Ludhiana, May 19
The scorching heat may not have deterred political activists from performing the tasks entrusted to them by their respective parties on the polling day as they were seen facilitating voters at various polling booths, but it certainly kept many voters, especially those in semi-urban areas, indoors as a result of which the turnout was less than the expectations of various parties.

During a visit to Dhandra, Kheri Chameri, Daad, Lalton, Balowal and Alamgir villages, it was observed that activists of political parties were disappointed due to the low turnout.

In the morning hours, voters came out in good numbers, but once the heat was at its peak, the voter turnout started dwindling.

Activists of political parties were seen using air-conditioned cars to fetch voters from their houses. Randeep Singh, a worker of a political party, said, "People are less interested in polling in semi-urban areas as compared to villages. Besides, since it was a Sunday, some people went ahead with their plans for the weekend and didn't cast their ballot."

Gurdeep Kaur, a voter at Kheri village, said, "I came to the polling booth to cast my vote at 9 am, but there was a long queue outside the booth and I went back. I again came at 1.30 pm. Though it was too hot outside, I did not find any queue this time."

Government officials appointed on election duty had a hard time due to the scorching heat.

Rachhpal Singh, a booth-level officer, said, "There were no generator sets in schools where polling booths were set up. During power cuts, officials found it difficult to sit in rooms without fans."

Ludhiana, May 19
Village women actively took part in the zila parishad elections as polling agents. A group of women, associated with a political party, was seen performing the duties of polling agents outside a pooling booth near Daad village on Pakhowal Road. Though women have been contesting elections and a majority of them exercise their franchise, it is rarely that women in the state work as polling agents during the elections. Fear of violence and use of alcohol by party workers often keep women away from performing such duties.

Jasvir Kaur, one such woman, said, "It is for the first time that we worked as polling agents. We were self-motivated. We did not face any inconvenience and found it to be a simple task. We have proved that women are no less than men in any field."

Sarbjit Kaur Bhullar, another woman, said, "Our party provided us lists of voters from which we were supposed to pick up the names and vote numbers of voters and fill the required details. We all enjoyed this task."

"Some women voters hesitate in interacting with men who provide them voter slips during the polling. They feel more comfortable if women are there to assist themm," she said.

Ludhiana, May 19
In order to cope with the heavy rush of passengers during the summer vacation and the movement of migrant population for the forthcoming paddy season, the Northern Railway has introduced several summer special trains for various destinations. In addition, extra coaches are being attached to many regular trains to augment their carrying capacity.

According to railway officials, the 04601/04602 weekly summer special train with general (unreserved) coaches will run between Amritsar and Barauni. It will leave Amritsar at 12.35 pm every Sunday till June 30 and reach Barauni in Bihar at 5.50 pm. From Barauni, it will depart at 7.15 pm every Monday till July 1 and reach Amritsar at 2.55 am.

The train will have commercial halts at Jalandhar City, Ludhiana, Sirhind, Rajpura, Ambala Cantt, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Bareli, Shahjahanpur, Burhwal, Gonda, Manakpur, Basti, Khalilabad, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Siwan, Chhapra, Sonpur, Hajipur, Muzaffarpur and Samastipur.

Another weekly AC superfast train (02207/02208) will run between Jammu Tawi and Ahmedabad. The train with AC-3 tier accommodation will leave Jammu Tawi at 9.30 am every Thursday till June 27 and reach Ahmedabad at 1.35 pm. On its return journey, it will leave Ahmedabad at 3 pm every Friday till June 28 to reach Jammu Tawi at 8 pm.

The train will have stoppages at Kathua, Chakki Bank, Jalandhar Cantt, Ludhiana, Dhuri, Hisar, Sadulpur, Churu, Ratangarh, Sujangarh, Ladnum, Didwana, Degana, Merta Road, Gotan, Jodhpur, Luni, Pali, Marwar, Rani, Palna, Abu Road, Palanpur, Mehsana and Sabarmati Jn.

