Silicon Global Education Immigration Company owner arrested

Chandigarh, February 28
The special investigation team (SIT) of the Chandigarh Police arrested Brig Rajbir Singh Khanna (retd) of the Silicon Global Education Immigration Company here today.
He was arrested following a complaint by Anuradha Sharma of Mohali, who reported that his company made a false promises of sending her abroad.
She also alleged that the money she paid since 2006 was not returned. The accused was produced before a magistrate, who remanded him in custody till March 13. He has been running the business since 2000.

‘0001’ fetches Rs 9.5 lakh

Mohali, February 28
Setting a new record in the auction of vehicle numbers, the number, 0001 in the “Q” series, went for Rs 9.50 lakh here today. The reserve price was only Rs 50,000. The number was bought by Makhan Singh, an agriculturist of Bari village.


The auction, which drew a good response, netted a total revenue of Rs 71, 24, 400, DTO Sukhwinder Kumar, said.
He said all single-digit numbers were sold in the auction covering the “Q” series and some pending numbers in the “P” series.
Two series were taken up this time as no auction had taken place for the past three or four months due to Assembly elections.
The DTO said “fancy”numbers with a reserve price of Rs 10,000 were also disposed of. In the “Q” series, number 0007 fetched Rs 7 lakh while 0006 was sold for Rs 1.51 lakh and number 0002 fetched Rs 1.25 lakh.
In the case of “fancy” numbers (“Q”) with a reserve price of Rs 3,000, number 0065 fetched Rs 4 lakh, number 0100 went for Rs 2.20 lakh and 0013 for Rs 1.03 lakh while 0047 was auctioned for Rs 1 lakh. Number 1313 was sold for Rs 1.12 lakh and 6565 for Rs 1.50 lakh.

WWICS bank accounts sealed

Chandigarh - The World Wide Immigration and Consultancy Services (WWICS) here faced another setback as the special investigation team (SIT) sealed six of its bank accounts, including two in Axis Bank, Mohali, two in ICICI Bank and one each in HDFC Bank and Yes Bank.
The company had reportedly informed the police only about one account, while the remaining five were detected during the investigation. What, may, however perturb the owners more is the fact that after grilling the staff officials, the SIT will now probe the role of VIP independent directors attached with the firm.
According to the company website, celebrated names were linked with the firm. These included Joginder Singh, former Director, CBI, Lt-Gen (retd) Bakshi Krishan Nath Chhibber, former Governor, Punjab, Kuljit S Sidhu, former Principal Secretary, Maharashtra, AS Chatha, former Chief Secretary, Punjab, KN Pathak, former Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University, and Purshottam Lal, former DG, Punjab Police.
While company officials claim them to be honorary members, primarily as advisors, the police shall probe this claim.
“What has a former VC, a renowned scientist, got to say in immigration issues? We will be seeing the terms of associations of these luminaries with the company and will also try to find how were these big names used to lure clients,” revealed a source.
The company’s official spokesperson said they had alredy joined the investigation and been cooperating since day 1.
“All queries have been duly taken up and further ones will be dealt with accordingly. We have nothing to say about our independent directors till any information is sought by the police,” said the official.
The company has requested the police to reopen the sealed accounts to ensure that clients and vendors with already issued cheques do not suffer. The SIT has, meanwhile, recived over 10 complaints against the company which are under investigation now.

No extension for Vice Chancellor Sobti

New Delhi, February 27
The hunt for the next Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh, has begun with Vice-President Hamid Ansari setting up a committee that will recommend a panel of three candidates. The Vice-President is the Chancellor of Panjab University. Vice Chancellor Prof RC Sobti’s term ends on July 22. Sobti had got an extension three years ago. Sources said the search committee had been asked to give names well in time.
Acclaimed jurist Justice Leila Seth, the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court and the first woman ever to become Chief Justice of a High Court (Himachal Pradesh where she was appointed on August 5, 1991), has been appointed convener of the committee.
The other two members on the panel are noted scientist based in Hyderabad Dr P Rama Rao and former Ambassador IS Chadha.

