08012025-CT-01.qxd 1/8/2025 12:01 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune SAINI ANNOUNCES ~216 CR SUBSIDY FOR COW SHELTERS ASIAD GOLD MEDALLIST SAGOO ELECTED AFI PREZ BULLET-PROOF GLASS, CCTV INSTALLED AT SALMAN’S HOUSE Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini says the subsidy package will boost the growing network of gaushalas. P2 Bahadur Singh Sagoo elected unopposed as the Athletics Federation of India’s president. P2 Salman Khan is not leaving any loose ends to ensure his safety from threats issued by Lawrence Bishnoi. P4 » » /THETRIBUNECHD MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 16°C | MIN 9°C YESTERDAY MAX 15.1°C | MIN 11.6°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.39 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:20 AM » WEDNESDAY | 8 JANUARY 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Morcha activists clash with UT police, 4 cops hurt WHAT’S ON Teargas, mild force used to disperse protesters, three FIRs registered Tribune News Service CHANDIGARH Painting Workshop: 12day Miniatures Painting Camp by the North Zone Culture Centre, Kalagram, Sector 13, on till January 12, 9:30 am to 6 pm Law & Literature Talk: By Gautam Bhatia and Harish Mehla, January 9, 5 pm to 6 pm, Bahrisons Book Café, Sector 8-C, DM for free registration on +91 7814011911 APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 15, 40, 46 and 52 Panchkula: Sector 25 Mohali: Phase11 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com UT Adviser post goes, it’s Chief Secy now Chandigarh, January 7 The Ministry of Home Affairs has created the post of Chief Secretary in Chandigarh and abolished that of Adviser to the UT Administrator. So far, the post of Adviser has been filled from the AGMUT cadre of IAS officers. The post is held by Rajeev Verma at present. According to the MHA notification, the strength of IAS officers in Chandigarh has been increased from nine to 11. Now, the UT will have separate post of Secretary Urban Planning/Smart City and Commissioner Excise. — TNS Two arrested with 3 pistols Mohali, January 7 The police have arrested two youths and recovered three pistols, two magazines and 15 rounds from them. They had uploaded a picture of a Bathinda resident and his fiancee on the social media without their consent. The suspects, identified as Gurpreet Singh and Tarandeep Singh, are residents of Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana. The DSP (City-2), Harsimran Singh Bal, said, “Kaniskh Setia of Bathinda reported that he had an argument with Bikramjit Singh on the social media after which the latter uploaded a picture of him and his fiancee. When Setia objected to the uploading of the picture, Bikramjit asked the complainant to meet and sort out the matter, but threatened him with weapons. Bikramjit, alias Binnu, is absconding and will be arrested soon.” — TNS Chandigarh, January 7 A clash between members of the Quami Insaaf Morcha and the UT police occurred on the Sector 43/52 road as protesters attempted to march towards the Punjab Chief Minister’s residence. The confrontation left four police personnel, including an Inspector, injured. The UT police used teargas shells and water cannons to prevent the protesters from marching towards the CM’s house. They also resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the morcha activists. Four police personnel, Inspector Jaiveer Singh, ASI Ramesh, ASI Gurjeet Singh and Constable Jaspreet Kaur, were injured. The protesters were demanding the release of Sikh prisoners, referred to as Bandi Singhs. In anticipation of the protest, the police had strengthened security with a heavy deployment of forces along the UT border. A group of protesters breached the barricades. The police claimed that around 11 am, a group of around 70 Morcha members, led by Gurcharan Singh Bapu, marched from the Sector 52/53 road towards the ISBT, Sector 43. The protesters subsequently blocked the road near the bus stand. When they attempted to proceed further, the police detained them. Shortly after, another group of around 100 protesters, armed with swords and sharp weapons, arrived there, leading to a clash. During the confrontation, Inspector Jaiveer Rana, SHO of Sector 11 police station, and ASI Ramesh sustained head injuries. Meanwhile, another group of protesters marched towards the barricades at the Mattaur barrier near Sector 51. The sword-wielding protesters continued on page 2 The police try to stop members of the Quami Insaaf Morcha opposite the ISBT, Sector 43, in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Chandigarh, January 7 In spite of the demand of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to hold the mayoral poll on February 19, the UT Administration today issued a notification for the elections to the post of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor, and Deputy Mayor on January 24. The elections will be held at 11 am in the Assembly Hall of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) building. A nominated councillor, Dr Ramneek Singh Bedi, has been appointed presiding officer. The elected councillors can file their nominations for the three positions by January 20. In the 35-member MC House, the BJP has 14 councillors, AAP 13 and the Congress seven. The Shiromani Akali Dal has one councillor. The House also has an ex-officio member, Congress MP Manish Tewari, who has voting right. Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav visited the MC office today to review the poll arrangements. While interacting with senior officials, the DC emphasised the importance of a fair, transparent, and efficient election process. Earlier, AAP had demanded that the elections be held on February 19, when the incumbent Mayor’s term comes to an end. The party Chandigarh, January 7 The UT police appear to have taken a lenient stance towards the armed protest under the banner of the Quami Insaaf Morcha in 2023, as no arrest has been made in the case so far. During the protest, 29 police personnel were injured. On February 8, protesters on horses and tractors, wielding swords and spears, chased and assaulted police personnel on the Sector 52-53 road. Several police vehicles were also damaged during the violence. A case was registered at the Sector 36 police station. During the investigation, 30 suspects were identified on the basis of the videos of the scene. The police issued a public notice with their photographs, offering a reward of Rs 10, 000 for any information leading to their arrest. Despite several suspects having been identified, no further action was taken, sources said. — TNS Chaos on Mohali roads amid protest, roadways staff strike Gaurav Kanthwal Tribune News Service The police arrest a Quami Insaaf Morcha protester. Mohali, January 7 As hundreds of activists demanding the release of Bandi Singhs staged a protest to mark two years of