Police grappled with spate of murders, snatchings and thefts

Chandigarh, December 28
Sensational murders, increased cases of assault, ruckus at discotheques, snatchings, robberies and thefts - the Chandigarh police remained on its toes throughout 2011, with the city witnessing a spurt in crime.
The year that began with the murder of a five-year-old boy, Khushpreet, after being kidnapped ended with the gruesome murder of two siblings in Sector 41.
Incidents of daylight snatchings, fatal accidents and kidnappings were the highlight of the year and the UT police invited wrath from the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) for its failure to provide justice to complainants.
The year also saw the joining of Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) from Punjab and Haryana on deputation with the UT police.
While on the one hand, their joining resulted in factionalism within the force, on the other, the demand of the police to fill vacancies was finally catered to. In addition, 1,200 constables joined the UT police force this year.
The year also saw the revival of “Mashaal Parade” after a gap of several decades during the Chandigarh police week. Moreover, a mobile police van was launched to provide on-the-spot services to the residents.

The UT police also upgraded its weaponry and purchased an armoured troops carrier. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) costing several lakhs of rupees was inducted into the force and put to use during a rally by BSP leader Mayawati.

HIGHS

Tanishq robbery

The UT police solved the biggest-ever heist case in Chandigarh - the Tanishq robbery at Mani Majra - with the arrest of all gang members within a week of the robbery of Rs 10 crore was reported in January this year. The police arrested Paras Soni as the mastermind who had 15 cases registered against him with the police of different states. The entire jewellery was recovered.
Top police officers inpect the Tanishq showroom at Mani Majra where Chandigarh’s biggest robbery took place. Tribune photo: Nitin Mittal

Bapu Dham kidnapping

Learning a lesson from the Khushpreet murder case, the UT police solved a case of kidnapping for ransom within hours after the first ransom call. The police was swift to act and launched an intensive operation at Siswan village to arrest the kidnappers, as they came to collect the ransom. The child, Prince, was kidnapped by his uncle, who was his neighbour in Bapu Dham Colony, on February 8.

Healthyway fraud

By forming a special team to crack the whip on fraudulent immigration firms, the UT police arrested Amit Kakkar, owner of Healthyway Immigration, and slapped 11 cases of cheating on him. Hundreds of complainants had approached the police complaining of fraud.

Largest recovery of vehicles

The UT police recovered as many as 42 vehicles from an inter-state gang of vehicle lifters, comprising scrap dealers, insurance company surveyors and second-hand car dealers, who adopted a peculiar modus operandi of selling off stolen vehicles with the original documents of vehicles damaged in accidents. The police recovered 42 vehicles, including high-end cars and SUVs worth over Rs 2 crore following the arrest of five of an unknown number of gang members.

Facebook page

The UT traffic police launched a special page on Facebook, inviting residents to post pictures of traffic violations. The page has been a success, with over 800 challans having been issued by the police in response to the pictures.

LOWS

Khushpreet murder

On January 5, the strangulated body of five-year-old Khushpreet, who was kidnapped for ransom on December 21 last year, was recovered from a pit in Mohali. Residents of Burial village erupted and staged a protest, hurling stones at the police. The victim’s family blamed the police for the killing, as they had failed to arrest the kidnappers who fled right under the nose of the police. Even though the case was solved in March, the case will go into the history as one of the biggest failures of the police in saving the child.

Rising crime graph

The city witnessed 841 vehicle thefts, 201 snatchings, 65 robberies and 261 burglaries this year. The recovery rate remained low and residents had sleepless nights, with the police failing to control the rising crime.

PCA orders

The Police Complaint Authority (PCA) passed 20 orders against police officers of various ranks, including a DSP, for their negligence in handling a case. The UT police failed to implement the orders in most cases, rendering the PCA a toothless tiger.

Tao, Voodoo ruckus

The police failed to keep a check on discotheques as they operated at late night hours beyond the permissible time. A ruckus was created at Tao in September when over 15 armed assailants barged into the disco and attacked the guests and staff. The police arrested some of the assailants. A similar ruckus and a shootout incident that took place at Voodoo is still unsolved.

Inspector suspended

An inspector and former SHO of the Sector 17 police station, Jaswinder Singh, was suspended after he was found creating a ruckus at Score discotheque. A departmental inquiry was marked and the inspector was soon reinstated even as the probe is pending.

