CBSE announces exam dates for classes 10 and 12

The Class 10 and 12 board exams will begin from March 9, a day after the last phase of polling in the upcoming assembly elections in five states, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced on Monday.
More students have opted for Class 10 board examinations to be conducted by the CBSE over school-based examinations. There is an increase of over a lakh in the number of students compared to last year when the difference between school and board exams was over 24,000 though more students had opted for board even then.
Around 16.67 lakh students will appear for board exams which would end on April 10 and April 29 for Class 10 and Class 12, respectively.
Despite the postponement of the exams, CBSE chairman RK Chaturvedi said they are confident of releasing the results on time. The exams usually begin on March 1, and results are declared in the third week of May.
“The board exams of Class 10 and 12 will start from March 9 in view of the state assembly elections in Punjab, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Voting is scheduled in some constituencies of Uttar Pradesh and Manipur on March 8,” said a CBSE spokesperson.

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“We have made all possible efforts to maintain reasonable time gap between the major papers and ensure that the students appearing for Joint Engineering Exam and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test are done with the CBSE examinations before these entrance exams,” added the spokesperson.

The admit cards will be pushed into the board’s digital repository. An email will be sent to students. “No physical admit card will be issued,” said an official.
Students will need to register on CBSE DigiLocker using their mobile number.

Chandigarh may become India’s first smart city

CHANDIGARH - Chandigarh could be the first Indian smart city as the government moves to create many hi-tech cities in the country.

Referring to the NDA's proposal to set up 100 smart cities in the country, finance minister Arun Jaitley said, "The first Indian smart city to be created probably could be Chandigarh. There are satellite cities around Chandigarh which are being created."

Elaborating on his point, he said Gandhinagar is an example of a smart city and towns like Noida and New Raipur are attracting foreign investments.

"Noida and Greater Noida on the outskirts of Delhi, New Raipur in Chhattisgarh ... these are recent experiments we have made and good experiments we have made. Foreign capital is available to them (since) we have opened up the sector," the minister said on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit here.


Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the first Indian smart city to be created probably could be Chandigarh.

Smart cities would be built in a way so that they have uninterrupted power, water, proper sanitation, efficient management of solid waste, decongestion of roads, last mile connectivity and effective use of ICT.

Several countries like Japan, Germany, Sweden, Singapore, Israel, UK, US, Hong Kong and the Netherlands besides MNCs have shown interest in building smart cities in India.
Smart cities to be called integrated townships
 The nomenclature for 'special townships' will be changed to 'integrated townships'. 

The state cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to amend the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act to carry out the change in nomenclature. Mantralaya officials said the term 'integrated' would mean that the townships would be economically sustainable as 20% of the 100 acres would be utilized for economic activity. 

This is a precursor to the government creating 134 new townships across Maharashtra, which will be developed as 'smart cities'. A new set of development control regulations will be framed for these townships. "The walk-to-work concept can materialize only if we create sustainable townships," said an official. Most of these townships are being envisaged near Mumbai and Pune. 

Cities must compete with each other for 'smart city' tag

Cities trying to make it to the list of "Smart Cities" would have to compete with each other. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly said there should be competition among city authorities to assess their preparedness and capability to undertake this ambitious task. 

Sources said while chairing a high-level meeting on his flagship smart city initiative on Monday, PM said that cities where authorities and local government are serious in enacting reforms in urban governance should be selected under this scheme. So, the selection will be based on a city's performance and initiatives it has taken for good governance, cleanliness and urban reforms besides having some economic activity. 

A government release said the PM has called for identifying parameters that could be laid down for smart cities. "He asked officials to identify the basics of infrastructure, quality of life, and citizen-centric services that would be essential to cities of the 21st century. He said cities should be identified as hubs of economic activity... He said one of the aims of the smart city initiative should be to improve the quality of urban governance, thereby lending greater strength to the overall governance processes of the country," it said.

Modi has also said that focus of such cities should be on "waste to wealth" - solid waste management and waste water treatment - and government officials need to visualize "urban-dependent" population in addition to "urban" population while planning for smart cities. 

Modi has also asked the urban development ministry to convene a workshop of all central and state urban development authorities soon to focus on legal reforms related to urban development. Sources said the authorities and state government officials would be told about the criteria to select smart cities and they would be asked to provide necessary information. "Then there will be a screening or evaluation by an expert committee to include a city in the list," a source said. 

