SAD sweeps Majitha poll Amritsar, February 23 After Nawanshahr and Sunam, the crucial Majitha byelection has proved to be a hat trick for the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP as Mr Raj Mohinder Singh Majithia, a Rajya Sabha member, registered a victory over his nearest rival, Mr Savinder Singh Kathunangal.

SAD candidate Raj Mohinder Singh Majitha is taken in a victory procession in Majitha on Friday.  — Photo Rajiv Sharma

6 cops killed; bandh hits life
Srinagar, February 23
A day after the extension of unilateral ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir, six police personnel, including an SHO, were killed when militants ambushed their vehicle near Kokernag in Anantnag district this afternoon. One civilian was also killed while two constables received bullet injuries in the incident, one of them succumbing to his injuries later.

Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh CMs win poll
Raipur, February 23
While Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi has scored an impressive win over his BJP rival Amar Singh Kusro in his maiden assembly election from Marwahi (ST) in Bilaspur district with a record margin of 50,758 votes, Jharkhand Chief Minister Babu Lal Marandi won the Ramgarh Assembly seat.

Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal call on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi on Friday. — Photo by Hamid Ali

Badal, Chautala meet PM on support price New Delhi, February 23 Worried over the Centre’s hesitation in announcing the minimum support price for wheat, the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee this morning and asked him to speed up action on their demand for a remunerative procurement price.

Panel exposes lapses
Women’s deaths at tubectomy camp
Sangrur, February 23
Though the inquiry reports prepared by two independent agencies — the PCMSA and the Association for Democratic Rights Punjab, have held Dr S.S. Joshi, SMO, Moonak, who performed the operations, responsible for the Khanauri tubectomy tragedy but the three-member committee formed by the Sangrur Civil Surgeon has adopted a vague method in its inquiry report conclusion for not indicting any particular person for the lapses.

6-day week likely in 3 universities
Kurukshetra, February 23
The Haryana Government is likely to introduce six-day week in three universities of the state soon. A decision to this effect is reported to have been taken at a meeting of vice-chancellors of the three universities, which was held on February 19. 

Pilot killed in MiG crash
Tezpur (Assam), February 23
An Indian Air Force MiG-21 today crashed into a house, killing the pilot, Squadron Leader Y. M. Ram, and injuring a minor girl at a remote village in Assam’s Sonitpur district, a senior IAF official said here.

Earn-while-you-learn scheme Chandigarh, February 23 Haryana is on the threshold of becoming the first state in the country to introduce the earn-while-you-learn pattern of employment for its college students. Tailored on the Western system, the scheme will allow students to work for a maximum of six hours a week in their respective colleges against vacant positions in pre-identified areas.