Quark City techie’s murder case

Mohali, June 4
The Mohali district court today sentenced Parmaveer Singh, one of the three accused in the murder case of Quark City engineer Sukhwinder Singh, to six months imprisonment.
However, Additional District and Sessions Judge RS Rai adjourned the pronouncement of quantum of sentence for the main accused Neki Nalwa, wife of the deceased, and her paramour Himmat Singh, alias Brandy, to June 6.
Sukhwinder was shot dead from a point blank range by Brandy on December 4, 2005, in connivance with Neki. Paramveer had provided five cartridges to Brandy, who had an unlicensed revolver.
The court had held the trio guilty on June 2.
Earlier, in the jam-packed courtroom, the judge sentenced Parmaveer to six months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500. The court said in case Parmaveer Singh failed to pay the fine, he would have to undergo 10 more days of imprisonment.
Paramveer was granted conditional bail for the period of 30 days to enable him to get further bail from the high court. Meanwhile, the accused furnished a bail bond of Rs 25,000 and a surety immediately.
Capital punishment sought for Neki, Brandy  
Chandigarh, June 4
During the course of final arguments on quantum of sentence for Sukhwinder Singh’s murder convicts — Neki Nalwa, wife of the deceased, and her paramour Himmat Singh, alias Brandy, public prosecutor Vijay Singla today demanded capital punishment for the duo, terming the crime as ‘rarest of rare’ in nature.
“Murder of a person by his/her spouse is the highest breach of trust. One of the accused, Brandy, who had shot Sukhwinder Singh, had no enmity or friendship with the victim. Even then, he murdered him in connivance with the victim’s wife,” argued Singla.
However, defence lawyer AS Sukhija demanded the court to take a lenient view considering the young age of the accused. He said they had no criminal background.

The Case

Sukhwinder Singh was shot dead by Brandy on December 4, 2005, when he was strolling along with his wife Neki near their residence at Sector 69 here. Brandy had used unlicensed revolver in the crime.
On December 7, the police had arrested Neki Nalwa and Brandy on the charges of murder of Sukhwinder Singh. Since then Neki and Brandy have been lodged in Patiala Central Jail, as all bail applications by both of them had been turned down by the court.
According to the police, Neki had an affair with Brandy and wanted to get rid of Sukhwinder Singh. The couple had also filed a divorce application in the court in February 2005. On the fateful night, Neki and Sukhwinder went for a walk after dinner. Neki had called up Brandy, who was having drinks at a club in Chandigarh and told him about the route. Brandy, who reached the spot by a car, parked it nearby and shot the victim from point-blank range.
The couple has a 10-year-old son, Fateh Tej Partap Singh, who has been living with his grandparents. This was the second marriage of Neki. Her first marriage had reportedly lasted only 12 days.

 TIMELINE

December 4, 2005: Sukhwinder Singh, an engineer with Quark City, was shot dead by Brandy while he was strolling with his wife Neki Nalwa near their residence in Sector 69, Mohali
December 7, 2005: The police arrested Neki and her lover Brandy on the charge of murdering her husband. Since then both have been lodged at Patiala Central Jail. Another person, Paramveer Singh, was also arrested for providing five cartridges to Brandy in the case.
June 2, 2012: The local court held all three accused guilty in the case.

Venus transit 2012 begins as the world looks to the sky

BANGALORE, India : If you do not look at the sky today, then you'll have to wait till 2117. Backlit by the Sun, as the bird flies across, its silhouette has often made for picture-perfect moments.

"Today's transit of Venus across the Sun is no different," confirms Dr E Ebenezer, scientist, Radio Astronomy group at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. "Only Venus and Mercury can transit this way as they appear before the Earth in the solar system," he adds. The next transit of this nature, as recorded by scientists, is slotted to occur 105 years later - in December 2117. For Akshay Kumar MA, student of Jain College who is spearheading the Sheraton Astronomy Club, this phenomenon goes beyond just witnessing it.

"I am at Nikaya Observatory with enthusiastic astronomers. Today's transit is significant given that Venus is coming in between the Sun and the Earth. Several scientific conclusions can be drawn from it.

We can find the exact distance between Sun and Earth and also calculate the Sun's diameter," he says. "For the layperson, there are many ways of watching it. While some will opt for a telescope, people in earlier times used to mix cow dung in water and watch the Sun's reflection in it. Both the methods are safe. Today, it's important to watch the transit through a space filter," explains Dr Sujata Virdhe, former Isro scientist and founder of Sunday Science School. She has also designed Nebula Solar Goggles, which has been put through various tests to sanctify the power of its solar filter.

India celeberates World Environment Day

Environmentalists favour CFLs
Chandigarh, June 5
On the World Environment Day today, environmentalists were vocal on the use of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) to save energy for the future generation.
Dr Satnam Singh of the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology accepted that the government had not made any arrangements for the disposal of CFLs. 

