10082025-CT-01.qxd 8/10/2025 12:26 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune YOUTH ROLE KEY TO BUILDING VIKSIT BHARAT: ISRO CHIEF MC MAY OFFER SETTLEMENT SCHEME ON PROPERTY TAX UT POLICE HOLD MOCK DRILL TO ASSESS I-DAY READINESS V Narayanan emphasises importance of lifelong learning, at Plaksha University convocation. P2 Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla asks civic body officials to table agenda in the next House meeting. P3 Operations Cell of the UT police conducts a mock drill at the headquarters in Sector 9. P3 » » WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH Storytelling session and dialogue: With hereditary ‘phad’ performers from Rajasthan, Government Museum and Art Gallery Auditorium, Sector 10, August 10, 6 pm Distribution of special AI-enabled vision glasses to 25 students: At Institute for the Blind, Sector 26, by Rotarians; August 11, 11:30 am; former Rotary District Governor 3080 Rtn Rajpal Singh will be the chief guest Tabla solo by Rahul Kumar Mishra: At the 310th Monthly Baithak programme, to be organised by Pracheen Kala Kendra, 6.30 pm, Pracheen Kala Kendra, Sector 35; August 11, open to all APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sec 34 and Dadumajra Mohali: Sector 88, Phase 8 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Police claim to have busted interstate gang that targeted jewellers Tribune News Service Mohali, August 9 The police have arrested four accused, including a dismissed Delhi Police cop, for the daylight robbery at a jeweller’s shop in Dhakoli on July 11 and recovered 120-gm gold, 500-gm silver and Rs 8 lakh from them. Those arrested have been identified as Delhi residents Amit Shukla, Vijay Kamal, Akash Sharma and Ravinder Tyagi. Zirakpur SP Jaspinder Singh Gill said, “Accused Amit Shukla is the main accused. He is already booked in two cases of robbery and criminal conspiracy. Accused Vijay Kamal has eight cases of theft and robbery registered against him. He was dismissed from the Delhi Police in a kidnapping case. He is notorious for robberies at jewellery shops. This time, he learnt to tie a turban from Youtube to disguise his identity while carrying out the robbery in Dhakoli. He used to track jewellers before targeting them.” An attempt to murder and robbery case was registered against unidentified persons at PAST INCIDENTS ■ April 16, 2025: Four robbers looted Rs 80,000 cash and silver ornaments at gunpoint from a jewellery shop in Shiva Enclave, Pabhat, in broad daylight. They were nabbed later. ■ Oct 15, 2024: Two bike-borne youths looted a jewellery shop in the Lohgarh. Sam Soni, owner of Divya Jeweller, alleged that two masked robbers entered his shop around 2:30 pm and pointed a pistol at him. They took away a jewellery box, which contained gold and silver jewellery. Gold, silver & cash recovered from the accused; and (right) the jewellery shop in Dhakoli. ACCUSED LEARNT HOW TO TIE TURBAN ON YOUTUBE TO HIDE IDENTITY The police said accused Vijay Kamal has eight cases of theft and robbery registered against him. He was dismissed from the the Dhakoli police station on July 11. Unidentified youths had robbed 2-kg gold and 15-kg silver worth about Rs 2.5 crore from the jewellery shop in Dhakoli around 12:40 pm. The shop owner, Govind, Delhi Police in a kidnapping case. Vijay is notorious for robberies at jewellery shops. He learnt to tie a turban from had stated that his father Surinder Kwatra was at the shop when two youths arrived there around 11:30 am. They enquired about a gold chain and left the shop. Both came back an hour Sukhna Lake floodgate shut as water recedes Yellow alert issued for heavy rain in tricity region today Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 9 The UT Engineering Department closed the floodgate of the Sukhna Lake around 3.30 am today after the water level dropped to 1,162.10 feet. Following the heavy rain in the city and its catchment area yesterday, one of the three floodgates of the lake was opened around 7.30 pm to release excess water into the Sukhna Choe. Earlier, one floodgate of the lake was opened around 11 am on Wednesday when the water level touched the danger mark of 1,163 feet. Later, the gate was closed after 12 hours, around 11 pm the same day. The gate was opened after two years to release the excess water. According to officials, the gate was opened up to the height of six inches and was closed when the water level dropped to 1,162.20 feet. The UT Engineering Department has deployed officials at the regulator end of the lake on a 24x7 basis. CCTV cameras have also been