Articles by Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Are women safe in Panchkula? 20 days into 2017, 4 rape cases lodged already
After the gruesome kidnapping and rape of a 21-year-old engineering student in Panchkula on January 17 and police failing to chase the rapist, questions are being raised over women’s safety in the city. As many as four rape cases have been registered in the first 20 days of 2017.
Updated on Jan 24, 2017 04:42 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Panchkula | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
Mansa Devi gold sale scam: Shrine board seeks action against officers
Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board has been seeking action against Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Praveen Kumar, presently posted as director general, archives, and Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officer, Vandana Disodia, presently posted as secretary, Haryana Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited (HAFED), in a scam involving sale of gold coins and pendants offered by the devotees at the temple, at a lower price than the market rate.
Updated on Jan 11, 2017 10:28 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Panchkula | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
Rs 48-crore land compensation scam: CBI books former Panchkula DRO, PNB manager
The CBI finally booked Naresh Sheokand, former Panchkula district revenue officer and Bhim Singh, then senior manager of Punjab National Bank of Jangpura Extension in New Delhi, in the Rs 48-crore land compensation scam that surfaced in 2015. The FIR was registered for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy and the Prevention of Corruption Act. The first charge sheet in the case was filed by the vigilance bureau against Bhim Singh in 2016.
Updated on Jan 09, 2017 11:16 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
Geetanjali Garg ‘dowry death’ case: Mystery deepens with contrasting forensic opinions
The mystery behind the death of Geetanjali Garg, wife of former Gurgaon chief judicial magistrate Ravneet Garg, has deepened as a contrasting opinion of board of forensic medicine experts has emerged. This ‘new’ report, dated, February 13, 2013, says that the possibility of injuries on the deceased’s body “being homicidal cannot be ruled out and the possibility of them being self-inflicted is remote”.
Updated on Jan 06, 2017 05:00 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Shamlat land compensation: Haryana VB starts probe into Rs 60-crore Panchkula land scam
The Haryana vigilance bureau has started an inquiry into the shamlat land scam in which Rs 60-crore extra compensation was paid for land acquisition at Chowki village of Panchkula district.
Updated on Dec 29, 2016 12:42 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
Panchkula MC notice to Ivy Hospital for operating from illegal building
The Panchkula Municipal Corporation (MC) has issued a notice to Ivy Hospital, Mansa Devi Complex (MDC), Sector 5, for running its operations from a building that was “constructed illegally without any sanction from the competent authority and without having the approval for building plan”.
Updated on Dec 28, 2016 01:39 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
Private facilities of Punjab, UT have double C-section deliveries than govt hospitals, says NFHS
The caesarian deliveries in private hospitals of both Punjab and Chandigarh are more than double as compared to the government facilities, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 has found. The survey was conducted between January and June, during which information from 16,449 households, comprising 19,484 women and 3,027 men, was gathered.
Updated on Dec 26, 2016 10:59 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
Geetanjali dowry death: CBI chargesheet leaves questions unanswered
The chargesheet in the 2013 death case of Geetanjali Garg before the CBI court raised questions after the agency suggested that she committed suicide even though there were four injuries on her body.
Published on Dec 13, 2016 04:23 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
CBI charge sheet in Geetanjali death case leaves questions unanswered
The charge sheet in the 2013 death case of Geetanjali Garg before the CBI court raised questions after the agency suggested that she committed suicide even though there were four injuries on her body. Not only that, the agency also exonerated her husband, suspended judge Ravneet Garg and his family members of murder, but filed a case for dowry death.
Updated on Dec 13, 2016 02:15 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
Geetanjali ‘dowry death’: After Rs 51 lakh, 101 gold coins, two luxury cars, Garg wanted more
The chargesheet in the Geetanjali ‘murder’ case before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here has claimed that victim’s husband Ravneet Garg, a suspended judge, had taken a huge dowry and continued to harass her for more.
Updated on Dec 13, 2016 04:49 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
More than 6 out of 10 are migrants in Chandigarh: Census
More than six out of 10 people in Chandigarh are migrants based on their previous place of residence, according to the 2011 census. According to the figures, 67.1% of the city’s population are migrants. In 2001, the figure was 64.3%. Over the past decade, the migrant population rose by 22.3% while the total population grew by 17.2%. The data says 53.6% of the migrant population are males while 46.4% are women.
Updated on Dec 06, 2016 08:15 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
Blow to PU as UGC refuses to enhance non-plan grant
University Grants Commission (UGC) has refused to enhance non-plan grant to Panjab University (PU) and has put a ceiling on it at `176 crore for 2016-17, though it has enhanced the same for other central universities by 15%. Non-plan grant is used to pay salaries and pension. Since 2014-15, the grant is frozen at Rs 176 crore.
Updated on Dec 01, 2016 12:11 PM IST
Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
Arrested Western Command engineer was demanding bribe for senior also
The assistant garrison engineer, Western Command, RS Verma, who was arrested on Thursday red handed while accepting Rs 25,000 as bribe at Chandimandir, was seeking bribe for his senior officer too. This fact has been revealed in the transcript of conversations recorded by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The transcript of RS Verma and the complainant was submitted before the court on Friday.
