Chandigarh

 

Navin Jain, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who had gone missing from Shahjahanpur in Alwar district of Rajasthan on August 30, was traced in Chandigarh today.

Four people were killed and two others injured when a car rammed into a pavement and then hit a tree near the Sector 22-23 intersection in the city, police said today.

The accident occurred around 0100 hrs when a tyre of the car burst and its driver lost control of the vehicle. The car rammed into a footpath and then hit a tree.

Four of the six occupants of the car were killed on the spot. They were identified as Capt Ranjot Singh, Prabhjit Singh Khaira, Ramandeep Singh and Avneet Singh.

The two injured were identified as Prabhkaran Sandhu and Amandeep. They were admitted in the PGI hospital for treatment.

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Supporters of social activist Anna Hazare today held a demonstration outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's house in sector 11 here today to press for a strong Lokpal Bill.

Scores of agitators, under the banner of NGO "Aawaaz", gathered outside the house and shouted anti-corruption slogans.

The demonstration continued for about an hour outside the Prime Minister's house where the police had made elaborate security arrangements.

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A CBI court in Ahmedabad has convicted Ravjibhai Manubhai Pawar of the murder of his Indian employer and four other members of his family in Dubai in 1992 and sentenced him to death.

A press release from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that its investigations had shown that Pawar, while working as a domestic servant in Dubai, had kileld Mr Ramesh K Sagar and four others of Mr Sagar's family on January 4, 1992.

He was also accused of rape and of stealing household articles, including clothes, ornaments and cash.

Pawar feld from Dubai on January 5 and came to India. On the basis of an Interpol alert, he was nabbed on January 10 by the Gujarat police and a first information report (FIR)was registered.

Since the accused was an Indian national and the offence took place outside India, the case was entrusted to the CBI. The Dubai Police had also registered an FIR and collected evidence, which was used by the CBI during investigation and trial of the case, the release said.

The chargesheet was filed on January 23, 1992 in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chikhli. The trial court found him guilty and convicted him.

The case was registered by the CBI, Ahmedabad (now Gandhinagar) Branch on April 27, 1992 on the basis of the request and consent of the Government of Gujarat for futher investigation of the case filed at the Chikhli Police Station, the release added.

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Police have arrested four students here in connection with the murder of a class IX student of DAV School, Sector 8, in the city.

The decomposed body of the boy, Shubham, was recovered near the railway tracks in Mauli Jagran on Monday evening.

Police arrested four students, all juveniles, in this connection. While one of the accused studied in the same school, the three others were students of Shivalik Public School, Manimajra, Sunbeam Public School, Mauli Jagran and Government School, Manimajra.

Police said the accused had killed Shubham as he had allegedly connived with his uncle who had eloped with the sister of one of them.

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Three persons, including a woman, were killed and a dozen others suffered injuries when a college bus hit a scooter and then ran over a group of pilgrims here last night.

The accident occurred when the bus belonging to thee Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Landran, hit the scooter first and later ran over a dozen members of a "jatha", which was on its way from Sector 22 Gurdwara to famous Nada Sahib Gurdwara in Panchkula at around 2300 hrs.

The deceased were identified as Anita (32), her nephew Jatin (12) and his friend Mandeep (18), who were riding the scooter. The injured were admitted to various hospitals in the city.

Later, other members of the "jatha" set the bus on fire. Two fire tenders were pressed into service to control the blaze.

Bus driver Jasbir Singh fled from the spot while police nabbed its conductor Sunil. Police registered a case and started investigations, police added.

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Union Road Transport and Highways Minister C P Joshi today said the Centre would earnestly consider the ambitious Rs 8,000 crore project of Express Highway from Delhi to Chandigarh along the Yamuna river and was also considering conversion of eight state roads of Haryana into National Highways.

Mr Joshi was responding to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s request for these projects at the foundation stone-laying function for four laning of Rohtak-Panipat section of National Highway-71 A at Gohana today.

The 81 kilometer long four-laning project will cost more than Rs 800 crore and is likely to be completed by October, 2013. It will have three railway overbridges, three major and five minor bridges, four grade separators, 15 underpasses and six byepasses.

