Bathinda, March 18
At least 20 passengers were injured when a speeding bus overturned on the Malout road here this morning.

Nearly 75 passengers, including some women and children, were travelling in the bus, which left the Bathinda bus stand at around 9 am. The bus belongs to a private transport company, Dabwali Transport Company, and was on its way to Muktsar.

The police said the exact reason behind the accident could not be ascertained but preliminary reports suggest that there could be a mechanical error.

Volunteers of NGOs Sahara Jan Sewa and Naujawan Welfare Society rushed to rescue the passengers trapped in the bus. Some villagers and residents of the nearby areas broke open the windowpanes of the bus to help the passengers come out of the bus.

“The bus was packed with passengers. Nobody could manage to come out of it on its own”, said Malkit, one of the injured passengers undergoing treatment at the local Civil Hospital.

Thermal SHO Kaabal Singh said a tie-rod, meant to control the front wheels, broke down which led to the accident. “The driver informed the police that he failed to control the vehicle after the last part of the rod near the wheels broke down," Kaabal said.

He said so far, no initiative had been taken to register a case in this connection.

“We will record the statements of the injured passengers undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital and action would be initiated accordingly," the Thermal SHO said.

Rajesh, Pooja, Kallu Ram and Arti, who received bruises in the mishap, said they became unconscious immediately after the accident and they had no idea who shifted them to the hospital. “All we knew is the fact that the bus was driven at a very high speed even as it was carrying so many passengers,” Kallu said.

Some passengers complained that their belongings were missing and despite attempts, they failed to find their missing luggages. Some of them even went back to the spot of accident to locate their belongings but in vain.

Shveta Bhardwaj, a medical student and a resident of Ambala, said her bag containing an bank ATM card, Rs 5,000 in cash and her driving licence among other important documents were untraceable.

Two out of the 20 patients were reported to be in serious condition.

The bus driver and the conductor could not be located in the Civil Hospital.

Fact file A bus belonging to a private transport company, the Dabwali Transport Company, overturned on the Malout road on Monday morning. Nearly 75 passengers, including some women and children, were travelling in the bus, which left the Bathinda bus stand at around 9 am and was on its way to Muktsar. The police said the exact reason behind the accident could not be ascertained but preliminary reports suggest that there could be a mechanical error. The condition of two out of the 20 patients was reported to be serious.

Bathinda, March 18
Three persons received injuries in a brawl that took place at Harnam Singhwala village. The matter of a dispute between two groups was a vacant job at the village.

The injured have been identified as Nirmal Singh, Jagpal Singh and Satpal Singh who were taken to Rampura Civil Hospital.

Nirmal Singh said after attending the marriage function, he was on his way to his house at around 9.30 pm. Two or three villagers, including a woman, attacked him with sticks.

One of the villager said the two parties entered into the brawl over a job vacancy to be occupied by one of the relatives of the two parties.

A police official said the statements of the injured persons had been recorded and a case would be registered after recording the statements of both groups.

Bathinda, March 18
Expressing its displeasure over the decision taken by the district administration to prohibiting farmers to stage a demonstration in the city on Monday, the Punjab Students Union (Shaheed Randhawa) staged a play, Kaafiley, at the Punjabi University Regional Centre and the ITI here today.

The staging the play was also a precursor to the union’s plan to observe March 23 as Martyrdom Day of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.

Sumit, coordinator of the union, said “The Shaeedi Divas is approaching and we wanted to highlight the importance of the day among the students. The three freedom fighters were known for raising their voice against the suppressive policies of the British government. By staging the play, we also raised our voice against the decision of the government which did not allow the farmers to stage a state-level protest in Bathinda on Monday.”

The union has called the Aawam Rangmanch group to stage the play in the city.

“Through the play, we showed the students how the government was turning a deaf ear to the problems faced by the farmers," Sumit said.

The union had staged a play at the Government Rajindra College last month. In the coming days, the union plans to hols talks and plays in the adjoining areas.

official speak
The Shaheedi Divas is approaching and we wanted to highlight the importance of the day among students. The three freedom fighters —Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev — were known for raising their voice against the suppressive policies of the British government. By staging the play, we also raised our voice against the decision of the government which did not allow the farmers to stage a state-level protest in Bathinda on Monday.
— Sumit, PSU (Shaheed Randhawa)

Subhash Yadav, who was mauled by a dog, in the hospital in Bathinda on Monday. Photo: Bhupinder dhillon

Bathinda, March 18
In a horrifying incident, a five-year-old boy was mauled by a “pet” dog at Bibiwala village. The boy, however, managed to escape from the clutches of the beastly dog only after some passers-by came to his rescue.

The boy, Subhash Yadav, was rushed to a private hospital in Bathinda by his father Bahadur Rai. Rai said the dog that attacked his son is a “pet” of one of his neighbours. This was not the first instance when the dog has attacked someone. Earlier, four-five cases had been recorded wherein the dog had attacked passers-by.”

“After the dog bit my son, I complained it to the dog’s owner but he refused to hear me. He plainly said he couldn’t do much if his dog was biting people in the neighbourhood,” Rai said.

Dog Menace
This was not the first instance when the dog has attacked someone. Earlier, four-five cases had been recorded wherein the dog had attacked passers-by.

Bathinda, March 18
The office of the District Education Officer today issued a list of the schools, which are yet to send the details related to the beneficiaries of the Punjab State Education Welfare Scheme.

The list includes the names of more than 120 schools, including government high schools, middle schools as well as senior secondary schools from the district.

The District Education Officer had notified these schools to send the details by Monday (March 19). The details have been sought by the deputy commissioner’s office and the Directorate of Public Instruction (Senior Secondary) Punjab.

Among the senior secondary schools, the government girls’ schools located in the Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka’s village has also been listed as a defaulter. Other senior secondary schools mentioned in the list are those located in Aklia Jalal, Parsaram Nagar, Desraj Bathinda, Ballianwali (girls and boys), Bhondipura, Dhadde, Gobindpura, Goniana (boys), Killi Nihal Singh, Wirk Kalan, Jalal, Jodhpur Romana, Jassi Pauwali, Kuttiwaal Kalan, Kalyan Sukha, Mehma Sarja, Mandi Kalan (boys), Sabo, Rampura and Selbara.

Bathinda, March 18
Two persons have been booked for abusing and manhandling a woman from Amarpura Basti. In her complaint to the police, Nanna Kaur stated that Major Singh and Rupinder Singh, both residents of Amarpura Basti allegedly used unparliamentarily language and teased her without any provocation.