03072025-CT-01.qxd 7/3/2025 12:45 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune FOUR ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPT TO MURDER BUSINESSMAN DAMAGED BRIDGE ON BARWALA ROAD CLOSED FOR TRAFFIC SHANAYA ON TAKING 3 YRS TO MAKE HER ACTING DEBUT Panchkula police arrest four men for allegedly attacking a factory owner on April 1, robbing him of ~2 lakh. P2 During inspection, officials found the Dangri Bridge on Barwala Road near Mauli Chowki damaged. P2 Newcomer Shanaya Kapoor is excited to make her acting debut with Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan. P4 » » WHAT’S ON Parakh Sarvekshan-2024 ranks Chandigarh third among states APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 34, 56 and Ram Darbar Panchkula: Sector 5 Mohali: Sec 88 and Phase 8 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Nitin Jain INBRIEF TWO BIKERS FLEE WITH GOLD CHAIN Chandigarh: Two unidentified motorcycle-borne persons reportedly snatched a gold chain from a man in Sector 49. The victim, Abhimanyu Swami, said the snatchers fled the scene immediately after the act. A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Sector 49 police station. The police have begun an investigation into the case. TNS BURGLARS STRIKE AT DHANAS HOUSE Chandigarh: A burglary was reported from a house in Milk Colony, Dhanas. Unidentified persons stole three gold rings and Rs 2 lakh. On the complaint of Iqbal Singh, a case has been registered under the BNS at the Sarangpur police station. TNS Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 2 Adding another feather to Chandigarh’s cap, girl students from the city schools have performed best in the country, stated a report of the Union Government released on Wednesday. Parakh (Performance Assessment Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) Rashtriya Sarvekshan-2024, which was released by the Union Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar in New Delhi this morning, has declared Chandigarh as the best among all union territories (UTs) and third among all states and UTs in the country by performing above the national average in all parameters of the school education covered under the national study. Conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), under the aegis of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Union Ministry of Education, this is India’s largest national educational survey, assessing the performance of the school education system every three years. It covered 74,229 schools from 781 districts and witnessed participation of 2,70,424 teachers and 21,15,022 students across A teacher answers a student’s query at a government school in Chandigarh. CHANDIGARH TOPPED IN 2021 AS WELL Chandigarh had topped in the 2021 survey as well among all UTs in all parameters of Grade 3, 5, 8 and 10 covered at that time. The survey is conducted after a period of three years. government, aided and private schools. The survey, which replaced the National Achievement Survey (NAS) and aims to provide insights into student competencies at different educational stages and inform policy decisions, was conducted nationwide on December 4 last. UT Education Secretary Prerna Puri said the assessment covered 3,365 students of Classes 3, 6 and 9 from 81 schools in the city, including SCORES AT A GLANCE GRADE 3 L M L UT 65% 60% 68% India 64% 60% 57% GRADE 6 M TWAU 54% 57% 46% 49% GRADE 9 L M S SS 70% 43% 49% 49% 54% 37% 40% 40% (L for language, M for mathematics, TWAU for the world around us, S for science, and SS for social science) SOURCE: UNION MINISTRY OF EDUCATION 34 government, 33 private, seven government-aided and Central schools each. She disclosed that Chandigarh outperformed the national average in all subjects and grades, except for Grade 3 mathematics where the city students remained on a par with the national average. “The achievement gap widened as grades progressed, showing Chandigarh’s effective education delivery in middle and secondary levels,” Prerna said. She revealed that Grade 9 language was a clear strength area with Chandigarh logging the highest performance gap of 16% more than the national average. Divulging the rankings, UT Director School Education Harsuhinder Pal Singh Brar said Chandigarh ranked first among all UTs in overall performance of students in Grade 3, 6 and 9 while it stood third among all states and UTs in Grade 6 and 9 and Continued on page 2 Preity challenges order dismissing Sunny break at Sukhna suitagainstPunjabKingsco-owners Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 2 Preity Zinta, Bollywood actor and a director of KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited, has challenged an order of trial court dismissing her suit filed against codirectors Mohit Burman and Ness Wadia. In a separate application filed before the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Zinta has sought stay on the trial court order during the pendency of the appeal. In an order dated May 31 this year, the Civil Judge Chandigarh had dismissed the civil suit filed by Preity Zinta. She had prayed to declare an