An AC superfast weekly train, 04035/4036, will run between Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi) and Udhampur with stoppages at New Delhi, Panipat, Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana, Jalandhar Cantt, Chakki Bank and Jammu Tawi. The train with AC I, AC-2 tier and AC-3 tier coaches will leave Udhampur every Friday till June 28 at 5.50 pm and reach Hazrat Nizamuddin at 5.05 am. It will leave Hazrat Nizamuddin every Thursday till June 27 at 9.30 pm and reach Udhampur at 8.50 am.

Udhampur will have yet another weekly train for Allahabad. The train (04113/04114) with AC-2 tier, AC-3 tier and sleeper coaches will leave Udhampur every Sunday till June 30 at 5.30 pm and reach Allahabad at 10.15 pm. From Allahabad, the train will depart every Saturday till June 29 at 3.20 pm and reach Udhampur at 3.50 pm. It will have stoppages at Jammu Tawi, Chakki Bank, Jalandhar Cantt, Ludhiana, Ambala Cantt, Saharanpur, Meerut, Khurja, Aligarh, Tundla, Etawah, Kanpur Central and Fatehpur.

Jammu Tawi will have two summer special trains: One each to Bandra Terminus (Mumbai) and Anand Vihar Terminus (New Delhi).

A weekly train, 09021/09022, will operate between Jammu Tawi and Bandra Terminus with AC I, AC-2 tier, AC-3 tier, sleeper and general coaches. It will leave Bandra Terminus every Monday till June 24 at 4.50 pm and reach Jammu Tawi at 12.50 am. From Jammu Tawi, it will depart every Wednesday at 6.30 pm and reach Bandra at 4.35 pm.

The train will halt at Chakki Bank, Jalandhar Cantt, Ludhiana, Ambala Cantt, Delhi Safdarjung, Tughlakabad, Mathura, Bharatpur, Sawai Madhopur, Kota, Ratlam, Dahod, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat and Borivili.

A tri-weekly train, 04051/04052, will leave Ananad Vihar Terminus (New Delhi) every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday till June 29 at 11.45 pm and reach Jammu Tawi at 11.50 am. From Jammu Tawi, the train will depart every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday till June 30 at 5.55 am and reach Anand Vihar at 5.20 pm. The train with AC-2 tier, sleeper and general coaches will have stoppages at Chakki Bank, Jalandhar Cantt, Ludhiana, Ambala Cantt, Saharanpur, Meerut and Ghaziabad.

Ludhiana, May 19
Nearly a week after the city police found the mutilated body of an eight-year-old girl from a vacant plot, the police today formed a special investigation team (SIT) to crack the kidnapping and murder case.

Ever since the girl's body was recovered, the police was suspecting the involvement of an insider, who could be a paedophile. The police has sent the swab samples for testing as during the postmortem, doctors could not establish whether the girl was raped or not.

A team comprising officials of four police stations today conducted a massive search operation in Jodhewal Basti and the surrounding areas to arrest the suspect. The girl's body was found from a vacant plot near New Shakti Nagar in Jodhewal Basti.

The girl was abducted from outside her house in New Shastri Nagar on April 22. This was the second such incident of kidnapping and murder of a minor girl. Earlier, the body of a six-year-old girl, who was kidnapped from outside her house in Bal Singh Nagar on January 12, was found from a vacant plot in Ekta Nagar in Rahon Road on January 22.

DCP Harsh Bansal said, "We have formed a SIT to crack the case.

The SIT will investigate both murder cases."

Ludhiana, May 19
While most of the residents in this industrial hub preferred to wake up late, as it was a Sunday morning, the villages in the district were abuzz with activity with youngsters, elderly persons and women showing much enthusiasm for casting their vote right in the morning.

Though elderly persons preferred to remain indoors in the afternoon due to the scorching heat, youngsters seemed all excited. Arun Kumar, a physically challenged boy who studies in class XI at Threeke village, said he was going to cast his vote for the first time and wanted to choose the person who could address the villagers' demands. A policeman on duty extended him a helping hand and requested the polling staff to let him cast his vote out of turn.

A visit by The Tribune to the polling booths on Ferozpur Road (near Medicity), Threeke village and near Baddowal found that women preferred to cast their vote early as it would have been difficult for them to come out of their homes along with their children in the scorching heat.

The polling stations in villages and blocks presented the look of a set for a Punjabi film shoot with villagers gathering around a huge banyan tree, getting their voting slips and moving towards the polling booths.

