07022024-CT-01.qxd 2/7/2024 12:17 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune MAINLY CLEAR SKY LIKELY IN CITY FOR NEXT FIVE DAYS CM MANN LAUNCHES ‘AAP DI SARKAR, AAP DE DWAR’ TOP SEED ANJALI SAILS INTO TENNIS QUARTERFINALS According to Weather Department, the sky is likely to be mainly clear from February 7 to 11. P2 CM Bhagwant Mann launches statewide drive at Bhankharpur village near Dera Bassi. P2 Defeats Radhika Vasudev 6-2, 6-2 at the CLTA-AITA National Ranking Tennis Championship. P2 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 99 PANCHKULA 86 MOHALI 93 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF YOUTH HELD FOR VEHICLE THEFTS Chandigarh: A 23-year-old youth has been arrested for vehicle thefts. The police have recovered two motorcycles from his possession. Suspect Mintu Kumar, a resident of Mauli Jagran, was arrested at a checkpoint in Sector 23 while riding a stolen motorcycle. A fake number plate was affixed on the bike. A case was registered against him at the Sector 17 police station. During investigation, another stolen motorcycle was recovered on his disclosure. TNS FOUR POs LAND IN POLICE DRAGNET Chandigarh: The Proclaimed Offender (PO) and Summon Staff of the UT police have arrested four POs. Varinder Singh of Dadu Majra, who was booked in an accident case and later declared a PO, has been arrested. Another PO, Sanjay, alias Bihari, who was booked for violating the District Magistrate’s order during Covid-19, has also been nabbed. Two other POs, identified as Vikramjeet Singh and Irshad Ali, have also been apprehended. They were produced before the court and sent to judicial custody. TNS WHAT’S ON MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 19°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 18.7°C | MIN 7.5°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.04 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7.09 AM » WEDNESDAY | 7 FEBRUARY 2024 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE AAP releases mayoral poll video OTS for old VAT cases in works Footage procured officially from MC after election was shown to CJI Sandeep Rana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 6 City AAP leaders today held the screening of the video of mayoral polls, in which presiding officer Anil Masih is allegedly seen tampering with ballot papers while signing these, before the media. Councillors of AAP Kuldeep Kumar Dhalor (Tita) and Prem Lata had procured the video of the entire election proceedings from the MC’s joint commissioner through an official letter the very next day of the polling. However, the main parts of the proceedings in the form of three videos were shown and released to the media during a press conference outside the MC building this afternoon. The councillors said the same videos were also shown to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, following which he issued directions on Monday. Seven cameras had been put up in the assembly hall for covering the election proceedings. “We suspected they could destroy the footage of the videos recorded on seven cameras from different angles. So, we procured the entire video of about two hours through an official letter and released its main parts City AAP co-in charge SS Ahluwalia releases videos during a press conference in Sector 17 on Tuesday; and (below) Youth Congress activists burn effigies of Anil Masih at Sector 35. RAVI KUMAR MASIH’S EFFIGIES BURNT AAP LEADER’S CLAIM Led by Manoj Lubana, activists of the Chandigarh Youth Congress burnt the effigies of returning officer Anil Masih near the Sector 35 light point. Before setting the effigies on fire, they blackened the face and put a garland of shoes on these. The protest started from Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan. Meanwhile, the city AAP took out a candlelight march from the Aroma light point in Sector 22. “In the first video, it is clearly seen our candidate had won as Masih first saw all polled ballot papers and placed these. In the second video, he is seen tampering with the votes polled in favour of our candidate. In the third video, two-three BJP councillors are clearly seen asking the cameraperson to shift the focus of the camera from Masih,” claimed Dr SS Ahluwalia, city AAP co-in charge. today. The camera, which showed the proceedings live that day, was not clearly showing which votes the presiding officer was tampering with. But there was one camera focussed over his head. Its footage clearly shows he defaced the votes polled in my favour,” said Tita, who was the INDIA bloc (AAP and Congress) mayoral candidate for the January 30 polls. Addressing the press con- Election to other 2 posts challenged Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 6 Amidst the controversy over the mayor’s election in Chandigarh, two elected councillors