16062022-CT-01.qxd 6/16/2022 12:30 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh TRIBUNE THURSDAY | 16 JUNE 2022 | CHANDIGARH GIRLS OUTSHINE BOYS IN HSEB CLASS XII RESULTS Girls once again outperform boys by securing the first three positions in the Class XII exams in P’kula district. FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY PAGE 3 BANSAL SLAMS CENTRE OVER QUESTIONING OF RAHUL BY ED MAX 41°C | MIN 31°C | YESTERDAY MAX 42.6°C | MIN 31.9°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7:26 PM PAGE 3 PU TEACHERS MEET VC, URGE FOR CENTRAL VARSITY STATUS National Congress’ treasurer accuses Modi-led Central Govt of "shameless misuse of law enforcement agencies”. Over 100 teachers urge PU VC to take all necessary action for converting university into a Central University. SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:21 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Judge’s daughter identified in test parade held by CBI TRICITY COVID REPORT CHD PAGE 3 P’KULA MOHALI POSITIVE 92,830 44,532 96,236 RECOVERED 91,427 44,023 94,941 NEW CASES 22 32 32 ACTIVE 238 95 145 CHANGE 0 17 25 DEATHS 1,165 414 1,150 NEW 0 0 0 Sec 27 woman among 3 witnesses part of prosecution theory AIR QUALITY INDEX SIPPY MURDER CASE CHANDIGARH 185 PANCHKULA 198 Amit Sharma MOHALI 134 Chandigarh, June 15 Kalyani Singh, arrested in the Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, aka Sippy Sidhu, murder case, was identified in the Test Identification Parade (TIP) conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). She is an assistant professor at Post-Graduate Government College, Sector 42. CBI sources confirmed that Kalyani was identified during the TIP However, they . did not divulge information about the witnesses involved in the TIP Three witnesses . are part of the prosecution theory, including Amreeta Singh, a resident of Sector 27, who is an eyewitness. During the investigation, she had revealed that she was present on the first floor of her house when she heard gunshots followed by a girl’s scream around 9.30 pm on September 20. She went out towards the balcony facing the main gate where she saw a small white car parked under the street light near the main gate of her house. She also noticed a girl, aged around 26-27, swiftly coming from the park towards her car. She then drove away from the spot. Investigations had also revealed that Sippy had received a few calls from an unknown number two days before he was shot dead. The calls were made from Harishankar Gupta’s phone, a mehndi applier at Sector 19, Chandigarh. Three calls, which were of a duration of 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF SEC 36 PARK GETS TOILET BLOCK Chandigarh: A toilet block has been opened at the Fragrance Garden in Sector 36 here. Speaking on the occasion after inaugurating the facility, MC Commissioner Anindita Mitra said any kind of problem in the toilet block like blocked sewerage, water leakage and missing water tap could be reported by scanning the QR code placed in the toilet block. The Commissioner said the MC had planned to revamp 31 toilet blocks. TNS YOUTH ARRESTED WITH HEROIN Chandigarh: The police have arrested a 28-year-old youth, Vishal Kumar, a resident of Dadu Majra Colony, who was found in possession of 7.76 gm of heroin. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act at the Maloya police station. TNS UT witnesses 22 fresh Covid cases CHANDIGARH: The city witnessed 22 fresh Covid cases on Wednesday, taking the active caseload to 238. While there was no fresh fatality, 22 patients recovered from the disease. The virus has claimed 1,165 lives in the city so far. — TNS 32 test positive in Mohali district MOHALI: The district reported 32 cases of Covid during the past 24 hours, while seven patients were cured of the disease. There was no fresh fatality on Wednesday. A total of 20,58,396 beneficiaries in the district have been given antiCovid shots till date. As many as 11,50,057 people have been given the first dose and 8,67,103 the second dose too. Besides, 41,236 beneficiaries have been given the booster dose or the third dose. — TNS 32 more contract infection in P’kula PANCHKULA: As many as 32 per- sons tested positive for Covid during the past 24 hours, while 15 got the better of the disease in the district. There was no fresh fatality reported from the district on Wednesday. There are 95 active cases in the district. — TNS Tribune News Service Huge rush at the OPD registration counters in the PGI, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. PHOTO: MANOJ MAHAJAN At PGI, the wait never ends Long queues of patients for OPD registration, payments STATE OF HOSPITALS Naina Mishra Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 15 With over 9,000-10,000 patients visiting the OPDs every day, the PGI is weighed down under the immense load of patients waiting for their turn at the registration counters for getting appointment cards made, for making payments at counters and for the collection