High Court’s wrath

The police invited the wrath of the Punjab and Haryana High Court twice this year, as it passed strictures against the police for failing to file their replies in court. In one case, the police was fined Rs 10,000, holding a sub-inspector responsible, while in another case, the police was fined Rs 5,000 last month, holding a woman inspector responsible.

Neha murder case

The police conducted narco tests of suspects this year but failed to solve the sensational case of the murder of an MBA student, Neha, in Sector 38 West last year.

LOOKING AHEAD Functioning of the mobile police van, improved beat system, better servant verification system, increased police force and improved armory are on the agenda of the UT police. Crime graph shows upward trend  Police officials show stolen vehicles recovered in Mohali. file photo Mohali, December 28 Increase in the incidents of snatching and stealing of vehicles kept the Mohali police on its toes during the year. Due to the increase in the incidents of dacoit, burglary, rape and cheating, there was a marginal increase in the total number of cases registered during the year as compared to the previous year. Recent recoveries of stolen vehicles and snatched valuables did help the police in increasing its tally of traced cases. But the police was found groping in the dark to solve two cases of murder and at least six cases of vehicle snatching in the town. The year might be ending on a positive note, as the police has been able to bust several gangs of interstate car thieves. But it remained unsuccessful in cracking a mysterious murder of a property dealer at Nayagoan and that of an unidentified person at Kambali village. The percentage of detection in theft cases is still less than the number of vehicles stolen in the last one year. Of the roughly 125 burglary cases reported in the district, investigating officials managed to trace down the stolen property in 61 of the cases. Otherwise also, the changing economic profile of the district, especially Mohali town, is witnessing a sharp rise in the cases of cheating and forgery as compared to the previous year. Against 128 cases of snatching registered in 2010, 270 cases were registered this year. Hard pressed with VIP duties, the investigating officials do find it hard to exclusively work on the theft cases. As a result, the acquittal rate remains much higher than the conviction rate. Compared to the conviction rate of 48 per cent in 2010, the conviction rate this year is 36 per cent. Traffic Violations 16 motorists challaned a day  Zirakpur, December 28 At least 16 motorists, on an average, were challaned every day for violating the traffic rules during 2011 at Zirakpur. Of the total 5,750 offenders, at least 2,539 were challaned for riding without helmet. Traffic violations in the town were on the rise despite special drives conducted by the traffic police. The traffic police issued 5,750 challans to vehicles till December 27 this year and recovered Rs 14.93 lakh in penalty. In 2010, 4,886 vehicles were issued challans for various traffic offences. These included helmet-less riding, triple riding, vehicles in “no parking” zones, drunk driving and violations under the Motor Vehicles Act. Sources in the traffic police said the local traffic police challaned 2,539 helmet-less riders and 555 auto-rickshaws drivers for overloading. At least 203 challans were issued for using mobile phone while driving and 366 for triple riding. Other violations included tinted glasses, using pressure horn, flag rod, red and blue beacon and driving without documents. Besides, vehicles parked in “no parking” zones were impounded under Section 207 of the Motor Vehicles Act, the sources added. The traffic in-charge, Naveen Pal Singh Lehal, claimed that the traffic police had been consistently punishing the violators. “We will conduct special drives in the coming days to curb violations in the township and raise awareness among school students, Tempo unions and auto-rickshaw drivers about traffic violations through camps.”

Students can use Aakash till March 31

Were supposed to return it after feedback

Chandigarh, December 28
The lucky ones who have got the world’s lowest priced touch-screen Aakash will have the chance to use the pocket-sized wonder tablet until March 31.

Students were supposed to return the device after giving feedback. However, project coordinators have decided that the students can use the tablet till the end of the academic session.

As a part of the project, 20 lucky city college students had got Aakash on a trial basis and after using the tablet, they had to submit a feedback of the device.

The students had to rate it on various parameters of hardware and software.

Dr Dalip Kumar, an associate professor at the Postgraduate Government for Girls, Sector 42, and one of the technical experts who handled the implementation of the project, said soon after the feedback on Aakash was sent, the IIT-Jodhpur asked us that the students should surrender the device, which should be sent back to the IIT-Jodhpur.

“We have sought an extension so that the students can use the device till the end of the academic session, as they have been using the devices for their projects,” Dr Kumar said.

After the trials, the students had highlighted some of the negative aspects, which included long charging time, generation of heat after 30 minutes of use and repeated hanging while working.

Based on the feedback, the company manufacturing the device was supposed to revamp the device under same cost.