Mr Joshi announced that the Centre was also considering converting eight state roads of Haryana into National Highways as per the demand of Mr Hooda.

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A superb century by Paul Valthaty propelled Kings XI Punjab to a thrillng six-wicket victory as they chased down a stiff 189-run target set by Chennai Super Kings at the Punjab Cricket Association ground here today to register their maiden win this season of the IPL.

Valthaty, who scored 120 runs off just 63 balls, single-handedly took away the match from the Dhoni-led side with a belligerent display of batting in which he had 19 hits to the fence and two over the ropes.

While wickets kept falling at the other end, the 27-year-old Mumbaikar not only anchored himself at one end but also kept himself busy spoiling the bowling figures of the rivals.

In a rather surprising move, Kings XI skipper Adam Gilchrist promoted Valthaty to the opening slot replacing Shaun Marsh, which the Mumbaikar cashed with both hands.

Kings XI, choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, had a brilliant start with Praveen Kumar dismissing Srikkanth Anirudha and Suresh Raina on the first two deliveries of the match.

But the lack of depth in bowling allowed CSK batsmen Murali Vijay (74) and S Badrinath (66) to build up a 122-run partnership. Even

Praveen proved too costly in his remaining three overs conceding 37 runs without any success.

After leg-spinner Piyush Chawla deceived Vijay with a flighted delivery, his only success at the expense of 33 runs in three overs,

CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (43) took the turn to thrash the Punjab bowlers while Badrinath, at the other end, completed his half century.

Scoreboard:

Chennai Super Kings: (maximum 20 overs)

Srikkanth Anirudha lbw b Kumar 0

Murali Vijay st Gilchrist b Chawla 74

Suresh Raina c Valthaty b Kumar 0

S Badrinath not out 66

MS Dhoni b Harris 43

Extras (lb 3, w 1, nb 1) 5

Total (in 20 overs) 188 for four

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-124, 4-188

Bowling: Praveen Kumar 4-1-37-2, Ryan Harris 4-0-25-1, Ryan McLaren 4-0-31-0, Piyush Chawla 3-0-33-1, Abhishek Nayar 2-0-24-0, Bhargav Bhatt 3-0-35-0.

Kings XI Punjab innings (target 189 runs from 20 overs)

Paul Valthaty not out 120

Adam Gilchrist c Randiv b Morkel 19

Shaun Marsh run out (Randiv/Anirudha) 12

Sunny Singh c Jakati b Randiv 20

Abhishek Nayar lbw b Southee 0

Dinesh Karthik not out 21

Extras (w 1) 1

Total (in 19.1 overs) 193 for four

Fall of wickets: 1-61, 2-100, 3-136, 4-136

Bowling: Ravichandran Ashwin 4-0-37-0, Tim Southee 4-0-33-1, Albie Morkel 3-0-38-1, Suraj Randiv 4-0-32-1, Scot Styris 1-0-13-0, Shahdab Jakati 2.1-0-28-0, Suresh Raina 1-0-12-0.

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that India and Pakistan had to find pathways to resolve their differences and described his meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani at Mohali yesterday as a "very good beginning,

Mr Gilani had flown down to Chandigarh to watch the India-Pakistan semi-final in the cricket World Cup at Mohali yesterday at the invitation of Dr Singh.

"I am very grateful to Prime Minister Gilani for having accepted my invitation to join me in watching this beautiful game of cricket. Cricket has been a uniting factor, it has brought our two Prime Ministers together and I dare say that’s a very good beginning," Dr Singh said.

"Whatever be the differences between our two countries we have to find pathways to resolve them," he said.

Dr Singh said he and Mr Gilani had had extensive discussions on all outstanding issues and had reaffirmed their resolve to make every honest effort to overcome the difficulties in this regard.

"And the message from Mohali is that the people of India and Pakistan want to live in peace and amity and that the two Prime Ministers have committed their governments to work in that direction," he said.

