SGPC chief Tohra passes away

Amritsar, March 31 Veteran Akali leader and SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra died at Escorts Hospital, New Delhi, tonight. Mr Ranbir Singh, personal assistant to the SGPC chief, said doctors at the hospital declared Mr Tohra dead at 12.41 a.m. OBITUARY: He dedicated his life to Sikhism

Anil Kumble casts spell
India on verge of historic victory in Pak
Multan, March 31
India were tantalisingly close to their first-ever Test win in Pakistan which was forced to follow on and left staring at defeat after Anil Kumble took seven wickets on the penultimate day of the Multan Test here today.

Sports page: Batsmen deserve a lot of credit: Kumble Anil Kumble (centre) celebrates with teammates Yuvraj Singh (right) and Akash Chopra after dismissing Pakistan’s Taufeeq Umar during the fourth day’s play in the first Test match in Multan on Wednesday. — Reuters photo

Liquor vend auctions in 3 dists set aside
Chandigarh, March 31
The Congress government in Punjab suffered a setback with the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the setting aside of liquor vend auctions in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr districts.

Editorial: Spirited politics
Punjab page:
CM should quit over liquor vend issue, says Badal
15 Akali MLAs seek quashing of liquor vends’ auction

Apex court upholds ban on Togadia
None can be allowed to destroy secularism, says court
New Delhi, March 31
Upholding the Karnataka Government’s ban on VHP leader Pravin Togadia with regard to attending a fuction at Mangalore last year for reason that his visit would disturb communal harmony, the Supreme Court in a significant ruling said today that no person, however high he may be, could be allowed to destroy the secular fabrics of the country.

Showdown formally begins in UP, Maharashtra
Poll notification for third phase issued
New Delhi, March 31
The stage is set for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections spread over Uttar Pradesh and remaining constituencies in Maharashtra and Bihar and eight other states and the culminating stage of hustings to the Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Orissa on April 26 as the statutory notifications were promulgated today.

Govt moves SC on surrogate ads
Pranab to contest for first time

Move forward on Kashmir, warns Musharraf
Islamabad, March 31
President Pervez Musharraf has warned that the progress of the ongoing dialogue between India and Pakistan will be hampered if the Kashmir issue is not addressed satisfactorily.

Centre to announce ceasefire in J&K

Lakshmi returns her crown
Mumbai, March 31
Femina Miss India-World 2004 Lakshmi Pandit today returned her crown in the wake of the controversy over her marital status, Assistant Editor of Femina Madhvi Purohit said.
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School principal among 8 held in paper leak case Ludhiana, March 31 The Punjab Police achieved a major breakthrough in the Punjab School Education Board paper leakage case today with the arrest of eight persons, including a government school principal and a student. Makhan, a plus two student of Government Senior Secondary School, Mangat village, shows how he broke the seal of a bundle of question papers during a press conference in Ludhiana on Wednesday. — Photo by Pardeep Tewari