Dr Kumar said they had not got any further communication, as when would be the device available for all students. “The device after modifications was supposed to be put on sale, however, its’ not yet decided as when will the students be getting their own 7-inch touch screen computing and Internet device,” he added.

Centre’s vegetable clusters scheme for Ludhiana

Chandigarh, December 28
Ludhiana will be the only city in Punjab to be included in the ambitious agriculture development scheme — Vegetable Initiative for Urban Clusters — announced by the Centre.

The scheme, which envisages the development of vegetable clusters for ensuring supply of good quality vegetables to any city having a population of one million and above, will also help in increasing vegetable production in peripheral areas.

In Punjab, Sangrur, Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala to ensure regular supply of vegetables to Ludhiana city and this would also increase production in these districts.

The state government has already received 50 per cent of the grant (Rs 6 crore), and is now in the process of forming farmer groups in the peripheral districts of Ludhiana.

Dr Lajwinder Singh Brar, Director, Horticulture, said that the scheme had been initiated under the aegis of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. "The scheme covers all aspects relating to vegetable production, from production and supply of planting material to marketing up to the retail level, formation of farmer groups, their linkage to aggregators/markets besides training and capacity building of vegetable growers in the identified clusters," Brar said.

"As a part of this scheme, we will be first forming self-help groups of farmers, named the Farmer Interest Groups and each group will grow vegetables on 20 hectares of land. These groups in one geographical location will be clustered as Farmer Producers' Organisation, which will be registered under the Societies Act. These organisations will directly market their produce to retailers with the help of a marketing aggregator, who will ensure that the farmers get a good price for their produce, and the role of middlemen will be minimised," he added.

Brar said that the department was in the final stage of identifying an NGO that would act as the market aggregator for vegetable producers’ organisations.

The total production of vegetables in Punjab is 36.45 lakh tonnes, with average yield of 19,344 kgs per hectare. So far, the total area on which vegetable crops are grown in the stare is estimated at 1.88 lakh hectares.

Brar said that the scheme would not only help in increasing the total vegetable production in the areas surrounding Ludhiana, but also help the farmers to set up state-of-art storage facilities in vegetable producing areas and buy refrigerated vans for transporting their produce.

Students to get ‘Aakash’ soon

atiala, December 28
To make studies convenient and affordable, the Union Ministry of Human Resources has decided to provide Aakash Tablet to college students for a mere Rs 1,138. The Ministry has sought lists of students from colleges in the state who desire to purchase these Tablets.

The market price of Aakash is otherwise Rs 2,276. Aakash is the world's lowest priced touch-screen device, which will help students to use Internet for higher studies.

Satinder Kaur, Principal of Government Bikram College of Commerce, said they had already started preparing a list of students who were willing to buy the tablet. "It is a very sophisticated and yet very affordable device. Students will now no longer have to pool in thousands of rupees for buying desktops or laptops," she added.

Appreciating the scheme, students say that it would make studies easier for them. "Internet has become a necessity these days. It is easier to search various topics on Internet rather than going through various books. I often have to visit cyber cafes to study various course related topics, as I could not afford to buy a laptop. I am glad that now I will be able to possess Aakash and use it as per my requirements," said Geeta, a BCom student from Khalsa College. 

Bhagwant Mann to take on Bhattal in Lehra

Chandigarh, December 28

Popular comedian-turned-politician and People’s Party of Punjab’s vice- president Bhagwant Mann will contest against senior Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal from the Lehra constituency. Bhattal had defeated senior Akali leader Prem Singh Chandumjara by a margin of 270 votes in Lehra in the 2007 elections. This time Chandumajra is keen to contest from the Fatehgarh Sahib constituency, where he faces strong opposition from senior Akali leaders, including incumbent SAD legislator Didar Singh Bhatti.

The SAD is likely to field Sukhwant Singh Sarao, a former Additional Deputy Commissioner ( ADC), from Lehra this time. Sarao had recently resigned from service to join politics. He is a confidant of senior Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. The PPP leadership has decided to field its frontline leaders against important Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders as a part of its election strategy. The obvious objective is to keep senior leaders of main political parties confined to their respective constituencies. The PPP chief’s father Gurdas Singh Badal has been fielded against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the Lambi constituency.

Mann said he had been approached by the people of Sunam and Maur “but I have opted for Lehra because my party leadership wants it so.” The PPP leadership had earlier allocated Lehra to the CPI, which is a part of the Sanjha Morcha headed by Manpreet Badal.

