The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

Poultry farm employee killed, 1.75 lakh looted
Our Correspondent

Dera Bassi, December 16
An accountant-cum-cashier of a poultry farm located in Behra village on the Dera Bassi-Barwala road was hacked to death by some unidentified assailants late last nigh. The assailants also decamped with Rs 1.75 lakh from his almirah after killing the accountant.

Deceased Awadh Kishore (32), hailing from Bihar, was found murdered on the second floor of a residential complex built under a proposed overhead water tank in Taj Poultry farm. His body was discovered by Mr S.K. Shukla, a supervisor of the concern.

Mr Shukla noticed the body lying in a pool of blood when he went upstairs to inform him about a telephone call from his brother at Faizabad at about 8 am. He then informed Chandigarh and Panchkula-based proprietors of the poultry farm and subsequently the police.

Sources said that some unidentified assailants entered the farm after jumping over its boundary wall late last night. The assailants first tried to strangulate him and then hacked him to death with some sharp-edged weapon. They also decamped with a sum of over Rs 1.75 lakh which the deceased had kept in a almirah after sale of poultry products of the day

Mr Kishore had been employed with the farm for the past two years. He had an altercation over broken eggs with employees of a Barwala-based firm that had purchased a truck load of eggs for Rs 1.57 lakh on Saturday noon. He also had in his possession over Rs 17,000, fetched after selling poultry products during the day.

Sources added that there were foot marks on the boundary wall and on the ground adjacent to it which indicated that some outsiders had entered the premises of the farm. They then went upstairs with an intention to kill him. Awadh was sleeping in a room on the second floor of the residential complex.

Owners of the poultry farm suspected that the employees of Barwala-based firm who had indulged in altercation with Kishore might have killed him for revenge.

But most the workers, over 40 in number, employed with the farm, were tight lipped about the murder and expressed ignorance if they had heard cries of the victim.

After receiving information, Mr Jatinder Singh Khaira, DSP, along with Mr Amarjit Singh Khaira, SHO, Dera Bassi, and a police party reached the spot. A dog squad and team of forensic experts were called from Patiala and pressed into service.

Mr Satbir Singh, DSP (detective) and a team of CIA staff was also called to make some headway in the blind murder case. The police confirmed that money was the motive behind the murder but possibility of deceased having illicit relations with some woman worker of the farm or some village girl could not be ruled out.

While Talking to the Tribune, the DSP said that the assailants had committed the murder in connivance with some workers of the poultry farm.

A case under Sections 302, 34 and 379 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Dera Bassi Police station and the body has been sent to the Civil Hospital, Rajpura for postmortem examinations.

The family members of the deceased have been informed about the incident.

Hoax callers, beware!
Caller IDs installed at District Courts, police stations
Tribune Reporters

Chandigarh, December 16
Miscreants beware. A caller identification system has finally been installed in District Courts and other offices in the complex in order to check the menace of hoax bomb callers. The action has been taken following a large number of hoax calls that disturbed court proceedings for hours this year.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, the UT District and Sessions Judge, Mr H.S. Bhalla, said this would lead them to the culprits and save court's valuable time.

The president of the District Bar Association, Mr H.S. Hundal, welcomed the step. He said the system would help the police to nab criminals. In the past five years, hoax calls disrupted court work for nearly 20 times and about six times this year. On January 31 this year, work was disrupted for about two hours. More than 20 police personnel equipped with metal detectors and a sniffer dog carried out search operations for about one and a half hour. Similarly on May 11 routine work of District Courts remained suspended for more than one hour due to bomb hoax. At around 2 p.m., an employee of the court informed the control room that he had got a call from an unknown person that a bomb had been planted on the court premises. The unknown caller informed the employee that two Kashmirs had left two bags containing explosive material on the court premises.

On May 15 it was the fourth time this year that a hoax bomb call disrupted functioning of the courts. This time a call was received at the office of the District Judge at around 11.15 a.m. The caller said that a bomb had been planted in the courts. The office staff of the District and Sessions Judge immediately called the police.

The routine work at District Courts again remained suspended on October 23 for more than an hour due to the call in the morning. It was the fifth time this year. It was about 8.30 a.m the Sector 17 police station had received an anonymous call that a bomb had been planted in the District Courts. Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Police will install caller identification facility on telephones of all police stations in the city, a statement issued here today said.

The Telephone Department has already provided this facility on telephones installed in police stations in Sectors 19, 26, 34 and 31 and Mani Majra and the Industrial Area.