During their discussions, Dr Singh conveyed to Mr Gilani that there was need for an atmosphere free of violence and terror for normalisation of relations between the two countries.

Mr Gilani told journalists that his talks with Dr Singh covered all outstanding issues and focused on resolving them through dialogue.

He said the "Thimphu spirit", resulting from his meeting with Dr Singh in the Bhutanese capital in April last year, had paved the way for the successful Home Secretary-level talks in Delhi earlier this week.

Mr Gilani hoped that that coming talks at the level of the Commerce Secretaries, Foreign Secretaries and Foreign Ministers of the two countries would also be successful in the same way.

He said both countries had the will and the ability to resolve their problems and needed to give the world a positive message in this regard.

"We need to focus on dealing with our common enemy - the issues of inflation, poverty, hunger, disease and unemployment for the prosperity of two countries," he said.

Mr Gilani invited Dr Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to visit Pakistan.

Mr Gilani congratulated the Indian team on winning yesterday's semi-final by 29 runs. He said victory and success were part of the game and said the match was, "in fact, the success of the two countries".

Dr Singh had hosted a dinner for Mr Gilani and his delegation on the sidelines of the match.

Speaking at the dinner, Dr Singh said cricket had become a uniting factor and the two sides could agree to normalise sporting links between them as early as possible.

He referred to the events in West Asia and sai they made it all the more necessary for India and Pakistan, placed as they are strategically in this region, to exchange views and evolve a cooperative strategy on how to eal with the highly uncertain regional and global environment.

"It goes without saying that if oil prices rise, if there is unrest in West Asia it would affect both of us, both our countries, enormously as I mentioned to you this afternoon. It is therefore very important that the two countries should increasingly look at all these developments from the point of view of our peoples' needs, their aspirations and how working together we can find cooperative strategies to deal with these massive challenges that we face," he said.

Dr Singh said destiny required that India and Pakistan should find cooperative solutions to all the problems they faced.

"When we met in Thimpu last year we both agreed that trust deficit is one area where we need to act, and act fast enough, to create a new climate in which cooperative modes of thinking will flourish and take us on the path of progress," he said.

He said India and Pakistan faced enormous challenges but also enormous opportunities.

"Our biggest enemy is poverty, ignorance and disease. If we work together to find cooperative solutions, if we do not allow ancient animosities to affect the possibility of working together in the contemporary setting of our region and the world, I dare say we can write a new chapter in the history of development cooperation in this subcontinent of ours," he said.

Dr Singh said he and Mr Gilani had a very elaborate and extensive exchange of views on all outstanding issues.

"The message that should go from Mohali is that the Prime Ministers of both countries are agreed that they are determined to find cooperative solutions to all the outstanding issues that we face. If there are difficulties we have the will to persevere, we have the will to overcome," he said.

"And in you we have a leader, a Prime Minister who inspires confidence. As I mentioned to you, you come from a family with the great tradition of Saint Miyan Mir who laid the foundation stone of the Golden Temple, the abode of peace. And God has given me this opportunity and I sincerely hope and pray that under your distinguished leadership democracy will flourish in Pakistan. And that we will find peaceful and productive ways of engaging our two countries in the diverse areas which have enormous bearing on the future of our two countries and the wellbeing of our two people," he told Mr Gilani.

"And if we have to bridge the trust deficit, it is essential that at all levels we should work together. Political personalities must visit each others countries more often. Official contacts must be increased; civil society contact must be increased. And I am very happy that the presiding officer of our Lok Sabha and the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha have sent invitations to their counterparts in Pakistan to come and pay a visit. I dare say in moulding the future climate of opinion, parliamentarians have a very crucial role to play. I sincerely hope that parliamentarians from India and Pakistan would set in motion a process of permanent reconciliation between our two countries so that we can realize the aspirations of our people for a life of dignity and self-respect. Once again, my grateful thanks to you sir for accepting my invitation," he added.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters in Chandigarh that "just like we have been talking about the Thimphu spirit after the two leaders met in the Bhutanese capital last year and decided to carry forward the dialogue process, we can now speak of a Mohali spirit."