Updated on Nov 26, 2016 12:09 PM IST
Hindustan Times | , Panchkula
Bhartesh Singh ThakurDonation in demonetised currency; 40% offerings at Mansa Devi in old notes
More than 40% currency offerings at the Mansa Devi temple on Wednesday and Thursday were made in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes that have been pulled out of circulation.
Updated on Nov 12, 2016 03:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
Quorum not met in October 25 MC House meeting, claims P’kula MC commissioner
Municipal corporation (MC) commissioner Lalit Siwach has written to the principal secretary urban local bodies department claiming that quorum was not met in the 15th meeting of the House on October 25. As per his letter, only five of the councillors marked their attendance.
Updated on Oct 31, 2016 03:13 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Indian soldiers were bravest, says WW-II British army commander
“Indian soldiers were the bravest of the brave. It was an honour to command them,” says Major Tom Conway (retd), 98, one of the last surviving British officers who had commanded Indian soldiers.
Updated on Oct 24, 2016 10:58 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Amritsar
Councillor’s report card: Party or oppn, Satinder Singh doesn’t mince words
Satinder Singh (47), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor from ward 18, has not only been at loggerheads with his opponents but also with his own leadership from time to time.
Updated on Oct 23, 2016 03:51 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
Where a 17-year-old Muslim boy is Sita! Ramlila in Chandigarh’s Manimajra
After Friday’s Namaaz, Miraz Malik, 17, is getting ready for his favourite scene during the Dussehra-Diwali months for the past two years now — his kidnap. The strapping lad has been playing the role of Sita at the Ramlila in Chandigarh’s Manimajra for two years now. An engineering diploma student, not surprisingly, he does not know how to fix a sari.
Updated on Oct 10, 2016 05:49 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
17-year-old Muslim boy is Sita in Ramlila in Chandigarh’s Manimajra
Updated on Oct 07, 2016 08:52 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
PU again proposes to award actor Anupam Kher, writer Tiwana
Panjab University (PU) authorities have again put up a proposal before syndicate to award Punjabi novelist professor Dalip Kaur Tiwana and actor Anupam Kher with Sahitya Rattan and Kala Rattan respectively.
Updated on Oct 05, 2016 12:19 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
Officers to get less disability pay as MoD okays panel advice
The central government notified the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations on Friday but disabled officers of the defence forces will still get lower remuneration than their counterparts in civil departments.
Updated on Oct 03, 2016 08:26 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
AFT rap for MoD for not amending disability policy
The Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has come down heavily on defence authorities for not amending a policy to grant disability element to pre-2006 prematurely retired officers, junior commissioned officers and other ranks, who are otherwise eligible, as the same is admitted to post-2006 prematurely retired personnel.
Updated on Sep 27, 2016 04:27 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
Colonel faces action for sexually harassing woman captain
The Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has denied relief to a colonel who has been facing court of inquiry (CoI) proceedings for sexually harassing a woman captain. The colonel was last posted at Chandimandir cantonment.
Updated on Sep 26, 2016 10:35 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
Over 5,000 Chandigarh students have to work to support their families
More than 5,000 students (aged 5-19) of Chandigarh’s schools and colleges have to work to earn their livelihood or support their families, says Census data that was released a few days ago.
Updated on Sep 25, 2016 02:15 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
Ruchika Girhotra case: After 26-year fight, Anands ‘partially satisfied’ with verdict
“We used to avoid going to court in the same vehicle as we feared being killed in an accident. SPS Rathore was DGP and close to then CM Om Prakash Chautala. It was mental torture during those days,” remembered Madhu Prakash.
Published on Sep 24, 2016 02:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Panchkula
SC finds ex-top cop guilty in Ruchika case
Published on Sep 24, 2016 07:40 AM IST
Armed Forces Tribunal’s marathon judge retires
With 5,262 judgments in 287 working days at the Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), the legacy of Justice Surinder Singh Thakur, who retired on Thursday, cannot be matched. On an average, he delivered 18 judgments a day.
Updated on Sep 23, 2016 03:24 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
Ruchika Girhotra molestation case: SC upholds ex-Haryana DGP’s conviction
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the conviction of Haryana’s former director general of police SPS Rathore for molesting Ruchika Girhotra, a minor and budding tennis player.
Updated on Sep 23, 2016 11:03 PM IST
, New Delhi/panchkula
Bhadra Sinha and Bhartesh Singh ThakurAFT extends rounding off of disability percentage to pre-1996 retirees
The Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has extended the benefit of rounding off disability percentage to pre-1996 retirees with less than 20% disability.
Updated on Sep 22, 2016 01:53 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh
PU student polls: 15,000 voters, 25 candidates, 4 posts
The contest is among three main alliances led by National Students Union of India (NSUI), Students Organisation of India (SOI) and Panjab University Students Union (PUSU). Students For Society (SFS) is fighting for the president’s post only.
Updated on Sep 06, 2016 10:03 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Chandigarh