the beginning of their stir, commutters had a tough time. A scuffles broke out between the police and the protesters, who tried to march towards the Punjab Chief Minsiter’s residence. Police officials said, “We foiled all their plans by taking all the crowd pullers in preventive custody a day before after their leaders did not engage in negotiations for the past five days.” Unsuspecting commuters were met with swarms of cops from Mohali and nearby districts, barricades, police vehicles, dumper trucks, fire engines and cold stares. What followed was the mad rush among the road users to wiggle out of the increasing chaos on roads as clock struck 9 am. Sneha Mahajan, a private school teacher in Sector 78, said, “I spent Rs 100 extra for an auto due to detours and reached school an hour late.” Despite the gloom, hundreds of protesters were out on road as they renewed their vows on the second anniversary of their protest. All major entry and exit points from Mohali towards Chandigarh were fortified with barricades and police personnel. Three main roads, Jail Road, Sector 51-52, Sector 52-53, leading to Chandigarh from Mohali were barricaded completely, leaving the tricity residents and commuters stranded. “Inner roads of Mohali were choked since morning and commuters looked for alternatives routes. At some places, the police were seen managing the traffic at 9 am but it was bad day to be out on the road,” Mayoral election on Jan 24 6 months on, 80 shopkeepers Tribune News Service None arrested so far for 2023 violence Elected councillors can file nominations for three posts by Jan 20 A video grab of Anil Masih checking votes in 2024 poll. AAP TO MOVE COURT The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will move court against the mayoral poll notification. City AAP co-incharge Dr SS Ahluwalia said by putting pressure on the government officials, the one-year tenure of the Mayor was reduced to 11 months. The tenure of Mayor Kuldeep Kumar will end on February 19, but the BJP ended his tenure a month ago as part of a conspiracy. also demanded that the elections be held by show of hands, instead of secret ballot. Under Section 38 (1) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the term of the Mayor is of one year. The last mayoral elections were mired in controversy, after presiding officer Anil Masih was accused of tampering with votes and rejecting those polled in favour of the AAP-Congress coalition. He had declared BJP’s Manoj Sonkar as mayor on January 30 last year. Later, the Supreme Court overturned the result, declaring Kuldeep Kumar of AAP Mayor. Meanwhile, the city Congress objected to the release of the poll notification without waiting for the approval to the House resolution providing for amendment to regulations 6(6-16) of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Procedure and Conduct of Business) Regulations, 1996, by the Administrator. Rajiv Sharma, chief spokesperson of the city Congress, stated that the regulation 6 (6-16) provided that when two or more candidates contest any of the Mayoral elections, the voting will be done by secret ballot. In order to bring transparency in the election process, the MC House passed a resolution in October 2024 providing for holding the mayoral poll by show of hands. Residents had welcomed the resolution and termed it a bold step aimed at cleansing the MC election process, but the UT Administrator did not grant the mandatory approval to the resolution due to relentless pressure by the BJP . c m y b opt to operate 24x7 in city Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 7 Nearly 80 registered shops and commercial establishments have opted to operate 24×7 here in the past six months. These shops, primarily in the grocery and food business, are being run by over 12 multinational companies. The city has more than 100 markets. The authorities claim they receive nearly three applications every month. In a move aimed at enhancing the ease of doing business for shopkeepers and traders, the Labour Department issued a notification in June last year allowing shops and commercial establishments registered under the Punjab Shops & Commercial Establishments Act 1958 to operate 24×7 throughout the year without requiring specific permission from the department. Only the shops and commercial establishments registered with the department can avail of this facility. Traders have to submit a self-undertaking on the online portal (labour.chd.gov.in). A list of these shops has to be shared with the area SHOs to ensure the safety of staff and customers, and with the Municipal Corporation, which will make sure cleanliness is maintained during the extended hours. Of nearly 40,000 shops and commercial establishments in the city, 13,900 are registered with the department. Charanjiv Singh, president, Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, said it was financially unviable for traders to open their shops 24x7, as they would hardly get a good number of customers at night. Also, they would have to hire extra staff and their costs would also increase. The facility was suitable for multinational firms dealing in groceries at petrol pumps or running eating joints in areas with a high footfall, he added. Youth at a 24X7 shop in Sector 36, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI explained BN Kaushal, a Sector-53 resident. Making matters worse, the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), Punjab Roadways and PUNBUS contractual workers continued their strike, further crippling the commuter services. Seeking regularisation and pay parity, the workers had begun a three-day strike on Monday. By the evening, however, they had called off their strike after receiving assurances of their demands being heard from transport department officials, offering a slight respite to commuters. Panchkula bizman duped of ~1.99L in cyber fraud case Tribune News Service Panchkula, January 7 A city-based businessman lost Rs 1.99 lakh to swindlers online while trying to send a package across to Kerala. According to the complainant, Vijender, a resident of Sector 21, he came across the delivery service “VRL Logistics Transport” based in Daria, Chandigarh, online. He contacted the number listed on the website and discussed terms for transporting rice from Barwala to Kerala, agreeing to a price of Rs 2,00,000. The transporter sent a photo of the vehicle and the driver’s documents. However, after an initial payment of Rs 1,00,000, the transporter called another Rs 1,00,000 as a refundable amount. Vijender then sent an additional Rs 99,000, after which the scammer forwarded him a receipt but failed to return the promised amount. Subsequently, the scammer stopped answering his calls. On December 31, 2024, Vijender filed a complaint with the cybercrime portal. The police have registered an case and have started an investigation in the case.