A devotee takes a holy dip in the Sarovar of Golden Temple on the eve of Gurpurb, in Amritsar on Sunday. — PTI

Spokesman editor not to appear
before Takht
Chandigarh, January 4
Mr Joginder Singh, Chief Editor of Spokesman magazine, affirmed today that he would not appear before the Akal Takht Jathedar till the Sikh clergy is able to convince him of being guilty of any wrongdoing. He was summoned by the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti to clarify his position before the Sikh clergy on January 7 for his alleged blasphemous acts.

CM’s next book is on post-1947 military Chandigarh, January 4 To unwind, Capt Amarinder Singh, picks up the pen. It is writing that helps the Chief Minister to relax. He does most of the writing at night before going off to sleep.

POLITICS

NCP not averse to joining NDA
Bathinda, January 4
Mr Amritpal Singh Brar, spokesperson and general secretary, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Punjab, today said his party was not averse to the idea of joining the NDA and that the party chief, Mr Sharad Pawar, had been meeting with various prominent political figures of the country to work out an electoral alliance in view of the Lok Sabha elections.

BJP, SAD harming anti-graft drive, claims union
Bathinda, January 4
The Unemployed Youth Union, Punjab, today alleged that a section of the BJP, SAD and some Congressmen had ganged up against the state Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, to harm the anti-corruption campaign launched by him.

BJP will get two-thirds majority: Minister
Barnala, January 4
The Bharatiya Janata Party will get two-thirds majority in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, claimed Mr Sangh Priya Gautam, Minister of State for Agro-Rural Industries, here today. He said the BJP would field around 375 candidates out of 543, leaving the rest for its allies.

COMMUNITY

Thousands administered Pulse Polio drops
Bathinda, January 4
Thousands of children up to the age of 5 years were administered anti-polio vaccine under the ongoing pulse polio vaccination drive launched by the Health Department.

• 2.22 lakh children get polio drops

Gadar Party founder remembered
Bhakhana, (Amritsar), January 4
The 134th birth anniversary of Baba Sohan Singh Bhakhana, founder of the Gadar Party, was celebrated at his ancestral village Bhakhana Kalan, around 18 km from here, today.

Bhaura’s death mourned
Bathinda, January 4
The death of senior CPI leader Mr Bhan Singh Bhaura, sitting MP from this constituency, was mourned by a large number of employee unions, political leaders and social activists.

Fish seed farm officer alleges frame-up
Ropar, January 4
The Chief Executive Officer fish seed farm Katli, Ropar, Mr S.M. Dogra, yesterday gave his version on the charges of cheating levelled against him. Talking to The Tribune on phone Mr Dogra alleged that he had been framed in the case.

One killed as shell explodes
Patiala, January 4
One person was killed when a shell from which he was trying to extract iron exploded in a gas-welding shop at Sewak Colony here this afternoon.

Residents for lighting flyover
Bathinda, January 4
Residents of trans railway colonies of the city have expressed unhappiness over the non-installation of streetlights on the newly constructed over-bridge at the Khooni Phatak.

Amarinder greets people on Gurpurb
Chandigarh, January 4
The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today greeted the people on the 337th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh and called upon them to follow the teachings of the great spiritual ambassador.

Lakhs attend Sarhalikalan fair
Tarn Taran, January 4
Lakhs of persons attended the annual three-day fair organised in memory of Baba Tara Singh and Baba Charan Singh of Sarhaliwale. The fair concluded at Sarhalikalan yesterday.

Road in memory of Ranjodh Singh
Patiala, January 4
The bhog ceremony of Sergeant Ranjodh Singh, who died following a gun battle in the Kashmir valley on December 24 at the Ghalori gate was held at Gurdwara Singh Sabha here today.

Class IV staff to hold dharna
Patiala, January 4
The Class IV Government Employees Union, Punjab, organised a meeting at its district office here today. The meeting was presided over by the union leader Jagmohan Singh.

CRIME

Patwari held for fraud
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 4
The district police claimed to have unearthed a racket of selling government, private and SGPC properties by making bogus documents in connivance with revenue officials and a flesh trade racket with the arrest of a patwari.

Petrol pump looted
Phagwara, January 4
Some unidentified armed robbers looted a petrol pump near Bundala village on the Goraya-Zandiala road and injured one of its employees last night.

Traffic constable held for taking bribe
Bathinda, January 4
The police has registered a case against Jagdev Singh, a constable with the local traffic police, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 50 from a truck driver.

4-year-old boy sodomised
Tarn Taran, January 4
In a bizarre incident, a four-year-old boy was sodomised by Suresh Kumar in the Bhikhiwind area here on the eve of New Year. However, the case under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Bhikhiwind police station only today.

EDUCATION

PUNJABI UNIVERSITY DIARY
Varsity to focus on Punjabi research
Patiala, January 4
Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor Swarn Singh Boparai held a year-ender press conference here which focused on the development works in the university. He, however, refused to reply “controversial” questions, particularly those regarding the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Dr R.N. Pal.

Ex-APRO complains against VC
Patiala, January 4
Former Punjabi University Assistant Public Relations Officer (APRO) Harminder Singh Khokhar, whose services were dispensed with following a decision of the Synidcate to abolish his post, today appealed to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to order the varsity Vice- Chancellor to restore him to his job.

Bikram alumni meet
Patiala, January 4
The first annual meeting of Bikram Alumni (Global) Association of the local Government Bikram College of Commerce was held in the college campus here yesterday.

BUSINESS

HDFC launches insurance, pension plans
Patiala, January 4
HDFC Standard Life launched its unit-linked insurance and pension plans here today. The company has launched two products on the unit-linked platform — the HDFC unit-linked endowment plan and the HDFC unit-linked pension plan.