Mr Gilani had arrived in Chandigarh around noon yesterday at the head of a large delegation. He was joined by Dr Singh in the afternoon. The two leaders watched the match together for a few hours and then withdrew to hold talks.

India had suspended the composite dialogue process with Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

In the last two years, the two Prime Ministers have met twice on the sidelines of international and regional meetings. They had a meeting at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt in 2009 and again in Thimphu in April last year.

Talks between the Home Secretaries of the two countries that marked the formal resumption of dialogue between the two sides after a gap of over two years, ended on a positive note here yesterday.

Among those present from the Indian side at Dr Singh's dinner for Mr Gilani were Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot, ICC chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon.

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cricket diplomacy seems to have borne fruit as his talks with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani at Mohali today were described as very "positive" and "encouraging".

Mr Gilani had been invited by Dr Singh to watch the World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan at the Punjab town today.

On the sidelines of the match, the two leaders held "very wide- ranging" talks, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters in Chandigarh after the dinner hosted by the Prime Minister in honour of Mr Gilani and his delegation.

"Just like we have been talking about the Thimphu spirit after the two leaders met in the Bhutanese capital last year and decided to carry forward the dialogue process, we can now speak of a Mohali spirit," she said.

Though no agenda had been set for the meeting, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had said in the capital yesterday that there could be a one-to-one meeting between the two leaders and anything concerning the bilateral relations between the two countries could be discussed.

Mr Gilani had arrived in Chandigarh in the morning at the head of a large delegation. He was joined by Dr Singh in the afternoon. The two leaders watched the match together for a few hours and then withdrew to hold talks.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a dinner hosted by him in honour of his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani during the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on March 30, 2011.

The two countries are trying to resume the dialogue process and a meeting between their Foreign Ministers is scheduled for July.

India had suspended the composite dialogue process with Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.  

In the last two years, the two Prime Ministers have met twice on the sidelines of international and regional meetings. They had a meeting at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt in 2009 and again in Thimphu in April last year.

Talks between the Home Secretaries of the two countries that marked the formal resumption of dialogue between the two sides after a gap of over two years, ended on a positive note here yesterday.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani reached Chandigarh today to watch the semi-final between India and Pakistan in the cricket World Cup at Mohali near here later in the day along with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mr Gilani was received at the Chandigarh airport by Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sachin Pilot, Pakistan High Commissioner in India Shahid Malik and senior Indian and Pakistani officials.

After resting at the Taj Hotel in Chandigarh for some time, Mr Gilani is expected to reach the stadium at Mohali, by when Dr Singh would also have reached the venue of the match.

Mr Gilani has made the trip in response to an invitation extended by Dr Singh last Friday to him to watch the match at Mohali with him.

"I propose to be at Mohali to watch the World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan to be held on 30th March," Dr Singh had said in his letter.

"There is huge excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket that will be a victory for sport. It gives me great pleasure to invite you to visit Mohali and join me and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match," he had said.

Dr Singh and Mr Gilani are expected to talk informally during the match and on the sidelines without any structured agenda in an effort to give a boost to the dialogue between the two countries.

Offiicials from the Foreign Ministries of the two countries have been in Chandigarh since yesterday to prepare for the interaction between the two Prime Ministers.

Dr Singh is scheduled to host a dinner for Mr Gilani and his delegation before they fly back to Islamabad after the match.

"Prime Minister Gilani’s presence in Mohali signifies the tremendous enthusiasm of the people of Pakistan for cricket. It also coincides with the resumption of the Pakistan-India dialogue process," a statement from the Pakistan Foreign Office said yesterday.

"The two Prime Ministers are expected to have a conversation on all issues of mutual interest on the sidelines of the cricket match," the statement added.

Mr Gilani himself told reporters before his departure for Chandigarh today that the visit was to "strengthen his resolve that dialogue and interaction can help both the countries resolve all issues in the interest of peace and prosperity of their people."

Mr Gilani is accompanied on the trip by some of his ministerial colleagues, including Minister for Defence Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan.

