IT Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH: Faced with complaints pouring in from Bacchus lovers, UT excise department has decided to launch a massive and random check of more than 200 English and country liquor shops across the Union Territory.

Disclosing this, UT additional excise and taxation commissioner Inderjit Singh Sandhu on Sunday said surprise raids would be carried out to check adulteration in liquor. In fact, ever since the UT excise department announced its liberalised excise policy last year, while the prices of major liquor brands have come down, consumers have regularly been complaining about the quality of liquor being sold at taverns.

“Though we used to check vends for adulteration earlier too, the number of complaints had been increasing over the years. That’s why we now have decided to carry out regular checks and take sealed samples for further examination at different testing laboratories,” an excise official revealed. Sandhu disclosed that liquor vend owners found guilty of adulteration would be punished under the relevant laws. Notably, there has been a sharp rise in the sale of beer and wine in the city ever since the administration switched over to the license system.

Source: The Times of India News Service

CHANDIGARH: Rakesh Sharma, president of Chandigarh Trade Union, was assaulted in Daddumajra village over a group rivalry on Sunday. Sharma was attacked by about half-a-dozen youths when he was going home along with another colleague Gurbachan Singh.

He suffered injuries on his face and chest and his clothes also got torn in the assault.

Sharma had reportedly decided to organise a sports meet in Daddumajra village on Tuesday but another group was opposing it. Gurbachan Singh said Rakesh Sharma had managed permission for the sports meet from the authorities, which was not acceptable to the other party.

Interestingly, even about one hour after the alleged assault, there was no response from Maloya police post or Sector 39 police station, which were informed twice about the incident.

However, when contacted, inspector Gulshan Sharma, SHO of PS 39, said he had not received any information about the incident.

Source: The Times of India News Service

CHANDIGARH: If elopement cases are any indicator, then youngsters from the middle and lower middle class seem to be getting bolder and smarter.

While parents try to get the boys booked for abduction and rape, the love-lorn girls, apparently under legal guidance, scuttle their parents schemes. They boldly declare that they had eloped on their own accord.

A police officer who has handled such cases said in most of these cases, girls send a telegram to police and court suggesting that she has eloped with the man of her choice out of her own free will. As a result, most of the cases of abduction and rape fall flat. UT police has been registering cases under sections 363 and 366 (kidnapping and abducting or inducing a woman to compel her to marry) of IPC, despite knowing the fact that youngsters have eloped on their own accord, because of pressure and some other reasons. According to police records, these kind of cases ultimately get cancelled.

(more…)

CHANDIGARH: A day after the arrest of constable Ranjeet Singh, who created a ruckus in an inebriated condition, another constable was arrested for allegedly molesting his neighbour in Sector 41 on Sunday. The cop, Manohar Singh, had been arrested twice earlier for creating ruckus and under preventive charges.

Inspector Gulshan Sharma, SHO of PS 39, said Harwinder Kaur complained to the police that Manohar allegedly outraged her modesty by tearing her dupatta and manhandled her. Police said that there was a dispute between the two for a long time, for which Kaur has already filed complaints against the cop.

The incident has once again drawn attention towards the uniformed force as recently sub-inspector Satpal Sharma was arrested on attempt to rape charges. Sharma was also posted in PS 39, where Ranjeet Singh was posted. The accused would be produced in the court on Monday.

Source: The Times of India News Service

CHANDIGARH: A day before the CBI was to file its inquiry report on charges, including those of rape and murder, against Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a Bathinda police team arrested and questioned the cult chief in Sirsa on Monday in a case registered against him under Section 295-A of IPC for hurting Sikh sentiments. He was later released on bail after paying a surety of Rs 1 lakh.

A 20-member police team reached Sirsa on Monday morning, and accompanied by local police personnel went to the Dera. Police sources said that Dera followers allowed only eight policemen inside their chief’s room. About 20,000 followers from various states were gathered inside the Dera on a call given by the head. Sources said policemen questioned the Dera head for over three hours.

When contacted, Bathinda SSP Naunihal Singh confirmed the presence of policemen inside the Dera, but refused to divulge other details. However, sources said the Dera head was asked to join investigations. The High Court asked the Dera head, who had his arrest stayed from the court till August 6, to join police investigations, and according to sources, as he had failed to do so till now, police tried to strengthen its case by sending a team to Sirsa.

