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Excursion turns tragic
Chandigarh, May 16 Snehel Kumar, Vijay Anand and Heman, all in their late teens, were reportedly drowned around 5.30 am when they went into the river for a bath. They apparently lost balance in the strong
current. However, Abhishek Thakur from Kulu survived. The bodies of the victims were handed over to the parents after identification. SHO (Paonta Sahib) Narvir Rathore said on the phone that Snehel belonged to Mandi, Vijay, Lahaul-Spiti and Heman Patiala. Heman was a resident of Bhupinder Nagar, Patiala. A shocked Dr Ashok, father of Snehal, said a group of eight students, including five boys and three girls, were on a trip to Dehra Dun when the tragedy struck. “It happened in the early hours when three of them including my son decided to take a dip in the waters. I can’t believe what happened.” The students had reportedly gone on an excursion after appearing for their AIEEE (All-India Engineering Entrance Examination), said Dr Ashok. The director of the institute said it was not an official trip. Other members of the group who escaped are Monika from Dehra Dun, Vikhyat Negi from Kulu, Goonga Negi from Shimla and Sunpreet Singh from Barnala.
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Cops dilly-dally on car mishap case
Chandigarh, May 16 And now that the vehicle owner, Maj-Gen K.C. Dhingra, has been murdered, the cops may never get to the bottom of the truth. Maj-Gen. K.C. Dhingra was found murdered along with his wife Sangeeta at their Sector 25 residence in Panchkula on Tuesday. Sources in the police headquarters admit to lapses. Questioning the owner after
registering a case may have thrown light on who was driving the vehicle. The car driver allegedly fled the spot abandoning his vehicle while the two other occupants were let go by the cops after their statements were recorded. Eyewitnesses say the accident took place at 11 am when the car, driven at a high speed, rammed into an electricity pole as its driver tried to negotiate a curve. The car was badly damaged, following which one of the occupants, probably sitting in the front seat , and the driver were
entrapped. The driver, who sustained a head injury, managed to slip away during the commotion that followed. His breath smelled of alcohol. A roadside vendor, an eyewitness to the accident, said the police found liquor from the vehicle. Soon another police officer reached there and took the two occupants to the police station. SHO of the Sector 19 police station inspector Sukhdev Singh Bhullar said the two occupants had been identified as 21-year-old Rajan, a resident of Sector 25, Panchkula, and 15-year-old Ajit of Sector 19-D, both menial labourers. They told the police that they had hitched a ride in Phase VII, Mohali, that day to the Sector 19 church. They did not know the car
driver. The SHO said they were allowed to go after their names and addresses were recorded. The SHO said the accident was caused by a stray dog who came in front of the car. Senior superintendent of police (SSP) (Traffic) A.S. Ahlawat said he was not approached for help by Maj-Gen Dhingra on Sunday in connection with the accident. He said the cops had visited the Dhingras’ residence earlier too, but had returned on failing to get a response.
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A distraught son returns home
Tribune News Service
Panchkula, May 16 He said he spoke to his father on Saturday night. Thereafter, he could not get through as there seemed to be a fault in the phone line. The police today got relatives and friends to sign papers confirming the identification of the victims even as a forensic team, officials with a dog squad and fingerprint experts went about their work collecting samples. The police had a tough time with nobody willing to sign the papers. It was only when the daughter-in-law of the Dhingras, Vineeta, reached the house and identified the couple that the police began the process of removing the putrefied bodies from the house for post-mortem. But the doctors at the General Hospital, Sector 6, refused to conduct a post-mortem on the decomposed bodies and told the family that the bodies would have to be shifted to the PGI, Rohtak. At the hospital, the family members repeatedly urged the authorities to conduct the post-mortem in Panchkula or refer the case to the PGI in Chandigarh. CMO Dr Kamla Singh said that rules did not permit the same. “We cannot carry out a post-mortem because we do not have a specialist in forensic medicine who can arrive at the cause of the death as the bodies have decomposed. We can send the bodies to Rohtak and they can, in turn, refer the case to Chandigarh if they are not able to arrive at a conclusion,” she explained. Coffins and ice was arranged for to carry the bodies to Rohtak. However, when the coffins did not fit into the ambulance, the police asked the Army to send a truck to carry these to Rohtak. During investigations, the police found jewellery missing from the house but cash totalling Rs 17,000 found in the house was handed over to Amit. The police said the Dhingras had changed their servants several times after shifting to Panchkula. During their 11-month stay in Panchkula, they had hired at least five servants and police verification of none had been done. Sources said the last servant had been employed on the recommendation of an Army personnel in Amit’s regiment. The family was trying to contact him for clues on the servant.
