R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

ABOHAR
RESULTS: Of the 245 students of the DAV College of Education, 242 students who had appeared in the B.Ed examination of Panjab University got first division. Three top positions in the college have been won by girls — Shifu Kamra, Shweta Paruthi and Poonampreet Kaur Manocha. The result was 100 per cent, Principal Ranveer Pratap Asija said.

AMRITSAR
EMBEZZLEMENT: The Parbandhak committee of Gurdwara Nanaksar at Cheema village under Sangrur district on Thursday filed a petition before the Gurdwara Judicial Commission against its president Lila Singh alleging embezzlement of Rs 40,000 in the leasing out of a gurdwara shop. The petition alleges that the president pocketed the sum and did not maintain a record of the lease. The case was filed under Section 142 of the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925. The commission has issued summons to Mr Lila Singh for August 6.

HONOUR FOR 2 TEACHERS: Dr I.S. Hudiara, Professor, Electronics Technology, and Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, and Dr Maninder Lal Singh, senior lecturer in the Department of Electronics Technology, of Guru Nanak Dev University have been awarded certificates of merit by the Institution of Engineers (India), Kolkata, for their research paper entitled “Optimum Inter-Amplifier Spacing for Minimising the Fibre Optic Systems Using in-line EDFAs”. The research paper has also been included in the journal of the Institution of Engineers published from Kolkata.

M.PHIL ADMISSION: Guru Nanak Dev University has invited applications for admission to M.Phil courses in Hindi, history, music (vocal and instrumental), political science, psychology, Punjabi, religious studies and sociology up to July 31. Entrance test will be held on August 1.

BATHINDA
DRIVING LICENCE CAMP: Mr Anurag Verma, Deputy Commissioner, gave away learners’ driving licences to 195 persons at a first of its kind camp at Bhagi Bander on Thursday. Mr Verma said residents should approach officials of the Transport Department for driving licences and shun touts. Mr Kishan Chand, DTO, said such camps would also be held at other villages.

MURDER CASE SOLVED: The police has arrested Major Singh and Charanjeet Singh of Manu Khurd village in connection with the murder of Balwinder Singh of the same village. Balwinder Singh had measured the land of Major Singh and found 2 kanal of Paramjeet Singh under his cultivation. Charanjeet Singh feared that Balwinder might inform Paramjeet. According to the police, the two then decided to kill Balwinder.

GURDASPUR
STRIKE: Revenue staff, including officials dealing with registry and petition writers, observed a strike in the district. Tehsil headquarters at Dhar, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Batala and Dera Baba Nanak wore a deserted look. The strike was observed in protest against Vigilance raids. No registry has been entered after the Vigilance raids on Friday. The strike will continue till Monday. Revenue officials demanded withdrawal of cases against naib-tehsildars and registry officials.

MURDER CASE SOLVED: With the arrest of Sewa Singh and Balwinder Singh, brothers of Dilbagh Singh, a resident of Gurdasnangal, whose body was found from the fields of Chanchal Singh and Tarlok Singh of the same village on January 3 has been solved. According to the police, the viscera examination of the deceased revealed that he had been strangled to death. The crime had not been done by Chanchal Singh and Tarlok Singh, accused by Sewa Singh in the FIR, but the two brothers. The brothers had confessed to the crime, the police added.

HOSHIARPUR
IN-LAWS BOOKED: The police on Thursday registered a case under Sections 307 and 498-A, IPC, against Gurcharan Singh, his father Bhagat Singh and mother Gian Kaur of Dehriwal village following a complaint by Gurcharan’s wife Ranjit Kaur who alleged that she was tortured for more dowry. She also alleged that they tried to kill her with electric shocks.

CASE AGAINST AGENT: The police has registered a case under Section 420, IPC, against Balwinder Singh, a travel agent, and his wife Surinder Kaur on the complaint of Joginder Kaur who alleged that the accused took Rs 3.8 lakh from her for sending her daughter-in-law to the USA. However, they neither send her abroad nor did they return the money.

WOMAN KILLED: The wife of Surjit Singh of Harta village was reportedly killed by two persons with electric shocks at her residence on Thursday evening. The assailants also attacked her with a knife before giving her electric shocks. The police has registered a case under Sections 302, 34 and 120-B, IPC.

PROTEST: Members of the local Class IV Government Employees Union staged a rally in front of the Civil Hospital on Thursday in protest against the withholding of various allowances of the employees. They also demanded withdrawal of the decision to abolish Punjab and Pepsu Roadways and 29 corporations.

ARRESTED: The Tanda police has arrested Sarabjit Singh, Nam Singh, Sonu Lal and Baljit Singh, all residents of Kharl Khurd under Section 307 of the IPC as they injured Constable Jagjit Singh on duty at a naka near Kandala Jattan on July 9, 2002. They hit the constable with their scooter at 2 a.m. when he signalled them to stop for checking.