This facility is being provided to keep a check on bogus calls.

Meanwhile, the telephone numbers of two police stations have also changed. The new telephone number of the Sector 31 police station is 662698, while that of the Sector 34 police station is 662697, the statement added.

Science faculty worried over lack of attention to practicals
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 16
Practicals, which form the strong base of science education, remain in the background of academic priorities in affiliated colleges of Panjab University. Much less than required attention is paid to classroom teaching in practicals and in related conduct of final examination.

At a meeting of the Faculty of Science of the university held recently members expressed serious concern in this regard. The faculty resolved ‘‘the issue of practical examination in the colleges be referred to a broad-based committee."

Initiating the discussion Prof Charanjit Chawla said ‘‘The importance of science practicals was being undermined. Since admissions to higher classes were based on entrance tests, practicals were not given the due attention. As a result college managements had stopped purchasing the needed equipment and the apparatus,’’ he added.

Professor Chawla said ‘‘The university had instructed that in case the external examiner did not reach the examination centre, the college principal should get the practical examination conducted at his own level. Thus, in most of the cases, practical examination were conducted by the internal examiner. This resulted in having limited classes in practicals and that too at the will of the teacher concerned,’’.

It was pointed out at the meeting that the university rules provided that the principals should appoint teachers who did not teach the particular class to conduct the practical examination. It had however been discovered that the teaching members were appointed as the examiners.

Prof I.M.Joshi said the importance of practicals had not only been under-estimated but had also been ignored in all respects. Even during the entrance test conducted by the University Grants Commission, nobody bothered about the proficiency in practicals.

Principal A.C. Vaid said it was true that in view of the entrance test for admission to higher classes, the importance of practicals had been ignored. He said that it was wrong to say that principals were not serious about the science subject. He said that however, if there were 20 practicals, the college teacher would undertake only five or six because he knew he himself would be the paper setter and the evaluator. Principal Vaid said that practical examination should be conducted by the external examiners.

Prof Satya Prakash said he was aware about the fact that practicals were hardly undertaken at the matriculation, plus two and undergraduate level and ‘‘this fact could not be denied’’. He suggested that a high powered committee be set-up.

Principal H.R. Gandhar said things had worsened with stoppage of the university teachers going to colleges for conduct of the practical examination. Dr R.D. Anand said that government as well the universities were ignoring science as well as practicals.

With introduction of the entrance test the value of practicals had vanished. Dr F.S. Nandel said basically the problem of non-performance of practicals started at plus two level the day classes were transferred from colleges to schools. He underlined the need for serious deliberations on the issue.

The faculty reiterated the need of conduct of the practical examination by external examiners.

‘A morale boosting win for India’
Arvind Katyal

Chandigarh, December 16
Saturday was another unforget-able day for the Indian hockey fans when their dream team gave India yet another stupendous victory by winning the Champions Challenge Trophy in its inaugurated year held at Kuala Lumpur. The meet was organised by the International Hockey Federation to give a chance to the winning team for direct entry to the Champions Trophy where only six countries participate. Earlier, this meet was planned in India in November but due to the holding of Afro-Asian games in India, the venue was shifted to Malaysia.

When contacted, Olympian Sukhbir Singh Grewal described the victory as creditable. He said now the challenge lies in the prestigious the Champions Trophy. The way our team played here we can hope to win at Cologne (Germany) also, the venue of the 2002 Champions Trophy, he added. The selectors should not change the team as it disturbs the momentum as well as understanding between the players, he added.

G.S. Bhangu, a Dronacharya awarded in hockey and who retired as natioanl coach at NIS, Patiala, said games the players was improving everyday. Our forward line has certainly taken a leap but to make our half line more mobile is need of the hour, he said. This was the area where we need to put in our maximum efforts so as to keep in pace with other top countries of the world. Bhangu said the juniors like Jugraj, Gaganajit alongwith experienced Dhanraj Pillay combined well in giving India the desired fillip to remain at the top in this inaugural meet.

Jaswinder Singh, the coach at Sports Training Centre, Sector 18, termed it as the morale boosting win after three years when India won the gold medal in the 1998 Asian Games at Bangkok. He said the recent Indian victory at Junior World Cup also helped the players in giving tremendous boost to the players by making them mentally strong and confident. He said the very presence of Dhanraj Pillay in the team always become a scare for the other teams. Pillay's maturity in the turf was a guiding force for his fellow players who were this time seemed determined to win, he added.

