Owners of hotels, eateries told to maintain records of customers

Panchkula, January 21

The district police chief has ordered owners of cyber cafe, hotels, restaurants and other business establishments to maintain records of customers visiting their outlets.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Hamid Akhtar in a press note stated that the orders had been issued taking preventive measurers and to maintain law and order situation in the city.

The owners of these business establishments have been told to maintain registers of customers visiting them. They should also get identity proof from the latter.

They have also been directed to install CCTVs at their establishments and keep the recording of the same for six months. In case they notice any suspect or anti-social element in and around, the information must be passed on to police help line numbers - 100 and 0172-2582100, he added.

London's Southfields Gallery to host International Art Exhibition at Chandigarh from Jan 21

Chandigarh: The Southfields Gallery, London which is just a 5 minutes drive from the World famous Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club, announced an exciting & collaborative project in India – A Mix Media Exhibition of European & African Art at the prestigious Sobha Singh Art Gallery, Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sec 16, Chandigarh.

The exhibition will be on from 21st till 24th January 2015. Details of the exhibition were announced at a media meet held in Chandigarh today.

The showcase will involve about 56 works of visual art created by established contemporary European and African artists. Said Mr. Kuldip S. Rihal, Gallerist, The Southfields Gallery, London, “This exhibition has been put together painstakingly for over a year and very unique paintings, sculptures & ceramics of ten talented visual artists will be showcased.”

 Three Artists from London Ms. Rosie Casselldon, Ms. Larisa Connnor and Ms. Violet also shared their stye of art with journalists at the press meet. Said Rosie, “My art works are based on Acrylics and there is a lot of addition of fabric, stones etc to the works. I will also be conducting a practical demonstration of the style of painting followed by me at the exhibition. I plan to make the session very interactive with visitors who will be interested to take to the canvas.”

Ms. Violet is a Technical Artist who specializes in Model & Sculptor making for Film and TV said, “I am quite enthused with the exhibition and have brought materials like Polymer Clay etc from the UK and I also plan to hold live sculpting and model making sessions.”

Another Artist Ms. Larisa Connor explained her works, “I experiment a lot with colours and my paintings have an element of surrealism and are abstract. The works depict a lot of emotion and passion for life.

The exhibition is unique as at the core of it will be educational art workshops, with visiting European artists working with the local community in Chandigarh. Before the Chandigarh exhibition Southfields Gallery has successfully held workshops in Delhi with schools. This exhibition will offer the opportunity to enjoy the diversity of the arts across our continents.

Event: Mix Media Exhibition of European & African Art

Venue: Sobha Singh Art Gallery, Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sec 16, Chandigarh.

Time :  Inauguration 2:30 PM on 21st and other days 11 am onwards till 7 PM

Dates: 21st till 24th January 2015.

SDMs to hear cases of building violations

Chandigarh, January 21

The three Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) in the city will soon get powers to hear cases of building violations and misuse of premises.

In addition to their other work, the three UT-cadre officers will have to share the responsibility of issuing notices and hearing the cases. At present, the Assistant Estate Officer (AEO) and the Land Acquisition Officer (LAO) hear such cases while exercising quasi judicial powers extended by the Estate Officer.

Estate Officer Mohammed Shayin said the redistribution of work would decrease the pendency of cases.

The Estate Officer is empowered to hear cases of violations under quasi judicial powers enjoyed under the Act. However, due to multiple responsibility, the Estate Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner in the past had distributed part of this work among the AEO and LAO.

A senior UT official said the work had been redistributed to balance load among the officers available with the UT.  
Recently, Upkar Singh had been posted as the AEO and he also holds the charge of Director, IT. The LAO also holds the charge of Director, Social Welfare.
Under the previous orders, the LAO was looking after Sectors 1 to 30 and the Industrial Area, Phase I, while the AEO was given Sectors 31 onwards and the Industrial Area, Phase II. However, now the work would be distributed among five officers. 
“Cases drag on for several years. At present, more than 1,000 cases are pending,” said an official. The cases which were pending for more than five years were under the scanner of the Estate Officer.

PINKY MURDER CASE

NBWs issued against juvenile accused for fourth time

Chandigarh, January 21

For the fourth time in the last two months, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Anshu Shukla issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against a juvenile accused in the Pinky murder case.

The 11-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Palsora in 2013.

The prosecution had earlier informed the court that the accused had escaped from the juvenile home.

The same court had earlier issued warrants against the accused on November 29, 2013, then on December 11 last year and yet again on January 9 this year. Warrants were issued for the fourth time today.

While the UT police had arrested the accused in the Pinky murder case, the Mohali police had also arrested him for a murder in Dera Bassi. Several other cases were registered against him.

The case has now been adjourned to February 2.

There were four accused in the Palsora murder case: Sunita and Bhagat Singh, both residents of Palsora, and two alleged drug addicts, who were hired by Sunita to kidnap and then murder the girl.

They were Raj Kumar, alias Raja, a resident of Lal Pura in Rupnagar, and the juvenile accused from Faizabad. Raj Kumar and the juvenile accused had executed the crime.

As per the police, the two addicts had kidnapped the girl from Palsora on November 27, 2013, and kept her in the forest area near Sector 52 for at least three days. They sexually assaulted her before strangulating her on November 29, 2013, and then disposed of the body.