IN Brief

Police remand for man who killed wife on honeymoon in Kufri
SHIMLA: Simran Pal Singh Bhullar,who killed his wife Simarjeet Kaur while on honeymoon in Kufri,has been remanded to police custody till March 7. He was produced in a local court on Wednesday. On February 22,Bhullar allegedly pushed his wife off the road into the forest about 100 feet down the cliff after an altercation. Bhullar,a resident of Gurdaspur,had married Simranjeet of Panchkula in January.

Parents of girl beat up NRI who cheated her
Ambala: A Germany-based NRI was beaten up by parents of a girl with whom he was going to get married. According to reports,Karnail Singh,a resident of Nachhrauli village in Ambala,was beaten up as the girl’s family came to know that he had lied to them about his marital status. Singh had already married two girls — one from Germany and another from Pipli Kurukshetra — and this would have been his third marriage.

Body of drowned youth recovered from lake
PANCHKULA: After two days of search,the police traced the body of a youth,who had drowned in a lake at Tikkar Tal on Monday. The divers spotted the body of Gurmeet Billa after searching the lake for hours on Wednesday afternoon. A team headed by Inspector Kehar Singh led the operation of tracing the body. Billa had gone to the lake to celebrate Holi with a group of friends. In the festive revelry,his friends allegedly challenged him to fetch a bottle that they had thrown in the lake. Billa,who took up the challenge,jumped in the water but his friends lost sight of him after sometime. Billa’s family members,meanwhile,lodged a missing complaint with the Chandimandir police station and expressed doubts about the group the victim had gone out with. After being interrogated by the police,his friends narrated the incident and claimed that in spite of repeated requests,no one came forward to help them save him,which led to his drowning.

Biker mowed down by car
KHARAR: A recklessly driven car hit a young motorcyclist on the Mohali-Kharar stretch of National Highway 21 at Mundi Kharar village in Kharar late on Tuesday evening. Rajnish,in his mid-20s,was coming back home from Chandigarh when a car hit him and sped away,the police said. The seriously wounded victim was rushed to Civil Hospital,where the doctor declared him dead on arrival. Rajnish’s brother Ramandeep told the police that Rajnish worked at a private company in Sector 40,Chandigarh,from where he went to grain market in Sector 26,Chandigarh,and was returning home with some household purchases. The police have booked the unidentified driver of the car.

No public inconvenience during IPL matches: DC
MOHALI: AS the countdown for the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) T-20 cricket tournament began,the Mohali district administration reviewed the arrangements underway for hosting five matches of IPL Kings XI Punjab franchise at PCA stadium here.Chairing a special meeting of the district civil and police officials and representatives of Kings XI Punjab today,Deputy Commissioner Prabhjot Singh Mand made it clear to all officials concerned that no inconvenience to either the public and locals or those coming to watch the matches would be tolerated. He entrusted the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and Municipal Council (MC) to arrange parking and clean drinking water around the stadium for the spectators,while the district police were asked to ensure foolproof security and proper management of traffic.GMADA Estate Officer (EO) Balbir Singh Dhol,MC Executive Officer (EO) Amana Kumar and SP (City) Sukhwant Singh Gill,who were present at the meeting,were issued directions.The DC assured Kings XI Punjab Senior Vice-President Arwinder Singh and representative Tony Gavia that all arrangements would be made to avoid any public inconvenience and peaceful conduct of matches. Kings XI Punjab would play Delhi Daredevils during the first match on March 13,Rajasthan Royals on March 24,Kolkata Knight Riders on March 27,Bangalore Royal Challengers on April 2 and Mumbai Indians in the last match on April 9.

