 |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Death in Custody Vishal Sharma and Swati Sharma Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 31 The Division Bench, comprising Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice Rajive Bhalla, asked as to why the apex court guidelines on custodial interrogation and arrest, as espoused in the D.K. Basu case, had not been followed in Anil Kumar's case. At this, Cheema submitted that an uncle of the deceased had been informed and the police had moved Anil to the General Hospital in Sector 16 and later to the PGI without losing time. Cheema fervently averred that the UT police had taken all steps to ensure a free and fair probe. Also, due attention was paid to protect and preserve all possible evidence. He also said there was no question of laxity on the part of the police which had left no stone unturned to trace and arrest the accused SI. Significantly, the Bench asked the UT counsel about the action taken against the woman constable who had made a complaint that Anil Kumar was roaming suspiciously near a parking lot. The Bench also sought information on head constable Harpinder Singh who had taken the boy in custody and brought him to the police station on July 11. Of the multiple theories, ranging from road accident to a fall from a tree, the police has seemingly stuck to the theory that Anil Kumar, who was being interrogated on the first-floor room of the police station, had slipped and fallen. But the petitioner’s counsel has contested this theory as an attempt to cover-up the death due to alleged torture at the hands of SI Narinder Singh and others. The next hearing is on September 5. SI Narinder Singh was presented at the court of duty magistrate Sumit Ghai at the District Courts today. He was sent to police remand for a day. The public prosecutor had moved an application, asking for a seven-day police remand. Defence lawyer advocate Onkar Singh maintained that the accused had surrendered while the public prosecutor said he was arrested. On reaching the court, the SI’s lawyer was not present because of which he seemed a little perturbed. Talking to mediapersons, he said: “I have not done anything and am not responsible for the death of Anil Kumar. In fact from August 22 to 28, I was on leave. That is why I did not surrender earlier.” He has been booked under Sections 304(A) and 304 of the IPC.
|
|
PG owner released on bail
Chandigarh, August 31 “During the search of his house, no other objectionable material was recovered,” the police said. It added that as there was nothing more to recover in the case, a charge sheet would be prepared. Ramnik, a grandson of late Dr Pandit Mohan Lal, former finance, home and education minister of Punjab, was booked under Sections 291-A and 509 of the Indian Penal Code.
|
|
Security concerns rock PG girls
Chandigarh, August 31 "I called in an electrician and got every nook and corner of my room and toilet checked. If my parents were to know about the incident, they would not let me live in Chandigarh," said 19-year-old Shagun, a student of MCM DAV, a PG in Sector 36. Security has become a major concern for girls, who say no one has ever come to inspect their accommodation for the facilities provided or breach of rules. Under rules, PG accommodations are to be inspected by the estate office, which is authorised to stop the facility if need be. No inspection till date has been conducted. DPI (colleges) Raji Shrivastava decided to direct city colleges to prepare a directory on PGs. "We will ask every PG to furnish a statement of her residence. Students' security is our concern." Meanwhile, yesterday's case is already fizzling out, following non-recovery of CDs from Ramnik Sharma, the landlord, and unwillingness of the girls' parents to fight it out. Manisha Sethi, whose daughters are PGs in Delhi, says: "One reason why parents withdraw in such cases is that sexual assault is still seen as a social
crime. There’s stigma attached." Roma, a 20-year-old PG in Sector 44, says: "This is sexual assault of the worst kind where a girl is not even aware of the exploitation she is being subjected to. It calls for major deterrent punishment, lest the perpetrators get emboldened. I am scared for myself." As regards the law, those relating to sexual assault have remained almost unchanged since the IPC was introduced in 1860. Now, for the first time, a comprehensive legislation covering almost every aspect of sexual assault against women and minors has been drafted by the All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA). Called the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, it redefines Section 509 which deals with sexual harassment (under which Ramnik Sharma has been booked). As in molestation, sexual harassment is now punishable only when done with the intention of outraging the modesty of a woman. But the bill states that words and gestures made with sexual intent are also punishable (as in yesterday's case). Sub-sections under the redefined Section 509 deal with such offences committed against women and minors.
