16122025-CT-01.qxd 12/16/2025 12:32 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune LAKHWINDER CLAIMS MR MOHALI TITLE IN BODYBUILDING GOVERNOR KATARIA FLAGS OFF BHARAT MAHA EV RALLY BAKERS SHINE AT CAKE PICNIC IN CHANDIGARH PRESS CLUB Prince wins the 11th Mr Mohali District Bodybuilding Championship title in the below 55-kg weight category. P3 UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria flags off Bharat Maha EV Rally at the Lok Bhavan. P3 Over 200 home bakers and professional pastry artists display 100 exquisite cakes at Chandigarh Press Club. P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 139 PANCHKULA 193 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD /THETRIBUNECHD Team promoter shot dead at kabaddi tourney in Mohali Assailants fire shots into air to scare public while fleeing; gang war angle surfaces Gaurav Kanthwal MOOSEWALA MURDER AVENGED: POST Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, and Dhanas Panchkula: Sector 15 Mohali: Sectors 68 and 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com LOW-PRESSURE WATER SUPPLY IN EVENING Owing to urgent repair of leaking pipelines at Rudki, Mamupir, Jhhungian and Tarauli villages, the water supply will be affected in the whole city on December 16 and 17. The following are water supply timings: Morning: 3:30 am to 9 am (normal pressure) Evening: 6 pm to 8 pm (low pressure) INBRIEF SIX FLIGHTS CANCELLED Mohali: Six flights, three arrival and departures each, had to be cancelled at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport here on Monday. Officials said two flights to Delhi and one flight to Dharamsala were cancelled due to bad weather following reports of bad weather there. TNS MAN INJURED IN ACCIDENT Chandigarh: The police have registered a case under Sections 281 and 125 (A) of the BNS in connection with a road accident. Daya Chand, a resident of Maloya Colony, had reported that a Creta driven by Balwinder Singh of Sector 38 struck his scooter at Sector 37. He sustained injuries and was admitted to the Government Multispeciality Hospital in Sector 16 here. The police said the investigation in the case was underway. TNS Mohali, December 15 Unidentified assailants shot a team promoter in the head at point blank range during a kabaddi tournament in Sector 82 here around 6 pm today. The victim has been identified as Kanwar Digvijay Singh (30), alias Rana Balachauriya, a kabaddi player and promoter of the Shakkarpur kabaddi team. Four rounds were fired by two unidentified youths who approached the victim with a request to take a selfie and took him aside before shooting him at point blank range near the parking lot. His friends rushed him to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead. As the armed assailants fled the spot, they fired shots into the air to scare the youths chasing them. Senior police officials reached the spot and began an investigation. A forensic team took samples from the crime scene. Mohali SSP Harmandeep Singh Hans said, “Prelimi- A forensic team gathers evidence from the crime scene at Sector 79, Mohali, on Tuesday; and (inset) victim Kanwar Digvijay Singh. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY nary investigation points to the involvement of twothree assailants who fired four rounds and fled the spot. A few persons tried to chase and nab the assailants but they fired into the air to scare them and fled the spot. The assailants fled the spot on a bike. The police are probing the case with a gang war angle also. The assailants have been identified.” Meanwhile, the organisers said the tournament had been called off. The victim was recently married. Parties slam govt for poor law and order Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amrinder Raja Warring and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa slammed the government for deteriorating law and order situation. “I, Doni Bal, along with Shaganpreet, Mohabbat Randhawa, Amar Khabbey, Prabh Dasuwal and Kaushal Chaudhary, take responsibility for the murder of Rana Balachauria. He was in our anti-group working for Lawrence (Bishnoi) and Jaggu Khoti. He arranged accommodation for the shooters of Sidhu Moosewala and aided them. We have avenged Moosewala’s murder today. The murder was executed by Makhan Amritsar and Karan. It is a warning to all players not to support the Jaggu Khoti and Harry Tot teams. We do not want their interference in kabaddi,” a post on social media read. “Gunshots at the Mohali Kabaddi Cup in Sohana are a damning verdict on Bhagwant Mann’s total failure as CM and Home Minister. Sporting arenas have turned into shooting grounds while criminals roam with impunity. Continued on page 2 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 24°C | MIN 9°C YESTERDAY MAX 26.2°C | MIN 9.8°C SUNSET TUESDAY 5:25 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:12 AM » TUESDAY | 16 DECEMBER 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Youth gets 30-year RI for raping minor Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 15 The Fast-Track Special Court has sentenced a 25-year-old youth to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a POCSO and rape case registered two years ago. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 72, 000 on the convict. The Mauli Jagran police had registered the case on January 11, 2023, under Sections 323, 342, 363, 366 and 376-AB of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act. The case was filed on the basis of the interaction report submitted by a counsellor of the child helpline. The report said while counselling, the victim narrated the incident in which she was subjected to sexual harassment by a person who lived in her neighbourhood. The victim informed the counsellor that while she was playing in the locality, the accused took her to his house. He slapped her on the face and molested her. Thereafter, she rushed out of the room. The accused was arrested. After the completion of investigation, a challan was presented in the court. Charges were framed against the accused, to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed a trial. The counsel for the accused argued that he was falsely implicated and had not done anything wrong with the victim. The Special Public Prosecutor said the prosecution had proved the case beyond a shadow of doubt The DNA sample also proved the prosecution case. ~13K challan for littering Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 15 In a firm action against littering and violation of Solid Waste Management (MSW) Rules, the Municipal Corporation has issued a Rs 13,401 challan to a resident of Sector 15-B for dumping waste in a public place. During a routine inspection, a sanitation team found a parcel carrying waste lying in the open. On scrutiny, the team traced the violator by following the address mentioned on the parcel slip. Taking serious note of the violation, the challan was issued as per thte provisions of the