installed to regularly monitor the water level in the lake. A control room has been established to coordinate with the administrations of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula for a proper communication during the opening of floodgates. The officials said the district administrations of the neighbouring districts were alerted before opening of the floodgate. Floodgates were opened four times in 2023, six times in 2022, and five times in 2021. The opening of two floodgates in August 2020 caused a widespread flooding in the low-lying areas of Zirakpur situated alongside the Sukhna Choe. On September 24, 2018, the floodgates were opened after a gap of 10 years. Chandigarh, August 9 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for heavy rain coupled with thunderstorm at isolated places in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana on Sunday. It has also predicted another spell of heavy rain in the region on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by dry weather on Monday and Tuesday. Meanwhile, the day and night temperatures dipped considerably on Saturday after the 90-minute spell of heavy rainfall (86 mm) that brought the city to its knees, prompting the opening of one of the Sukhna floodgates for the second time in less than three days. Today also, Chandigarh, TRICITY METER CITY Chd Mohali P’kula MAX 33.1°C 33.2°C 32.7°C MIN RAIN 24°C 86-mm 26.4°C NIL 25°C 0.5-mm Mohali and Panchkula experienced light to moderate downpour in the evening that gave further respite from the hot and humid weather conditions. The rain that started around 5 pm lashed parts of the tricity for almost an hour, leading to waterlogging and traffic chaos at various places. Chandigarh recorded a maximum of 33.1 and minimum of 24 degree Celsius temperature, which was 2.7 and 2.2 degrees less than yesterday’s reading and 0.4 and 2.4 degrees below normal, respectively. With 32.7 maximum and 25 degree Celsius minimum mercury, Panchkula was the least hot in the tricity. Mohali topped the chart with 33.2 and 24.2 degree Celsius maximum and minimum temperature, respectively. The weatherman has predicted partly cloudy sky and rain in the tricity till August 13. “As compared to yesterday, there was a fall of 1.6 and 3.8 degree Celsius in the average maximum temperature, which was near normal and below normal by 1.6 degree Celsius in Punjab and Haryana, respectively, on Saturday,” the IMD said. YouTube to disguise his identity while carrying out the robbery in Dhakoli. He used to track jewellers before targeting them after and held the elderly man captive. They tied him and dragged him upstairs. The robbers threatened his father with dire consequences, claiming that they had a pistol in the pocket. The youths took away all jewellery from the showcases and the safe within 10-12 minutes and fled the spot on their bike. They also took away the CCTV camera recorder. FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Excise teams raid top salons in city for tax evasion Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 9 Top salons located across the city are under the scanner for tax evasion, after joint raids were conducted by officials of the UT Excise and Taxation Department and Central Goods and Service Tax (GST) in the past two days. Acting on repeated complaints of tax evasion, officials raided more than 12 salons across the city on Thursday and Friday, and seized records. According to officials, surveys would be carried out for proper assessment of the GST evasion. Apart from the recovery of unpaid taxes, heavy penalties would be imposed on the violators, they said, adding that many salons were allegedly charging hefty rates for services such as haircut, hair colouring, make-up, spa treatment and premium wedding packages without levying the mandatory 18% GST. The officials seized documents from prominent salons located in Sectors 8, 9, 26, 35, and other areas. The authorities are now scrutinising the GST returns and transaction records of these salons of the past three years. People enjoy pleasant weather at Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh on Saturday. The day temperature dipped considerably after the 90-minute spell of heavy rain yesterday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Dr Bagga was asked to appear before panel to re-assess her eligibility 10 yrs after promotion as Prof Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service The Chandigarh College of Architecture, Sector 12. FILE PHOTO order till the next date of hearing fixed for August 14 In the application filed