22042025-CT-01.qxd 22-04-2025 00:25 Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune HAPHAZARD EXCAVATION NEAR BRIDGE IRKS RESIDENTS WOMAN HURT AS NEIGHBOUR ATTACKS HER WITH ROD CELEBRITIES UNDERLINE THE NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE WAYS Development authority bridge on Boothgarh-Togan stretch has been hanging fire for two years. P2 The CCTV footage shows the woman arguing with neighbour before the altercation. P2 On World Earth Day, they talk about what can be done to save the planet from pollution and plastic. P4 » » Ignatius L Mascarenhas, Bishop of Simla-Chandigarh, along with others, mourns the death of Pope Francis, at Christ King Church in Sector 19, Chandigarh, on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI Chandigarh, April 21 The Diocese of Simla-Chandigarh today mourned the death of Pope Francis, calling his departure a profound loss to the universal church. “Pope Francis, who led the church from 2013 to 2025, leaves behind a lasting legacy of humility, compassion and unwavering commitment to the poor, the marginalised, interreligious harmony and the care of creation. His vision of a synodal Church and his deep affection for India will always remain in our hearts,” Ignatius L Mascarenhas, Bishop of Simla-Chandigarh, said. In his memory, all churches in the Simla-Chandigarh Diocese will offer daily holy masses for the repose of his soul over the next nine days. As a sign of their collective mourning, church bells will be tolled. On April 27, the first Sunday after Easter, the followers of Continued on page 2 Of 48 cancelled vends in UT, 20 find bidders Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, & Dhanas Panchkula: Sector 15 Mohali: Sector 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 9 am to 11 am: Parts of Sector 31 Speeding car kills on-duty sanitation worker in Sec 45 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 21 A sanitation worker was run over by a speeding car near the Sector 45/46 dividing road early this morning. The victim, identified as 45-year-old Vipin Shah, was engaged in his routine cleaning duties when the incident occurred. He was the resident of Dhanas and is survived by his wife and four-month old daughter. Eyewitnesses claim driver lost control of the vehicle According to eyewitnesses, the vehicle veered off the road after the driver lost control at high speed. The victim was rushed to the Government MultiSpeciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, but succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Acting promptly, the police launched an investigation. A team reviewed the CCTV footage recovered from nearby establishments to identify the vehicle and apprehended the driver, identified as Shitij. The vehicle involved in the accident was also impounded. Chandigarh, April 21 The UT Excise and Taxation Department has received a lukewarm response to its auction of 48 liquor vends. The licences of these liquor vends were cancelled over non-payment of bank guarantee. The department managed to sell only 20 liquor vends in the e-auction held here today. It earned Rs 131 crore against the total reserve price of nearly Rs 109 crore. The department received the highest bid of Rs 12.31 Excise Dept earns ~130 cr in e-auction crore against the reserve price of Rs 11.57 crore for a liquor vend located in Sector 61 market. The second highest bid of Rs 10 crore was received for a liquor vend located at Khuda Lahora/ Khuda Jassu village against the reserve price of Rs 8.27 crore. The third highest bid of Rs 9.99 crore was received for the vend located in Sector 22-B opposite the bus stand, against the reserve price of Rs 4.96 crore. The reserve prices of these vends were fixed on the basis of the previous highest bids. “Most of the 20 vends were taken by the old contractors of the city. This would abolish the monopoly in liquor trade and the residents of the city will get a relief with liquor now being available at the old prices,” said Sachit Jaiswal, Advocate, Excise and Taxation. On March 21, the department had allotted 96 liquor vends out of a total of 97 through an e-auction and generated Rs 606 crore. However, the department had cancelled the licences of 48 vends as the allottees had failed to submit bank guarantees mandated under the Excise Policy 202526. It earned Rs 23 crore by forfeiting the earnest money and security deposits of these allottees. As per Clause 21 of the policy, each successful bidder is required to furnish a bank guarantee amounting to 15% of the licence fee within seven working days of the allotment. Non-compliance leads to cancellation of the allotment and forfeiture of the security deposit. FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Relief over property tax soon, claims BJP chief Delegation of leaders, councillors urges Guv to roll back hike Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 21 Chandigarh BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra and Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla have claimed that the residents will soon get relief over the increased property tax rates. The leaders made this claim