India has used "cricket diplomacy" before in its relations with Pakistan. On February 21, 1987, then Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq had watched the India-Pakistan cricket Test match at Jaipur at the invitation of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

On April 17, 2005, then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had visited Delhi to watch the last one-day international between India and Pakistan at the Feroze Shah Kotla Ground here.

Today's interaction between Dr Singh and Mr Gilani will take place a day after the two-day Home Secretary-level talks between the two countries ended here yesterday with a commitment by both countries to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They also reaffirmed the need to bring those responsible for such terrorist crimes to justice.

Both sides agreed to set up a hotline between the Home Secretary of India and Interior Secretary of Pakistan to facilitate real-time information sharing with respect to terrorist threats.

In a Joint Statement issued here after the two-day Home/Interior Secretary-level talks between the two countries, they agreed that it was important for both sides to remain engaged on outstanding issues and henceforth the Home/Interior Secretary-level talks would be held bi-annually.

The Indian delegation to the talks was led by Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai and the Pakistani team by Interior Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhary.

The meeting was held in pursuance of the decision taken by the two sides in February this year to resume the dialogue process and in the backdrop of the bilateral meeting between the Home Minister P Chidambaram of India and Interior Minister Rehman Malik of Pakistan in Islamabad on June 25-26, 2010.

The two-day meeting was the first structured bilateral Secretary-level talks between the two sides on counter-terrorism after they decided to resume comprehensive talks.

India had suspended the composite dialogue with Pakistan after the 26/11 attacks. India had sought action against those responsible for the attacks before the dialogue could be resumed.

However, after a meeting between Dr Singh and Mr Gilani at Thimphu in Bhutan in April last year, on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit, the two countries had decided to resume their dialogue.

Since then, the Foreign Secretaries and the Foreign Ministers of the two countries have met. The Foreign Ministers are expected to meet again in Delhi later this year.

In a unilateral confidence-building measure ahead of the Home Secretary-level talks, India had announced on Saturday that it had decided to increase the stay period for persons visiting Jammu and Kashmir on entry permits from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) to six months with multiple entries.

The encounter between the two teams has generated tremendous interest among cricket lovers everywhere. The winner of today's match will meet Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai on April 2. The Sri Lankans defeated New Zealand by five wickets in the first semi-final in Colombo yesterday.

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To clear the extra rush of passengers intending to go to watch the cricket World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan, the Northern Railway has planned to run a Cricket Special train between New Delhi and Chandigarh, a spokesperson of the Northern Railway said.

The special train No 04036 will depart from New Delhi station at 2345 hrs tonight and arrive at Chandigarh at 0415 hrs tomorrow.

The return special train No 04036 will depart from Chandigarh at 0030 hrs on March 31 to reach New Delhi at 0530 hrs the same day.

The special train will have 2-tier AC and sleeper coaches, the spokesperson said.

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As many as ten people, including a software engineer, have been arrested so far for blackmarketing of tickets for the cricket World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan to be played here on March 30.

While seven of them have been arrested by the Chandigarh Police, the three others were nabbed by the Mohali Police.

Inspector (Crime Branch) Amanjot Singh said a software engineer was nabbed for indulging in online blackmarketing. He was trying to sell five tickets of Rs 250 each for $ 3000 on an online auction site last night.

Police laid a trap and called him to Barista Coffee shop in Sector 11 where he was arrested. He was produced in a local court where he was remanded in 14-day judicial custody.

The Chandigarh police had yesterday arrested three youths for selling three tickets in black near IT Park. They were selling the student block ticket of Rs 250 for Rs 15,000 and Rs 500 ticket for Rs 25,000. Those arrested included a student and two marketing executives of a telecom company.

Another student was arrested from Sector 17 while making a deal for selling two Rs 250 for Rs 20,000 each. In another case, a resident of Mani Majra was caught selling a ticket valued at Rs 500 for Rs 18,000.

In Mohali, the police arrested three persons, including a student, for black marketeering yesterday.

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With all roads leading to Mohali near here for the high-voltage World Cup semi-final clash between India and Pakistan on March 30, the city is facing an acute shortage of accomodation for all those coming to be part of the mega event.