When asked what kind of leader she wanted to choose as a responsible and aware citizen, Kavita Rani, a resident of Threeke village, immediately replied: "The one who provides us with basic amenities. We have no sewerage system in the village. The pig menace is another problem".

Doraha/ Sahnewal, May 19
The election day seemed to be just another ordinary day for a good number of voters as they never bothered to visit polling booths and exercise their right to franchise.

After talking to this so-called ‘awakened educated lot of voters’, it was revealed that they had literally negated the idea of making choices or for that matter aligning to any political party long ago. “Elections matter nothing for the common man who gets nothing but fake assurances,” they complained.

Residents of several adjoining villages of Sahnewal and Doraha were in a defying mood and refused to visit the polling stations. Their pent-up feelings erupted in the form of grievances, objections and abuses even before this correspondent could begin questioning them. “All this poll buzz is a mere farce and ultimately, nothing practical is going to come out of it. This truth has ultimately dawned upon us,” asserted a villager of Kanganwal.

Certain residents of Kanech village said: “Our village is literally on the verge of destruction, with filth, squalor and sewage seen all around”. “We are utterly deprived of the facilities so essential for our very sustenance,” the villagers, who stayed away from voting, said.

A villager of Gobindgarh said: “We have thoroughly analysed these self-styled ‘thorough’ politicians who never mean what they say and never say what they actually mean. Neither the Alliance nor the Congress can think about general welfare rather they have their own coffers to fill”.

Villagers, both in Sahnewal and Doraha blocks, have been seeking the accordance of their rightful due as far as the grant of basic amenities are concerned, but to no avail. “The drainage system here has got choked at most of the places. Unhygienic conditions are smoothly allowed to prevail. The repair of badly damaged roads is negligible while the clearance of blockages and timely evacuation of stagnant water has seldom taken place. Lighting facilities or regular power supply is almost nonexistent,” lamented the villagers.

“Polls take a heavy toll on our loyalties and alignments to one or the other party. Our faith in either of the parties, during all these years, has been badly shaken,” a non-conformist group added.

Khanna, May 19
Polling in Khanna police district passed off peacefully, except some minor incidents. A clash between the workers of the Congress and the Akalis took place at Hoal village while tension prevailed at Kouri and Bhadla villages.

According to information, polling started on a brisk note but slowed down at noon due scorching heat. In the after noon, people turned up in large numbers and long queues were witnessed. The polling continued even after 4 pm as many voters were waiting for their turn.

The SSP, Khanna, S Bhupati, said polling was peacefully and the voters cast vote without any fear.

Meanwhile, Gurkirat Singh Kotli, Congress MLA from Khanna, alleged that the Akali Dal workers adopted unlawful practices at some booths in Kauri and Bhadla villages.

Ludhiana, May 19
As the votes for the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti polls were cast today, the state Congress seemed to be in no mood to give up its "fight" against the ruling alliance.

Claiming that there is an undercurrent of unrest at the grassroots level in the state, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief, Partap Singh Bajwa, during his visit to Ludhiana today said the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti polls had revved up the party cadre to stand up against the "tyranny of the ruling coalition".

Slamming the Akali Dal for "unfulfilled poll promises", he claimed that the public was unhappy with the ruling alliance. "There's an undercurrent of unrest among the masses," he said, while talking to The Tribune.

The PPCC chief alleged that the Akali Dal was creating a fear psychosis among the voters of the state. "The game plan is to basically keep up this fear psychosis till the parliamentary polls."

He claimed that despite many hurdles, including the rejection of nomination papers, forcible withdrawals, instances of browbeating and violence, the Congress workers had put up a brave front during the Zila Parishad polls.

Lauding the party workers for their dedication and sincere efforts, he declared that the party was completely prepared for the 2014 Parliamentary polls.

Bajwa was in the city to enquire after Rajwinder Singh, who was injured in a firing incident at Rampura Phull in Bathinda. Rajwinder is undergoing treatment at the DMCH in Ludhiana. The state Congress chief was accompanied by the District Congress Committee (Rural) president, Pawan Dewan, and the Congress Legal Cell member, Harpreet Sandhu.

Later, Bajwa also paid a visit to ailing Congress MLA Surinder Dawar.

