NEIGHBOURHOOD

HMT workers not paid for over a year
Our Correspondent

Lalru, June 30
Body of an unidentified minor girl was found floating in the Ghaggar river in Tiwana village today afternoon.

Certain passersby noticed the body floating in water under a makeshift bridge on the river and informed Kulbir Singh, a resident of Tiwana village. Kulbir subsequently informed the police.

The police personnel rushed to the spot and fished out the body.

The girl was aged between 2 to 3 years and was wearing a frock and a lower, and prima facie evidence shows that she might have been washed away by the river water that swallowed two days ago, claimed the police. The girl seems to be from a migrant family, he added.

Meanwhile, the body has been sent to the morgue in Civil Hospital, Dera Bassi.

Apart from working on other theories, the police have also launched a search for her family.

Mohali, June 30
A youth, who was arrested yesterday on charges of firing at a woman in Chanalon village on Saturday night, was today remanded in police custody for two days. A Ropar court remanded Gurinder Singh in police custody till July 2.

The police also registered a case against unidentified protesters who had blocked the national highway after the incident.

According to reports, the suspect, who claimed to be an Akali leader, reached the house of Kuldeep Singh on Saturday night along with another person in a car. He banged at the gate of the house after which Kuldeep Singh came to open it. Gurinder Singh allegedly used abusive language and later fired from a pistol. The bullet hit Kuldeep Singh’s wife Manpinder Kaur in leg.

Villagers tried to catch the suspect but he allegedly fired into the air and escaped. Residents of the village then blocked the national highway in protest and also damaged the car in which the two persons had come.

Villagers alleged that Gurinder Singh used to visit Chanalon off and on which was objected to by certain residents. The police reached the scene and persuaded the protesters to end the road blockage. The police arrested Gurinder Singh and registered a case against him and an unidentified person who had accompanied him in the car. The weapon used in the firing was recovered by the police.

Chandigarh, June 30
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed professors Dr Amar Nath Gill and Dr Bhura Singh Ghuman to continue their service till August 5. They were to retire from Panjab University today.

Taking up the matter, Justice Sabina also made it clear that the services rendered by the petitioners shall be subject to the decision of their writ petitions. Justice Sabina also allowed an oral prayer made by the counsel for the petitioner, Sameer Sachdeva, to array as a respondent the State of Punjab through secretary, Department of Higher Education. Justice Sabina also issued notice to newly added respondent for the next date of hearing— August 5.

The petitioners had earlier alleged that Panjab University had failed to implement the Central Government’s composite scheme of 2008, enhancing the retirement age from 60 to 65. This was despite the fact that the varsity was funded by the Centre to the extent of 92 per cent.

Sachdeva had told the court that the petitioners would be retired from service by the varsity on June 30 by wrongly taking the superannuation age as 60, instead of 65, as mandated under the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, 2010. The same, he had claimed, were binding on the university.

The court was also told that on December 20, 2011, the varsity amended a university regulation raising the age of superannuation of teachers to 65. Amended regulations had been sent to the Ministry of Human Resource and Development for approval. The same, however, was not even required as the UGC regulations had been framed by the Centre itself, mere compliance report of implementation was required to be sent.

He maintained that formal approval was pending since 2011 and the rights of teachers could not be postponed indefinitely. A letter dated April 26, 2012, on clarification from the ministry to the vice-president of India, ex-officio chancellor of PU, categorically stated that the UGC regulations 2010 were applicable to the varsity.

But the matter had not been dealt with till date in correct legal perspective, despite representations and demands raised by similarly placed teachers at individual and union level. This was leaving experienced senior professors like the petitioners in uncertainty and lurch.

Chandigarh, June 30
The UT police today arrested two contract killers for their involvement in the murder of a youth.

Abhishek, alias Kalak, and Virender, alias Biller, of Uttar Pradesh have been arrested for the murder of Ravi Kumar, 25, a resident of Sector 49, whose body was found dumped in the forest area of Dhanas on June 26.

Initially, the police had arrested three persons, including the deceased’s in-laws, Naresh Kumar and Rekha Devi, and one Ashu, for the crime.

The police said interrogation of the three accused revealed the names of Abhishek and Virender, who were paid Rs 15,000 each for killing Ravi and dumping his body in the forest area.

The police said Ravi married Sangeeta three months ago without her family’s consent. Sangeeta’s parents, however, wanted to marry her to Ashu of Sector 25.

Two accused will be produced in a local court on Tuesday.

Chandigarh, June 30
The Cyber Crime Cell of the UT police registered two online fraud cases today.

Aarti Mehta, a resident of Sector 21-B, Chandigarh, reported to the police that she has been defrauded of around Rs 1.24 lakh through online transactions of Rs 97,718 and Rs 25,486 from her Axis Bank account.

A case under Section 420 of the IPC and Sections 66C, 66D of the IT Act-2000 has been registered.