Almost all the city's big hotels and guest houses, having a capacity of about 2000 rooms, have already been booked while an unending stream of visitors is looking for a place to stay.

The administration has made foolproof arrangments for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani, who will be here to watch the match.

President Pratibha Patil has also expressed her desire to watch the match, adding to the responsibility of the administration and the security agencies to provide a safe and comfortable place for her.

The entourage and security staff of the two Prime Ministers and the President would require additional rooms for accomodating them, offficials here said.

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Vadra and her husband Robert Vadra are also likely to attend the event.

Various Chief Ministers and Union Ministers are also reportedly interested in watching the "mother of all battles."

They are looking for accomodation in top hotels or government guest houses. The top hotels in the city such as the Taj and the state-run Mountview Hotel are already completely booked. The Indian and Pakistani teams are staying at the Taj Hotel. The officials of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and other match officials are lodged in these two hotels.

Some Bollywood celebrities and corporate leaders are also vying for proper accomodation in the city. Besides, about 5000 cricket buffs are expected to come from Pakistan.

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Angered by the death of an aged man sitting on an indefinite fast in Fatehabad district last night, Jat agitators demanding reservation in jobs today kept his body on the railway tracks and asserted that his sacrifice would not be in vain.

Vijay Singh (62) of Mehuwala village, who was on indefinite fast since March 14, died at the site of dharna at rail tracks last night.

Jat leaders demanded that he be given the status of a "shaheed" (martyr), one of his family members be given a government job and a memorial be built in his memory.

They said if the goverment tried to remove them from the tracks, a befitting reply would be given from their side.

Meanhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Haryana administration to ensure removal of Jat agitators from all the railway tracks in the state.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi instructed all the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) in Haryana to take effcetive steps in this regard.

It also asked them to inform the agitating Jat leaders about the court's decision.

The court gave the directions in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) - National Consumer Awareness Group Society headed by Lt Col (retd) P J S Mehta.

The Jat agitators had blocked railway tracks at various places in the state for over a fortnight to press their demand for reservation in Central services under OBC category.

The Supreme Court also directed UP and Haryana governments to ensure that essential services were not disrupted by agitators who are demanding OBC status for the Jat community.

A bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir today issued the orders on a petition filed by Delhi Jal Board seeking directions to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and her Haryana counterpart Bhupinder Singh Hooda's governments to ensure that essential supplies like water, milk, health, electicity to Delhi were not disrupted.

The court observed that Ms Mayawati and Mr Hooda were supporting the agitation. "Heads of Haryana and UP government seem to be supporting jats agitation," the bench said.

The court also took serious note of the agitation leaders' threats that Delhi will be sealed off on March 28, if their demands for grant of OBC status was not accepted.

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Medium-pacer Ishant Sharma today said he was extremely distressed about not being included in India's World Cup squad.

Talking to reporters after inaugurating the master franchise showroom of Reebok in North India, Ishant, who is the company's brand ambassador, said, he was extremely distressed about not being part of the Indian XI in the World Cup, especially when the prestigious event was being held in the region.

He expressed satisfaction over the Indian team's performance in the World Cup so far. "Our team is a strong contender for the World Cup and I pray for its success."

Regardng the performance of the Indian bowlers in the World Cup, he said it depended on the condition of the pitch and the circumstances.

"Our bowlers are completely capable of bowling under pressure but sometimes the circumstances are not favourable."

Ishant added he had achieved considerable improvement in his bowling and was ready to face any challenge in the future.

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At the centre of a raging controversy in a booth allotment case in Chandigarh, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal today put up a robust defence in the Lok Sabha, saying all the accusations against him were aimed at vilifying him and called them "a cheap gimmick".

His remarks led to an uproar and amdist pandemonium, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till 1400 hrs.

Defending himself in the Zero Hour, Mr Bansal said the booths were allotted under a government scheme and the inquiry into what the Opposition is calling a scam was carried out by an officer individually and it was not a SDM probe.