TOI has learnt that while the target is to develop 100 smart cities, government would take up a few of them. The scheme would include retrofitting in the existing cities, new urban areas, satellite towns and even a portion of the existing big cities.Government to set up 100 smart citiesNEW DELHI: Government is planning to set up 100 smart cities across the country that will provide all modern amenities, education and employment opportunities. 

Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the project of 100 smart cities is in conceptualization stage and details are being worked out through discussions with all stake-holders, including state governments. 

"The cities are yet to be identified," he said. The minister said education, employment and entertainment are considered to be the key factors which forced people to migrate from rural areas to urban centres. 

"Opportunities of education, employment and entertainment are concentrated mostly in urban and semi-urban centres and these three factors are forcing more and more people to leave rural areas and migrate to towns and cities," he said. 

Naidu said Census of India has projected the urban population till 2026 and by that year, the country's urban population which was 27.8 per cent in 2001 is expected to increase to 38.2 per cent. 

The minister said in terms of the total urban population, it is at 31.6 per cent as per 2011 Census, while the World Urbanization Prospectus shows the level of urbanisation in 2011 in China 50.6 per cent, in Indonesia 50.7 per cent, in South Africa 62 per cent and in Brazil 84.6 per cent.Dec-end was deadline for smart cities planNEW DELHI: With the urban development ministry still caught up in preparing the concept note for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 100 smart cities scheme, the PMO has set this month end as the deadline to make a final presentation. Sources said the deadline is aimed at fast-tracking the scheme so that some work can start by the end of this financial year.

The ministry is staring at surrendering most of the Rs 6,274 crore budget allocated this year for the smart cities programme and a new mission for renewal of urban infrastructure in place of JNNURM. TOI has learnt that so far about Rs 800 crore from this allocation has been utilized under urban transport head and another Rs 200 crore could be used by March. 

Since the conceptualization of smart city project and the new mission to replace JNNURM are still under process, there is hardly any scope for the ministry to utilize substantial allocation. "You can't utilize more than 33% of the unutilized allocation in the last quarter," a government source said.

Meanwhile, with the government yet to finalize the new urban renewal mission, the future of about 250 unfinished infrastructure projects in big cities under JNNURM is hanging in balance. The Centre has stopped releasing any fund for these works. Sources said the ministry in its new mission proposal to the Cabinet will include the provision to provide about Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 crore annually for such projects so that these can be completed. 

Pushing for completion of these projects, a parliamentary panel on UD has observed, "It would be a monumental waste of public money to have expended thousands of crores on incomplete projects only due to the lack of coordination and flexibility between Central and state governments. This would be a most undesirable state of affairs." 

The committee found that no urban infrastructure project has been completed in the seven mission cities of Uttar Pradesh while only 33 out of 71 projects in Gujarat, 16 out of 46 projects in Karnataka and 17 out of 50 projects in Andhra Pradesh have been completed. It has recommended completing at least all remaining projects of JNNURM within a time-bound manner and these should be funded by the Centre.Singapore offers help in Modi’s smart city projectNEW DELHI: Singapore has offered to build some of the smart cities that are on the top of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda.India is keen Singapore builds another Tianjin knowledge city that can be replicated in different parts of the country, an interest that was conveyed to K Shanmugam, Singapore's foreign minister. 

In an exclusive conversation with TOI, Shanmugam said, "Singapore wants India to succeed. A strong and vibrant India is essential for peace and stability in Asia." 

The Prime Minister wants Singapore to be involved in infrastructure activities in India.

"PM talked about ports and port management, skill development, building of smart cities, rejuvenation of India's rivers and water solutions. In terms of technology and experience in water solutions, we will share whatever we have," Shanmugam said.

Modi is keen that Singapore companies which are engaged in water management in Gujarat take on water solutions in other parts of the country as well, including rejuvenation of the Ganga, he said. 

The high level of diplomatic engagement will pick up pace, he said. "Our defence minister is due to visit next month. This will be followed by the visit of Ms Sushma Swaraj also in August.

In September, our former PM Goh Chok Tong will be here. Then our two PMs will meet at a multilateral forum. Next year, our two presidents will visit each other to commemorate the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations as well as the 50th anniversary of the creation of Singapore state." Goh Chok Tong was a Modi favourite at Vibrant Gujarat summit.

 A bilateral core group will be tasked to work out the details of the smart city that Singapore would be required to build, Shanmugam said.

"I suggested we can take this further where a small group of ministers from both countries take up these ideas and work with senior officials to give them concrete form. PM thought this was a good idea. The team can develop these ideas and by the time the two PMs meet later this year, there can be some kind of outline." 