JAGRAON
FUNCTION: On the occasion of World Population Day, a function was organised to highlight population growth and its consequences, under the directions of Ms Usha Sidhu, Principal, District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Jagraon. The function was attended by 450 students. Painting, essay -writing, singing, declamation and quiz contests were held on the occasion. A former Principal, Mr Jagjit Singh, and lecturers, Mr Hardev Singh and Mr Sukhwinder Singh, from Government schools of Kamalpura and Jagraon, acted as judges. Students of group number 8 emerged winners. Mr Jagdish Lall, Mr Baldev Singh, Mr Harbhajan Singh, Mr Lakhbir Singh, Ms Jagdip Kaur, Mr Satwinder Singh, Mrs Manjit Kaur and Mr Baldev Singh were also present on the occasion. The judges and the Principal, Ms Usha Sidhu, gave away the prizes to the winner.

STRIKE: Revenue officers of the area including that of Sidhwanbet and Raikot, in response to a call by their state association in protest against the raids by Vigilance authorities to book corrupt officials, observed complete strike on Friday. No registration of documents took place during the day which caused inconvenience to the public.

LUDHIANA
SAMAROH: A 15-day religious ‘samaroh’ got under way at Shri Ved Mandir in Daresi grounds under the supervision of Vedacharya Dandi Swami Nigambodh Tirath Maharaj. During the samaroh, meditation sessions would be held from 6 am to 7 am everyday. From July 17 to 23, kirtan, and recitation of Bhagwad Katha discourse would also be held. On July 24. Vyasa Puranmahotsavs would be held from 5 am to 2 pm, according to a spokesman of the temple management.

BHANDARA: Shri Amarnath Trinetra Sewa Sangh will organise its first bhandara at Baltal for the benefit of pilgrims from July 22 to August 22 , according to Mr Jeet Kumar, secretary of the sangh. Among the facilities proposed to be provided by the sangh are free tea, breakfast, meals, quilts and medical assistance.

MAHOTSAVA: The fourth Khatu Shyam mahotsava will begin at Kumra Palace on the Ferozepore Road here on Saturday, according to Mr Naresh Singal, chairman, Shri Shyam Mittar Mandal, which is organising it. Sanju Sharma (Kolkata), Romi Singh (Khalilabad) and Uma Lehri (Jaipur) will regale the audience with their devotional hymns. A play “Aaj Shyam kis gode mein” will also be staged during the mahotsava.

NAGAR PARVESH: The city accorded a rousing welcome to Jain Acharya Shiv Muni ji Maharaj on the occasion of his ‘nagar parvesh’ here on Thursday. The muni, accompanied by Shri Gyan Muni, headed straight for the memorial of Acharya Samrat Atma Ram ji Maharaj in Nauhria Mall Bagh where he offered a floral tribute to the departed guru. Mr Baldev Raj Jain, Mr Suresh Jain, Dr K.K.Jain, Ms Kailash Jain, Ms Usha Jain, Ms Savita Jain, Mr Rajiv Jain, Mr Sudhir Jain, Mr O.P.Arora and staff of the Nauhria Mal Jain Model Senior Secondary School were also present on the occasion. Later, a procession was taken out which started from chowk Ghanta Ghar and passed through Chaura Bazar, Girja Ghar chowk and Ghaas Mandi areas before culminating at the Jain Sthanak in Rupa Mistry Street.

RECOMMENDATION HAILED: The Bharti Kisan Union has hailed the recommendations of the Committee on Agricultural Reforms wherein it has been suggested that the farmers in the state should be compensated for not sowing paddy. Mr A. S. Lakhowal and Prof M.S. Kadian, president and general secretary of the organisation, respectively, said it was a sound measure and should be implemented without delay. It would help farmers break out of the paddy-wheat cycle. The union had been demanding the same for the past many years, they added. The leaders said the government should set up purchase centres all over the state to buy the produce. “It has been seen that the farmers who opted out of the paddy-wheat cycle had to revert to the same due to non-procurement of their produce. Another overlooked feature is the lack of minimum support price for alternative crops” they said.

MANSA
QUACKS BOOKED: The police has registered a case under Section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and Section 420, IPC, against 10 persons for practising without a licence. The case has been registered on a complaint submitted to Mr Parkash Singh Badal, the then Chief Minister, in October 2001. After an eight-month inquiry, the case was registered against Chiman Lal, Harbans Singh Narula, Harbhajan Singh Mansahia, Raj Kumar, Sukhwinder Singh Mansahia, Manmohan Singh Narula, Mangal Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Avtar Singh and Bakshish Singh.