The PPCC President's cryptic two-liner on the poll results, while talking to The Tribune, was: "The results are in (ballot) boxes. We (the Congress party) stand a good chance (to win)."

Ludhiana, May 19
They felt having grown up as they caste their vote for the first time.

Gurleen Kaur (18), a student of Guru Nanak Girls College and resident of Dhandra village, said it felt great having caste vote for the first time. She said she knew who to vote for as she had been keeping a tab on political developments in her area. Harjot Kaur, a fashion designing student, said she felt excited having exercised her right to franchise for the first time.

Navneet Kaur, who came early to cast her vote along with her brother at Gyan Vidya Mandir School, Dhandra Road, said despite being 21, she voted for the first time because she received her voter card recently.

Harmandeep Kaur, another first-timer, who came to cast her vote at Booth No. 37 at Government School, Alamgir, said although it was an interesting experience to caste vote for the first time, she was expecting voting through the EVMs. "But, it was nice to have the ink mark on the index finger for the first time," she said.

Harnek Singh (21), who works at a store, said he was not sure who to vote for, but came here just for the sake of experience.

Harjot Kaur and Parvinder Kaur said it was the first time they had cast vote.

Ludhiana, May 19
It was a hot Sunday afternoon. Hot winds blew in the dusty lanes of villages. Yet, the scorching heat was no deterrent for village children who enjoyed the 'festive' spirit of the Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections.

Even as children in urban areas had a siesta, those in the rural areas enjoyed the poll buzz. "I always love it whenever elections are there," says eight-year-old Sumit, who was sitting with a group of elderly persons. "Discussions about parties, seats and wards are very interesting," he says. Although he doesn't understand much about politics, he loves watching election campaigns and posters pasted on walls, he says.

Pardeep, a class VIII student, who was sitting under one of the canopies to help voters, said he studied at the Government High School, Alamgir, which had been turned into a polling station. He, along with his friends, was enjoying the day, watching people cast vote at the school. Although none of the youngsters could tell why votes are cast, they said they were happy watching a stream of voters. Ravi, a class V student at government primary school, said he didn't feel much heat and instead enjoyed the day.

Ludhiana, May 19
Electoral politics has developed a different type of culture in villages in the last decade. Now, parties have started contesting the village-level elections on their party symbols. This practice has divided the rural masses into groups.

It's a bitter truth of the rural society that a majority of residents, who are closely associated with political parties, are not on talking terms with one another.

During a visit to a number of villages today, it was observed that most voters had not been casting their vote for a change. The community issues and infrastructural demands are not priorities in the elections. No one knows strengthening the panchayat bodies to develop the villages is the objective behind the Zila Parishad elections.

Ujagar Singh Kamal, a poet and social worker, said: "It was nonsense that political parties have started contesting elections on the party symbols. It will hit our social fabric badly. People should be vigilant about politicians' intentions".

"Though the villages in the adjoining areas of Ludhiana have quite good infrastructure compared to the other villages, they still lack the basics amenities like proper streets, roads and drainage," Hardev Singh of Daad village said.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 19
Despite allegations of large-scale rigging by the SAD during the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections in the region that falls in Ludhiana and Sangrur districts, polling passed off peacefully.

Minor scuffles were reported from several booths and villages, which had not been declared sensitive by the administration.

About 60 per cent voters, including a record number of women and youngsters, cast their vote amid tight security though the allegations of partiality by the polling staff in favour of the ruling party were levelled. Children accompanied their parents to have first-hand experience of polling.

Meanwhile, the SAD workers and leaders, including Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Charanjit Singh Atwal, legislators Iqbal Singh Jhoondan, Darshan Singh Shivalik and Manpreet Singh Ayali, denied any campaign to coerce voters.

An visit by the Ludhiana Tribune to various blocks of this part of Malwa revealed that despite post-harvest and pre-sowing agricultural chores, there was a lot of enthusiasm among the voters.

The young and the elderly could be seen going to village schools where the candidates and their polling agents helped them locate their booths and vote numbers.

A hectic activity was seen at the villages of Chhappar, Hargobindpura, Jandali Khurad, Jandali Kalan, Barundi, Dehlon, Pohir, Malaudh, Butahri, Narangwal and Phallewal.

