor lighting, potholed roads and rains are proving to be a nightmare for them as all pleas for repairs have fallen on deaf ears. For years together, there have been no repairs in the area. This is clearly a case of official apathy. And, here, when it rains, the roads are literally converted to rivulets with the shopkeepers and residents visiting the market, having to wade through the water. “With water collecting on the roads, it becomes impossible to drive through because there is no way to make out where the potholes are. It’s best to just drag the vehicle right up to the main road to ensure you don’t end up with broken bones,” remarks Bhagwan Singh, an employee in a shop. Recent downpour has worsened the condition of the roads and the residents do not know whom to approach. “The councillors representing Mansa Devi are disinterested in alleviating our suffering, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) says it has noting to do with us and the local administration has not responded to our repeated requests previously. We have nobody to turn to,” explains Rajni, a resident of Swastik Vihar. Lamenting poor street lighting in the area, another resident says, “Most of the lights in the marketplace are non-functional. It is dangerous to drive on these roads in the dark. Also, without proper street lights, the marketplace becomes absolutely dark, which is an open invitation to miscreants.” The residents maintain that while the main road from the entry to Mansa Devi, right up to the shrine, is recarpeted frequently to ensure a smooth ride for the VIPs visiting the temple, the common man’s problems are invariably brushed under the carpet and no thought is given to their plight. “We are condemned to stay without even the basic facilities. We don’t know if our problems will ever be addressed at any quarter. For now, our fate seems sealed,” the shopkeepers quip.
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Civil hospital fails to conduct postmortem
Mohali, August 18 Avtar Singh said that his wife Jasvir Kaur died at a local private hospital on August 16. Her body was shifted to the civil hospital the same day but the postmortem was not conducted. Later, the case was referred to Patiala. He rued that if the hospital authorities could not conduct the postmortem here, he should have been informed earlier. Avtar Singh said his wife was suffering from medical problems after she had a caesarian at a private hospital in Sirhind about a year ago. She had slipped into coma and was brought to a private hospital in Sector 70, where she died on August 16. Civil surgeon Dr M.S.Toor said the body had reached the civil hospital on August 16 but the required documents were presented by the police only last evening. He said the police had requested the hospital authorities to constitute a board of doctors for conducting a postmortem in the presence of a forensic expert. However, the hospital had failed to conduct the postmortem examination because it did not have a forensic expert. Therefore, the case was referred to Patiala.
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Govt apathy alleged
Mohali, August 18 In a press note issued here today, they said about 600 blue cards were given to residents of the village but most of these were migrant labourers. There were a number of Punjabi families who were not given these cards. They alleged that the Congress supporters were obliged while those supporting the SAD were left out. — OC
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ITBP men to scale Gangchua
Chandigarh, August 18 The team is led by Assistant Commandant L.T. Suanthang and comprises three officers, two subordinate officers and 23 men drawn from four battalions of ITBP’s Himachal Pradesh sector. The expedition, code-named Vishwamitra, was flagged off by the Commandant, 19 Battalion, at Moorang post Thursday and is scheduled to complete its sojourn by September 15. The team, which includes a medical officer, had earlier concentrated at the location of the 19 Battalion in Sarahan, where it underwent intensive training.
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Dr Gurdeep Kaur case: IMA warns of stir
Chandigarh, August 18 Dr Gurdeep Kaur was booked under Section 304-A when a patient died on August 13 after she performed MTP on her. At a meeting of its executive, the IMA resolved to take up the matter with the authorities, saying that the Chandigarh police had violated the spirit of the Supreme Court guidelines issued on August 5, 2005, in the Jacob Mathew versus State of Punjab and another case. The court had said that a private complaint may not be entertained unless the complainant had produced prima facie evidence before the court in the form of a credible opinion given by another competent doctor.
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Mohali in bad shape
Mohali, poor cousin of Chandigarh, is in bad shape. It is a victim of cheap politics. The deputy commissioner and the executive officer of the municipal council are at loggersheads. The MLA and the president of MC do not see eye to eye. The elected MLA and another leader are at war with each other. Forty per cent of the safai karamcharis are doing ‘begar’ at bureaucrats’ and politicians’ houses. Doctors in the general hospital are callous. There is much that is wrong, with the result that Mohali is going to the dogs. Kerb channels are dug and garbage is not picked up. The law and order situation leaves much to be desired. Pollution, in various forms, is cutting short our lives. A really hard taskmaster like General Jacob should take over the reigns and set the house in order. S. Chaudhary, Mohali Readers are invited to write to us. Send your mail, in not more than 200 words, at news@tribuneindia.com or, write in, at: Letters, Chandigarh Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh – 160 030
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Thief escapes from custody
Chandigarh, August 18 According to shopkeepers of the Sector 22 market, a thief broke into a shop selling mobile phones after gaining entry through a window by removing split air conditioner. He then entered into a toilet in the shop. As soon as he entered into the shop, security alarms rang up. Frightened, the thief ran away. To his misfortune, Chandan, a security guard posted in the market, along with two others nabbed him. The accused was handed over to the police. The complainant, Prabhat, who is the owner of the shop, alleged that instead of arresting and registering a case against the accused, the policemen made him sit in the police post the entire day. It was also alleged that the police at one point of time, started questioning security guards following allegations levelled by the thief that they snatched his money and thrashed him. However, in the evening the thief, named Sheik from Kolkota, managed to give a sip to policemen. It was only then that the police woke up for action and a case of attempt to burglary was registered under Sections 380, 457 and 511 of the Indian Penal Code. Till the filing of the report the thief was yet to be traced.
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Body of unidentified woman found
Chandigarh, August 18 Sources in the Government Railway Police
(GRP) informed that the death came to light at around 4 am when someone informed the police that a body of a woman in tattered clothes was lying at platform number 1. No document or any other article which could establish her identity was found there. A police official said the woman appeared to be a beggar. She was of medium height and having a wheatish complexion. She was wearing green suit and had a hair cut. She had a round face. The body was shifted to the Sector 6, government Hospital, Panchkula, and post-mortem would be conducted on Monday. Meanwhile, the police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code in this connection.
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Chandigarh, August 18
Chandigarh, August 18