MUKTSAR
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER: Ms Usha R. Sharma took over as the Deputy Commissioner of the district on Thursday. She was Additional Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, earlier. She has also served as Deputy Commissioner of Kapurthala.

PATIALA
UNIVERSITY DIRECTIONS: Punjabi University, in an effort to ensure transparency in the conduct of B.Ed examinations, scheduled to be held on July 14, has asked the Secretary Education, the DPI (Colleges), Punjab, and the UT to oversee the examination process. Deans and senior faculty members of the university have also been asked to ensure transparency. Giving this information, Dr Baldev Singh, coordinator, B.Ed entrance examination, said this year more than 183 centres had been set up in 11 cities of Punjab and Chandigarh. He further said principals of 83 institutions had been asked to act as Controller of Examinations.

SAMRALA
STRIKE: Deed writers of Samrala Tehsil and Machhiwara sub-tehsil observed a strike on Friday. They are demanding the release of those deed-writers and stamp vendors who have been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau during raids on various tehsil offices a few days ago. The spokesman of the Deed Writers Association, Mr Rajan Kumar Sharma, demanded an increase in the rates of document writing.

BHARTI KISAN UNION: Mr Balbir Singh Rajewal, national general secretary of the Bharti Kisan Union, here on Friday said the farmers of Punjab were in a debt trap. The Congress had promised to give them relief during elections, but now it was crushing the farmers by imposing new taxes. He said the government was planning to issue an ordinance to impose fresh taxes on farmers and this would put an annual burden of Rs 600 crore on the farmers. He said there was also a move to charge power bills for tubewells. Moreover, power supply to tubewells and rural domestic consumers was poor which was causing hardship to these people. He appealed the Chief Minister not to be misled by the anti-farmers forces.

HARYANA

AMBALA
INAUGURATED: The MLA of Ambala Cantt, Mr Anil Vij, on Friday inaugurated United Artificial Limb Centre. The function was presided over by the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Mr M.K. Ahuja. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Vij said artificial limbs company was established in Ludhiana and it had opened its fist centre in Haryana. He said the physically challenged people would benefit from the centre. According to Mr Ahuja, there are about 10,000 physically challenged persons in Ambala. While needy and poor physically challenged persons are provided artificial limbs by the District Red Cross Society, the opening of this centre will enable the latest technology in artificial limbs. Among others, Dr Vinay Gupta, Ms Alka Ghai, Mr Chandra Sharma, Mr Lalita Prasad, Mr Surindra Bindra and Mr Umesh Sahni were present.

CONGRESS COMMITTEE: The president of the District Congress Committee, Ambala (rural), Mr Nirmal Singh, on Friday announced the new office-bearers. The vice-presidents are Mr Raj Kumar, Mr Gurdial Singh, Mr Jarnail Singh, Mr Gurnam Singh, Ms Neelam Atri, Mr Mehar Singh, Mr Balbir Singh Saini, Mr Sampuran Singh and Mr Shamsher Singh; general secretaries are Mr Hatti Singh, Mr Faquir Chand, Mr Madan Singh, Mr Guljar Singh, Mr Surinder Sharma, Mr Raj Pal Singh, Mr Jagmal Singh and Mr Naib Singh Saini; secretaries are Mr Mukesh Dhiman, Mr Parminder Singh Babla, Mr Gurnam, Mr Gurdip Singh, Mr Joginder Singh, Mr Jile Singh and Mr Pritam Singh; cashier is Mr Ashok Nagpal; district sports cell chairman is Mr Rajbir Singh; and organisation secretaries are Mr Pirthi Sharma, Mr Kiran Pal Sharma, Mr Jagtar Singh, Mr Kuldip Singh, Mr Kadam Singh and Mr Sher Singh.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
ONE KILLED: Sanjiv Kumar of Sector 7 of Chandigarh was killed while the driver and cleaner of the tempo, in which they were travelling, were injured seriously when their tempo turned turtle between Baned and Suharghat on the Chandigarh-Bilaspur National Highway (Number - 21), about 37 km from here, on Wednesday evening. The loaded tempo was on its way to Salappar in Mandi district near here.

CHAMBA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the HPSEB Ministerial Services Association, Chamba: president — Mr Atma Ram Sharma; senior vice-president — Mrs Kiran Puri; vice-president — Mr Mukesh Bedi; secretary — Mr Shoket Ali; joint secretary — Mrs Kamini Sharma, organising secretary — Mrs Sudha Prashar; publicity secretary — Mr Yash Paul Sehgal; finance secretary — Mrs Manorma; auditor — Mr Madan Paul; and chief adviser — Mr S.K. Dhawan.