Jaswinder said the support provided by the junior players like Deepak Thakur, Jugraj Singh, Sukhbir Gill was enough for the South African team. He said the next year was all the more important for Indian hockey when their skills will be tested in the Champions Trophy at Germany where India will participate after six years and Asian Games to be held in South Korea.

CHANDIGARH CALLING

Nominations to the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh surprised everyone. At least six of the nine who were nominated had not even sent in their credentials for seeking nominations. The nominations were made by Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) in his capacity as UT Administrator.

It may gladden the hearts of faujis that Brig Sant Singh, the highest decorated surviving soldier of the Indian Army, was on the list. So was Maj-Gen A.S. Kahlon. The Governor handpicked both. Brig Sant Singh was the person who led the team that captured Pakistani General A.A.K. Niazi in the famous surrender at Dhaka. The Governor was the GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command.

One of the most interesting stories is of Dr Dilbar Khan. He is a senior official at the Institute of Development Communication. The Tribune team contacting the nominated councillors rang up his office. He was unavailable. His staff told him about the call and the researcher did not call back The Tribune but called up a senior journalist friend of his own and told him “ ye Tribune walleh mujhe dhoond rahe hai maine to kuch nahi kiya.” The senior scribe promised to look into the matter and rang up a reporter in The Tribune. Matters were clarified and Mr Khan was informed that he had been nominated to the MC.

The other surprise was retired Punjab cadre IPS officer C.K. Sawhney. He has been residing in Sector 18 for the past one decade and is leading a private life. The two women on the list, Mrs K. Atma Ram and Mrs Amar Kulwant Singh,had also not sent in their credentials. Mrs K. Atma Ram is the former principal of the prestigious Government College for Girls, Sector 11, while Mrs Amar Kulwant Singh is a noted social worker.

Going back

Usually when IAS or IPS officers are sent back to their parent cadre after postings in the Chandigarh Administration it makes some kind of news, at least in local editions of newspapers. For long HCS and PCS officers have formed the backbone of the Administration .

One such official to be repatriated now is Mr Chander Sekhar. He goes back to his parent cadre of Haryana after spending five years in the UT. He joined as Director Public Relations. Then he was posted as Additional Director, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. His last posting was that of Secretary, State Transport Undertaking and the Registration and Licensing Authority. Both tasks need to be run with an iron hand. On the licensing front he managed to drive away the touts while on the transport front, Mr Chander Sekhar, known to go by the rulebook, put a curb on illegal private buses.

War of words

It was a moment of bliss for all those who had gathered in Tagore Theatre on December 9 to witness music director Anandji in action on the occasion of Rafi award nite. Such was the charisma of the man that he injected great enthusiasm into the otherwise formal award ceremony.

Matching him in humour was the other chief guest for the evening, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, the Finance Minister of Punjab. Towards the beginning of the show Anandji and Mr Kanwaljit Singh were involved in a virtual war of words. The war began when a member of Yaadgar-e-Rafi Society requested Anandji to present a memento to Capt Kanwaljit Singh. In his adorable style, Anandji said: “Zaroor doonga par inhe kahiye ki pehle gaana sunayen.”

Caught on the wrong foot though, Capt Kanwaljit returned the statement equally smartly by saying: “Hum bhi politician hain. Uske saath muqabala nahi karte jiske saath pata ho ki bhidke koi fayada nahi...” Anandji quipped back: “Kabhie kabhie haar bhi jeet hoti hai.” The final statement from Capt Kanwaljit ended the debate. He said: “Hum ye haar khushi se kabool karte hain...”

Flowers everywhere

The 15th annual chrysanthemum show brought a lot of business to mobile flower vendors, who normally go about selling flowers on bicycles. When the show inside the Terraced Garden was in full swing, one could see a line of these vendors outside the garden. Although they were not standing right outside the venue of the flower show, they were present all around.

The moment a visitor would come out of the delightful show, they would round him up and manage to sell a few tuberoses and gladiola. Interesting to note was the fact that people bought flowers from them in a big way simply because they returned with the fragrance of flowers from the garden. And whereas they could appreciate the beauty of flowers inside the Terraced Garden they could not buy any. Said one of the buyers: “Thanks to the great show by the Administration, the gardens are laced with flowers. One is so full of flowers that one does not want to return home without taking a part of this fragrance. These flower sellers have come in handy. They sell a few tuberoses and vanish from the scene.”