India's ambition is huge, he said. "The Prime Minister is thinking in terms of 100 smart cities. Obviously we don't have the capacity to do so many. We proposed that we can do one city and that can be replicated as in China, where we have the Tianjin knowledge city, and smart cities in Suxhou, Guangzhou and Szechuan." 

India's focus, at this point, he said, was internal "as it should be". Therefore, it would not be proper to expect an Indian role in say the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. But an India that is an economic power will play a balancing role in Asia. "That's what we support," Shanmugam said.

Applicants face a harrowing time at Passport Seva Kendra (PSK)

Chandigarh, August 24

Applicants faced a harrowing time at the passport mela held at Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) today. With no waiting room on the premises, applicants had to stand in scorching heat while waiting for their turn. “It is like a punishment to reach the venue early and then wait for an hour on the roadside due to the absence of any waiting room for the passport seekers,” said an applicant who came from Punjab.

Other applicants too who reached the venue ahead of the scheduled time had a similar tale to tell

Adding to their woes, applicants were made to wait for another half-an-hour to reach the counter after the issuance of the token.

Some applicants had another problem waiting for them at the counter.

“The officials who were deployed for the verification of documents rejected my files without mentioning which documents were missing. When I asked them about it, the official said they add those details to their database and were not required to mention in on the file,” said a woman who had come to get a passport made for her 10-year-old daughter.

“We came to the passport mela thinking that the authorities might have set up additional counters to clear the rush, but surprisingly no additional staff was deployed here,” said an applicant from Chandigarh.

Regional Passport Officer Rakesh Agrawal said it was difficult for the department to maintain a waiting room. He said the department had banned the entry of any other person along with the candidate to avoid agents.

Aggarwal said space for 17 counters had been earmarked on the premises keeping in view the future demands.

Records of the department revealed that today there were only seven counters entertaining the applicants, while earlier there used to be 10.

The Regional Passport Office had organised the passport mela to receive the forms as there are three holidays during the weekdays in August.

Records of the department revealed that of the 864 applicants who had taken an appointment today, 780 turned up. Of these, 629 were able to get their passports made, while 135 failed to produce the required documents. They were asked to submit the documents in the next three days.

Fearing defeat, Sheila delaying DSGMC poll: Badal

Jalandhar/Chandigarh, November 18

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today hit back at his Delhi counterpart Sheila Dixit saying that she was deliberately delaying elections to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC). Talking to newsmen at Khiala village near Jalandhar, Badal accused the Delhi Chief Minister of helping DSGMC president Paramjit Singh Sarna whose defeat in the next DSGMC poll was inevitable. He said that as it would have an impact on the Delhi Assembly elections, Sheila wanted to delay elections to the Sikh institution. In a separate statement, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) took a strong note of the remarks of the Delhi Chief Minister asking her Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal to “keep off Delhi gurdwara affairs”. The SAD described her reaction as irrational and indicative of the fact that Dixit was not aware of the history of the DSGMC. The SAD said that it was strange that the Congress leader was asking the founding fathers of the DSGMC to become mute spectators to the denigration of the management committee responsible for the maintenance of historic Sikh shrines in the national capital. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “Will someone please go and tell her that Sikh affairs are very much a business of the Sikhs, and of the Sikhs alone, and that she or her government should stay away from the internal religious matters of the Sikh community. “Let her instead use her position to ensure better law and order in Delhi. By openly talking about an issue which concerns our shrines, Dixit has only confirmed Parkash Singh Badal’s observation that the Congress government in Delhi is indeed interfering in the religious affairs of the Sikhs,” he said.

Party spokesman Dr Daljit Singh Cheema reminded the Congress leader that it was in 1970 that the then SAD president Sant Fateh Singh led a ‘morcha’ in Delhi demanding a similar democratic body on the pattern of the SGPC for the management of Sikh shrines in Delhi.

“Parkash Singh Badal, all his senior colleagues and 16,000 other SAD leaders and workers went to jail in this morcha,” added Cheema.

“So the present DSGMC came into being in 1971 as a result of the sacrifices made by the Sant Fateh Singh, Parkash Singh Badal and other SAD workers,” he said.

Former Cong minister Henry loses citizenship

 

Jalandhar, September 19
The Ministry of Home Affairs (Foreigners Division) has ceased the Indian citizenship of senior Congress leader and transporter Avtar Henry.

In a communication to Principal Secretary (Homes) DS Bains, Undersecretary, Union Government, SN Garg has said the Centre, while exercising powers under Sections 9(2) of the Citizenship Act-1955, had ceased Henry’s Indian citizenship from the date he acquired British citizenship and passport in 1969.