of reports. In the early hours (between 3 am and 5 am), around 1,0002,000 patients begin queueing up outside the New OPD Block and Nehru Hospital even when the gates are closed. The security guard concerned opens the gate at 6 am and allows the patients inside the hall where they wait for the counters to open up at 8 am. Sandeep Kumar, who came from Saharanpur this morning, was standing in a queue for over an hour to make the payment for a CT scan. “It’s been one and a half hours since I have been standing in a line. The treatment here is satisfactory that is why I come here every time,” he said. Atul (35) was standing in a queue for one and a half hours and was skipping the Man nailed with 4K intoxicant pills Dera Bassi, June 15 The police arrested a Uttar Pradesh native, Mohammed Hasim, and seized more than 4,000 intoxicant pills and capsules from him today. The suspect has been booked under the NDPS Act at the Dera Bassi police station. He was produced in a court today, which remanded him in two-day police custody. The police said the suspect was arrested from near the Focal Point area at a naka. He told the police that he had bought the intoxicant pills from Saharanpur and had come here to sell these. —TNS QUEUE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE PGI Deputy Director Kumar Gaurav Dhawan said the institute was working on a queue management software through which long queues at different counters would be managed through a system that would alert patients about when their turn comes to see a doctor, based on their token number. The PGI was also working on introducing online payment wherein a QR code would be imprinted on OPD cards through which payments could be made. The newly approved Hospital Information System-2 would also take care of recurrent payments. LONG WAIT TO SEE DOCs PATIENTS HASSLED The wait does not get over after an OPD card is made at the registration counter. Patients have to wait outside the doctors’ room for their turn for two to three hours. Patients can be seen sitting on floors outside the doctors’ room after the seats get occupied. Patients first form a queue for the registration. If the doctor prescribes a particular test, patients have to stand in a queue to make the payment at a counter. There are 36 counter windows at the New OPD Block and the problem is almost the same at each window. queue to co-ordinate with his wife, who was seven-month pregnant. “My wife is also standing in a queue for the surgery department. I am making her sit,” he said while standing in the queue. In some departments, the OPD registration timings are from 8 am to 10.30 am. In such a short spell, some patients are turned away as their turn does not come. “Every day, 100 to 150 patients have to return because the time is lim- ited and even though we try our best, we are not able to adjust all patients who come here. We ask them to come again,” said a security guard, posted at the New OPD Block. Neelam, who had chronic stomach pain, had been standing in a queue since 9 am for one and a half hours, but as soon as her turn came, the window of the registration counter was closed. She had to return. She had come from Jalandhar to see a doctor. Showering relief Family members and friends pay tributes to Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu at the Sector 27 park where he was shot. FILE TIMELINE Sept 20, 2015: Sukhmanpreet Singh Sidhu, alias Sippy, shot dead at a park in Sector 27, Chandigarh Oct 10: Police question a Judge’s daughter to probe her alleged involvement in the case Oct 14: Victim’s kin submit a representation to the Chief Justice of the High Court Oct 17: Judge’s daughter questioned again Nov 29: Family holds a candlelight demonstration outside the IGP’s residence Nov 30: Kin give a representation to the UT Adviser Dec 13: Sippy’s kin gather at Matka Chowk, hold candlelight march towards Sector 17 seven seconds, four seconds and 41 seconds, were made at 8:11:26 pm, 8:11:52 pm and 8:12:26 pm, respectively. Gupta, in his statement, had stated that a woman, aged around 25-26, had come to him and told him that she had left her phone at home. She borrowed his phone to make a call. “Mera phone Showers bring relief from sultry weather, in Sector 29, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. PHOTO: VICKY the donor. As the crossmatching indicated no matching recipient for heart in the PGI here, options for matching recipients were explored with other transplant hospitals. Finally, heart was allocated to a matching recipient admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital, New Delhi. Following this, the liver and kidneys retrieved from the donor, through transplantation of combined liver and kidney in one recipient and another kidney in the second recipient, enabled giving a fresh lease of life to two patients battling for survival ghar chhut gaya kai, muje phone karwa do,” the girl had told Gupta. Sippy had also received another call at 8:55 pm from the phone of Balinder Kumar, who