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Cops zero in on three suspects
Panchkula, May 16 Superintendent of Police Balbir Singh said the murder was committed on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. “Dhingra’s son, Amit, spoke to him on Saturday night when they were dining in a club. “During investigation, we found a packet of milk dated May 12. That would haven been the last packet of milk consumed. Also, the accident in Chandigarh took place on Sunday, after the three had committed the murder and were probably trying to escape,” he said. The police has released the sketches of the three accused, all in the age group of 18 to 22. The police has also contacted its counterparts in Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, requesting the police there to keep a tab on the houses of Rajan and Ajit. Anand has an injury mark on his forehead, received during Sunday’s accident. It had come to light that the trio would meet at the Sector 19 church every Sunday. “We could not find anything from the registers on domestic workers. We suspect that the three are in the city,” the SP said.
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Abandoned Inshika back with mother
Chandigarh, May 16 The custody of the child was transferred from the Missionaries of Charity, Sector 23, to her parents today after Ram Lal, child’s father, filed a security bond on court directions. He pledged to "take care of the child". Even as Inshika went home, her mother continues to face trial for having "willfully abandoned the child with an intention to harm/kill her. The couple was reluctant to accept the child at the counselling sessions they underwent before being granted custody of the child. They responded only when the court issued them a notice on an application by the Missionaries of Charity, which requested the court to direct the parents to either accept the child or relinquish her for adoption. “They had little chance of escaping responsibility after a DNA test confirmed that Jasbir was the child’s biological mother." Madhu Singh, member, Child Welfare Committee said. Jasbir preferred moments of silence with her daughter. She was in no mood to talk about the past. “ Her name is Harmanjot,” is all that she said.
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New steps to check
US-bound imposters
Chandigarh, May 16
As a result, the document processing time has gone up to one month after coming down to just six days. Initially, the waiting period was almost six months. In the past 18 months, the mission has investigated over 50 criminal cases in co-operation with the Indian law enforcement agencies. To further check the entry of imposters in the USA, the authorities concerned now plan to adopt enhanced security measures. In addition to biometric sampling where the electronic image of the face created at the embassy is matched with that of the traveller, the authorities are now planning to go in for a complete 10-finger print collection. Giving details, US Consul-General Peter Kaestner said after seven months of hard work the embassy had brought down the document processing period to less than a week. But it had resulted in a rush of unqualified visa applicants. As a result, the refusal rate, steady at 20 per cent, had gone up to 30 per cent in the one past month or so. Interacting with the media at the Chandigarh Press Club he said, "Fraudulent applications by unqualified individuals only make the task difficult for legitimate travellers seeking entry into the USA for work, business, education, or even travel." Accompanied by his deputy press attaché Tara Rigler, the Consul-General said: "While America encourages legitimate travellers, the country is against people using temporary visas for immigration purpose." The embassy, he added, processed 4.6 lakh visas during the last fiscal ending in September. This year the number of applications was expected to touch the 7-lakh mark. In all, 30,000 green cards were handed over annually in India. Describing the students as "cultural ambassadors", he said America had just not fixed the number of visas to be handed over to the students. "We believe in encouraging the students to study in the USA. For, they spread Indian culture in America and vice-versa," he said. "As such, we can double, even triple the number of Fulbright scholarships. In all, we issued 26,000 visas to the students last year. The number is up by 30 per cent."
