R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
SUICIDE: Ravinder Singh, a resident of Partap Nagar, committed suicide allegedly by consuming poison on Monday. The police has arrested Khazan Singh, father of the deceased, and registered a case under Section 306 of the IPC on the complaint of his wife, Manjit Kaur.

THREAT: The Unemployed Veterinary Pharmacists Union has threatened to start an indefinite fast if the government fails to fill vacant posts in various dispensaries and hospitals in the state. The union headed by Mr Parminder Singh Mahal said even as the government had declared to lift the ban on recruitment, there were about 1500 posts vacant in the state. He said unless these were filled, they would be forced to go on strike.

Hoshiarpur
ARRESTED: The district police arrested three members of bank robbers on Saturday. The SSP Hoshiarpur, said on Sunday that dacoit Som Nath and his son Pawan Kumar, alias Roji of Rawalpindi village (Kapurthala) were arrested at Adda Bassi Daulat Khan on the Hoshiarpur-Phagwara road while they were going in a Car (DIB-4054) to commit a bank dacoity. However, their two accomplices Gobind Lal, alias Sabbi of Rawalpindi and Sodhi of Sahni village managed to escape. The police has recovered one gas cutter with gas welding cylinder, one LPG cylinder, two iron rods, one gas lighter, one sword from their car. A case had been registered them.

Ludhiana
drug distribution: The Social and Health Services Directorate, Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle, has asked the presidents of all the major political parties to check distribution of drugs by their party candidates and to clarify their stand in their election manifesto. Dr Deepinder Singh, Director, Social and Health Services, in a press statement on Tuesday said that Indian civilisation was one of the oldest civilisation on this earth. At this time, the civilisation was at the crossroads. The major threat to its existence was from drug use by the younger generation. Dr Deepinder Singh asked the political parties to instruct the candidates not to distribute alcohol and other drugs to woo voters.

SHOBHA YATRA: The Haibowal Mahotsav Committee organised the annual shobha yatra in connection with Shivaratri here on Monday. The main attraction of the yatra was the chariot carrying Lord Eklinga Mahadeva which was being pulled by 51 bare-footed devotees. The shobha yatra, which was led by Sanjeevji of the Baba Balak Nath Mandir and Pandit Laxmi Narayan of the Balaji Mandir, Joshi Nagar, started from the Mata Chintpurni Mandir in Vijay Nagar and covered Pawitter Nagar, main road of Haibowal, Rajpura Road, Mahavir Chowk and Baba Bhuriwala Gurdwara Chowk before culminating at the government high school in the evening. Several langars had been put up by various religious and social organisations. Another shobha yatra was taken out on Monday by the Ganesh Nagar Naujawan Mahotsav Committee from Ganesh Nagar.

Awarded: Mr Varinder Singh Saimbhi, Department of Farm Power and Machinery, College of Agricultural Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, has been awarded with Reddy Award for the best postgraduate thesis for the year 2001-02 by the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineering. The award has been conferred on him at annual convention of the society held at Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapith, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Mr Saimbhi had also been awarded Students’ Innovative Project at master’s level in engineering for the year 2002 by the Indian National Academy of Engineering at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad.

Budding artist: Gursimran Kaur, a student of UKG, Tagore Public School, has been adjudged as the best artist in the junior most category at a state-level Camel Colour Contest. The contest was held in September, 2003, on the school campus. The best entries were selected by art teachers and sent to the head office of Camel. She has been awarded a cash prize and a merit certificate during a function held at Apeejay School of Arts, Jalandhar. Ms Ranjit, headmistress of the school, has congratulated Gursimran for her achievement.

BOOKED: The police on Sunday booked five persons under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act on charges of selling adulterated diesel. Three of the accused had been arrested and two tankers impounded. Those rounded up included Jaspal Singh of Kot Gurbax village and Raju Yadav of Vairoke, and Bhola Singh, the cleaner.