He said he got a phone call from Chandigarh last week from someone who informed him that his name has cropped up in a booth allotment case.

He said let there be a CBI inquiry into the alleged scam and if even one ounce of his involvement was found he would never head towards Parliament.

Mr Bansal wondered why the "inquiry" by that individual officer which was to be finished in one week took seven years.

Mr Bansal said only those people were levelling these allegations who cannot digest this fact that he is making a return to Parliament term after term.

He said coorporation elections in Chandigarh in November was another reason that some people were trying to taint his image.

He also challenged Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Siddhu to contest against him in parliamentary polls after three years, saying that way they would come to know how popular he is there and what kind of respect he commands there.

Thereafter, Ms Swaraj rose from her seat to give an answer to what she called the challenge of Mr Bansal on which SP members raised objections and demanded that their leader Mulayam Singh Yadav be allowed first to speak on the "lawlessness" in Uttar Pradesh.

But BJP members trooped into the Well of the House and demanded that Ms Swaraj be allowed to speak first as Mr Bansal had directly challenged her. Sharp exchanges were witnessed between SP and BJP members, who both were insisting that their leaders be allowed to speak first.

Speaker Meira Kumar tried to calm them down, but all her appeals went unheeded. Sensing the mood of the members of both parties, Ms Kumar adjourned the House till 1400 hrs.

Earlier, on the same issue the Question Hour was adjourned till noon. The BJP while seeking the resignation of Mr Bansal said his name had figured in an inquiry report that charged him with favouring some people in the allotment of booths.

Before that, Samajwadi Party members rushed to the well of the House seeking the Centre's intervention in Uttar Pradesh where they alleged the state government's repressive measures were rising day by day with members of their party being the prime target.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed a chargesheet against Justice Nirmal Yadav, a judge of the Uttarakhand High Court, on the day of her retirement in what is known as the "cash-at-judge's door" case.

Justice Yadav had been transferred out of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in November 2009, more than a year after the case hit the national headlines.

The CBI chargesheet was filed against the judge and four others in the court of Special Judge, Chandigarh, in the case relating to the delivery of Rs 15 lakhs at the doorstep of another judge of the Punjab and Haryana Court in August 2008.

A CBI press release said the chargesheet had been filed after receipt of sanction for prosecution under section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act from the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The others named in the chargesheet are Mr Sanjeev Bansal, former advocate general of Haryana, Delhi-based businessman Ravinder Singh, property dealer Rajiv Gupta and realtor Nirmal Singh.

Singh had allegedly asked Bansal to expedite the delivery of the Rs 15 lakh to Justice Yadav on August 13, 2008 for a plot of land in Himachal Pradesh. Bansal, who was on his way to Chandigarh from Delhi, in turn, asked his wife to get the amount delivered. The person who carried the money delivered it to a peon at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, confused by the similarity in the names of the two judges.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today demanded the resignation of Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal for his alleged role in the booth allotment scam in Chandigarh.

Chandigarh BJP president Sanjay Tandon and the party's ex-MP Satya Pal Jain, while talking to reporters here, said Mr Bansal's name had figured in a report in an administrative enquiry into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of commercial booths in the city and therefore he should resign on moral grounds.

The BJP leaders also demanded a CBI probe into the scam, besides the registration of criminal cases against Mr Bansal and ex-Mayor of Chandigarh Pradeep Chhabra, whose name also figured in the report.

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Two people were killed and another injured when a car hit an autorickshaw near Singhpura village on the Chandigarh-Ambala Highway late last night, police said today.

The speeding BMW car rammed into the autorickshaw while overtaking it. The collision was so severe that the autorickshaw was split in three parts. Sham Lal (30) and Shekhar (32) died on the spot while Darshan Rishi was critically injured in the mishap. He was admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital here, police said.

The bodies of the victims were handed over to the families after post- mortem examination. Police registered a case against the car driver who fled from the scene after abandoning the vehicle.

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Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni today said self-regulation was the only way forward for maintaining the credibility of the media, Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni today said a Council for the purpose was on the anvil.