Polling had to be stopped for some time at several booths as the workers of the Congress and the SAD scuffled over the issue of identification of voters.

In separate cases of alleged bogus voting, certain persons were detained. However, they were let off by villagers following senior Akali and Congress leaders' intervention.

The district administration had made elaborate arrangements to prevent any untoward incident. However, arrangements for the stay of the polling staff were insufficient and the candidates' supporters had to make such arrangements as a goodwill gesture.

Jagraon, May 19
Goods worth lakhs of rupees were destroyed in a major fire that broke out in a multi-story departmental store in Jagraon last late night. As per information, the fire broke out at 10 pm in the Indo-Canadian Departmental Store located near Rani Jhansi Chowk on the Tehsil Road, Jagraon.

The three story building of the store was also badly damaged in the fire. Though the exact cause of the fire has not been determined so far yet it is believed that it broke out due to a short circuit.

The incident came to light when some nearby residents noticed the flames on the ground floor of the departmental store. Within a few minutes hundreds of people gathered on the spot and swung into action to douse the fire. The residents made every possible effort and used whatever they found to control the fire but the fire spread so quickly that it engulfed the upper floors of the departmental store too.

In the absence of any fire station in Jagraon, a water tanker belonging to the Jagraon Municipal Council was used to douse the flames. Though the water tanker could not extinguish the fire in yet it proved quite handy in preventing the fire from spreading further thus saving the other shops and another departmental store located alongside the building.

As soon as the news of fire spread, Jagraon SDM, Gurmit Singh, Naib Tehsildar Manmohan Kaushik and DSP Jagraon Surinder Kumar along with a huge police force also reached the spot.

Ajaib Singh, owner of the departmental story, said he had closed the store and left for his house only around half an hour before the fire broke out. "I came to know about the incident when a person living near my store rang me up and informed about the incident. I immediately rushed the store. But the fire had engulfed whole the building till then. I suffered huge losses due to the fire as goods worth several lakhs of rupees were gutted in the fire," said Ajaib Singh with tears in his eyes.

Jagraon SHO, Mohamad Jamil, said the police is investigating the incident. "A short circuit in electricity wires is supposed to be the main reason behind the fire though the actual cause of fire would be determined after the through investigation," added he.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 19
Over 35 persons were injured when a driver lost control over his bus and rammed into installations situated along the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road at Lehra village near here today.

While 20 injured were shifted to various hospitals at local town, Dehlon and Ludhiana others, with minor injuries were discharged after giving first aid.

Vinod Kumar Misra, Roopa Shah, Surinder Kaur, Gurcharan Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Mohan Lal, Krishan Kumar and the driver of the ill-fated bus were among those admitted at various hospitals.

Sources said the loss could have been much more, had some villagers, who normally sit on chairs at the accident site, not been busy in zila parishad and block samiti elections.

Investigations revealed that the driver of the speeding PRTC bus (PB 08 BN 3397), heading towards Malerkotla from Ludhiana, lost control when it reached near Lehra village. The bus could have demolished the house situated along the roadside, had its front wheels not stuck in a drain constructed on side of the road.

Nearby villagers and passers-by rescued profusely bleeding passengers and rushed the victims to hospitals in ambulances and private vehicles. The police was yet to ascertain reason behind the accident.

Ludhiana, May 19
Slowdown in the automotive sector is giving tough times to the local forging industry. This sector is facing the challenges of increased costs of steel, other raw materials and growing power tariffs apart from the heavy taxation system. Cheap imports from China are proving a doubly whammy for this sector.

In order to diversify and reduce dependence on the automotive sector, the forging industry is consciously taking some other sectors, including power and manufacturing.

“We will be witnessing a flat business throughout this year mainly due to slowdown in the automotive industry. The sector is dependant on the automotive business which contributes to about 70 per cent of its total business. Due to slowdown in the auto parts business we are also facing tough times,” said Davinder Kumar, a unit owner.

He said industry here also faced power cuts which further increased the cost of production. “We have to depend on costly power supplies or generate power using diesel gensets which turns out to be very costly,” Davinder added.

