Labourer killed, contractor held
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 6 — A labourer working at the under construction gymnasium hall on the Punjab Engineering College (PEC) campus was electrocuted last night . The body of the labourer, Amar Singh of Maloya village, was found this evening when his panicked neighbours reached the PEC looking for him.

The police has arrested Ravinder Chawla, contractor of the building.

According to sources, the labourer, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, had gone to the roof of the building to water it. There he was electrocuted.

Goods stolen
An employee working in a shop selling computers allegedly stole five computers , one laser printer and three ink jet printers. Mr Harjinder Singh, owner of the shop in Sector 22, alleged that Balwinder Singh, a resident of SAS Nagar, had stolen the electronic goods.

Car set on fire
In a bizarre incident , a car (CHF-739), parked outside a house in Sector 21, was allegedly set on fire. A portion of the car was burnt . A case under Section 435 of the IPC was registered.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident a car ( CH-01-K-0603), owned by Mohinder Lal of Sector 38, was stolen from his residence.

Beaten up
A resident of Mauli Jagran was allegedly beaten by three others, also of the same locality. Nirmal Singh has alleged that Sital, Sunil and Anil had assaulted him.

In a separate incident Chander Prakash of Sector 18 was beaten up by some persons near a temple in Sector 29.

Eve-teasing
A resident of Sector 22, Hans Raj, was arrested for allegedly indulging in eve-teasing in Sector 17. Besides, Bunty of Sector 46 was arrested from Sector 47. Separate cases have been registered.

Burn injuries
A resident of Colony No 4, Mahesh, received burn injuries at home. He was admitted to the PGI today.

PANCHKULA

Two booked
Two persons have been booked by the police for allegedly cheating a person of Rs 2 lakh by selling a non-existing plot in Rally village here.

According to information available here, Vipin and Harnam Singh prepared a forged power of attorney of a 16-marla plot in Rally village and sold the plot of Jagdish, a resident of Sector 12, here.

Both persons have been booked under Section 420 of the IPC.

Dowry case
Four persons, including the husband of the complainant, have been booked for allegedly physically harming her to bring dowry.

According to the police, the complainant, Ms Namrata Bhandari, alleged that since her marriage in 1997 she had been harassed to bring dowry. Her pregnancy was aborted when she was roughed up by her in-laws, she alleged.

The police has registered a case under Sections 316, 406 and 498 of the IPC against three persons.

Arrested
Sada Ram, a resident of Chandi Mandir, was arrested for allegedly gambling at a public place near Pir Baba in Chandi Mandir on Wednesday. The police has recovered Rs 75 from him.

Widow allowed insurance cover
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, May 6 — The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) has been directed by the local consumer court to pay Rs 25,000 to the widow of its employee on account of an insurance cover under a Group Saving Linked Insurance Scheme of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

The complainant, Ms Sharda Kumari, submitted before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum that her husband, Mr J.M.Mehta, joined the HSEB, now HVPN, in 1962 as assistant store keeper and was subsequently promoted as head store keeper. In January 1991, the nigam introduced the Group Saving Linked Insurance Scheme for the welfare and benefit of its employees through the LIC.

As per the scheme, Rs 50 was deducted from the salary of the complainant's husband, of which an amount of Rs 17.50 went towards the insurance premium and the remaining Rs 32.50 was for saving fund. Mr Mehta expired on March 11,1993, when still in service and had not attained the age of superannuation.

Counsel of the HVPN said that the husband of the complainant remained absent from duty from July 1991 to March 1993 i.e till the date of his death. Due to his prolonged absence from duty, no contribution was remitted to the LIC and so he was no entitled to any benefit due to the policy of the board framed in July 1990.

The LIC through its counsel said no risk was covered on the life of the deceased as his employer did not permit any amount of premium.

The forum observed that the deceased was not absent from duty but on leave. He was getting salary for the earned leave. It said both the complainant and the HVPN were liable for contributory negligence. However, no fault was found on part of the LIC.

The complainant has been allowed Rs 500 as costs of the proceedings. The order has to be complied within one month from the date of its communication.

Cielo owner to get Rs 4.60 lakh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 6 — The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed New India Assurance Company, Chandigarh, to pay Rs 4.60 lakh to the complainant, whose damaged Cielo GLE automatic transmission car was insured with them.

The Commission comprising its President, Justice J.B Garg, and member, Col P.K Vasudeva, also asked the respondents to pay interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum, beginning from May 21, 1998, till its realisation, along with cost of Rs 3000.

According to the complainant, Mr Rajiv Atma Ram, his Cielo car, which was insured with the respondent company, was completely damaged on February 20, 1998, when while trying to save a milk vendor it first hit against a tree and thereafter an electric pole.

The complainant submitted that even though the surveyor had submitted a report recommending settlement of the case as total loss by paying Rs 4.60 lakh to the complainant, the insurance company did not pay the claim to the insured.

In its reply, the insurance company stated that the amount could not be paid because its head office declined to give approval to the claim on total loss cases and instead it advised that the claim should be settled on cash loss basis.

After going through the records, the commission observed that the Regional Manager of the insurance company at Chandigarh was satisfied with the examination of the vehicle and the report of the surveyor . The mere fact that the head office at Calcutta did not agree o the total loss settlement did not have any importance as it was without appointing a second surveyor and without physical examination of the car.