|
|
MC nod to paid parking at Mani Majra
Chandigarh, August 31 The house decided to introduce paid parking in certain areas of Mani Majra as well as the upcoming multi-storey parking in Sector 17.The project has been given to a firm on a BOT basis, which will mean that paid parking here will be operational for at least 10 years. In Mani Majra, the paid parking has been allowed on the road along the Motor Market, Mansa Devi road and certain inner road
segments. The house decided to charge Rs 5 for parking a car less than two hours, Rs 10 for daylong parking and Rs 50 as weekly charges. The house approved the rate of Rs 10 for less than two hours for heavy vehicles and Rs 25 per
day. The shopkeepers will have the option to pay weekly charges of Rs 50. The multi-level parking in Sector 17 kicked up a debate in the house. Pradeep Chhabra, a Congress councilor, said” "it is surprising that during times when the MC is deciding to do away with paid parking, the house is clearing a parking project with charges higher than usual for at least 10 years because it is being built on a BOT basis." The parking charges here are Rs 10 for two hours, Rs 15 up to five hours and Rs 20 a
day. The monthly charges for a car will be Rs 500 and Rs 300 for a
two-wheeler. The parking capacity, which is about 800, is likely to be increased up to 1,200.The project is scheduled to be completed within two years. The MC also cleared rules on keeping pets. The owner will have to clear the dog defecation in case done in the open. No dog can roam in the open without a
chain. The owner is required to show the dog vaccination report each year. A family can keep a maximum of two dogs along with a fee of Rs 1,000. Dr Pam Rajput, a nominated councillor, said the MC should earmark a burial site for the dogs. The house cleared the recruitment rules for the fire department. It also okayed mechanical sweeping machines for Sectors 17, 34 and 35. Earlier during the day, the house could not hold any discussion as the just concluded Teej festival at Shanti Kunj came under heavy fire from the Congress. Brig
K.S, Chandpuri, a nominated councilor, said big functions could cause some damage which could be easily corrected. He said the corporation should also attempt functions to promote sports activities. The Chandigarh Vikas Manch and BSP councillors boycotted the meeting, saying their agenda items presented in February had not been taken up for discussion. Addressing a press conference, Harmohan Dhawan, president of the CVM, spoke against lack of concern at the menace of stray cattle.
|
|
Kargil Ammo Scam
Chandigarh, August 31 The GCM, convened by the General Officer Commanding, 8 Mountain Division, Maj-Gen V.S. Tonk, had started in Chandigarh in April with Brig K.K.V Raghvan as the presiding officer The accused, Col Vishal Bhargav, former commanding officer of 4/8 Gorkha Rifles, is facing five charges each under Section 52 (f) and Section 63 of the Army Act for intent to cause wrongful gain and actions prejudicial to good order and military discipline. Another Colonel and a JCO are also facing similar charges in the case. Sources said the two officers have been charged with throwing the ammunition into the Indus between September, 2003, and July, 2005, and failing to take any action to resolve discrepancy regarding handing over-taking of ammunition between their battalion and the previous battalion station there. The alleged misappropriation came to light when large quantities of small-arms ammunition was found on the banks of the Indus near Dah in Jammu and Kashmir on August 20, 2005, by some civilians. The prosecution has contended that 4/8 GR had taken over the ammunition in September, 2003, based on provisional vouchers from 14 Mahar. The commanding officer of 14 Mahar did not take on their ledger charge there by created unaccounted surplus ammunition in the unit. Since Colonel Bhargav, had come to sector along with the main body of the unit towards the end of August, 2003, it could be presumed that he was fully aware of the quantity of ammunition which 4/8 GR took over from 14 Mahar, even though he was away from the unit on leave or tour, the prosecution contended. The ammunition, the prosecution argued, could not have been thrown away without the commanding officer’s knowledge. The defence, on the other hand maintained that the prosecution has failed to prove any of the charges beyond reasonable doubt and there was no direct or circumstantial evidence to link the accused directly or indirectly to the charges. The defence contended that the prosecution witnesses have themselves not only doubted the truthfulness of the contents of the provisional vouchers and final issue vouchers, but also deposed that 4/8 GR did not take over ammunition from 14 Mahar on the basis of provisional vouchers. The defence also maintained that all prosecution witness have stated that they did not know who had thrown the ammunition in the Indus The case was based not on evidence, but on presumptions and conjectures, it added. The GCM will now assemble on September 5 for summing-up by the Judge Advocate, Lieut-Col Manish Kumar. The court’s deliberations and findings would follow thereafter.