In another incident, Om Parkash, a resident of Sector 18-D, Chandigarh, reported that a fraudster made an illegal transaction of Rs 50,000 from his SBI account.

Chandigarh, June 30
Chandigarh batsmen maintained a stable position against Mohali during their match of the ongoing Punjab Inter-District Cricket Championship for (U-19) boys of the Dhruv Pandove Trophy at the cricket stadium of Sector 16, here today.

Resuming at the overnight score of 176 runs for 4, the visitors hopped in a total of 275 runs in 137 overs before being bowled out. Harsarup scored 53 off 220 balls inclusive of five boundaries and one six while Harmanbir Sandhu (22 runs) remained the other noticeable performer.

For Chandigarh, Himank Chaudhary (4 for 31), Arpit Singh (3 for 85) and Bhagminder Lathar (3 for 62) shared wickets.

In reply, Chandigarh posted 125 runs for 2 in 48 overs at the close of second day’s play. Chandigarh opener Shivam Bhambri and Abhimanyu Srivastav added 54 runs for the first wicket before Abhimanyu was caught by Pranjay off Jasinder’s delivery for 29 off 44 balls inclusive of 6 boundaries. Shivam became the other victim after he was caught by Abhijit off Harmanbir Singh’s delivery for 42 off 68 balls inclusive of 8 boundaries. Bhagminder Lathar (27 runs) and Arjit Singh (23 runs) remained unbeaten.

Brief scores

Mohali (1st innings): 275 all out in 137 overs (Shubhman Gill 85, Harsrup 53, Himank Chaudhary 4 for 31, Arpit Singh 3 for 85 and Bhagminder Lathar 3 for 62); Chandigarh (1st innings): 125 for 2 in 48 overs (Shivam Bhambri 42, Abhimanyu Srivastav 29, Bhagminder Lathar 27* and Arjit Singh 23*, Harmanbir 1 for 37 and Jasinder Singh 1 for 19).

Match-II

In the second match, played at Burlton Park Jalandhar, hosts were bowled out for 278 in 114.2 overs against Ludhiana. Mansab Gill (65 off 128 balls with 9 boundaries and one six) and Sahil Lal (51 off 113 balls with 8 boundaries) stabled the team’s innings with 84 runs partnership for the third wicket. Mohit Mariya (39 runs), Rajat Sharma (34 runs) and Akshit Chhabra (33 runs) remained the other noticeable scorers.

For the bowling side, Anmol Sharma hogged the limelight by claiming 6 for 89. He was ably supported by Dipin Chitkara, who claimed 2 for 12.

In reply, Ludhiana scored 44 for 2 in 15 overs at close of second day’s play with Dipin Chitkara unbeaten at 23 runs while Manpreet Bhullar scalped 2 for 18 for Jalandhar.

Brief scores

Jalandhar (1st innings): 278 all out in 114.2 overs (Rajat Sharma 34, Mansab Gill 65, Sahil Lal 51, Akshit Chhabra 33, Mohit Maria 39, Anmol Sharma 6 for 89, Dipin Chitkara 2 for 12); Ludhiana (1st innings): 44 for 2 in 15 overs (Dipin Chitkara 23*, Manpreet Bhullar 2 for 18).

Match-III

In the third match, Patiala scored 182 runs in their first innings against Amritsar. Patiala’s decision to bat first pushed on the back foot as they lost their first 3 wickets with just 14 runs on the board. Thereafter, Sagar Kumar (82 off 185 balls with 13 boundaries) and A Malhotra (43 off 81 balls with 6 boundaries) claimed 78 runs stand for the third wicket. For Amritsar, Abhinav Sharma, Rahul Kashyap and Rohit Kumar claimed three wickets each. In reply, Amritsar team scored 27 for no loss in 8 overs at the close of second day’s play.

Brief scores

Patiala (first innings): 182 all out in 73 overs (Sagar Kumar 82, A Malhotra 43, S Singh 24, Abhinav Sharma 3 for 23, Rahul Kashyap 3 for 29 and Rohit Kumar 3 for 66); Amritsar (first innings): 27 for no loss in 8 overs.

Chandigarh, June 30
Kudos Chemie registered a 41-run win over Siemens XI in the ongoing 2nd AG Challenger Cup (T-20) cricket tournament held at the grounds of DAV Public School, Sector 8, here.

After electing to bat first, the Kudos Chemie team scored 144 runs before getting all out in the allotted overs. Rajiv (39 runs) and Hussain (21) remained the main scorers for the winning team. In bowling, Harman, who claimed 4 for 34, was the pick of the day while Nikhil took 2 for 15.

In reply, the Siemen XI side failed to achieve the target and scored 103 runs in 18.5 overs with Harpreet (44) and Ashok (12) scoring the major share. In bowling, Rajnish (3 for 13) and Rahi (3 for 30) claimed three wickets each.