“Such high input costs make the forging industry unremunerative in the backdrop of growing global competition,” said Hargobind Dass, another unit owner.

In a fragmented forging industry, majority of the companies come under the small and medium industry category. They do not have the flexibility to adjust to such demanding environment.

While costs are going up, there are challenges in the power sector also and increasing competition from Chinese companies. In fact, Chinese companies are supplying equipment and also providing relatively cheaper credit to power sector companies.

The dumping of low-priced goods in the domestic market by Chinese manufacturers is alarming since it is eating into the market share of the small-scale forging units. Consequently, a large number of SMEs are incurring huge losses.

Ludhiana, May 19
King of fruits “Mango”, has arrived in the city. The markets are flooded with the luscious, juicy varieties of mangoes in different colours and shapes alluring customers to buy each variety. Some are meant to be eaten ripe, while others are best eaten when they're green and raw.

From mangoes that are as small as ping pong balls to large ones that weigh as much as two to three kgs, each one is a gourmet's treat. Many delicacies are prepared from different varieties of mangoes. Aam panna, mango shrikand, mango ice-cream, mango shake, mango lassi, aam ras, mango pickle, mango chutney, mango jam are just a few to name. South Indians love to eat mango thokku and mango rice. Local bakeries are busy preparing cheesecakes, pastries, puddings, soufflé and other desserts centered on mangoes to keep that sweet tooth satiated.

“There are many varieties of mango juice available in the market. But nothing can beat that feeling of biting through a freshly cut mango,” said Ashita, a city resident.

Mangoes which entered the market three weeks ago at the rate of Rs 100 per kg are now being sold at half the price. According to traders, rising sales have helped pull down the prices.

Ludhiana, May 19
The Central Excise Department has launched a voluntary disclosure scheme (VDS) for service tax. Those who have not paid their taxes in the past can now pay it without any interest and penalty.

The scheme provides format for declaration of liability, acknowledgement by departmental authorities etc along with procedure of the payment of tax dues and related departmental procedures.

The forms prescribed are Form VCES-1, 2 and 3. It basically provides for declaration of true liability, payment of tax without interest if payment is made by the specified date, payment of tax without interest if payment is made after due dates.

“Any person whether already registered as service tax assessee or not, can avail the benefit of this scheme except in the cases if the service tax liability has already been determined by adjudication order issued before March 1, 2013 or if a notice has been issued for the period under the scheme October, 2007 to December, 2012,” said Rajeev Sharma, a chartered accountant.

Besides, those who cannot avail the benefit are those assesses against whom any audit, enquiry or order is pending for adjudication by March 1, 2013 and if the service tax return has been filed disclosing the true liability but service tax has not been paid, added Sharma.

“The persons who have not filed their returns at all, or who have not filed any of their returns, who have not even taken the registrations, or who have made short payment of tax by way of declaration of lesser tax liability than actually due may avail benefit of this scheme,” said a senior official from the department.

Jagraon, May 19
In a tragic road accident, a youth in his twenties was crushed to death by an unknown speeding truck near the Sidhwan Bet town located on the Jagraon-Jalandhar highway here today.

The deceased has been identified as Gurcharan Singh, a resident of Raipur Gujjran village near Sidhwan Bet.

As per the information, the accident took place when Gurcharan was returning to his village after visiting Jagraon for some work.

Sources said, Gurcharan boarded a Sidhwan Bet bound bus from Jagraon bus stand and reached Sidhwan Bet around 3 pm. "After stepping out of the bus at Sidhwan Bet, Gurcharan was crossing a road. But unfortunately, he failed to notice a truck coming from the Nakodar side and he was crushed under the truck (PB 06 L 2892) in the middle of the road," added the sources.

He was immediately rushed to the Civil Hospital, Sidhwan Bet, where he was declared brought dead by the doctors.

Meanwhile, the driver of the truck managed to flee from the scene along with the truck immediately after the accident. After some time, a police team from the Sidhwan Bet police station visited the spot and started the investigation. Later, the police handed over the dead body of the victim youth to his family members after conducting a postmortem examination.

SHO of the Sidhwan Bet, Jangjit Singh, said the police has registered a case against an unidentified driver in this regard and further investigation is on.

"The truck driver fled from the scene after the accident and he has been absconding so far. The police has been searching for him," added the SHO.