before the tribunal through advocate Rohit Sethi, she has prayed for the quashing of the order during the pendency of the original application. In the original application, she has stated that she was promoted as Professor under Career Advancement Scheme from April 22, 2014, and the order was passed by the Administrator, Chandigarh, whereas the c m y b During investigations, it was found that salons issued invoices with “discount” tags to hide taxable services and evade tax. The officials stated that bills were not issued to the customers and payments were often collected in cash. Scrutiny of records revealed only sales of beauty products, while the income generated by providing services was not mentioned in the papers. In one of the raids, the Central GST team inspected a luxury salon in Sector 9, with daily sales running into lakhs. The salon offers premium services ranging from hair styling and colouring to advanced skin treatments and bridal packages. Officials expected a large amount of tax recovery from this establishment alone. The Excise Department has stated that the drive would be extended to other salons and beauty parlours in the city. Tax recovery would be undertaken and heavy penalties imposed with interest on violators. The department has appealed to consumers to insist on a bill when availing of salon service. “Paying GST not only strengthens government revenue but also safeguards consumer rights,” an official said. Weather turns pleasant CAT stays review of college principal’s promotion Chandigarh, August 9 The Chandigarh Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal has stayed the order of the Secretary, Technical Education, dated July 23 directing Principal of Chandigarh College of Architecture Dr Sangeeta Bagga to appear before Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) Committee to re-assess her eligibility for promotion as Professor. The tribunal, comprising Ramesh Singh Thakur, Member (Judicial); and Anjali Bhawra, Member (Administrative), while issuing notices directed the respondents Secretary, Technical Education and others not to proceed further in pursuance to the MAX 35°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 33.1°C | MIN 24°C SUNRISE MONDAY 5.48 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Delhi ex-cop among 4 nabbed for robbery at Dhakoli jewellery shop RAIN SUNSET SUNDAY 7.09 PM » SUNDAY | 10 AUGUST 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST order dated July 23 for reassessment of eligibility to the post of Professor has been issued by the Secretary, Technical Education. She said she was selected and appointed as lecturer (Architecture) in the college through UPSC in 1999. Vide the order dated March 1, 2016, she was promoted as professor. She was given the additional charge of Principal CCA in 2017 by the orders of the Administrator. She fulfilled the requisite criteria, experience and other conditions to be entitled for CAS promotion as Senior Professor. Dr Bagga said she has submitted a representation to the competent authorities but the respondents are sitting over her claim for promotion. There is no power vested in the authority without there being any rules to reopen CAS promotion after a decade. It is legally not permissible, she claimed. However, the counsel for the respondents contested her claim. The respondents submitted that the applicant had made a representation against the impugned order, and the same was pending for consideration. The counsel said no meeting of the committee would be held till the representation made by the applicant was decided. After hearing the arguments, the tribunal said it had considered the matter and was of the view that a prima facie case for interim relief was made out in favour of the applicant. Resultantly, the respondents are directed not to proceed further in pursuance to order dated July 23 till the next date fixed for August 14. The respondents may file a reply by the next date. 2 arrested for duping Zirakpur man of ~1.7L Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 9 The police have arrested two persons for cheating a Zirakpur resident of Rs 1.7 lakh in a fake foreign currency deal. On a complaint by Ashish Kumar, a case was registered on Thursday. Ashish Kumar had alleged that Mohammad Hazrat, 32, of Mundi Kharar, offered to sell him USD 4,000 at half rate. He met the accused in Burail village with Rs 1.7 lakh, but after handing over the money, received an empty bag instead of the promised dollars. Mohammad Hazrat and coaccused Sangam, 35, of Sector 52, Chandigarh, were arrested the same day.