had come to Sector 19, Chandigarh, to purchase clothes. Here too, a young woman borrowed the phone to make the call. FINALLY A RAY OF HOPE AFTER 7 YRS: MOTHER ❝ We finally see a ray of hope. The first arrest has been made by the CBI and we hope others involved in the crime will also be arrested soon. Deepinder Kaur, VICTIM’S MOTHER ❞ Sippy was shot dead with a .12 bore gun and four bullets were fired from it. The UT police had registered a case of murder at the Sector 26 police station. In January 2016, the case was transferred to the CBI, after which the investigating agency registered a murder case and began a probe. Fire damages seven vehicles Ambala, June 15 Seven vehicles parked in an open space of a showroom at Mohra village were damaged in a fire today. No injuries or causalities were reported. A power cable of the main line reportedly got snapped and due to sparking, a fire broke out and spread to the vehicles. The damaged vehicles had arrived for repair. Devender Saini, general manager, Metro Motors, said, “Seven vehicles were damaged in the fire. Fire engines were called to control the fire. We have suffered a loss of around ~15 lakh.” — TNS In death, youth gives fresh lease of life to five Chandigarh, June 15 Five lives were impacted after the family of a youth, who met with a road mishap and was declared brain dead, donated his organs. The youth was hit by a speeding two-wheeler from the opposite side while he was going on his motorcycle to work on June 4. After the mishap, he was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Faridkot. However, he was referred to the PGI and brought to the institute on June 6 in a precarious condition. He was declared brain dead on June 14. After his family’s consent, heart, liver, kidneys and corneas were retrieved from Dec 18: Kin hold a candlelight demonstration on Sippy’s 35th birth anniversary Dec 24: Kin stage a silent protest near the PM’s residence in New Delhi January 2016: Investigation transferred to the CBI September: CBI announces ~5-lakh reward for info in case December 2020: CBI files “untraced report” in the court. However, at the same time, the CBI requests the court to allow it to continue the investigation as it had strong suspicion about the role of a woman to eliminate Sippu Sidhu December 2021: CBI raises the reward to ~10 lakh in the PGI. This was the second liver-kidney combined transplant in the PGI. The first such transplant was con- c m y b ducted in 2018. The retrieved corneas of the donor will restore the sight of two corneal blind patients. Prof Vipin Koushal, Medical Superintendent, PGI, and Nodal Officer, Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (North), said the heart was airlifted post retrieval. A green corridor was created from the PGI to the Technical Airport, Chandigarh, with active cooperation and liasoning of the PGI security, the UT Administration and the police.” PGI Director Prof Vivek Lal said, “Amid the tragic demise of one’s own family member, thinking beyond to save some strangers’ lives is unexpected and unimaginable. It is actually the selfless sacrifice of the donor families on which the organ transplant programme hinges. No words are enough to convey our gratitude to them.” “We just want people to know about the cause and not who did it. We have done it so that our son lives through others. We have done it for our own peace and solace. We want people to realise that death is not the end of things. People can live on through others, through organ donation,” said the donor’s mother. — TNS An electricity pole uprooted by strong winds at Pabhat in Zirakpur. Most parts of Zirakpur plunge into darkness Tribune News Service Mohali, June 15 The entire Pabhat and Ramgarh Bhudda areas plunged into darkness after strong winds uprooted a high-tension electricity pole in Pabhat this evening. PSPCL Executive Engineer SS Oberoi said, “It may take more than 24 hours to restore electricity in the areas.” Strong winds and rain lashed the tricity around 7:30 pm, bringing some respite from the searing heat, but a blackout loomed large over Zirakpur residents for another 24 hours. Three 66-kV towers fell near Captain Farm in Barri village. PSPCL officials said the main power supply was switched off in the IT City, Ramgarh Bhudda and Pabhat grids today. Residents said several trees were also uprooted in the Strong winds uproot high-tension electricity pole in Pabhat; will take 24 hours to restore power: PSPCL official FIVE FLIGHTS DELAYED Strong winds, accompanied by rain, delayed the arrival and departure of five flights at Chandigarh airport on Wednesday evening. The Mumbai-Chandigarh flight, scheduled to land at the airport, had to be diverted to Delhi around 7.20 pm. The departure of flights to Dubai, Jaipur, Delhi and Srinagar was also delayed by over an hour and a half. Normal traffic resumed once the strong winds abated. TNS Lohgarh and VIP Road areas. Residents said most of the Zirakpur plunged into darkness around 8 pm. continued on page 3