Henry, however, is at liberty to acquire Indian citizenship by following the procedures laid down under the law.

In the letter, Garg stated that an inquiry report forwarded by the Additional Director General of Punjab Police specified that the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, was not in possession of any record that could be used to ascertain whether Henry had submitted an application to acquire Indian citizenship or not. Henry had acquired an Indian passport in 1981 and subsequently in 2004. The passport can be issued only to an Indian citizen.

But the records of the Foreigners Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed that the division had not granted Indian citizenship to Avtar Henry from 1981 onwards.

The letter sent by Garg to Bains stated that the fact that he had acquired a British passport conclusively proved that he had acquired British citizenship and thereby automatically ceased to be an India citizen under Sections 9(1) of the Citizenship Act-1955 from the date of the acquisition of British citizenship.

Case history

Henry had landed in a trouble following allegations of dual citizenship levelled by his son Gurjit Singh Sanghera. The Union Home Ministry had summoned him to Delhi to clear his stand.

Henry was asked to appear before the ministry on July 10, 2012. Henry had appeared before SM Garg and recorded his statement.

In November 2009, Sanghera had accused his father of possessing two passports. In his complaint, Sanghera had alleged that Avtar Singh ‘Sanghera’ had been to England on an Indian passport, which he had procured from the passport office in Delhi by posing as Lakhbir Singh Sanghera’s son. Lakhbir Singh Sanghera is, in fact, Henry’s elder brother and his father’s name is Joginder Singh.

The complainant had further alleged that Henry had made a false averment in the British passport that his “father”, Lakhbir Singh Sanghera, had died in 1905. Lakhbir Singh had actually died in November 2006.

The complaint further read that Avtar Henry (‘son’ of Lakhbir Singh) took British citizenship on the old passport issued by the Indian Government. He later managed to get a passport from the British government and returned to India in September 1969. He yet again got a passport prepared from the Jalandhar passport officer, showing himself as the son of Joginder Singh (the real father) and born in Pakistan.

The complainant had sought charges under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 494 of the IPC against Henry. The Jalandhar police acted on the complaint, but the files were gathering dust at the SSP’s office.

The case was later reopened by the city police after Sanghera, through his friend Ajay Sehgal, an RTI activist, moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The court had directed the Union Home Ministry, Punjab Chief Secretary and the DGP to complete an ongoing probe into a complaint against Henry in four months.

Son relieved

Gurjit Singh Sanghera has expressed satisfaction at the union government’s decision to cease Henry’s Indian citizenship. Talking to The Tribune, Sanghera claimed that he would move an application before the city police Commissioner seeking his arrest.

BJP veteran Bakshi Ram Arora is Amritsar Mayor

Amritsar, September 19
The BJP high command today appointed veteran leader Bakshi Ram Arora as the city Mayor, putting to rest the tussle between two factions of the local unit lobbying hard for respective candidates.
The three-time BJP councillor’s name was proposed by SAD Chief Parliamentary Secretary Inderbir Bolaria and seconded by BJP Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi during the first meeting of the fifth Amritsar Municipal Corporation House at Town Hall.
SAD councillors Avtar Singh Truckanwala and Avinash Jolly were unanimously elected Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively. Their names were proposed by Joshi and seconded by Bolaria.

The presiding officer, Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner SR Ladhar, administered the oath to the newly elected councillors.

Centre biased against non-Cong states: Sukhbir Badal

 

Baba Bakala, August 2
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal today charged the Congress-led UPA Government with “blatant discrimination” against Punjab and other non-Congress states by denying them drought relief.
Addressing a rally here to mark Rakhar Punia, Sukhbir said: “The Centre does not appear to be moved by the plight of Punjab farmers and has not awarded a single rupee to the state as drought relief.This is despite Punjab contributing 65 per cent foodgrain to the central pool.” He said though the government had already purchased power worth Rs 7,000 crore, which is 10 per cent more than last year’s peak demand, the failure of monsoon had raised power consumption in the state.
He refuted allegations of power overdrawal by Punjab, saying the Northern Grid had tripped because of 51 per cent overdrawal by Haryana and 29 per cent overdrawal by UP.
“I salute our enterprising farmers who have put everything at stake to ensure that their crops do not wither away,” Sukhbir said.
He said work on three power plants was underway and these would start functioning by the end of 2013. “With new power plants coming up at Goindwal Sahib, Talwandi Sabo and Rajpura, we will get 3,920 MW of extra power which would reduce our dependence on the Centre and make us self-dependant,” he claimed.