today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court for setting aside the election of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. The petitioners, Gurpreet Singh and Nirmla Devi, contended the election was held the same day as the mayoral polls, with the illegally and fraudulently elected mayor as the presiding authority in the chair. Directions were also sought for holding fresh elections in a transparent and fair manner in accordance with the prescribed rules and regulation under the supervision continued on page 2 CHANDIGARH Apni Mandi: Sectors 15, 40, 46 and 52 MOHALI Apni Mandi: Phase 11 PANCHKULA Apni Mandi: Sector 25 Biker killed in Mohali mishap Mohali, February 6 A 22-year-old biker died in an accident near the Cheema light point this morning. Deceased Aman Rana, hailing from Palampur, Kangra district, was crushed under the wheels of a truck while he was trying to overtake it. The truck driver fled the spot, leaving the vehicle behind. A case has been registered at the Phase 8-B police station. — TNS Kalka Shatabdi delayed again Chandigarh: Kalka Shatabdi departed from New Delhi with the delay of over an hour and reached Chandigarh at 12.43 pm, instead of the scheduled arrival of 10.59 am. Jan Shatabdi departed three hours late from Chandigarh against its usual time of 7.43 am and reached Delhi late by over four hours (3.54 pm). Commuters expressed concern over disruption in train schedule. — TNS c m y b ference, the city AAP co-in charge, Dr SS Ahluwalia, claimed, “Our councillor Suman noticed a ballot paper with some marks before voting. She pointed this out, following which 11 ballot papers were rejected even before voting by councillors. When this plan A did not work, BJP’s leader and nominated councillor Anil Masih implemented plan B where he himself marked eight ballot papers while signing these at the time of counting. The presiding authority, as per rules, has to sign the ballot papers twice, before and after polling.” On the authenticity of the videos, advocate Ferry Sofat, who is representing AAP in the court, said these had been procured officially from the MC. He was also present at the press conference. AAP councillor Yogesh Dhingra alleged, “Through cameras, the BJP has been exposed before the public. The public has seen their acts of hooliganism and cheating in the MC House.” Earlier today, AAP activists put up a screen on the roadside outside the MC office where they played the videos for the media. Its councillor and volunteers were observing chain hunger strike alongside. In the result declared by Masih, BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar had defeated Tita to win the post of Mayor as the Opposition accused the presiding officer of tampering with the votes polled. Sonkar continued on page 2 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 6 Administration is in the process of finalising a onetime settlement (OTS) scheme for pending VAT cases. The city traders have been seeking relief under the scheme for a long time. Sources said the Excise and Taxation Department had prepared a proposal to settle old VAT cases and sent it to the higher authorities for approval. The decision will be implemented once the UT Administrator gives his assent to the proposal. Charanjiv Singh, president, Chandigarh Beopar Mandal (CBM), said there were from 8,000 to 10,000 traders in the city facing pending VAT cases. Besides providing relief to traders, the Administration will also generate revenue by settling these cases. He said they had been demanding the settlement of old cases on the lines of other states. The Punjab and Himachal Pradesh governments had come up with the one-time settlement (OTS) scheme to settle pending VAT assessment cases of traders in the past. Charanjiv said they were being penalised for cases as old as 6-7 years although oth- 10K TRADERS OF CITY TO BENEFIT Charanjiv Singh, president, Chandigarh Beopar Mandal (CBM), said there were from 8,000 to 10,000 traders in the city facing pending VAT cases. Besides providing relief to traders, the UT Administration will also generate revenue by settling these cases. er states were bringing in amnesty schemes to give relief to traders. The sources say the Administration will set a time limit for the settlement of old cases under the proposed OTS scheme. Besides traders and industrialists, there are many contractors who are facing pending VAT cases. Under the OTS scheme, the Administration could allow exemption in interest and tax dues. The sources said the department had also studied the policy adopted in Punjab and other states in this regard. The CBM has demanded relief on the Punjab pattern. Charanjiv said VAT assessment cases prior to 2015-16 were not being rectified and assessees had to deposit 25% of the dues while filing an appeal with the Excise and Taxation Department.