Rose Festival comes to colourful close



People step on flower beds during the Rose Festival.

Chandigarh, February 26 The three-day Chandigarh Rose Festival at the Rose Garden concluded today. Mayor Raj Bala Malik distributed prizes. The chief guest released colourful bunch of balloons. An on-the-spot painting competition was held on the concluding day, where approximately 500 children in various age groups took part.
Apart from this, 10 students from the Government College of Art, took part in the painting exhibition.
The paintings prepared by competitors in various categories were evaluated by a jury of eminent personalities.
The members who maintained the Rose Garden, Jangsher Singh, Ashwani, Rohit, Swatntar Singh, Jaipal Singh, Sanjiv Singh, Parmajit Singh, Vir Bahadur, Parmajit Singh, Suchha Singh and others, were honoured on the occasion.
Results: painting: Group A (Age 5-8 Years) Lakshya Batra, Group B (Age 8-11 Years) Shaurya Pahuja, Group C (Age 11-14 Years) Sharukh, Group D (Age 14-17 Years) Babli; antakshri: First position: Red Rose team (Varsha and Smriti, GCG, 11), Second position: White Rose team (Pooja and Sagrika, Postgraduate Government Girls College, Sector 11), Third position: Yellow Rose team (Anita and Amrinder Kaur, Dev Samaj College, Sector 36), Fourth position: Pink Rose team (Akshita and Neha, Govt College for Arts); folk dance: schools: First position Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 10, Second position State Institute for Blind, Sector 26, Third position IS Dev Samaj School, Sector 21; colleges: First position Postgraduate Government Girls College, Sector 11
Second position Shree Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26, Third position Government College, Sector 46.

Playback singer delights residents

Abhijeet performs on Sunday evening.

Chandigarh, February 26
A memorable music concert by acclaimed Bollywood playback icon Abhijit Bhattacharya provided a befitting grand finale to the festivities of 40th Rose fest at the Leisure Valley here today. Music lovers danced in ecstasy as the tuneful voice of Abhijit Bhattacharya wafted across the ambience.
Amidst deafening applause, Abhijit took the centrestage to dole out his hit songs like “Badshah hoon mein”, “Ashiq hoon mein”, “chaand taaron tod laao”, “mein koi ais geet gaon ke arzzo jagaon”, “toba tumhare ye ishaare”, “tumhein jo meine dekha” and many more. The audience danced to the tune of “Musafir hoon yaayo” and “Majhi re”. Tarranum, too, presented three songs, including duets with star singer Abhijit. Abhijit drew pleasure from his dynamic performance after he established a rapport with the inquisitive audience.
The stalls painted in attractive colours, fabric roses on illuminated trees and the ambience at CITCO Punjabi vehda caught attention of the visitors.
Anil Kumar, Home Secretary, VK Singh, VK Srivastva, DK Tewari and Mayor Rajbala graced the occasion.

Drunk youths vandalise Rose Garden



The broken arm of a statue at Rose Garden, Chandigarh.

Chandigarh, February 26
Over two dozen youths damaged statues and pots on display at the three-day rose festival at Rose Garden late last night. Three statues and some topiaries, besides flower pots, were vandalised. Repeated calls to the police for help by the municipal corporation (MC) staff proved futile as no police personnel reached the spot. The youths reportedly entered the garden in an inebriated condition and started damaging the statues, topiaries and pots. When the workers present there tried to stop them, they started thrashing them as well.
“I made repeated calls at the police control room and the police station, but no force was sent despite assurance by those who attended the phone calls,” said Jangsher Singh, junior engineer (horticulture) and in charge of Rose Garden. Finally, the MC workers got together and forced the youths to leave the place.
By that time, four statues had been damaged. It was only in the morning that a policeman reached the spot to inquire about the matter following which a complaint was lodged with the police, he said.