The Deputy CM said all major cities would be connected with four-lane roads and Rs 13,000 crore would be spent on the road network in the next three years. He said he had directed the SSPs to intensify the police drive against petty crime such as snatching. He said non-performing police officers would face the music.

Mining mafia now digging an environmental grave in Sutlej riverbed

Shifts base from Ropar to Nawanshahr district for its nefarious activities 

Nawanshahr, August 2
The powerful sand mining mafia seems to have shifted its base from Ropar to Nawanshahr for extracting sand and gravel from the Sutlej riverbed.
A lax administration has ensured that the mafia gets away with everything - altering the course of the Sutlej, breaking the dhussi bundh (that protects villages along the Sutlej in case of floods) making way for trucks to ferry sand and gravel and mining the material right under the big bridges in violation of law.Mining is banned 1 km upstream and 500 metres downstream from big bridges.
Even worse, the mining contractors are using big excavators to dig the riverbed in addition to earth mowers. Residents of nearby villages allege that their protests and appeals to the district administration have fallen on deaf ears.
With hundreds of trucks ferrying sand and gravel quarried illegally, dhussi bundhs near Saidpur Kalan and Phul Makauri villages have sunk.
Though the district administration has imposed Section 144 of CrPC, banning the plying of heavy vehicles on dhussi bundhs, trucks ferrying sand and gravel continue to use these.
Santokh Ram, sarpanch of Saidpur Kalan village, said that miners had begun digging 10 ft to 12 ft deep trenches along the banks of the Sutlej in April this year.
“As a result, the Sutlej, with its course altered, has started flowing near populated areas,” he said.
The fertile land along the river, which was once cultivated, now has over 10 ft deep pits. Other than the legally auctioned quarries of Malakpur, Behlur Khurd, Madhala, Mehndipur, Sedpur Khurd, Knaun, Lalewal, Begowal, Burj Tehildas, Jhungian, Khoja, Bersal and Baramad Rel, illegal mining is going on at Phul Makauri, Saidpur Kalan and the riverbed near Niyamatpur and Shekhan Majara.
More importantly, the miners are targeting larger areas around the legally auctioned quarries than areas auctioned by the Industries Department. In Saidpur Khurd, the government has allowed mining on 11.60 acres. But miners are extracting minor minerals from 100 acres of land. This includes land owned by the Forest Department. Mining in forest land is banned.
Similarly, in Behlur Khurd, quarrying is allowed only on 9.84 acres of land, but the miners are extracting material from over 25 acres of land.
It is learnt that mining is allowed in 13 quarries, covering 115.97 acres.

As per the terms of the auction, the miners can lift 5,22,765 tonnes of riverbed material from these quarries avery year. But with an estimated 3,500 trucks (each truck ferrying 29 tonnes) carrying material daily, over one lakh tonnes of sand and gravel is being lifted from here everyday. This means almost 365 lakh tonnes of material is being lifted every year and over 360 lakh tonnes illegally.

Ruining Ecology

Miners dig 10 ft to 12 ft deep trenches along the banks of the Sutlej

With hundreds of trucks ferrying sand and gravel quarried illegally, dhussi bundhs near Saidpur Kalan and Phul Makauri villages sink

Illegal mining at Phul Makauri, Saidpur Kalan and the riverbed near Niyamatpur and Shekhan Majara on

Miners target larger areas around legally auctioned quarries

In Saidpur Khurd, miners illegally extracting minor minerals from 100 acres of land

This includes land owned by the Forest Department. Mining on forest land is banned

Modus Operandi

The illegal slips, called the ‘jhhota parchi’, are used rampantly here to allow the movement of the trucks ferrying illegally mined sand and gravel. The legal slips are called ‘weighment slips’ and should mention the quarry from where the material has been mined. The illegal slips are called “stand slips”, and are given to truck drivers and checked by goons who then collect ‘royalty’ from the truck owners.

Demand Up

With mining in Haryana banned, Punjab is now the sole supplier of sand and gravel in the region. With major infrastructure and real estate projects coming up in the region, there is a high demand for construction material. The supply, however, is at an all-time low. The price of sand has zoomed to Rs 2,300 per 100 cubic ft.

'Achcha to hum chalte hain': Remembering Rajesh Khanna

Rajesh Khanna: Bollywood first Superstar

From the dizzying heights of fame to quiet shadows behind the arclights, Rajesh Khanna's life had a theatrical sweep, almost like one of his films. Bollywood's original superstar - simply the phenomenon to some - died in Mumbai Wednesday, leaving behind memories cast in celluloid of that famous crooked smile and head tilt. He was only 69.