after holding a meeting with Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria at the Raj Bhawan today. The delegation comprising Malhotra, Mayor, all BJP councillors and other senior leaders of the party raised the issue of steep hike in the property tax rates at the meeting. Malhotra said they requested the Governor to roll back the property tax hike. The Governor has given a positive response and they are expecting that an announcement would be made within two or three days, he said, adding that the delegation was sure that the residents will get relief. The delegation underlined that the property tax hike had led to public outrage and put an unjustified financial burden on the residents. The hike was previously rejected in the Municipal Corporation’s General House meeting on February 17 amid strong opposition by the elected councillors. Despite the agenda having been rejected in the House, the Chandigarh Administration went ahead with the tax revision, ignoring the democratic process and elected rep- BJP chief Jatinder Pal Malhotra, along with Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla, addresses mediapersons outside the Raj Bhawan. RAVI KUMAR KATARIA INVITES EX-MAYORS TO DISCUSS MC ISSUES Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Katraia has invited former Mayors (past 10 years) of Chandigarh to hold discussions over MC issues on Tuesday. Sources said the Governor was likely to seek their suggestions on how to improve the financial condition of the civic body. The meeting is being held at a time when all councillors are opposing the three-fold increase in the property tax rates. resentatives. The BJP leaders stated that such unilateral actions were unacceptable and had created resentment among the residents. The delegation submitted a memorandum to the UT Administrator urging him to withdraw the hike. Malhotra said the BJP was committed to safeguarding the interests of the residents. The hike does not align with the current needs and circumstances of the city’s population. Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla stated that the issue had been raised multiple times within the Municipal Corporation, and today, the party formally put up its con- Another elderly man duped in digital arrest scam, 2nd this month Police, emergency response now a tap away with e-Beatbook upgrade Tribune News Service Sheetal Chandigarh, April 21 A 91-year-old resident of Sector 34-C has reportedly lost Rs 36 lakh in a digital arrest fraud. The fraudsters, posing as officials of the Mumbai Crime Branch, duped Col Harmohinder Singh Puri (retd) of his money in November last year. An FIR has now been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Sector 17. The victim received a WhatsApp call. The caller claimed that a fake bank account had been opened in his name in Maharashtra and it was linked to a high-profile financial investigation involving Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal. The caller alleged that Colonel Puri’s Aadhaar card had been recovered during a raid and a non-bailable warrant issued against him. The caller instructed him to remain on a video call overnight and coerced him into disclosing his financial details. Colonel Puri followed the caller’s instructions and transferred Rs 36 lakh to an ICICI Bank account. He also sent a screenshot of the transaction receipt to the caller. The fraudsters later made the victim transfer more money — Rs 12.5 lakh from his Union Bank of India account and Rs 20 lakh from his Post Office savings. However, his son, Pushpinder Singh, who recently returned 91-year-old resident defrauded of ~36 lakh Employee loses ~1.3 cr in fraud CHANDIGARH: A Sector 32 resident has been duped of Rs 1.3 crore by a fraudster posing as a senior executive of his company. The victim, Dinesh Kashyap, an employee of Froser Valley India Education LLP alleged that he , received a message on February 17 from an unfamiliar number. The sender, impersonating his superior, requested an urgent transfer of Rs 1.3 crore for a new project initiative. He transferred the amount from the firm’s HDFC Bank account to an account. When Kashyap realised that he had been conned, he tried to stop the transaction, but the money had already been debited. — TNS from Australia, suspected foul play and got the transactions stopped. After preliminary inquiry and review by senior officers, a case was registered on April 20. It is the second digital arrest case involving exservicemen reported this month. Earlier, 82-year-old Col Dalip Singh Bajwa was duped of Rs 3.4 crore. The frudsters were posing as ED officials. UT rolls out new version of digitised beat system, was first launched in 2019 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 21 Contacting the nearest beat officer, registering a grievance and tracking case progress will now be a click away as the Chandigarh Police rolls out an upgraded version of its e-Beatbook system, marking a shift towards integrated, data-driven policing. The new system, aimed to offer improved accessibility, accountability and operational efficiency, introduces a series of structural and functional changes. It