Gurcharan was pursuing BBA at a Jagraon-based college. It was learnt that he was the only brother of his five sisters. Heartrending scenes were witnessed when the body was brought to his house.

Ludhiana, May 19
Controversial policeman, Inspector Dilpreet Singh, is now in a new controversy as the city police has registered a case of dowry against him on his wife’s complaint in the police station women cell on Friday. Hardeep Kaur, wife of Dilpreet, has alleged that Dilpreet was harassing her for dowry mentally and physically.

Dilpreet and Hardeep had married on January 31, 2004. But their marriage life was disturbed soon after. Hardeep had already started living in her parental house at Aadarsh Colony, Badewal road, due to the tensed relationship between them.

According to the police at police station women cell, the case has been registered after a long enquiry. No arrest has been made so far in this context yet. "Efforts have been on to arrest the accused who is at large," SI Manjit Singh, Women Cell.

It has been learnt that Dilpreet was booked in four separate cases including rape, opening fire into the air in Shimla. Dilpreet Singh had also registered a case of attempt to murder against his elder brother, Harpreet Singh, on February 6. His wife had also registered a case of giving poisonous substance to her some year ago.

Ludhiana, May 19
In a freak incident, a 10-year-old boy is feared to have been drowned after falling into Sutlej river here this evening.

The boy has been identified a Mann Singh from Phagwara, He had reportedly visited the bridge over Satlej along with his parents to immerse some wheat and rice in the river as told to them by some astrologer.

Ludhiana, May 19
A 16-year-old boy went missing under mysterious circumstances from Model Gram area. The boy has been identified as Pawan Kumar, a resident of Gandhi Colony. His elder brother, Amit said Pawan went to school in the morning yesterday.

Ludhiana, May 19
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered that the owner of Olivia, a restaurant that was sealed by the MC due to parking related violations, may approach the MC to get an alternate site sanctioned for parking. But the MC officials claim that the basement of Olivia restaurant is 'illegal' and has been constructed without taking permission from the MC.

Due to the parking related violations, the MC officers had sealed the entrance of a banquet hall of a former Congress MLA Jassi Khangura's Hotel Majestic Park Plaza (a five-star hotel), a restaurant named Olivia and KP Complex, a commercial complex, on May 10. This action was taken following the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Owner of the Olivia restaurant did not provide rear parking but are now willing to provide their basement for parking purposes.

After this drive, Nitin Kansal, owner of restaurant, had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, through his counsel Harpreet Sandhu.

The court, on May 15, passed an order stating, "The applicant may approach the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, with a proposal that instead of rear side parking space as was originally proposed, the applicant may be permitted to shift the parking area on the alternative space which is more than the rear side space. The Municipal Corporation shall pass an appropriate order in this respect before the date fixed in the main case, i.e. May 20."

Harpreet Sandhu has now submitted an application to the MC stating that Kansal had provided parking space measuring 1,300 square feet, which was almost double the parking area, which he was supposed to leave on the rear side (as per the building plan).

A building branch official said, "The basement was constructed without taking permission from the MC."

When contacted, Assistant Town Planner (Zone D), Rajinder Sharma, he stated that he has brought the matter to the notice of his senior officers and that they would take decision in this regard.

Pranaav Jerry Chopra. A file photograph

Ludhiana, May 19
City shuttler, Pranaav Jerry Chopra, has again hogged limelight as his name figures in the list of Indian players who have been selected to represent the country in the Sudirman Badminton Cup to be held in Malaysia from May 19 onwards.

Sources in the badminton apex body, Badminton Association of India, said that Pranaav has been chosen to take part in this prestigious international badminton tournament.

Around 500 shuttlers from over 50 nations across the world will be seen in action during this event. Pranaav will be paring with Akshay Dewalkar to compete in the doubles category.

The duo has already done the nation proud by brining laurels in various tournaments of repute. They have also taken part earlier in the Thomas Cup, Asian and World Championships.

Besides, Pranaav won gold medal in the TATA International and FAJR International Challenge Cup in Tehran, silver medal in the Swiss International Meet and a bronze medal in the Youth Commonwealth Games and bronze medal in the World Junior Championship.