He said this while interacting with mediapersons at the PGI. He said besides promoting the use of CFLs, state governments should make fool-proof arrangements for disposal.
He said the states should come up with a policy so that energy savers could not turn into environmental threats.
He said hundreds of discarded CFLs were lying unattended at garbage dumps, releasing poisonous material into the environment.
CFL bulbs and tubes contained mercury, which was highly toxic and could cause serious health problems like damage to the nervous system, kidneys and liver, he said.
The Panjab University dean, Dr AS Ahluwalia, said the public was not unaware about the health hazards from CFLs.
In the absence of a proper CFL-disposal policy, public dumped those in domestic bins. He said the UT Administration had implemented the e-waste policy, but there were no clear directions on CFL disposal.
He said paver blocks adversely affected the green cover and the seepage of water into the ground, resulting in the lowering of underground water level.
He said it had been scientifically proved that such concrete structures spoilt the eco-system of the soil and the heat around plantation affected it.
Other experts stressed the installation of rainwater harvesting in buildings to improve groundwater level.

Khushpreet’s kin say no to Rs 3-lakh relief

Chandigarh, June 5
The family of five-year-old Khushpreet, who was kidnapped for ransom and murdered in December 2010, has refused to claim the compensation amount of Rs 3 lakh that was recently handed over to them by the UT Administration.
Two months have elapsed since a cheque for Rs 3 lakh was handed over to the child’s father at their house in Burail village in Sector 45. But the family has not deposited the cheque as a mark of protest.
“A patwari came to our house two months ago and gave us the cheque. We told him we do not want it since money will not bring back our child. We desire justice from the police and the Administration, not money. As the patwari was under obligation, we took the cheque, but have not encashed it,” said Lakhbir Singh, Khushpreet’s father.
“The negligent police officers are still on duty. Merely stopping their increments does not mean justice to us. We do not want any compensation from the police or the Administration. We have suffered enough and our innocent child was killed due to the negligence of the police. We demand that these officers should be dealt with sternly,” he said.
Advocate Arvind Thakur, who fought the case in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), said after a year-long battle with the Administration, the cheque had finally been given to the family and orders in this regard were received from the NHRC today.
“The NHRC has considered the matter. The amount of interim relief as recommended by the commission has been paid to the next of kin of the deceased. Departmental action has also been taken against the three delinquent police officers. No further action is called for. The compliance report is taken on record and the case is closed,” said the NHRC in the order.

22 judicial officers promoted in Punjab

Ludhiana, June 5
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has promoted 22 judicial officers to the rank of Additional District and Sessions Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate in Punjab. Nine judges, heading different Fast Track courts, have been promoted to the rank of Additional Sessions Judge and transferred to different stations, include Anshul Berry to Patiala, Sanjay Kumar Sachdeva to Sangrur, Neelam Arora to Amritsar, Dr Rakesh Kumar to Ferozepur, Jaswinder Sheemar to Mohali, Gurnam Singh to Jalandhar, Sant Parkash Sood to Ludhiana, Manjot Kaur to Mohali, Rajiv Kalra to Gurdaspur and Sanjay Agnihotri to Jalandhar.
Sanjay Kumar Sachdeva, Civil Judge (Senior Division), has been transferred to Sangrur, on promotion CJM Mansa Budh Ram Garg has been transferred to Hoshiarpur. Whereas ADJ Hari Singh Garewal has been transferred to Ludhiana.
Seven Additional Civil Judges (Senior Division), who have been promoted to the rank of Chief Judicial Magistrate, include Harish Anand (Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar), Ashok Kapoor (Mansa), Karamjit Singh Sullar (Rupnagar), Ranjeet Kaur (Amritsar), Rakesh Kumar (Faridkot), Jaspinder Singh (Fatehgarh Sahib) and Rajeev K Beri (Moga). Whereas Civil Judge (Senior Division), Jalandhar, Sanjiv Joshi has been transferred to Mansa, Shivinder Singh, CJ (Senior Divison), transferred to Barnala, Rupnagar’s CJM Mandeep Kaur transferred to Jalandhar.
Four judges, who have been promoted as Fast Track Court Judges, include Rajiv Malhotra, Harjinder Pal Singh, Baljinder Sidhu and Gurmail Singh.

Manpneet Kaur is crowned Miss Australia Punjaban 2012

Melbourne - Manpuneet Kaur Grewal a first year Accounting student at Melbourne's Deakin University, was crowned ‘Miss Australia Punjaban 2012’ at a well attended and appreciated event held here.  She has secured a place to compete with other contestants who will be representing other parts of the world and vying for the title of ‘Miss World Punjaban 2012’.

The main event is due to be held at Ludhiana in Punjab in November 2012.

Australian born Manpuneet Kaur, a 9’9” ‘Punjaban Mutiyar’ who resides in Melbourne and is studying commerce at Deccan University, impressed the judges with her beauty, knowledge and talent to bag the prestigious title.