Theatre for kids

The kids of Guru Harkishen Singh Model School in Sector 38 were quite smitten with the play presented by members of the Centre for Education and Voluntary Action on the school premises some days back. The play, based on two folk tales, was so well improvised and directed that it held the attention of tinytots for about an hour. So gripping and hilarious were the sequences that the kids listened to each and every dialogue intently. No wonder the hall resonated with sounds of their laughter. When one of the teachers came to take them back to the classes, some of them actually struggled to stay back to watch the entire performance. The rest moved towards their classes, but their eyes remained fixed on the young performers.

This was real theatre indeed. When some of the kids were asked what they learnt from the presentation, they replied with confidence: “We learnt that we should listen to our own mind and not depend too much on others.”

Error prone

Chandigarh is claimed to have the highest rate of literacy in the country. No wonder its electorate is expected to be far more intelligent than in other parts of the country, except, perhaps, Kerala which is also considered to be an equally literate State. The recently held Municipal Corporation elections in the city, however, showed that the basic intelligence of the voters is the same from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and they commit the same faux Pas in exercising their right.

At the counting centres of the corporation election set up by the Chandigarh Administration, Returning Officers detected the same type of follies committed by the votes and their voters had to be declared invalid. The mistakes that were taken note of by the Returning Officers included signing of ballot papers by certain voters, affixing stamp at two or more places. Some of the persons simply did not affix stamps.

These mistakes led to the rejection of a large number of votes. Had these voters properly exercised their votes, some of the defeated candidates would have become victorious.

Welcome proposal

It is heartening that a proposal has been mooted to name the Sector 18 hockey stadium after Dr Dharam Singh Gill, the doyen of Indian hockey who passed away on December 5.

The hero of the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, this glorious citizen of Chandigarh was also the coach of the Indian hockey team in the Tokyo Olympics, 1964. He was instrumental in producing hockey players of repute at the Sector 18 stadium.

Even after he left active coaching, his presence at this stadium, be it any All-India meet or even a Chandigarh state meet, was a continuous source of motivation for the budding hockey players.

It remains to be seen whether the proposal will fructify. A few years back, when another hockey promoter of the city, Mr SN Vohra, died it was proposed to name the stadium after him, who like Dharam Singh had done a yeoman’s job to boost hockey in the city. Nothing happened afterwards.

At places like Jalandhar and Lucknow, hockey stadiums have been named after former reputed hockey players Surjit Singh and KD Singh Babu. Why not at Chandigarh?

Out on a ride

It seems that cops of the UT police who have been deployed at the Sector 17 police post are either ignorant or in deep slumber to enforce traffic rules in the so called heart of the city.

Despite signboards restraining everyone from riding on the pavements, cyclists can be seen crossing this crowded area frequently. The riders cross right in front of the Neelam Theatre and put thousands of pedestrians and strollers to great inconvenience.

The administration has banned entry of cycles, scooters, carts, rickshaws and other vehicles for the convenience of strollers, visitors and pedestrians in Sector 17 of Chandigarh. To maintain decorum and avoid nuisance at this place various sign boards restraining riding here have already been erected at different places. But the police has hardly succeeded to enforce the ban.

Fair-weather

Politicians are better than officials, it seems. Even after winning the elections they interact with the masses, and that also politely. Perhaps, they are aware of the fact that they cannot survive without the support of the common public. They are also aware of the fact that the commoners will be electing them to power once again after a lapse of five years. That is what differentiates them from some of the officers who refuse to recognise old pals after “attaining position of power”.

The realisation of this difference dawned upon a journalist recently when after the recent elections to the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh, he called up a victorious candidate who not only talked to him in a polite manner but also invited him over to her place for the celebrations. It reminded him of another incident when an old friend, eager to know the result of a competition examination he had taken, kept on calling him up day after day but after his selection asked him not to call up “an officer” at his place. It wasn’t proper for “an officer to talk to a journalist”, he had asserted. Time and position do change things.

Victim of rash driving

It was a brilliant career cut short by a youngster casually and carelessly speeding on a city road early one morning. An official of the HSEB, Mr Naresh Kumar Gupta, 52, fell victim to rash driving during his morning walk.

Honours and recognitions he earned over the years of dedicated service to his department are all his family has been left with.

Honoured by the UT Administration “for services for reducing power transmission and distribution losses in the Union Territory’’, Mr Gupta won the first prize in model making (Automatic Traffic Control), for constructing models for demonstration and educational instruction.

His wife, Ms Neeru Gupta, said: “When he died, he was preparing to forward his application for the “Best Citizens of India” which was not destined to happen. His papers and certificates of recognition are all we have as remembrance.’’