is intended to address the shortcomings of both the manual system and its first digital iteration, implemented six years back in 2019. The new mobile application for instance will now allow users to identify and contact their local police station or the nearest beat officer. Beat officers will be responsible for addressing residents’ issues and communicate with them directly. The system also supports regular updates from investigation officers, keeping complainants informed about the status of their cases. The 2019 app did not include features for direct citizen interaction nor was there integration with national databases like Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) in earlier version. By offering a platform that connects law-abiding citizens with local law enforcement, the Chandigarh Police aims to rein- c m y b The police collect details of people as part of the upgraded e-Beatbook System. ENHANCING TRUST AMONG PUBLIC The e-Beatbook mobile application is aimed at improving citizen-police engagement by allowing users to: ■ Locate and contact the nearest beat officer with a single tap. force its commitment to transparent, efficient and participatory policing. The idea behind the e-Beatbook, according to the Chandigarh Police, was not to simply digitise police work but “democratise” it. The new system also speeds up emergency responses through integration with the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS -112). Minimising paperwork The new system also enables data-backed decisions in day-to-day operations. Unlike the 2019 ver- MAX 37°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 38.7°C | MIN 25°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.50 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Christians mourn death of Pope MAINLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET TUESDAY 6.52 PM » TUESDAY | 22 APRIL 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST ■ Report grievances, request ■ Ensures real-time data availability verification and track redressal. ■ Benefitfromfasteremergencyresponses throughintegrationwiththeEmergency Response Support System (112). on vulnerable groups, critical infrastructure, sensitive zones and local associations, helping officers plan better and stay proactive in risk areas. sion, which digitised beat data but retained structural inefficiencies, the 2025 upgrade introduces centralised data storage, uniform data formats, and real-time accessibility. Officers can now feed and retrieve data from the field without visiting police stations, minimising paperwork and the chances of human error. At the frontline, beat constables and head constables will now be responsible for collecting, managing and utilising crime-related and civic data directly through the mobile app. At the supervisory level, Station House Officers (SHOs) will manage jurisdictional data more effectively and assign tasks digitally based on complaints received through the app. The system further allows detailed mapping of beat areas, including information on sensitive locations, vulnerable groups and key individuals. It also supports direct grievance redressal by routing citizen complaints to SHOs, who can allocate tasks digitally to field staff. cern before the Administrator. City BJP vice-presidents Ramveer Bhatti and Raj Kishore were also part of the delegation. The leaders claim that Kataria assured them that the matter would be given a serious consideration. Meanwhile, Malhotra criticised the stand of the Congress on the issue. He said, “A healthy democracy welcomes criticism. But, it should be free from political motives and more focused on working for the public welfare. He said the Congress seems to be solely focused on holding protests, rather than engaging in a developmental dialogue.” Chain snatched from morning walker in Mohali Mohali, April 21 Two bike-borne youths snatched a gold chain from a resident of Aerocity C Block today. The incident took place around 6.53 am when the Victim, identified as Archana Jain, 35, was taking a walk near her house. The two bike-borne youths with their faces covered passed her by before taking a U-turn to head towards her. They then snatched the gold chain and fled from the spot. The victim after chased them but they managed to flee. “I was taking a walk when the youths arrived at the spot on a bike. One was wearing a helmet while other had the face covered with a cloth. I tried to catch them but they managed to flee,” she said, adding that she then informed the police, who reached the spot and initiated an investigation. The police teams are scanning the footage recovered from the CCTV cameras installed in the area to identify and track down the accused. — TNS House burgled Chandigarh, April 21 Burglars decamped with cash and ornaments from a house in Sector 34 here. In his complaint to the police, Prem Singh said thieves broke into his home on April 11 and made off with Rs 24,000 in cash along with gold and silver ornaments. The police have registered an FIR under Section 305 of the BNS at the Sector 34 station. They are scanning CCTV footage of the vicinity to identify the thieves. — TNS