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Serving the sick and needy
Chandigarh, May 16 In fact, Ahuja is not the only one who has taken upon himself the task of mitigating the pain and sorrow of relatives and attendants of patients admitted to these hospitals. Gurdwara Jhanda Sahib of Padiala village in Mohali district is another such institution serving humanity. For the past four years, sewadars of this gurdwara have been serving food and lassi, in true Sikh tradition. “The quantity of food we bring in is enough to serve 600 persons and this service is on for the whole week, except on Saturdays,” said Naib Singh, a sewadar of the gurdwara. While a large-sized chappati, along with rice and dal, is sufficient for children and the elderly, an adult gets two chappatis, rice and dal. Besides, over 200 litres of lassi is also served daily, irrespective of the season, Sher Singh, another sewadar, adds. Two utility vehicles ferry the food from the gurdwara situated 25 kilometres from Kurali, every day. A visit to the PGI campus on any day reveals that about 10 sewadars from the gurdwara distribute langar between 1 pm to 2.30 pm. The effort is purely voluntary with contributions from people of villages surrounding the gurdwara. Some people from the business community of Dhuri also contribute in the langar, informed Sher Singh. Donors contributing eatables are also given the option to themselves serve the prepared food to the needy at the PGI, Sher Singh said. In fact, they do not serve langar on Saturdays to give an opportunity to other charitable organisations to do their bit for the needy. For Ahuja, the daily routine of serving langar to over 1,000 persons (lunch at the GMCH and supper at the PGI) has been giving him delight for years now. Ahuja’s menu is elaborate with chappatis, kulchas and pooris forming part of the menu on different days. I have been serving langar at the PGI for the last 25 years. Serving langar to the needy gives me a high and I have prospered on account of this charity, says 72-year-old Ahuja, who migrated to India penniless after the partition. Ahuja has a full-fledged kitchen at Sector 26 here for the preparation of the food. Besides food, Ahuja also caters to other needs of poor patients such as clothes, blankets and shoes. His pockets are also always full of candies for children.
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Dera row sparks protests all over
Mohali, May 16 Slogans were raised against the dera and the protesters demanded the registration of a police case against the dera chief who allegedly was responsible for creating a law and order problem in the state. Heavy police force was deployed in the area and the traffic on the main road was diverted because the road was blocked for more than half an hour. The SDM and SP (City) reached the spot along with other officials. A copy of the memorandum addressed to the deputy commissioner was handed over to the SDM. The protesters demanded that the entry of the dera chief to Punjab should be banned. R.P.Singh of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha said if the government failed to take any action, the Sikh community would be compelled to take its own course. The march started from Phase XI and culminated at Amb Sahib gurdwara where the protest was held. Former municipal councillors Manjit Singh Sethi, Manmohan Singh Lang, Akali leader Rajbir Singh Padiala were among those who took part in the protest. Panchkula: Led by the president of the SAD, members of the Sikh community today staged a protest against the dera, near Nada Sahib gurdwara, here, today. Brandishing swords and armed with lathis, the members raised slogans against the dera and its chief before burning his effigy in the presence of representatives of various gurdwaras of the city. Manager of Nada Sahib Bhupinder Singh and jathedar of Sector 15 gurdwara Dharam Singh Nihang were among those present.
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Flag march
Mohali, May 16 In Mohali the march was led by the Deputy commissioner. The SSP, SPs, DSPs and all station house officers also took part.