extraordinary general meeting of the company, which took place on April 21, as illegal and invalid. She had contended that the meeting was conducted by Mohit Burman with the active support of Ness Wadia, in violation and total disregard of the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, as well as the Articles of the company. She also prayed to restrain the company, Mohit Burman and Ness Wadia from giving effect to any resolution that might have been passed during the meeting and also to restrain one Muneesh Khanna from acting or holding himself out as a director of the company. In the appeal, Zinta has prayed before the court to grant an injunction, restraining Muneesh Khanna from acting or holding himself out as a director of the company pending the hearing and till the disposal of the appeal. She also prayed for granting an injunction to restrain the company, Mohit Burman Continued on page 3 Immediately restore damaged stretches:Chief Engineer Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 2 A junior engineer (JE) of the Municipal Corporation has been suspended for negligence and dereliction of duty after a cave-in at the Sector 20/30 roundabout was not restored in time. In the suspension order issued today, the MC Chief Engineer stated that following a cave-in at the Sector 20/30 roundabout, Anwar Rahi, JE (Public Health), failed to get the road restored despite repeated instructions and standard operating procedures (SOPs) circulated by this office. The cave-in caused severe traffic disruption and posed serious threat to public safety and human life. Chandigarh, July 2 The police have filed a chargesheet against seven persons in an alleged murder case of Aditya Thakur, a Panjab University (PU) student. The chargesheet has been filed against Ritik, Prem Bhanu, Harsh, Uday Tushar, Raghav, Lovish and Sahil. Thakur was allegedly murdered during a show of Haryanvi singer Masoom Sharma at the Sector 25 campus on March 28 this year. As per the police, a fight broke out during the show TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI performing his duties. Taking strong exception to the alleged obstruction and the delay in producing the detainee before a magistrate, Justice Harpreet Singh Brar asserted: “This court cannot turn a Nelson’s eye to such recalcitrant misconduct depicting a blatant disregard for the rule of law. Allowing such lawlessness to continue unchecked would undermine the authority and dignity of the justice administration mechanism.” Issuing a stern warning of between a group of university students and some youth from outside over an issue. During the fight, youth from outside allegedly attacked Thakur with sharp weapons. Aditya was taken to the PGI where he died during treatment. Three other students were also injured in this attack. All accused were said to be students of various colleges of Chandigarh and Mohali. The court has adjourned the hearing of the case till July 10. — TNS placed under suspension with immediate effect.” Meanwhile, the Chief Engineer has issued directions to all Executive Engineers to immediately start restoration measures of damaged roads. Continued on page 2 UT reclaims land from encroachers Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 2 The UT Administration today carried out a drive to reclaim government land that had been illegally occupied over time in the Manimajra area. The land, measuring nearly 38 acres, had been legally acquired by the Administration in 1998. Over the years, nearly 1.5 acres were encroached upon by constructing unauthorised structures. Following the due process, including issuing Continued on page 3 Housing board sets ball rolling for launch of Sector 53 scheme Tribune News Service ■ After receiving rain for four days, the city saw mercury rising 6.5 degrees to touch 36.4°C mark on Wednesday. The night temperature, however, remained the same ■ The India Meteorological Department has predicted more rainfall with yellow alert for heavy rain at isolated places from Thursday to Saturday, and orange alert for heavy to very heavy rain on Sunday ■ Cloudy conditions with thunderstorms and rain are likely in the tricity till July 7, said the weathermen Chandigarh, July 2 The Punjab and Haryana High Court today came down heavily on Additional Director-General, Goods and Services Tax (GST), and another officer for “recalcitrant misconduct depicting a blatant disregard for the rule of law” in an illegal detention case, before granting them an opportunity to show cause why contempt proceedings might not be initiated against them. The censure came after the Bench was told that a man was allegedly detained illegally for over 30 hours and the court-appointed warrant officer was obstructed from Chandigarh, July 2 The CBI court here dismissed a bail application of Harsh Kotak, a co-accused in a high-profile bribery case. Harsh Kotak was arrested by the CBI on May 31 for allegedly accepting Rs 25 lakh from a businessman, Sanam Kapoor, on behalf of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Dr Amit Kumar Singhal. The CBI had laid a trap following a complaint by