|
|
Air Cmdr Luthra takes over as
3 BRD chief
An impressive handing over parade held at 3 BRD marked the change of guard. All senior officers of the depot attended the ceremony. Addressing the air warriors on the occasion, the outgoing AOC said that 3 BRD was likely to be awarded the President's Colours soon for its achievements and the case is being processed by Air Headquarters. The station might soon get a Centre for Excellence in Sports as the Maintenance Command has already accepted the concept paper, he added. Air Commodore Luthra was commanding the Air Force Communication Centre at New Delhi before coming here, was commissioned in engineering branch of the IAF on July 25, 1977. His assignments have included senior engineer (electronics) of two premier IAF bases, senior engineer (aircraft) of a premier IAF base and chief engineer of a fighter base. He has undergone specialised training in USA and erstwhile USSR. As a member of IAF delegations, he has been to UK, South Korea and Japan. He has been decorated with the Vishist Seva Medal.
|
|
Marla houses face admn apathy
Chandigarh, August 31
In fact, miffed at dilly-dalling response of the authorities concerned the Chandigarh Marlas/Flats Houses Residents Welfare Association has threatened to take to the streets in case their demands are not met. The association is not asking for the moon. All it wants is the regularisation of the need-based changes in their houses as one-time relaxation. We are not asking the administration to condone or compound the encroachments on public land but give certain concessions on our own plot area, the association office-bearers said. Not to talk of measures to regularise the changes, the administration, in an apparent pick-and-choose attempt, was regularly sending notices to house owners. This was despite the fact that no survey of the violations had ever been conducted by the administration. There was a definite need for making liberal amendments to the building bylaws as over 99 per cent of all categories of houses in Chandigarh had made alterations and the piecemeal amendments in building bylaws would not solve the problem, said Surinder Pal Chauhan, president of the association. Chauhan claimed that while the administration was giving sops to slum-dwellers by rehabilitating them, their repeated pleas had not moved the authorities.The recent regularisation of the Deep Complex at Hallo Majra smacked of partisan attitude of the administration, he alleged. Organisations and political parties cutting across party lines had been pleading for the regularisation of the need-based changes in the marla houses. It is argued that the building bylaws were framed years ago, which necessitated drastic changes in the present scenario in view of the changing needs of the families, which had grown in size over a period of time.
|
|
Mohali oppn councillors stage walkout
Mohali, August 31
They also raised slogans against MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu and municipal council president Rajinder Singh Rana after coming out of the meeting hall. The walkout came towards the fag-end of the meeting. The opposition councillors said at the meeting that development works worth Rs 4 crore were presented for clearance by the council house out of which merely Rs 32 lakh had been set aside for their wards. However, the council president accused the opposition in the house of obstructing development works in the town and said none of them had approached him in connection with any development-related activity. Later, the MLA, who is an ex-officio member of the civic body, told mediapersons that there was no unfair distribution of funds. Many development works okayed by the house related to the whole town such as the premix carpeting of the main roads, the maintenance of traffic blinkers and work on the cattle pound. Earlier, there were arguments in the house on an agenda item related to the giving of pensions to persons above 60 years, widows and the physically challenged. Councillors said nobody belonging to these categories had been given pension for the past 10 months. The cases verified by councillors were rejected by the SDM, who wanted the council executive officer (EO) to carry out the verification. The EO, however, said it was not his job to verify such cases. The house demanded that the PUDA authorities should refund a part of the amount paid for the land allotted for the cattle pound in the Phase I industrial area here. It said a part of the area allotted for the purpose could not be used as high-tension electricity wires were passing over it. PUDA had failed to get the wires shifted as promised at the time of allotment of the piece of land, councillors said. Various items related to municipal employees such as leave and medical bills were also cleared by the general body meeting.
|
|
65 more trees to face the axe
Chandigarh, August 31 Sources in the administration said a survey of the trees has been done by the horticulture department and an approval would soon be sought from the advisor. Overlooking its own norms and conventions, 230 trees along two other roads in the Industrial Area are being cut. Environmentalists, though, are not taking the situation lightly. They lament that the trees should have been transplanted if their removal was necessary. The value of a single tree, in terms of its impact on the ecology, has been accessed at around Rs 2 lakh per year, they say. Expressing concern over the felling of trees, the environmentalists feel that the tree cover in the Industrial Area would be reduced. Among the trees being felled are mango, silver oak, mulberry, alastonia, ashoka, jaman, papal, pilkhan, ber, sabu babool, amaltas, arjan, inter-lobum, alstonia and 'pahari keekar'.