The commission, therefore, held the insurance company guilty of deficiency for causing undue delay in settling and making the payment to the complainant, more so because the accident and total loss was an admitted fact. It, however, observed that the salvage of the car lying with its dealer would go to the insurance company.

Loss of baggage

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-II comprising its President, Mr R.P Bajaj, and members, Mr H.S Walia and Mrs Kamlesh Gupta, has directed United Airlines to pay a sum of Rs 10,000 to a complainant for temporary loss of his baggage.

The complainant, Mr S.C Nagpal of Sector 8, had filed a complaint alleging that one out of his three pieces of baggage did not reach with his flight at New Delhi airport on July 1, 1996. The airlines asked him to wait till the next day and therefore his family had to stay in a hotel and hire two rooms. However, the baggage could not be traced even on the next date. Later on July 20, he received a message that the baggage had been traced and that he should reach Delhi to claim the same. On inspection, the baggage was found to be without lock and in torn condition.

He further alleged that certain expensive items were missing and he filed a claim with the airlines authorities. The airlines paid him a compensation of Rs 5,200 but the complainant was not satisfied with it. In the complaint he claimed a total sum of Rs 4, 14,400.

In its reply the airlines contended that the traced baggage weighed 34 kg whereas the maximum weight allowed was only 32 kg. The complainant had not paid excess weight charges nor had he declared the excess weight. The allegations regarding loss of items were also alleged to be false.

After going through the records, the forum observed that `` having failed to give appropriate declaration and under the Warsaw Convention of 1929, the complainant cannot justifiably ask for compensation for the loss of such items. The additional charges were not paid to render the airlines liable for compensation.

''The forum declined to consider the question of quantum of pilferage as it required voluminous evidence which was not possible under the summary proceedings.

The forum, however, observed that since the complainant had undergone mental agony and harassment and had to pay several visits to Delhi to pursue the claim and collect the baggage, he was entitled to a compensation of Rs 15,000. As a sum of Rs 5,000 had already been paid, the forum directed the payment of Rs 10,000 more to the complainant within one month.

Strawberry up, apricot down
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 6—While cherries have arrived in the city markets, the prices of most of the fruits and vegetables have witnessed fluctuation during the past three days.

A survey revealed today that cherries, though in little quantity, have entered the market, but are out of the reach of the common man. These are priced on the higher side, with a kg of the fruit priced at Rs 200 today.

According to sources, the fruit is coming from Kotgarh in Himachal Pradesh. "Actually, the price will fall once the arrivals start from Jammu and surrounding areas after 15 days," says a trader in Sector 20.

Meanwhile, strawberries have become costlier as these are being sold for Rs 80, in place of Rs 60 a kg. A packet of the fruit, containing about 250 gms of the fruit, is being sold for between Rs 20 and Rs 25 in different city markets.

On the other hand, enhanced arrivals of apricot have resulted in a fall in the price of the fruit. A kg of the fruit, which was available for Rs 60 just three days back, is priced today at Rs 40. "The price will further go down as the crop is said to be reasonably good this year in the entire apricot-producing belt of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir," says fruit trader in Sector 27.

While there was no change in the price of 'safeda' variety of mango, the other varieties of the fruit, such as 'sandhuri' and 'dasehri' witnessed a downward trend in prices. 'Safeda' is priced at between Rs 15 and Rs 20 and 'sandhuri,' which was priced at between Rs 45 and Rs 50 a kg three days back, is available in the market today between Rs 35 and Rs 40 a kg. Similarly, one can relish 'dasehri' mangoes by paying Rs 35 for a kg of the fruit, which was earlier priced at between Rs 45 and Rs 50.

Watermelon is available at the old price of between Rs 7 and Rs 8 a kg and muskmelon is priced on the higher side today. A kg of good-quality 'kajri' muskmelon, which was available for Rs 15 three days back, is available today for between Rs 18 and Rs 20. " As the local crop has yet to arrive, the price depends upon the arrivals of the fruit from Rajasthan, and it goes up the day there is a slump in the arrivals," says a fruit seller.

On the vegetable front, if the prices of some of the vegetables have crashed, some other vegetables have become costlier during this period. A kg of tomato, priced at Rs 8 three days back, is available in the market for Rs 6 today. The wholesale price of the vegetable has come down from Rs 40 to Rs 30 per five kg.

Similarly, a kg of beans, which is priced at Rs 20 a kg, is available for Rs 15 a kg today. The wholesale price of the vegetable has come down from Rs 90 to Rs 70 per five kg. The fall has been attributed to enhanced supplies of the vegetable from Himachal Pradesh. Till now, it had been coming from some parts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The price of squash gourd has crashed from Rs 30 to Rs 20 a kg during this period and the fall is said to be owing to the arrival of local crop from different parts of Punjab.

On the other hand, ginger has turned dearer during this period. A kg of the vegetable, which is primarily coming from cold storages these days, is available for Rs 60 in place of Rs 48. The wholesale price of the vegetable has increased from Rs 160 to Rs 200 per five kg.

The prices of other vegetables and fruits are as follows: cauliflower Rs 15 a kg, cabbage Rs 5, cucumber Rs 5, peas Rs 40, bittergourd Rs 25, brinjal Rs 10, lady's finger Rs 20, radish Rs 10, gourd Rs 10, garlic Rs 35, onion Rs 8, potato Rs 4, grapes Rs 40, pomegranate Rs 40 and apple Rs 50.