In an era long before this age of instant connect of mobile phones and internet, Rajesh Khanna was the man who sparked a frenzy never seen before and never since, not even by the likes of Amitabh Bachchan.

His very name spelt magic in the 1970s. He sparked hysteria, particularly amongst his legions of women fans, who would line the road for a glimpse, chant his name, cover his car with lipstick marks and even write him letters in blood. They got married to his photograph, cut their finger, let the blood flow and applied 'sindoor'.

Truly, "O mere di ke chain"!

Kaka, as he was popularly known, was one of the highest paid actors of his time, his record of consecutive solo super hits still unbroken. Who can forget the years between 1970-1979 when he starred in mega hits like "Safar", "Kati Patang", "Sachaa Jhutha", "Aan Milo Sajna", "Anand", "Amar Prem" and "Mere Jeevan Saathi". Ever the urbane, suave romantic who wooed like few others.

Glory and fame galore came his way with the two 1969 films - "Aradhana" and "Do Raaste" - where he teamed up with two of his best co-stars, Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz, respectively. Both the films were super hits. Hindi film's first superstar was born.

Between "Aradhana" in 1969 and "Prem Kahani" in 1975, Rajesh enjoyed god-like status.

It was all about charisma - a certain something that went beyond the art of acting. He had that unique way of delivering a dialogue, of crinkling his eyes and that interesting head tilt that were all his own - and designed to get fans swooning.

Describing the charm of Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh once said: "I got famous purely because I was working with Rajesh Khanna in 'Anand'. People asked me questions like, 'How is he to look at? What does he do?'"

The mega story had a small beginning in Amritsar. Born Jatin Arora on Dec 29, 1942, he was adopted and raised by foster parents.

He went from being Jatin to Rajesh, thanks to his uncle who changed his name, when he decided to join films.

In 1965, the journey to filmdom started after he won the All India Talent Contest organised by United Producers and Filmfare. He made his debut with "Aakhri Khat" in 1966.

It was a fairly easy road to superstardom after that.

He became the heartthrob of the nation, singing timeless melodies like "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani..." in "Aradhana", "Zindagi Ek Safar" in "Andaaz" or "Yeh Shaam Mastani" in "Kati Patang". Singer Kishore Kumar and composer R.D. Burman were amongst his closest friends.

In his four-decade career, he appeared in about 160 films, of which 106 had him as the solo lead hero and 22 were two hero projects.

Rajesh proved his mettle in offbeat films too. He teamed up with Hrishikesh Mukherjee for the critically acclaimed "Bawarchi" and "Namak Haram". The quintessential romantic also did the intense "Avishkar", directed by Basu Bhattacharya.

But then age caught up and the star began fading away.

He moved to television and played the main lead in two serials - "Ittefaque" and "Apne Paraye" during 2001-02 and also featured in "Raghukul Reet Sada Chali Aayi" between 2008-09.

The decline to B-grade films was inevitable. There was also the sorry "Wafa" with Laila Khan, who was found murdered this July.

He dabbled in politics, being Congress MP from the New Delhi constituency from 1991-1996.

Like the Hollywood legends of yore, the personal life also had a larger than life dimension.

He fell in love with Dimple Kapadia, who was only 16 and whose first film "Bobby" was yet to release. She was 15 years younger to him but the pull was strong and they got married after a whwhirwind romance in 1973.

It was the stuff of tabloid headlines. They had two daughters Twinkle and Rinke. The marriage lasted only 11 years.

It was a lonely life for Rajesh after that. He disappeared from the headlines and appeared to be a shadow of his former self in his rare public appearances.

But the family came together in his last days. His estranged wife was the one who took care of him during his illness. Son-in-law Akshay Kumar was also a great comfort.

Rajesh reappeared in an ad a few months before his death, and once again became the talk of town - he was clearly unwell but the zest in his voice was intact as he intoned "Babumoshai" from his much loved film "Anand".

Like Anand from the film, the man is gone. But the memories will live on.