The CPI had announced Satwant Singh Khandewad as its candidate from Lehra. The PPP has decided to request the CPI leadership to leave the constituency for Mann in lieu of another constituency, say sources. Mann, known for his biting satire, has emerged as a forceful orator. He uses folk tales and the local idiom to touch the hearts of the people. 

PPP Strategy

n The PPP leadership has decided to field its frontline leaders against important Congress and SAD leaders

n The objective is to keep senior leaders of main political parties confined to their constituencies

n The PPP leadership had earlier allocated Lehra to the CPI that had announced the candidature of Satwant Singh Khandewad

India to soon get Russian nuclear submarines

Moscow, December 28
Indian Navy is set to receive a major boost when the much-awaited Russian 'Nerpa' nuclear attack submarine would join its fleet "in the next few days" on a 10-year lease worth $920 million.

The Akula-II class Nerpa nuclear submarine has finished sea trials and is now ready to be leased to the Indian Navy in the next few days.

"The submarine is now fully ready to carry out its tasks," a senior executive at the Amur Shipyard, where the submarine was built, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti news agency.

"It will be handed over before the end of the year," the unnamed official said.

The submarine, capable of remaining underwater for months, will be rechristened 'INS Chakra'. It will be for the first time in more than two decades that the Indian Navy will have a nuclear attack submarine.

When Russia makes the delivery, it will make India only the sixth operator of nuclear submarines in the world, the report said.

The 10-year lease is worth $920 million, it said.

The Nerpa, an Akula II-class attack submarine, had originally been scheduled for delivery in 2008 but an accident during sea trials on November 8 that year forced the Russian authorities to put it on hold.

Twenty people, mostly civilians, were killed when a fire-suppressant gas was released on the Nerpa during shakedown trials, in one of Russia's worst naval accidents.

The Akula-II class submarines are equipped with 28 nuclear-capable cruise missiles with a striking range of 3,000 km. The Indian version is reportedly expected to be armed with the 300-km club nuclear-capable missiles. 

Washington says open to Russian report on human rights in U.S.

Washington considers reports from other countries on the situation with human rights in the United States as useful and is always open for them, a U.S. Department of State spokesman said commenting on a report from Russia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry published on Wednesday a report on the situation with human rights in foreign countries, including in the United States. The report in particular expresses concern over the Guantanamo prison, the freedom of speech and touches upon some mistakes made by the U.S. justice system.

“These kinds of human rights reports can be a useful mechanism. But we certainly don’t regard it as interference in our internal affairs when foreign governments, individuals, or organizations comment on or criticize U.S. human rights practices,” Mark Toner, the acting spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, told a daily press briefing.

The diplomat did not make any specific comments on provisions pointed out by Russia in its report, although he was particularly asked about the Guantanamo prison. He said the document is being assessed and that would take some time.

“I think we can say that we will or we may examine the report to see if there’s any importance to it… We don’t put any restrictions on access to our human rights records, and, indeed, we have an extremely unfettered press and media that hold us to that,” Toner added.

U.S. President Barack Obama suspended new military commissions for Guantanamo detainees in early 2009 and pledged to close the prison within a year. In March this year, however, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates revoked the suspension.

There are still over 170 detainees, including a Russian citizen, at Guantanamo.

Compulsory medical treatment for drug addicts unpopular worldwide, expert says

MOSCOW, December 28 - RAPSI. Drug addict compulsory treatment is not applied in the developed countries, Yevgeny Krupitsky, head of narcology department at the St. Petersburg Psychoneurological Research Institute said during a video-conference link between Moscow and St. Petersburg arranged by RIA Novosti.

The Health Ministry proposes to pass a law on compulsory medical treatment for drug addicts, regardless of whether they have previous criminal record or not. Chief narcologist of Russia Yevgeny Bryun, who supports the idea, said the law could save many drug addicts who are unable to control themselves in an addictive state.

Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov earlier said the parliament may adopt a law on criminal responsibility for drug taking in public places by spring 2012.

There are no successful examples of addict compulsory treatment up to date, Krupitsky said.

Krupitsky said drug addicts should undergo drug tests every week so that the special monitoring group can monitor their health state and remission progress.

Ivanov shared Krupitsky's idea, saying that only 2 percent out of a million of addicts who asked for medical treatment can truly recover from drug addiction. He also alleged that the existing addict treatment model is ineffective.