|
|
Nokia care charged with raw deal
Panchkula, August 31 Saini, who purchased a mobile phone (N95) for Rs 31, 000 in June from PP Traders, Sector 8, here, alleged that the set developed technical problems within 20 days of its
purchase. Narrating the tale of woes, Saini complained that he went to Sparkle, a company care centre in Sector 44 in Chandigarh with defective phone set. Though the phone was repaired but after a gap of 7 days the key pad stopped functioning. At last, he went to Mobile Connect, Sector-22, Chandigarh, to repair the phone set. On the job sheet it was clearly mentioned to deliver the set on the same day, August 20, but still he could not get the set. “After so many calls, now they say that there is a major fault for which they have sent it to the company. Whenever I try the company’s contact number, the attendants simply put the call on hold. Once a representative came on the line who suggested me to wait for three more days to know the status of the mobile”, he
rued. Ambrish, owner of PP Traders said, “I have sold the mobile with one year warranty for which company is liable. My job is just to sell the phone not to repair it”. Manjit Singh, the representative of Mobile connect, said, “We only provide service and the repair is to be provided by the company”. “The set has been sent to the company so we do not know the status of the set”, he added.
|
|
Sec 17 police station gets ISO mark
Chandigarh, August 31 Under the ISO certification, the station has to follow certain guidelines and adhere to international standards in providing service. Speaking on the occasion, Vivek Gogia, DIG (headquarters), stated that the remaining police stations will comply with the requirements of ISO-9001:2000 by the end of this financial year.
|
|
Dismissal of Hooda govt sought
Chandigarh, August 31 The chairman of the CVM alleged that the Haryana government had failed in maintaining law and order in the state.
|
|
27 hours, no power
Zirakpur, August 31 According to residents, long and unscheduled power cuts were a routine affair in the area and repeated complaints to the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) authorities had failed to improve things. Meanwhile, the long power cut tested the patience of the residents in the sultry weather. Phone calls at the complaint centre failed to elicit any positive response, Kamal Dev Sharma, a resident, alleged. Though the population of the area had increased manifold yet the transmission system had not been upgraded. In the wake of old transmission system, the transformer has been burnt several times. The residents demanded immediate streamlining of the electricity power for the convenience of the general public.
|
|
Residents without water for 5 days
Dera Bassi, August 31 Residents alleged that despite repeated complaints to the authorities concerned nothing had been done so far. A technical snag in the tubewell supplying water to these villages is stated to be the cause. A new tubewell, which had been sanctioned for this area, had been hanging in the pipeline for past one year, Daffarpur sarpanch Gurmukh Singh alleged.
— TNS
|
|
Police action unjustified: Students
Chandigarh, August 31 Moreover, they said this move would adversely affect their academic profiles by creating criminal records and terming them trouble-creators. NSUI stated that they smelt a conspiracy laid down by the administration to crush student politics and abolish students' elections in the city colleges. A delegation of NSUI led by Nitin Goyal, state president also met the UT home secretary, Krishna Mohan, today and submitted a memorandum for the elections in all the professional colleges of Chandigarh.
|
|
Sports woes
I appreciate The Chandigarh Tribune for highlighting the inhospitable attitude of the Chandigarh Sports Council to mark the National Sports Day in memory of hockey legend Dhayan Chand. The council honoured the city sportsmen who have won medals at the international levels, in a very casual way as the administration level function was over within three minutes. One player got a cash award of Rs 50,000 two got Rs 20,000 each which cannot be considered as a handsome award. World class Golf player, Jeev Milkha Singh who has been honoured world over bringing laurels for the city was not considered for any award. We should learn a lesson from small countries like Korea and Japan who do a lot to uplift their players and sports. But we stand nowhere in the International Sports Meet when we are compared with these small countries. Dilbag Rai, Chandigarh 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
|
|
Biz Clips
Chandigarh NEW-BRANCHES:
The Allahabad bank proposes to open 100 more branch by the end of next financial
year. Moreover, a branch of the bank would be opened at Ropar tomorrow, Anil Kumar, deputy general manager of the Ludhiana zone, said here on Friday.
— TNS
|
|
|||||
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, August 31