(more…)

CHANDIGARH: Top industrialists of the state on Monday agreed to set up 100 adarsh schools and adopt some government primary schools following an assurance by the government to provide them free land up to 25 acre, besides the freedom to run the establishments. The mode of public-private partnership between the government and industrial houses was yet to be finalised.

The decision followed a meeting between business houses — Bharti, Gujarat Ambuja, Oswal, MGF, DLF, Unitech, Ranbaxy, Trident, Hero Honda, Apollo, Fortis, Steel Strips, Nahar Group — and a government delegation led by CM PS Badal, two cabinet ministers, the chief secretary and a host of other officials.

While Hero Honda, Bharti and Ambuja agreed to launch 10 highly-modern schools, Bharti, in addition would also take up at least 250 primary schools in remote areas, a press release from Delhi said. Similarly, other groups gave their commitment to set up 10 to 15 schools.

Badal assured the industrialists they would be given a free hand to set up the schools “to provide top-quality education from pre-nursery to +2 level to poor and bright students from rural areas”.

Source: The Times of India News Service

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court, disposing of a writ petition by city-based Singh Legal Foundation through its chairman Dr Malkiat Singh Rahi, declined to interfere in the matter relating to continuing ban on wearing of turban by Sikh students in French schools .

“Making use of international forum was solely the discretion of the state,” pronounced the division bench of Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Mahesh Grover on Monday on the petition which had raised the issue of ban on turban in French schools in 2005, terming the same as Union government’s failure to protect the religious and fundamental rights of the Sikhs by not raising the issue in international forums like the UNO, International Human Rights Council and International Court of Justice, etc.

The petitioner had prayed for effective intervention as Sikhs were not in a position to take the issue to UNO, ICJ, etc. Rahi also conveyed during the hearings that the submissions made before the court by the external affairs ministry were misleading. He rebutted that there were no Sikhs in France holding Indian citizenship and quoted a figure which had reached him from Sikh families in France to confirm their strength.
(more…)

Stickers on traffic direction confuse people

Chandigarh: Though there is some time to go for elections, student unions are already stepping out.

The boundaries of the university campus and colleges are no longer the battlegrounds and parties are proclaiming their presence around the city too.

Posters and stickers adorning walls, barricades and even sign-boards have come up and while the colour is evident, the defacement of public property is disturbing. The city faces this problem every time these elections are around the corner.

The Students’ Organisation of India (SOI) has jumped into the election fray in a big way and their determination is visible in the number of SOI stickers that have come up at ‘student-centric’ areas of the city.

It is wonder that the direction signboards at Matka Chowk have been picked as the perfect spot to catch the eye. Stickers covering directions and names of roads have new commuters confused as to which path to take.
(more…)

Says nodal cell adequate; HC Bench had felt otherwise

Chandigarh: Growing importance of rights issues notwithstanding, the UT administration is of the opinion that the there is no need for a full-fledged rights commission, keeping in view UT’s small size and few complaints of rights violations.

The opinion has been expressed in a reply dated July 24 by the joint secretary, Home, administration, to a PIL filed by H.C. Arora before the high court.

The reply stated that the petition filed by Arora was not maintainable in view of the high court order dated Februray 25, 2005, which dismissed a petition raising a similar issue.

It has been asserted in the reply that the UT had constituted a rights cell on the pattern of Daman and Diu, comprising the IGP, district magistrate, SSP, district and sessions judge or his representative. The legal remembrancer had been designated as the nodal officer for the UT in matters relating to the violation of rights.

The reply also highlighted the fact that under Section 10 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, there was a provision for the commission to meet at such time and place as the chairperson might think fit for the disposal of allegations of rights violations.
(more…)

Chandigarh: The monthly house meeting of the MC today passed all items on the agenda. However, the house witnessed unruly scenes over a question raised by councillor Chandermukhi Sharma.

Sharma had demanded information on the PSC pipes being laid for tertiary treated water along Shanti Path and Udyog Path. Alleging that an exception had been made with regard to the contractor, the councillor pointed out that the work was taking not only more time, but also had cost the MC three times over the sanctioned amount.

“The work was to start on May 18, 2005, for about Rs 1.73 crore and should have been completed by November 24, 2005. However, the firm concerned wrote to the MC on January 6, 2006, saying that it was not in a position to supply the material asked, which it can upgrade,” stated Sharma.

“The project has been delayed and has already cost the MC over Rs 3.26 crore,” the councillor said.

The chaos was brought under control after the formation of a committee to look into the matter.

The house was also assured by the commissioner that the administration would look into the reply filed by the house with regard to the issue of paid parking.
(more…)