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CAG reveals shortfalls in task of AN-32 fleet
Chandigarh, May 16 Revealing this in its latest report, the Comptroller and Auditor General has observed that against the serviceability level of 75 per cent assumed by the ministry at the time of procurement, the actual serviceability rate of aircraft ranged between 47 and 51 per cent in the past four years. The number of AoG was also high, increasing from 24 per cent in 2002 to 33 per cent in 2005, the report stated, adding this indicated the required number of aircraft were not in ready to fly condition. High levels of un-serviceability indicated that repair and maintenance capabilities at wings and repair depots were inadequate. While CAG observed that the actual flying tasks, fell significantly short of the task prescribed by the government, ranging between 49 and 59 per cent during 2003-05, Air Headquarters stated that the tasks were reduced to conserve the life of the engines and aircraft and on account of lower availability of serviceable aircraft and pilots. The report observed that the aircraft were used for routine and miscellaneous tasks by diverting them from their primary role of air maintenance and training. Of the total flying hours utilised by six AN-32 squadrons, only 33 per cent were used for the primary role, resulting in a shortfall of 43 per cent in air maintenance task and 58 per cent in training. CAG did not agree with Air HQ’s stance that miscellaneous tasks were fully authorised and essential for maintaining operational readiness of squadrons. In Paratroopers Training School, most of the parachute related courses showed shortfalls in achievements of target outputs. Envisaged conversion courses, for which six aircraft were provided, were not held at all in the past five years, the report said. At an IAF training facility, set up with eight aircraft, CAG observed shortfalls in training of pilots, ranging from 20 per cent to as high as 82 per cent. CAG revealed that there was an overall shortage of pilots ranging between 13 and 22 per cent during the review period. At the same time, there was an excess of navigators and flight engineers, ranging up to 28 and 34 per cent, respectively, which indicated an imbalance of manpower deployment. CAG has also taken the IAF to task for modifying eight AN-32s for VIP role by diverting them from operational tasks without government approval. The report said that their was no justification for such modifications as a separate special communications squadron with adequate aircraft for VIP use already existed. These aircraft were used by non-entitled persons, including senior officers, presidents of army and air force wives welfare associations and their accompanying staff, incurring an expenditure of Rs 75 crore since their modifications in 2002-03. A test check revealed that these aircraft carried an average of three passengers and 2 kg payload against the AN-32s capacity of 50 persons and 6,700 kg.
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Election posters deface CTU buses
Most of the CTU buses can be seen plying on the roads with coloured posters all over them. Even the front and rear windshields, including the windows have not been spared. “Despite our best efforts, we are unable to contact all our employees during the meetings and rallies as most of them do shift duties. Pasting posters on buses serves our purpose of reaching out to all the voters,” said a contestant. With these election tactics, nobody is bothered that the buses are being defaced. This disfiguration does not go well with commuters. “It is disturbing to see these beautiful buses covered with posters. They should be removed immediately,” said Seema Sharda, a college student. On being asked whether there was permission from concerned authorities to paste posters on the buses, Capt P.S. Shergill, director, CTU, answered in the negative. “The canvassing is part of the elections but defacing buses will not be tolerated. I have already passed instructions to have them removed. Besides, the contesting groups will be directed not to do such things again,” said Shergill.
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Suspects untraced; phone details of no help
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 16 The SHO of the Sector 36 police station said though police teams had raided various places, including Ludhiana, they had so far failed to trace the suspects. The sketches had been flashed to all district headquarters, the national crime record bureau and neighbouring states. The details of calls from the cell phone of the suspects had not led to any clues about their whereabouts, said the police. Dairy farmer Sucha Singh, his wife Balbir Kaur and their servant Chhotu were found murdered at Kajheri on Monday. The house was ransacked. Sucha Singh’s servants Rajiv Kumar and Santosh Kumar, alias Soni, and their acquaintance, Amit Kumar, have been missing since the gruesome killings. Gurdeep Singh, Sucha Singh’s cousin, said the cremation would take place at 11 am at the Sector 25 crematorium on Thursday.
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Zirakpur fares poorly
Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service
Zirakpur, May 16 In fact, for the thousands of residents getting even the basic amenities is a dream with the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat yet to wake up to the plight of the residents. “We are living in subhuman conditions and nobody seems to bothered stem the rot that had set in the township,” alleges B.L. Sharma, a resident of Sunny Enclave. And this was despite the fact that the residents pay the development charges through their noses, he adds. Power and water supply continue to play hide and seek with the residents. The proximity to the tricity has seen a spurt in the population of the township. And there is a clear mismatch between the needs of the residents and supply of civic amenities, official sources concede. The situation is no better on the other civic amenities front. A major part of Baltana, which is a fast-developing area, seems to be without proper roads giving a bumpy ride to residents and visitors. While in some developing areas, the roads are yet to be laid those already-laid are in a bad shape, complains Mukhtiar Singh, a resident. With no coordination among various government agencies, careless digging of the roads for the laying of the sewerage pipes and telephone cables leads to potholes giving a shabby look to the area. A majority of the streetlights are non-functional, making the area accident-prone, a resident Sanjay Kumar adds. This combined with the slack enforcement of the building byelaws has led to the haphazard construction activity in the township. However, what has irked the residents the most is the fact that repeated representations to the authorities concerned fail to evoke any response. Senior SAD leader and cooperation minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh, who represents the area, in the run-up to the Punjab elections, had made tall promises for the development of the area. However, with the Punjab government reeling under financial crisis, any concrete action on those promises has failed to materialise. However, official sources claim that development activity is being undertaken as per the available resources with the civic body. The laying of sewerage system in a major portion of township recently is a case in point. However, the majority of the development works can only be undertaken if the government chips in with major grants, the sources add.
