Govt dept cheated of Rs 7.5 lakh
Tribune news Service

Chandigarh, May 7 — A businessman and nine employees, including a woman, of the Haryana Government Press were booked for allegedly cheating the Department of Printing and Stationery, Haryana, of nearly Rs 7.50 lakh by presenting false documents of various rates to supply stationery and then claim the money.

The businessman, Sudershan Kumar Jain, who runs a printing business by the name of the Bharatiya Sarv Kalyan Sangh Samiti from Mani Majra, in connivance with A.P. Bhatnagar, Roop Lal Sharma, Chander Kumar Mittal, Sube Singh, S.L. Khattar, Saroj Prabha, Jasbir Singh, Hari Om Bansal and S.C. Puri, allegedly siphoned off the money, according to a complaint lodged with the police by Mr Narinder Gupta, Assistant Controller of Printing and Stationery.

A case under Sections 420, 467, 471 and 120—B of the IPC has been registered.

The businessman used to provide false documents to prove that the material had been supplied and the officials used to clear the bills, thus causing a loss to the state exchequer.

Signature forged
A Sector 9 businessman has been cheated by his employee, who forged signature on the cheques to withdraw varying amounts of money from the account of his employer. Mr R.K. Sharma of Jajoo Textiles in Sector 9 reported that he was cheated by Vikram Tandon of sector 38

Cops snatch cycle
Two constables of the Punjab Armed Police (PAP), Ram Prakash and Darshan Singh, snatched the cycle of Mr Shiv Shanker of Sector 10. While Ram Prakash was nabbed on the spot, Darshan Singh escaped. A case under Section 382 of the IPC has been registered against the cop.

Trafficking
A Mani Majra-based woman, Kiran, has been arrested for allegedly indulging in immoral trafficking. She has been booked on the basis of a statement of Darshana, alias Rajni, of Mauli Jagran. A week ago a Chandigarh police constable was dismissed from service when Darshana had alleged that she had been raped.

The cop had said that the woman was of loose character. Keeping in mind the statement of Darshana given against Kiran and the subsequent investigations, the case of rape against the cop had been dropped, sources said.

Fatal fall
A young girl, Sandhaya, fell down the stairs of her house in Mani Majra and died at the PGI today.

PANCHKULA

Theft case
Mr Kewal Krishan, a resident of Sector 12-A, in a complaint lodged with the police said burglars broke into his house and decamped with cash and jewellery worth Rs 30,000. A case under Sections 380 and 457 of the IPC has been registered.

Ice at a cool price
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 7 — While residents of City Beautiful are paying different prices for ice in different parts of the city, it still costs less than last year.

After a survey of the markets today, it was found that there was a wide difference in the prices of ice in different parts of the city. Its price largely depended on the will of vendors, most of whom are selling ice in unhygienic conditions. If a kg of ice was being sold at Rs 2 in one sector, its price in some other sector was Rs 5.

According to sources, the price varied owing to many factors such as availability of the commodity and the wholesale price at which it was purchased by a retailer.

During the survey, it was found that a kg of ice was being sold at between Rs 4 and Rs 5 in Sector 44. It was available in Sector 45 at Rs 3 a kg. The same quantity of ice was priced at Rs 2 in Sectors 18 and 20 and at Rs 3 in Sectors 19 and 29. Reacting to the difference in prices in different parts of the city, Mr Ram Parkash, a Sector 44 resident, said the administration should ensure uniformity in prices to save people from being overcharged by the vendors. He also demanded that steps should be taken to ensure that vendors sold ice in hygienic conditions.

On the other hand, vendors justified the difference by saying that it was due to the differences in the wholesale price of ice. "Sometimes, when I am unable to get ice directly from a factory, I get an ice slab weighing 45 kg at Rs 80. But when I get it from a factory, it is available at Rs 55. But it depends on the availability of ice," said a vendor.

According to sources, the price of ice is currently less than what it was last year as its demand has not picked up as yet. "The price of a kg of ice was not less than Rs 5 and Rs 6 during these days last year due to great demand," said a Sector 20 vendor. He said compared to a daily sale of 10 to 12 slabs last year, he was selling just five to six slabs now. He predicted that the price would witness a jump in June, when the demand was expected to rise due to heatwave.

Meanwhile, there was no fluctuation in the price of ice cubes. These were still available at the old price of Rs 10 per kg in different parts of the city.