Shabby uniform

It is a comparison that would not do Mountview proud. At a recent pool side party organised at the hotel recently, the shabby uniform of the waiters and chefs came in for strong criticism from the visitors.

A resident of Panchkula, Mr Parveen Goyal, irked by the hotel’s performance that night, asked for the “complaint and suggestion book” which was not made available to him.

Harassed, he gave in a written complaint after making the team at the reception a witness to the entire episode. Stating that their uniform was worse than that “in dhabas”, he demanded that the “careless management be taken to task”.

— Sentinel

COMMUNITY

‘Strengthen security systems’
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, December 16
Former BJP member of Parliament Satya Pal Jain favoured passing of POTO (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Ordinance) in the Lok Sabha at a debate on POTO organised by the Panchnad Shodh Sansthan’s Panchkula branch at the Chaman Lal DAV School, Sector 11, here today.

Stating that it was a shame on part of the opposition parties who were opposing the ordinance for the sake of it and had no logical or academic base, Mr Jain informed that enough discussion at the preparatory level had been done before it was decided to introduce the Bill in the house.

Speaking against passing POTO was Dr M Rajivlochan, Department of History, Panjab University, who stated that it was more important to strengthen the various existing security systems in the country rather than forming new ones. ‘‘It would be like wielding a heavier danda with the same weak arm. Instead of strengthening the danda the need of the hour was to strengthen the arm,’’ he said.

Replying to this Mr Jain stated that the existing systems of controlling terrorists had failed and declared insufficient not just in India but all over the world. So a new regulation was required to root out terrorism.

Dr Rajivlochan also argued on the issue of misuse of the various such acts which the nation had earlier to control terrorists.

Mr Jain retorted saying that there was no doubt that this Act would end up curbing power of some people, but it was an Act in which the shortcomings of TADA had been removed. ‘‘Inherent in the Act are its own controls and so there are very little chances of its misuse.’’ he said.

Relating the various processes through which the ordinance had already passed, Mr Jain said, ‘‘Serious deliberations have already taken place at the level of the Standing Committee of the Lok Sabha and many of the senior Congress leaders had, in fact appreciated the Act. But now Mr L.K. Advani is not even being allowed to introduce the Act. We are open for discussion on the floor of the House on the bad and good points of the Act but at least let the discussion start. The Opposition is opposing it for mustering vote banks for the coming elections but they should realise that it is time the country’s politicians stood up together against terrorism and not think of vote banks.’’

Dr Rajivlochan replied stating that the dharma of the politicians was to play politics and there was nothing wrong in it. ‘‘One cannot mix doing social good with politics.

A question answer session followed the debate.

’71 war heroes remembered
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 16
The 30th anniversary of Vijay Divas was celebrated with great fanfare in Chandi Mandir cantonment, near here, today. The historic occasion is observed to commemorate the unprecedented victory by India in the 1971 war against Pakistan, resulting in the birth of Bangladesh as a sovereign state.

In the morning, a solemn ceremony was held at the Western Command war memorial “Veer Smriti” to pay homage to the gallant soldiers who made their supreme sacrifice in the defence of the nation. The Chief of the Staff, Western Command, Lt-Gen H.S. Kanwar, laid a wreath at the memorial

Gallantry awardees and veterans of the 1971 war who paid floral tributes include Lt-Gen R.S. Dayal (retd), Brig Sucha Singh (retd), Brig Sant Singh (retd), Brig K.S. Chandpuri (retd) and Brig Surender Mohan (retd). The memorial service was attended by a large number of officers and jawans.

Later, at another function, the vice-president, Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA), Western Command, Mrs Indu Kanwar, hosted tea with the kin of those killed in recent action. As many as 13 kin, mostly widows and mothers, were present on the occasion. Mrs Kanwar interacted with them and listened to their problems. She also presented them with gifts.

Several persons reiterated their earlier claims of still-not-receiving benefits as were promised by the government. Nor have the allotments of petrol stations or gas agencies come through. A letter was also forwarded to the AWWA vice-president in this regard.

Meanwhile, air warriors of the Air Force Station, Chandigarh, also celebrated Vijay Divas. At a homage-paying ceremony held at the station war memorial, Air Officer Commanding 12 Wing, Air Cmde V.S. Govindarajan laid a wreath at the memorial. Wreaths were also laid by all principal staff officers, commanding officers of operational squadrons and senior representatives of airmen civilian employees and DSC personnel.

