DAV College, Chandigarh, alumnus awarded in Australia

Deepak Raj Gupta, an alumnus of DAV College, Sector 10, has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in recognition of his service in a variety of areas, including multiculturalism, community work, education, minority advocacy, government service and environment conservation in Canberra

Deepak Raj Gupta, an alumnus of DAV College, Sector 10, has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in recognition of his service in a variety of areas, including multiculturalism, community work, education, minority advocacy, government service and environment conservation in Canberra. Raised in Chandigarh and a student of DAV College from 1983 to 87, Gupta is the first Indian-Australian politician to be included in the honours’ list on Australia Day. Gupta has addressed multi-cultural community issues for almost two decades and also served in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in 2019-2020.

Deepak Raj Gupta, an alumnus of DAV College, Chandigarh, who has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM). (HT Photo)

Purse stolen from car parked in Sector 10

In the fourth such case this month, a purse was stolen from a parked car after smashing its window in Sector 10 on Wednesday. In his complaint, Karamjit Singh of Delhi reported that he had parked his car behind the coal depot in Sector 10 to visit a restaurant with his wife. On returning, they found one of the car windows broken and his wife’s purse missing. It contained her Apple AirPods, Aadhaar card, PAN card, debit card and some cash. A case under Section 379 (theft) of the IPC was registered.

Three booked for assaulting doctor, snatching his car

Five days after a doctor was assaulted and robbed of his car, ₹10,000 and mobile phone at his clinic in Zirakpur, police registered a case on Friday. The victim, Gurpal Sharma, who is admitted at GMCH, Sector 32, Chandigarh, had told the police that he was at his clinic in Bhabat village, Zirakpur, on January 23 when three men attacked him with sharp-edged weapons and fled with his car, money and phone after locking him up in the toilet. Police said after verifying the facts, they had lodged an FIR under Sections 342, 323, 379-B and 34 of the IPC at the Zirakpur police station.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association on Friday wrote to the HC administration for complete resumption of courts from February 1. On January 5, HC had switched to virtual hearings in the wake of spike in Covid cases. From January 10, the court had further curtailed operations and only 50% judges are holding courts since then. In view of relaxations announced by the UT administration and significant dip in Covid cases, full functioning of courts be restored, the letter stated.

350kg of banned plastic bags seized

Continuing their drive against single-use plastic, a team of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee, along with a team from the SDM (East) office, conducted a raid at the Sector 26 grain market on Friday. The entire stock of around 350kg was seized from two big suppliers of plastic carry bags. Action under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act was initiated.

24-yr-old held with countrymade weapon

The operation cell of Chandigarh Police on Thursday arrested a resident of Sector 25 with a countrymade pistol and a live cartridge. The accused, identified as Deepak, 24, was nabbed near the Rally ground in Sector 25. A case under Arms Act was registered at the Sector 11 police station.

Lawyer booked for cheating senior citizen

A lawyer has been booked for duping a senior citizen on the pretext of settling an income tax filing dispute. The accused has been identified as Satish Balyan, an income tax lawyer in Sector 19, Chandigarh. The complainant, NS Verma, told the police that he retired district attorney from Kullu and is settled in Mohali. He said that in 2015, he had contacted Balyan to settle an income tax filing issue of his junior assistant. But, despite charging ₹14,860, the accused failed to settle the issue. A cheating case has been registered.

Community centre named after Lala Lajpat Rai

Haryana Vidhan Sabha speaker Gian Chand Gupta on Friday announced that the Community Centre in Sector 17, Panchkula, would be named after Lala Lajpat Rai. Gupta made the announcement at the centre while addressing a programme organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai. Gupta had recently announced that community centres in Panchkula will be named after freedom fighters and martyrs to inspire the coming generations.

Panchkula man held for forgery

The Panchkula police have arrested a resident of Raipur Rani for allegedly forging fake documents for the release of a vehicle which was impounded last year in a mining case. The accused has been identified as Mohan Lal. A case of fraud has been registered at the Sector 5 police station.