Rajesh Khanna Filmography

• Do Dilon Ke Khel Mein (2010)
• 6th December A Love Story (2010)
• Kaashh... Mere Hote (2009)
• Wafaa (2008)
• Blackmailer (2007)
• Kaash... Mere Hote (2007)
• Tum Mere Ho (2006)
• Kyaa Dil Ne Kahaa (2002)
• Pyaar Zindagi Hai (2001)
• Aa Ab Laut Chalen (2000)
• Ghar Parivar (1991)
• Rupaye Dus Karod (1991)
• Swarg (1990)
• Main Tera Dushman (1989)
• Paap Ka Ant (1989)
• Ghar Ka Chiraag (1989)
• Woh Phir Aayegi (1988)
• Awaam (1987)
• Aakhir Kyon (1985)
• Alag Alag (1985)
• Awara Baap (1985)
• Babu (1985)
• Bewafai (1985)
• Durga (1985)
• Hum Dono (1985)
• Insaaf Main Karoonga (1985)
• Oonche Log (1985)
• Paar (1985)
• Awaaz (1984)
• Dharm Aur Qanoon (1984)
• Maqsad (1984)
• Naya Kadam (1984)
• Papi Pet Ka Sawal Hai (1984)
• Aaj Ka M.L.A. (1984)
• Asha Jyoti (1984)
• Agar Tum Na Hote (1983)
• Avtaar (1983)
• Jaanwar (1983)
• Nishaan (1983)
• Souten (1983)
• Ashanti (1982)
• Dharam Kanta (1982)
• Dil-E-Nadaan (1982)
• Rajput (1982)
• Suraag (1982)
• Dhanwan (1981)
• Fifty Fifty (1981)
• Kudrat (1981)
• Naukari (1981)
• Dard (1981)
• Aanchal (1980)
• Bandish (1980)
• Phir Wahi Raat (1980)
• Red Rose (1980)
• Thodisi Bewafai (1980)
• Amardeep (1979)
• Chakravyuha (1979)
• Janata Hawaldar (1979)
• Muqabla (1979)
• Bhola Bhala (1978)
• Prem Bandhan (1978)
• Anurodh (1977)
• Chailla Babu (1977)
• Chalta Purza (1977)
• Karm (1977)
• Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein (1977)
• Aashiq Hoon Baharon Ka (1977)
• Bandalbaaz (1976)
• Maha Chor (1976)
• Mehbooba (1976)
• Tyaag (1976)
• Prem Kahani (1975)
• Aaina (1974)
• Aap Ki Kasam (1974)
• Ajnabi (1974)
• Hum Shakal (1974)
• Namak Haram (1973)
• Avishkar (1973)
• Daag (1973)
• Amar Prem (1971)
• Andaz (1971)
• Badnam Farishte (1971)
• Chhoti Bahu (1971)
• Dushman (1971)
• Haathi Mere Saathi (1971)
• Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971)
• Aan Milo Sajna (1970)
• Anand (1970)
• Kati Patang (1970)
• Khamoshi (1969)
• Aradhana (1969)
• Bandhan (1969)
• Do Raaste (1969)
• Doli (1969)
• Ittefaq (1969)
• Aurat (1967)
• Baharon Ke Sapne (1967)
• Raaz (1967)
• Aakhri Khat (1966)

Filmography As Producer

• Alag Alag (1985)

TIPPA MURDER CASE

Accused gets life term 
Chandigarh, July 17
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Shalini Nagpal, based on a dying declaration, today awarded life sentence to 30-year-old Minkel Bajaj, alias Balwinder Singh, a businessman from Muktsar, for killing a youth Akali leader from Muktsar in the Sector 9 market here. The court also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on Bajaj.
Tripat Deep Singh Sekhon, aka Tippa Sekhon, a youth Akali leader from Muktsar, was shot at the busy Sector 9 market on July 13, 2010.
The court said: “A dying declaration enjoys almost a sacrosanct status, a piece of evidence as it comes from the mouth of a person who is about to die and at that stage, he is not likely to make a false statement. The three proved circumstances in the case -- oral dying declaration of the deceased, call details of the deceased and an established motive are sufficient to bring home the guilt of the accused. There is also evidence in the shape of witnesses that there was political rivalry between the accused and deceased who belonged to the Akali party.”
When Tippa was rushed to hospital, the Akali leader told his sister, her friend and Sub-Inspector Dharampal that Bajaj had shot at him as he wanted to take revenge.
Tippa along with some others had allegedly made an obscene MMS of Bajaj’s sister and circulated it. Though he was initially booked in the case, his name was later dropped from the chargesheet. Bajaj then decided to eliminate Tippa.
The police had arrested Bajaj 15 days after the crime and recovered a .32 revolver and four cartridges from him.
On the day of the murder, Tippa had come to the Sector 7 house of his cousin Paramjit Kaur. At 4.10 pm, he received a call on his mobile phone asking him to come to the Sector 9 market. Bajaj then shot at Tippa, who was rushed to the Sector 16 hospital. He was referred to the PGI where he died.