In the second match, USV Limited XI defeated Infosys by 5 wickets. After electing to bat first, the Infosys team was restricted on 146 runs with Raghav (67) and Rahul (18) scoring a lion’s share. In bowling, Ajay claimed 3 for 24 while Ravi took 2 wickets for 7.

In reply, the winning side chased down the target and scored 147 runs for five wickets in 19.3 overs. Sumit (45) and Chandan (43) ensured their team’s win while in bowling, Vivek claimed 2 for 18 whereas Anshuman grabbed 1 for 10.

In another match, Earth Infrastructure Limited defeated Max Hospital by 8 wickets. The latter while batting first bundled out on a mere total of 94 runs with Ravinder (23) and Sandeep (18) scoring the major share. In bowling, Savinder bowled a tight spell and claimed 4 for 15 while Sukhwinder took the charge and claimed 2 for 11.

In reply, the Earth Infrastructure team scored 98 runs in 10.5 overs with Rajesh (38) and Sunil (31) contributing most of the runs. In bowling, Karan claimed 2 for 5.

Chandigarh, June 30
Chirag Malhotra went down against Jivaj in straight set 6-3 during the first round match of (U-12) boys category in the commencing day of the YMCA Total Tennis Academy Championship for LD Kapoor Memorial Trophy, at YMCA tennis courts here today.

In other matches of the same category, Gaurav beat Shivaansh 6-0, Ravi Karan defeated Sahil 6-1 and Devin Kansal defeated Parth 6-1. In the first round matches of (U-14) boys’ category, Vikramaditya defeated Sahil Garg 7-5 whereas Ravikarn Singh defeated Gautam Mitral 6-1.

Results

Boys (U-12) first round: Jivaj bt Chirag Malhotra 6-3; Gaurav bt Shivaansh 6-0; Ravi Karan bt Sahil 6-1; Devin Kansal bt Parth 6-1; Sahil Garg bt Aarav Joshi 6-2; Arunabh bt Chaitanya 6-3; Second round: Udayvir Singh bt Vikramaditya 6-0; Ravi Karan Singh bt Swamin 7-5; Jasmol Arora bt Devin Kansal 6-0; Shrenik Bhalla bt Gurjos Singh 6-1; Ronav Saundh bt Rohan 6-0; Sahil Garg bt Chaitanya 6-3; Sarabjot Singh bt Arnav Jain 6-0; Boys (U-14) first round: Rashbegh S bt Aadish 7-5; Vikramaditya bt Sahil Garg 7-5; Ravi Karan Singh bt Gautam Mitral 6-1; Yajur Bansal bt Navkaran Singh 6-1; Neeraj Yashpaul bt Madhusudan Singh 6-0; Archit Juneja bt Parvenu 7-5; Gurmehak Singh bt Arnav Jain 6-3; Second round: Sahaj Punj bt Swamin 6-2; Sarabjot Singh bt Tanmay 6-1; Shrenik Bhalla bt Navjot Singh 6-0; Udayveer Singh bt Prakhar Aggarwal 6-2.

Chandigarh, June 30
Raising serious allegations on the selection procedure of trainees under the banner of Chandigarh Hockey Academy, parent of a hockey trainee has submitted a written complaint against the selection functionaries here.

Last year also some parents from Barnala (Punjab) had come forward to allege irregularities of the Chandigarh Hockey Academy. And in this regard, the former finance secretary marked an inquiry. The outcome of the inquiry report hinted serious irregularities in the working of the academy. The parents later filed a court case, against the officials of the UT Sports Department, lying pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In a fresh complaint, a resident of Dabda (Hissar), Haryana, has alleged that the selectors dropped his ward despite a good performance in the selection trials held in the month of April. Adding further, he was kept in dark over the selection of his ward till the last hours of trials.

“I am very disappointed with the behavior of the authorities. My son attained full marks in the selection trials and was expecting a call for his medical age verification test. However, at the eleventh hour the authorities informed that my son has been dropped due to some technical issues. After raising objection, I was ensured that my ward will be entertained in the second phase of the trials held in May. However, my son was again dropped and other players were called for the medical verification test held today,” mentioned Rajkumar, the complainant.

On the other hand, joint director sports remained unavailable to comment on the issue till the filing of this report.

In February, parents of junior hockey players, who were denied admission to Chandigarh Football and Hockey Academy after failing in the age determination test last year, had also demanded induction of their wards back in the academy under the newly approved policy. However, till date, no development has been made to initiate any admission procedure of the trainees.

Unofficial attitude
I am very disappointed with the behaviour of the authorities. My son attained full marks in the selection trials and was expecting a call for his medical age verification test. However, at the eleventh hour the authorities informed that my son has been dropped due to some technical issues. After raising objection, I was ensured that my ward will be entertained in the second phase of the trials held in May. However, my son was again dropped and other players were called for the medical verification test today
— rajkumar, complainant