Roll of Honour to achievers at Modi College Annual awards day
Patiala: The Multani Mal Modi College in Patiala on Wednesday conferred the college roll of honour on 25 students,the college colours on 130 students and merit certificates to 249 students who excelled in academics,sports and co-curricular activities at the annual prize distribution function. The function was presided over by Jagjit Puri,Punjab’s Secretary,Freedom Fighters.
College Principal S K Bhardwaj read out the annual report of the college highlighting achievements in academics,sports,co-curricular activities and other healthy practices carried out during the session. He also informed that the college has been selected by the UGC under the scheme College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) for XI Plan (Phase III).
In sports,the college has won 18 university championships and 15 second positions. Meenakshi got the roll of honour for participating in Gymnastics World Cup held in London. Reena got roll of honour for bagging the gold in weightlifting at Junior Commonwealth Games held in Malaysia. U/O Gurlal Singh got roll of honour for participating in the Republic Day parade.

MC employees shout slogans against commissioner
SHIMLA: Employees of the Shimla Municipal Corporation protested against the recent decisions of Municipal Commissioner A N Sharma,a senior IPS officer,and shouted slogans outside the Town Hall on the Mall Road. They demanded fulfillment of their various demands including cancellation of extension granted to one of the employees after retirement,regularisation of jobs of those who have completed eight years of service. They also alleged bungling in the allotment of tender for civil works to a specific party.

1 hurt as business partners clash at resort
SHIMLA: A clash between two business partners who own the Kufri Fun World,a tourist resort at Fagu,left one partner injured and led to the arrest of the other. Sushil Malik,who belongs to Haryana and is known to have over 90 per cent share in the resort,had reportedly driven out the other partner,Baldev Thakur,a local resident,after some dispute over financial dealing. On Wednesday,Malik’s men allegedly took over the resort,when Thakur’s men and locals tried to barge into the premises and hit the other party,said Theog SHO Khazana Ram. In the scuffle,Malik sustained minor injuries and was admitted in the IGMC Hospital. Thakur has been arrested and booked for damaging property and rioting.

Police remand for man who killed wife
SHIMLA: Simran Pal Singh Bhullar,who killed his wife Simarjeet Kaur while on honeymoon in Kufri,has been remanded to police custody till March 7. He was produced in a local court by the police on Wednesday. On February 22,Bhullar allegedly pushed his wife off the road into the forest about 100 feet down the cliff after an altercation.

Book on Himachal gifted to Governor
SHIMLA: ‘Himachal Pradesh a Himalayan Dreamland’,a comprehensive book on the state authored by Dr Rajender Attri,a senior lecturer,was presented to Governor Urmila Singh at Raj Bhawan on Wednesday. The book is targeted at scholars and candidates appearing for competitive examinations,who require detailed knowledge of the state. Dr Attri teaches political science at Government College,Theog,and has published many works in the past.

CPI(M) protests price rise
SHIMLA: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) organised demonstrations against price rise at various locations in Shimla town on Wednesday. The protest rallies were led by CPI(M) leaders Tikender Singh Panwar,Kuldeep Singh Tanwar,Sanjay Chauhan and Vijender Mehra. The party termed the Union Budget inflationary and sought a justification from the Centre for increasing the fuel prices.

Two Hindu families from Pakistan meet Amritsar DC,seek shelter
AMRITSAR: Having been uprooted from areas near Peshawar in Pakistan and staying in Amritsar for the last over six months,two Hindu families comprising at least ten members sought shelter and help from the state government on Wednesday. They said they were living in penury and the government must help them in their hour of crisis. In a memorandum submitted to the state government and the Centre through Deputy Commissioner K S Pannu,they said nearly 35 families were residing in the city and their visa had expired. “We do not want to go back to Pakistan for fear of atrocities as the Taliban had made our lives difficult,” said Ram Parkash. The DC said he would forward their request to the government.

NRI hires contract killer to murder father-in-law,arrested
JALANDHAR: The local police arrested a non-resident Indian on Tuesday who had allegedly hired a contract killer to eliminate his father-in-law. Two attempts had been made on the life of Jagdish Sachdeva but he survived. The police said Hardeep Singh of Sianwal had been living in Spain for many years. He married one Jasbir Kaur of Dakoha village in 2006 and took her to Spain where he allegedly tortured her mentally and physically. The Spain police,too,had arrested him once. The two had been living separately in Spain thereafter. DSP Parminder Bhandhal said Hardeep came to India some time back and was threatening Jasbir’s parents to call her back and ask her to get the case against him withdrawn. As Jagdish refused to do so,Hardeep allegedly paid one Gurkirat Singh of Gurdaspur to kill him. Bhandal said further investigations were on.