I am innocent

There is no scientific evidence with the prosecution to prove that I committed the murder. I had met senior Akali leaders seeking an inquiry into the MMS scandal regarding my sister, but that was all. I did not kill Tippa and will appeal before the High Court. The CFSL report proved that the weapon which the police recovered from my possession was not the one that was used to shoot him. There is no eyewitness to the murder and I was not even in the city at the time of the murder. It was a sensational case and the police framed me as they were under pressure to solve the case. 

Man drugs wife, sets her ablaze

Chandigarh, July 17
A 32-year-old man employed with a fast food joint in the city murdered his wife in connivance with his girlfriend and then dumped her body in the bushes in a deserted area in Hoshiarpur. The victim, Pooja, was given a heavy dose of sedatives and was strangled thrice while being taken in a car from Chandigarh to Hoshiarpur. She was unconsciousness and a seat belt was fastened around her. They set her afire and dumped her body in the bushes.
The incident occurred on July 13. A case was registered today after the police investigated the missing report lodged by the victim’s family and found that the 30-year-old woman, Suresh Kumari, alias Pooja, a resident of Sector 20, was killed due to strained relations with her husband.
The police arrested her husband Vajinder, who is employed as a manager in Nik Bakers in Sector 35, and Renu, his girlfriend, who stays as a paying guest in Sector 20. Pooja’s partially charred body was recovered by a police team from Hoshiarpur today.
Renu hails from Hoshiarpur and was looking for a job. She is also married, but is not living with her husband.
The police said Vajinder married Pooja in 2008 and it was a love marriage. Relations between the couple turned sour and they used to fight often. Vajinder had an affair with Renu, whom he met while they were working together at Dominos in Jalandhar two years ago. Vajinder was forcing Pooja to divorce him so that he could marry Renu, but Pooja refused to do so. Vajinder then planned to eliminate her in connivance with Renu.

‘Missing’ report

Pooja was employed as a computer data operator at a shop in Khuda Alisher village. She had set off to work on July 13 and failed to return home. Her father-in-law Balwinder Pal lodged a missing person report at the Sector 19 police station.

The family also launched a hunt to look for their daughter-in-law. Interestingly, Vajender, too, accompanied the police and his family to look for his wife on July 14 and 15.

The co-accused

Renu hails from Hoshiarpur and was looking for a job. She is also married, but is not staying with her husband.

The breakthrough

On July 16, Pooja’s brother Prem Chand, a resident of Rampur in Shimla, reported to the police that he suspected that Vajinder had killed his sister and disposed of her body. The police rounded up Vajinder and on sustained interrogation, he disclosed that he had murdered her as he was having an affair with Renu.

The confession

The accused told the police that at 10 am on July 13, he picked up Pooja from the road separating Sectors 19 and 20. He then took her towards Sector 9 and gave her a soft drink laced with sedatives. After she fell unconscious, he picked up Renu and set off for Hoshiarpur. Both of them strangled her thrice on the way and bought a litre of petrol. They then set her afire near Nisrala choe at Meghowal village in Hoshiarpur. before dumping the body in the bushes. The accused will be produced in court tomorrow.

Excise Dept accused of trying to open liquor vend despite ban in Changal viilage, Sangrur

Satyamev Jayate

SANGRUR: On a day Changal village became famous after it was featured by Bollywood actor Aamir Khan in his television show "Satyamev Jayte" for its self-imposed liquor prohibition, the villagers on Sunday alleged that the excise department was trying to open a liquor vend there.

The villagers of Changal, which removed its liquor vend two years back, said that the excise department has also registered a false case of smuggling in their village, which would make their case of opening the vend in the village stronger. 

People of Changal village, Sangrur interacting via video conferencing with host Amir Khan

"The excise department has registered a case of liquor smuggling in the village and are trying to deter us, but we are determined not to open vend even if authorities register more cases using tactical moves", said village sarpanch Paramjit Singh, who also got the chance to interact with Khan.

Paramjit said the excise authorities wanted to put forward the smuggling case for denying its no liquor vend resolution next year. The Punjab panchayati Raj Act states that, if the excise and taxation commissioner is of the opinion that illicit distillation or smuggling of alcohol has been carried on or connived at within two years preceding the date of passing of resolution, in such local area, such resolution shall not be binding upon.

Section 40 gives panchayats powers to go in for no liquor vend in the village. However, Sangrur assistant excise and taxation commissioner Darbara Singh denied using unfair means in registering liquor case. He said "every case related to liquor smuggling is registered only on merit".