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Mayor reviews work on projects
Chandigarh, May 16 Area councillor Gurcharan Dass Kala and assistant commissioner of Mani Majra office Parminder Pal Singh also accompanied them. Residents of the area brought up several issues, including the problem being faced by them regarding water drainage in the monsoon season. The mayor assured the residents that the corporation would soon tackle the problem before the onset of the monsoon season.
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Apni mandi days changed
Chandigarh, May 16 A decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Apni Mandi and Day Market Committee. The apni mandi and day market in Sector 46 will now function on every Friday and in Ram Darbar every Monday, according to a press note of the corporation. — TNS
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Park needs maintenance
I am a resident of Sector 44-D. There is a park near St Joseph's School, here, which is walkers' delight but sports goods are not allowed there. So, children are forced to play in a park at some distance which is not properly maintained. There are swings, but pebbles and non-pruned grass play spoilsport. Dogs roam around freely and people living nearby throw waste material there. As a result, the park has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Besides there are no lights. Whenever a complaint is made, the park is cleaned but in no time the situation is the same again. Authorities concerned should pay attention to the maintenance of this park. Rashi Srivastava,
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
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Beggar killed in hit-and-run case
Chandigarh, May 16 Snatching
Ekta Khosla of Sector 46 reported to the police that two unidentified motorcyclists snatched her purse containing Rs 5,000, two gold bangles and some documents from near Government College, Sector 46, on Tuesday. A case has been registered in this connection.
Vehicles stolen
Bhupinder Singh of Sector 20 lodged a complaint alleging that his Maruti (CH-03-Z-6603) was stolen from his residence on the night of May 12. Similarly, Sidharth Sharma of Sector 11 filed a complaint alleging that his Esteem (CH-03-K-2775) was stolen from his residence last night. In another incident, Salim of Sector 26 reported to the police alleging that his motorcycle (CH-03-V-6930) was stolen from near Sindhi Sweets, Sector 8, on Tuesday. Three separate cases of theft have been registered.
Theft
Ajay Johar of Kishangarh filed a complaint alleging that a water meter and a water pump were stolen from his farmhouse on Tuesday. A case of theft has been registered in the Mani Majra police station.
Abduction
A resident of Deep Complex, Hallo Majra, reported to the police alleging that Usha Rani of Hallo Majra and Hans Raj of Ludhiana had abducted his daughter from his residence on May 6. A case has been registered.
Ganja seized
The crime branch of Chandigarh police arrested Suresh Kumar of colony No. 4 from the same locality on Tuesday while allegedly carrying 1 kg of ganja.
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FDI Hike Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 16 General secretary of the association Anil Bhatnagar inaugurated the conference where proposed increase (from 26 per cent to 49 per cent) in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector was discussed. The association members decried this move of the UPA government alleging that it was being done at the behest of the USA. The delegates said though the public sector insurance companies were so far working with an objective of social security, unhealthy competition with private players would kill that objective. Vice-president of the association A.C. Chauhan spoke about the ban on fresh recruitments by the government which had led to a shortage of staff. “If the staff shortage is overcome with fresh recruitment, we will be able to further improve our customer services,” he said. Other issue discussed during the conference was the wage revision of the insurance employees which is due from August 2007. It was decided that a draft charter of demands be made and forwarded to the management for further action. The conference also took up the issue of recognition of the All-India Insurance Employees Association by the government. Elections of the local division of the NZIEC were also held and Brij Lal and Rajeev Sehgal were unanimously elected as divisional president and divisional secretary, respectively.
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Chandigarh, May 16