Retired EME officers’ meet
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 16
The “Chandigarh Eagles”, retired EME Officers, gathered for a luncheon meet here today. The directory of the Chandigarh Eagles reads like a veritable roll of honour. There are as many as five Generals and four decorated AVSM’s, (Ati Vashisht Sewa Medal) winners. The guest of honour for the afternoon was Major-General S.S. Chhahal, MGEME (HQ), Western Command, Chandi Mandir, and his wife. Retired officers mingled with the serving youngsters at the get-together. The venue was a residence in Sector 8, Chandigarh.

Brig Ramesh Chandra, AVSM and President of the Chandigarh Chapter of the Eagles, had driven straight from the golden jubilee celebrations of IMA, Dehradun, to attend the meet. The EME Corps, i.e. the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, is responsible for the repair, recovery and maintenance of the entire equipment of the Army.

This elite corps comprises highly trained technocrats who have undergone training both in India and abroad and held important assignments in private and public sector undertakings. Founded in 1943, the Corps of EME celebrated their golden jubilee and corps reunion in October, 1993.

The Chandigarh Chapter was started by late Colonel Darshan Vohra to have a fraternity of the retired officers settled in the urban agglomeration of Chandigarh, SAS Nagar and Panchkula.

In September, 1998, Brig Wazir Singh Choudhary, Brig Ramesh Chandra, and Col S.S. Bedi were unanimously elected to the governing body. To them goes the credit for growing the body from a small group of 32 officers to today’s pride of 130 officers. The get-together was attended by about 100 members.

YOUNG VOICE
Education can uplift women

Why did God make man before He made woman? Because an artist always makes a rough sketch before He makes a masterpiece.

This is the philosophy of singer and interior decorator Shivani Sharma. She says that though women in India have always been relegated to second-class status, she feels that it is the fairer sex that is the essence of all life.

“I was always treated at par with my brothers and at times even given priority over them. As a result, I have done all by myself. This makes me feel that given the same opportunities as men, women could do a lot better in their lives.”

She says that though the so-called women liberation claims to have arrived here, even the elitist of families show their preference for male child. Education is the only way through which one can uplift women. They have to learn to make their own decisions and prove their worth. Women in India have miles to go....

CRIME

Sector 27 resident killed by bus
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 16
Sector 27 resident Laj Wanti was killed after she was hit by a Haryana Roadways bus on the Sectors 27-30 dividing road. She was rushed to the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.

The police has arrested the bus driver, Ram Niwas, a resident of Karakpura village in Jind district, and impounded the bus (HR-56-0540). A case has been registered.

Thieves held: Two persons have been caught red-handed while trying to steal an amplifier, stereo and some cassettes from a temple in Sector 19. The accused have been identified as Shiv Shankar Pandey and Sanjiv Kumar, both residents of Uttar Pradesh. They were handed over to the police, which arrested them and registered a case.

Sector 41 resident Sushil Kumar has been caught red-handed while trying to steal a machine from a shop in Sector 20. The shop owner, Irshad, handed over the accused to the police.

Gambling: In different incidents, two persons have been arrested for satta gambling. The accused have been identified as Kamal Singh, a residnet of Kumhar Colony in Sector 25, and Kuldip Kumar, a resident of Dadu Majra Colony. Kamal was arrested from near Saini Bhavan, Sector 24, while Kuldip was apprehended from the Sectors 14-15-24-25 chowk. The police has recovered Rs 705 and Rs 960, respectively, from their possession. Seperate cases under the Gambling Act have been registered against them.

Moped stolen: Sector 19 resident Sunita Kumari has reported that her moped (CH-01-C-3861) has been stolen from a Sector 17 parking lot. The police has registered a case.

Theft cases solved: With the arrest of two persons, the local police yesterday claimed to have solved two cases of theft in Sector 40. The accused have been identified as Raju, a resident of Palsora and Ashwini, alias Sukha, a resident of Dadu Majra Colony.

They have been booked for allegedly breaking into a Sector 40 showroom on December 8 and stealing a CD player, a cash box and artificial jewellary. Raju was involved in burgling another showroom in the same sector in July last year. Raju runs a tea stall in Sector 40, while Ashwini works as a taxi driver. He had come in contact with Raju a few months ago.

The police has recovered several stolen items, including a mixer grinder, emergency light, electronic items, artificial jewellary and pens from their possession. They came to the notice of the police while they were trying to sell the CD player.