MSW Rules. HC refuses to quash FIR against Tribute to Rock Star lawyer who ‘posed’ as magistrate Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 15 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a petition for quashing an FIR registered against “a budding lawyer”, who allegedly impersonated as a judicial officer before fleeing from a traffic checkpoint. He had allegedly introduced himself as a Judicial Magistrate and had “tried to take undue advantage of the position by impersonating a member of judicial fraternity” after a police officer stopped him for alleged traffic violations. Justice Surya Partap Singh’s Bench was told during the course of hearing that an FIR in the matter was registered on May 19, 2024, at the Sector 49 police station. The Bench was told that the petitioner drove a Scorpio with not properly visible number plate, refused to produce his driving licence, claimed to be a Judicial Magistrate, and fled the spot after police insisted on compliance during a traffic check at the Sectors 45/46/49/50 crossing. The police also alleged that a “Judge” sticker was affixed on the car’s windshield and that the petitioner obstructed a constable from discharging official duty. His counsel contended that an altogether false story regarding obstruction in the discharge of duty and cheating by impersonation was cooked-up against the petitioner out of vengeance. “Neither there is any substance in the mentioned allegations nor any reliable evidence is available and that filing of FIR against the petitioner is nothing but misuse of authority by the police department”. His counsel contended the petitioner had been complaining against the mis- deeds of senior police officers and other officers of the UT Administration. “As far as the above-mentioned allegations and counter allegations are concerned the most significant fact qua allegations is that without proper appreciation of evidence, to be adduced at the time of trial, it is not possible to arrive at a conclusion as to whether which of the two stories is true,” Justice Surya Partap Singh asserted. The Bench cited the Supreme Court’s decisions saying, among other things, that “quashing of FIR should be an exception rather than an ordinary rule” and that courts could not embark upon an inquiry into the “reliability or genuineness” of allegations at this stage. As far as the present petition was concerned, the Bench asserted that deciding Continued on page 2 Son Anuj Saini and members of the Rock Garden Society pay tributes to Nek Chand on his 101st birth anniversary at his memorial in the Rock Garden on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Guv inspects Dadumajra dump Tewari seeks SCL audit, clarity on upgrade plan Tells officials to speed up processing of garbage Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 15 Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari on Monday raised a matter of urgent public importance in the Lok Sabha, seeking accountability, transparency and a clear roadmap for the longpending modernisation of the Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Mohali, India’s earliest semiconductor fabrication facility. The matter was raised under Rule 377 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. In his submission, Tewari said the SCL had suffered decades of losses, technological obsolescence and repeated delays in upgrade, despite its strategic impor- Chandigarh, December 15 Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria today visited the Dadumajra dumping ground to check the current situation of waste management as well as steps being taken to solve environmental and public health issues. The Governor reviewed the progress of bio-mining and other scientific methods being used to clear the old waste. Officials informed him that three MRF centres were working to segregate and process waste and that no new garbage heaps were getting formed. Work was continuing to remove the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria checks waste processing plans at the Dadu Majra dump on Monday. existing garbage mound. The officials informed the Governor that no fresh garbage had been dumped at the site since February, as all waste was being sent to the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) centres for proper processing. However, the Governor expressed concern over the slow pace of old garbage processing, saying that people living nearby were still Continued on page 2 Tribune News Service c m y b tance. He pointed out that although the SCL was India’s first semiconductor fabrication unit, it continued to operate far below global benchmarks, reportedly on outdated technology nodes with limited production capacity. Tewari expressed concern that no comprehensive audit has been publicly disclosed on the losses, damages and recovery process following the devastating fire of 1989, nor on the subsequent decline in the facility’s capabilities. He further stated that substantial public funds allocated over the past two decades for repair, modernisation and R&D appeared to have been either underutilised or inadequately monitored, raising serious Chd MP raises matter in Lok Sabha questions about efficiency and oversight. Given India’s ambitious semiconductor mission, the Chandigarh MP said it was imperative for the government to clearly spell out the current technology node, wafer size and production capacity of the SCL, along with the approvals already granted and timelines for its upgrade. He also sought clarity on the precise role envisaged for the SCL under the India Semiconductor Mission, stressing that Parliament and the public deserved full transparency on how the facility would be integrated into the national semiconductor strategy. Tewari urged the Government to order an independent performance and financial audit of the SCL to ensure accountability and effective utilisation of public funds, stating that only a transparent and timebound approach could rebuild the company into a globally competitive semiconductor facility. His intervention comes close on the heels of a recent visit to the facility in Mohali by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu, during which the Centre announced a ?4,500-crore investment over three years to modernise and expand the laboratory. The ministers had categorically stated that the SCL would not be privatised, that its production capacity would be increased up to 100 times, and that it would continue to serve as a fabrication, training and R&D platform for students, researchers and start-ups. They had also said the Punjab Government had been requested to allot 25 acres of additional land for the SCL’s expansion. Tewari’s Rule 377 submission underscored the need for the government to back its announcements with measurable outcomes, clear disclosures and institutional accountability, especially in a sector that is central to India’s technological sovereignty and strategic self-reliance.