Kapoor, director of a company and the owner of La Pino’z Pizza franchisee. The complainant had Continued on page 3 The order read, “It is a gross negligence and dereliction of duty on the part of the officer. Pending inquiry into the matter and in exercise of powers conferred under Rule 10 of the Rules, the JE (Public Health) is Seeks Admn nod for revised proposal Tribune News Service Were accused of illegal detention, obstruction of judicial process The unrepaired cave-in at the Sector 20/30 roundabout. Police file chargesheet in PU student murder case HC raps two GST officials over ‘blatant disregard for law’ Tribune News Service FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Caved-in road not restored, MC suspends junior engineer IRS officer’s aide denied bail in bribery case Saurabh Malik MAX 34°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 36.4°C | MIN 24.8°C SUNRISE FRIDAY 5.26 AM /THETRIBUNECHD City girls country’s best in school education: Report GENERALLY CLOUDY SUNSET THURSDAY 7.28 PM » THURSDAY | 3 JULY 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST contempt, Justice Brar asserted: “Before passing any order, an opportunity is afforded to the respondents to show cause as to why contempt proceedings may not be initiated against them for snatching papers from the warrant officer and obstructing him from performing his official duty.” The detainee’s wife had approached the court on June 5, seeking a writ of habeas corpus to recover her husband from alleged illegal custody of the Additional Director-General and another respondent. A warrant officer was appointed the same day, who entered the Central Revenue Building in Sector c m y b 17, Chandigarh, with the help of local police. “The warrant officer recovered the detainee from the office of Anju Sheokand, IRS, where he was being guarded by a peon working for the department. No explanation was provided for the detention,” senior advocate Vinod Ghai contended on the petitioner’s behalf. He was assisted by advocates Arnav Ghai, Kashish Sahni and RS Bagga. Justice Brar asserted: “The conduct of the two respondents and other officials of the department is ex facie contemptuous as they have intentionally and maliciously misbehaved with the warrant officer and hindered him from discharging the official duty entrusted to him by this court.” Before parting with the order, Justice Brar directed the Additional Director-General to file an affidavit with names and designations of all department officials present at the Central Revenue Building between 6.30 pm and 9 pm on June 5, and the status of CCTV installation at the premises. “It is further directed that the original record, including the arrest memos and ground of arrest as well as the medical examination report of the detainee be also produced on the next date of hearing,” Justice Brar asserted, while adjourning the case to July 18. Chandigarh, July 2 The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has started the process to launch its general housing scheme in Sector 53. According to sources, the board has sent a proposal with revised rates to the UT Administration for approval. After receiving the approval, the CHB would prepare brochures for launching the scheme and tenders would be floated for construction of the flats. Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria recently gave approval to the self-financing housing scheme in Sector 53, which was hanging fire for the past many years. As per the tentative cost worked out by the CHB, a three-bedroom flat (HIG) will cost Rs 2.30 crore, which will be 39.39% more from the earlier proposed price of Rs 1.65 crore, while a two-bedroom flat (MIG) will cost Rs 1.97 crore, an increase of 40.71% from the previous proposed rate of Rs 1.40 crore. Similarly, a two-room flat (EWS) will cost about Rs 74 lakh, which will be costlier by 34.34% from the tentative cost of Rs 55 lakh fixed earlier. The CHB has revised the prices after the implementation of new collector rates in the city with effect from April 1. REVISED RATES Category Revised cost 3-bedroom ~2.30 cr HIG flat 2-bedroom ~1.97 cr MIG flat 2-room ~74 lakh EWS flat Previous price ~1.65 cr ~1.40 cr ~ 55 lakh The CHB had received an overwhelming response to the demand survey for the proposed scheme, which was put on hold by the Administration in 2023. As many as 7,468 applications were received under the survey. These included 5,081 applications for 3 BHK, 1,269 for 2BHK, and 1,118 for economically weaker sections (EWS). The 10-day survey was carried out from February 22 to March 3 this year. Nearly 68% applications were received for HIG units only. The proposed scheme has 192 HIG units, 100 MIG houses and 80 EWS flats. The flats would be constructed on nearly 9 acres in Sector 53. In August 2023, then UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit had put the scheme on hold, deeming it unnecessary. This led to the cancellation of Rs 200 crore tenders issued on August 2, 2023, for the construction of 372 flats on nine acres. The last CHB scheme was floated in 2016 for 200 two-bedroom flats in Sector 51.