This was the most intelligent and independent method of regulation while maintaining the freedom of the press, she said at the 7th State Annual Meet of the Chandigarh Punjab Union of Journalists (CPUJ) in Chandigarh today.

Ms Soni said the Council would comprise a Chairman, who would either be a retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a retired Judge of the Supreme Court and 12 other members, consisting of four representatives of the broadcasters, four from civil society and one each from the National Commission for Women, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, National Commission for Schedules Caste and Scheduled Tribes and fourthly a representative of the National Commission of the affected party.

Talking about the implementation of the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board, Ms Soni said that it would be her endeavour to ensure that not only the recommendations of the Board are accepted but the anomalies are also taken care of so that maximum possible benefit could be given to the mediapersons, who are doing a commendable job especially those who are reporting at the district levels.

She further assured that nobody can force the government to accept any unjustified demands. She completely favoured the demand for treating Chandigarh at par with the other metros for the purpose of allowances proposed by the Wage Board.

Going through the charter of demands presented by CPUJ, Ms Soni informed them that at the Central level the Ministry of I&B had constituted a Rs. 10 crore Journalist Welfare Fund out of which nearly 90 lakh rupees per year are spent towards helping the journalists in case of any illness, accidents, disability or casualty occurring during their course of the work.

In Delhi the government was also providing Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) facility to all the Centrally-accredited journalists, she added. She informed that her Ministry was formulating an insurance scheme based on the pattern of an insurance scheme for journalists in Kerala, which would be sent to the state governments for implementation in their respective states.

Referring to the issue of paid news, the Minister said that this had become a matter of concern which was also impacting on the credibility of news reports being filed by the journalists. Media, she said, had played an important role in upholding democracy in the country and paid news was becoming a threat to this effort.

She said that the government had constituted a Group of Ministers under the chairmanship of Fnance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to take a holistic view of this issue where all the points of view would be considered and a forward approach would be found.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Science &Technology and Earth Sciences called upon the newsmen to be agents of social change despite the fact that they were facing a lot of challenges from different quarters. The Minister assured the mediapersons who were gathered on the occasion that he would provide all possible support for ensuring that the recommendations of the Wage Board are accepted. He also assured the CPUJ of support in their efforts to find office space in Chandigarh.

Mr Suresh Akhouri, President, Indian Journalists Union called upon Ms Soni to ensure that all the hurdles in the way of implementing the positive recommendations of the Wage Board are cleared to enable the journalists to take maximum advantage of the report. The contract system, he said, was also adversely affecting the newspersons.

In his welcome address, Mr Vinod Kohli, President, CPUJ spoke about the various welfare activities being done by the Union in the state of Punjab.

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Justice Ranjan Gogoi was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court by Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia at Haryana Raj Bhavan here today.

Besides the family members of Justice Gogoi and Judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court, the function was attended by Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Justice Gogoi was born on November 18, 1954. He got enrolled as an Advocate on August 28, 1978 and practiced in the Gauhati High Court in constitutional, taxation and company matters. He was appointed as a permanent judge of the Gauhati High Court on February 28, 2001. He was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 9, 2010.

Later, talking to mediapersons, Justice Gogoi said his endeavour would be to provide speedy and affordable justice to the people.

"More important is quality justice. We will all work for that and very soon we hope to see results," he further added.

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The Delhi Police yesterday claimed to have arrested three members of the gang which robbed jewellery worth about Rs 10 crore from a Tanishq showroom in Chandigarh on January 12.

According to police sources, the accused were nabbed from the Vaishali area in Ghaziabad near here by the Delhi Police's Anti Auto Theft Squad (AATS) yesterday night. Police also recovered a major portion of the booty.

They said CCTV footage available from the showroom helped in cracking the case.

A gang of 10-15 robbers dressed in police uniforms looted jewellery worth over Rs 10 crore from the Tanishq showroom in Manimajra town, police said.

The accused overpowered two security guards and gained entry into the showroom after breaking its locks Tuesday night.

Police said the accused wore masks on entering the premises and dismantled the CCTV cameras. Further investigation was on, they added.

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