Parminderjit Waraich from Brisbane finished Ist runner-up while Gagandeep Kaur from Melbourne was declared 2nd Runner-up.  

Ten beautiful Punjabans hailing from Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney took part in the show organized by Sabhayachark Sath Punjab in association with South Pacific Institute.

The different rounds showcasing talent of the contestants were of immense interest to the audience. The contestants danced to the tune of Punjabi folk songs, displayed special talents and had a question-answer round where they were asked questions related to Punjabi Heritage.

Jagpreet bagged award for Best folk Dance, Ramandeep Kaur bagged award for being declared ‘Gunwanti Panjaban, Baljit Kaur was declared ‘Sughar-Syani Punjaban’ and Rajdip Kaur was conferred with ‘Gidhian di Rani’ sub-title. Amrit Kaur, Navjot and Semris were given special prizes.

Renowned Literary Personality Dr.Satish Verma who had specially flown from India, SBS Radio Anchor Manpreet Kaur and known Bhangra Expert Varinder Saran, were the judges at the event.

Gurvinder Singh Nagra welcomed the guests and audience while Harleen Sohana and Dr. Preetinder Grewal were the anchors for the show.

Teams of ‘Folk Art’, ‘Bhangra Rockers’, ‘Bhangra Federation’ regaled the audience with their performances. Parddeep Kaur, Poonam and their team members also presented Punjabi dance items. Charnamit Singh made the audience laugh with his comedy items.

Punjabi woman Roopak Kaur Sodhi who is the first Punjaban to be recruited in Victoria Police and ‘Singh Sabha Bhangra Group’ – contestants of ‘Australia has got Talent’ were specially honoured for their contribution towards the community.  They were awarded by Harbhajan Singh Khaira and Kanwalpreet Singh Sandhu.
Ajit Singh Rahi’s book ‘Teeja Ghallughara’ was released during the show.

Chairman-Director Jasmer Singh Dhatt told ‘Yes Punjab’ that those who contributed their best to make the show a success include Amardeep Singh, Manjot Kaur Dhaliwal, Amanpreet Singh, Upkar Singh, Gurpal Singh, Jaskunwar Singh.  

Others present include Prem Singh Khaira and Ruban Sohana from Sydney, Jasmel Singh Khaira, Gurpreet Singh Sangha, Sukhdeep Deol, Imtiyaz Khan and Ravi.
The event, fourth of its kind in Australia, hosted under the direction and supervision of Chairman-Director Jasmer Singh Dhatt at Monash University’s Robert Blackwood Hall with a capacity of 1100 was well received and well attended.

Jasmer Dhatt said that ‘Miss World Punjaban 2012’ beauty pageant has taken  a start with Australia event and now the  pageant is scheduled to  travel to Europe, America, Canada, New Zealand and Pakistan where such events shall select more Punjabi beauties to take part in the finals to be held at Ludhiana.

Ranbir fake encounter:11 Dehradun cops surrender, sent to jail

Dehradun - Eleven of the 18 Uttarakhand Police personnel, accused in the 2009 fake encounter case of MBA student Ranbir Singh in Dehradun, on Tuesday surrendered before a Delhi court which sent them to jail.
The accused policemen surrendered before Special CBI Judge V K Maheshwari in pursuance of the non-bailable warrants issued against them in May this year.
“They be taken in custody and sent to judicial custody,” the court said.
The accused cops who surrendered today include the then constables Satbir Singh, Sunil Saini, Chander Pal, Saurabh Nautiyal, Nagendra Nath, Vikas Chandra Baluni, Sanjay Rawat, Mohan Singh Rana, Inder Bhan Singh and Manoj Kumar and Head operator at city control room Jaspal Singh Gosain.
The constables are among the 18 policemen chargesheeted by the CBI in connection with Ranbir Singh encounter case that rocked the hill state in July 2009.
The other accused in the case are presently lodged in Tihar Jail. They include then inspector Santosh Jaiswal, sub-inspectors Gopal Dutt Bhatt, Rajesh Bisht, Neeraj Kumar, Nitin Chauhan and Chandra Mohan and constable Ajeet Singh.
They were arrested in wake of evidence that 22-year-old Singh, an MBA student from Ghaziabad, was allegedly gunned down by Uttarakhand Police after being caught at Mohini Road where he and his companions were allegedly trying to commit some crime on July 3, 2009.
The court fixed July 4, the next date of hearing and also allowed the plea of these 11 accused that they be kept together in jail as they are police personnel and apprehend fear from other inmates.
The case was transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court on the plea of Ranbir's father Ravindra Singh.
The court had issued NBWs against them to ensure their presence before it.
Ranbir's father had alleged that his son had gone to Dehradun in search of a job where he was arrested by the police on July 3, 2009 on pretext of being involved in some robbery.
He had alleged that on the same day, 29 bullets were pumped into his body and the incident was passed off as an encounter.
All the 18 policemen have been charged for various offences such as murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and public servant framing incorrect record.