Penalties for drug-related crimes in Russia

For more info visit: http://www.rapsinews.com/legislation_mm/20111212/258831678.html

The new Anti-Tobacco Law in Russia

A bill restricting the sale of tobacco products will help Russia combat the deadly habit, which is responsible for causing 400,000 deaths per year - Chief Sanitary Inspector Gennady Onishchenko

For more info visit: http://www.rapsinews.com/legislation_mm/20110826/254941914.html

Court drops extremism charges against "Bhagavad Gita as It is"

16:04 28/12/2011

TOMSK, December 28 - RAPSI, Sergei Levanenkov. A Tomsk district court has held against a local prosecutor's office in its petition to declare the Russian version of "the Bhagavad Gita as It is" Hindu poem with commentary an extremist text, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday.

In June the Tomsk prosecutor's office appealed to the court to place the Bhagavad Gita's Russian-language version on the federal extremist materials list. The prosecutor's office initiated the case following an inspection of the Tomsk Society for Krishna Consciousness. The court was expected to pass its judgment on December 19, but the case was postponed until December 28.

The Tomsk prosecutors offices petition to declare "Bhagavad Gita as It is" an extremist text has sparked an explosion of public indignation in India and has been called a violation of Hindu rights. Several law makers have called on the Russian government to stand up for the rights of followers of Hinduism in Russia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich commented on the Tomsk prosecutor's office's claim on Thursday. He said the prosecutor's office is challenging not the Bhagavad Gita itself, but the comments made by the book's author Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

Bhagavad Gita is a Hindu scripture that is a part of the ancient Mahabharata epic.

"Bhagavad Gita as It is" is a translation of the Bhagavad Gita Hindu scripture with commentary, made by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in the 1960s. The book was translated into more than 60 languages.

Russian notaries to become part of e-government in 2012

MOSCOW, December 20 - RAPSI. Notaries will enjoy the single Interdepartmental Electronic Interaction System from 2012. However, people will be able to contact a notary using their computer only after legislation is adopted on notarial practice and on electronic documents, the Justice Ministry and the Federal Notarial Chamber told RIA Novosti at a Tuesday press conference.

The system is a primary component of e-government. Notaries with an electronic signature and the relevant powers will receive access to government databases.

Presently, 94 percent of the 7,560 notaries in Russia use the Single Information System, which contains 18 million entries on standard forms that may be used to verify the authenticity of a notarial document and a notarial act, 12 million searches of will notices, 4.8 million entries on probate cases, 544,000 entries on arrests and restrictions and 151,000 entries on revoked powers of attorney.

The current system enables to retrieve information on the peoples wills kept in the archives since 1980.

Airlines to get compensation for transporting children at discounted rate

ST. PETERSBURG, December 20 - RAPSI. The Constitutional Court validated the legal standards forcing airlines to charge only half price for children's tickets. However, the court also wants the country's legislation to be amended to compensate airlines for these expenses, the court materials read.

The Constitutional Court examined the constitutionality of Air Code standards under which passengers have the right to transport children aged from two to twelve at a discounted rate. Polet Airlines, Siberia Airlines and UTair filed the applications.

The companies claimed that airlines incur multimillion losses by transferring children at half price. The companies filed their lawsuits with commercial courts.
However, the courts dismissed the lawsuits, stating that the right of passengers to buy tickets at discounted rates for children is not their privilege, but a paid service rendered by airlines.

The Constitutional Court maintains that the lawmaker is entitled to obligate companies to transport children at a discount rated, but the "establishment of benefits to transport children is connected with the state's intrusion into ownership rights, proprietary rights and the freedom of entrepreneurship."

"The Constitutional Court ruled that the federal lawmaker should make corresponding amendments to legal regulations, which should aim to comply with the balance of interests in transporting children by air," the court materials read.

Chargesheet running into 1.5 lakh pages filed in Indore court

Indore: A voluminous chargesheet running into 1.50 lakh pages was today submitted in a special court by EOW against 24 persons, allegedly involved in a nine year old tax scam, pegged at Rs 8 crore, reported in a local agriculture produce marketing committee (APMC).

The massive chargesheet had to be carried on in three vehicles and was produced in the special court of Gauri Shankar Dubey.

Special Public Prosecutor for Economic Offences Wing Ashlesh Sharma said the accused against whom the chargesheet was filed included a retired government servant and they have been charged with offences like corruption, fraud and forgery.

The EOW SP Manoj Kumar Singh said the tax scam took place in local Krishi Upaj Mandi in 2002 and a case in this connection was filed in 2004.

Three machines were pressed into service for twenty-five days to make photocopies of the humongous document, he added.