Water supply dept staff climbs water tank
AMRITSAR: High drama was witnessed near the district courts complex on Wednesday when some members of the agitating daily wagers employees’ association from the water supply department climbed up a water tank and threatened to commit suicide if their demands were not met. Ajitpal Singh,convener of Jal Supply Mustroll Action Committee,said they had been meeting various officials and government representatives but in vain. Ajit said there were employees who had been working on daily wages for the last over 20 years and the government had turned a blind eye towards their demands for regularisation of their jobs. The protesters came down after officers of the police and civil administration issued appeals.

Need better plan for development: Patil
Chandigarh: There is a need to have short term,medium and long term plans for the development of the city. The plan should give correct direction as well as liberty to march towards that direction. These views were expressed by Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Shivraj Patil while addressing the gathering at the session on ‘Chandigarh: New Direction,New Paradigms’ organised alongside the CII Chandigarh Annual Session 2009-10 at CII Northern Region headquarters on Wednesday. Underlining the need for a multi-pronged approach and predictive strategy to address the issues confronting the growing city Patil said,”Chandigarh has not been built as the trade centre but as the seat of government. Also being a city state,it has its own character. To catalyze its development,we must synergize our efforts and focus on innovative and inclusive approach,long term as well as short term planning,relevant and appropriate technologies to develop manufacturing base and popularization of renewable energy especially solar energy.”

An asthmatic can lead an active life: Doctor
Chandigarh: If A person has asthma,it is not only important to take the prescribed medication,but also to understand the triggers and avoid them,recommended experts at PGI as Breathefree,a public service initiative from Cipla,organised a drawing competition exclusively for asthmatics on Wednesday. On the occasion,student of National Institute of Nursing Education,PGI,held a public lecture,where a question-answering session was conducted by Pediatrician Dr Meenu Singh,to clear the parents’ doubts and misconceptions about asthmatic children. Around 40 asthmatic children attended the event and were awarded with certificates after the drawing competition.

PU to host three-day rose fest
Chandigarh: Panjab University is all set to host its second rose festival from March 5 to 7. This time,the festival would have 125 varieties of roses as compared to 78 last year. Also,the festival would have a lot of competitions for almost all age groups. Giving details of the festival,Deepika Thakur from Students’ Council said,”We are much better organised this year and are looking forward for better participation. Besides competitions,we are also having laughter competitions and singing nights.” The varsity has granted Rs one lakh to hold the fest and organisers said they would demand more if required.

Ad company flouts norms
Chandigarh: A report in the advertisement committee meeting clearly indicates advertisement company Greenline,who bagged the Rs 8.25 crore contract to display ads in various parts of the city,has flouted rules. They have displayed unipole signs in Sarabha Nagar and Fountain Chowk area while both areas were not included in the tender allotment. More than 30 unipole signs have been found in the two areas from which the company is earning revenue,but not paying the requisite amount to the MC. Joint Commissioner Mohinderpal Gupta has asked the staff to remove the signs within two days and other areas are being surveyed and necessary action would be taken against the contractor as well.

Seminar hails Union Budget
Chandigarh: A seminar on Union Budget was held jointly by the Taxation Bar Association and Institutes of Company Secretaries of India. Girish Ahuja was the main speaker from Delhi. He hailed the Budget saying audit limits were enhanced,which was a good step and even announcement of new slabs for income tax was a big relief.

Action against encroachers
Chandigarh: The Municipal Corporation will prepare a list of permanent encroachers in the city to take strict action against them.
The decision was taken during the meeting of the Enforcement Committee of the Municipal Corporation on Wednesday. Apart from small vendors,action will be also taken against those who have encroached on larger areas. encroachers who have encroached upon large areas and no action is taken against them.