Ludhiana, August 7
Rumour-mongering will cost miscreants dear as Commissioner of Police Paramjit Singh Gill has decided to take stern action against anti-social elements spreading panic in the city.

He said the weapon licence of those firing shots on the pretext of "shooing away" "imaginary members" of the Kala Kachha and the African gangs would be cancelled.

A few days ago, nearly 15 residents, who were carrying firearms, shot nearly 50 rounds on the suspicion that a member of the notorious Kala Kachha gang had entered a primary school.

One person was injured in the incident. Feeling embarrassed, he, however, maintained that he was shot at by members of the Kala Kachha gang.

"Bizarre display of hooliganism will not be tolerated. If anyone is found using firearms and creating panic, his weapon licence will be cancelled. Quick reaction teams have been deployed in all police stations. In case of an emergency, people can always call the police for help. Use of firearms will not serve the purpose," said the Commissioner of Police.

Justifying the decision of registering a case against a woman and a man for spreading rumours, he said the woman, Surinder Kaur, a resident of Goushala in Kakowal village, had called on the helpline No. 100 and stated that some men with "bare bodies" had attacked residents. Surinder Kaur had used her neighbour Deepak Gupta's mobile phone to call on the helpline number.

When the police reached the spot, the information provided was found to be false.

Taking stern action, the police booked the duo under Section 68-J of the Punjab Police Act, 2007, for rumour-mongering and spreading panic among residents.

The Commissioner of Police said the cyber cell had also been alerted to keep a watch on miscreants spreading rumours by using the mobile messaging application, "Whatsapp".

Yesterday, the city police and the administration were taken for a ride when a rumour was spread that the old Sutlej bridge had collapsed and 10 cars had fallen into it.

Congress leader Ishawarjot Cheema said,"This reflects a failure on the part of the police. People are falling prey to rumours as the police has failed to instill confidence in them. Everyone knows that the old Sutlej bridge is in a dilapidated condition and people easily believed the rumour that it had collapsed."

Ludhiana, August 7
Vishal Gumbar, former chairman of Ludhiana Stock Exchange Securities Limited (LSESL) has been debarred from being a sub-broker. He cannot even act as a client of a sub-broker. Gumbar was found guilty of transferring Rs 1 crore into his personal account, which he later returned.

Meanwhile, the parent company, the Ludhiana Stock Exchange (LSE), has been sent a letter to decide on Gumbar's membership. The Board of Directors of the LSESL took this decision on the basis of a report submitted by the inquiry committee, headed by Ajay Chaudhary. The inquiry committee has also asked it to seek legal opinion in the matter.

"Now, Gumbar can neither be a sub-broker nor can he be the client of a sub-broker. The decision was taken by the Board of Directors," said Ajay Chaudhary.

Meanwhile, the resignations of two other employees, Ananpreet Kaur, General Manager of Ludhiana Stock Exchange Securities Limited, and Jasmeet Singh, accounts head, had been accepted and they would not be issued any moral or character certificates by the LSESL, said Chaudhary.

VP Gaur, chairperson of the Ludhiana Stock Exchange, said he had received a letter from the LSESL today. "I have called a meeting tomorrow in which the issue will be discussed. The final decision regarding Gumbar's membership will be taken in the general body meeting of the LSE," said Gaur.

Ludhiana, August 7
A 50-year-old "schizophrenic" allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the third floor of a private hospital in the Haibowal area here today. The deceased has been identified as Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Mohi village near Mullapur.

According to Gurmeet's son Tajinder Singh, his father left the room on the pretext of having a stroll in the corridor.

Suddenly, he heard the screams of people. Initially, Tajinder thought it was a road accident, but was taken aback when the hosptial staff said someone had jumped from the hosptial.

Tajinder rushed downstairs and was shocked to find his father lying dead.

He told the police that Gurmeet was admitted to the hospital two days ago. Gurmeet's wife had died three years ago, after which he went into depression. 

Ludhiana, August 7
A special school for poor meritorious students will commence from the next academic session at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). The school will come up at an estimated cost of about Rs 25 crore.

The school will cater to students from in and around Ludhiana who score above 80 per cent marks in the Class X exams. Education and the hostel facility will be provided to the students (both girls and boys) free of cost.

"This school will be the first of its kind in the state. Five more such special schools will come up in Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali, Amritsar and Bathinda districts in the next phase," said a top official of the Education Department in Chandigarh.

"These special schools will provide free education to about 1,000 students. These schools are a dream project of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who is personally taking interest to start these at the earliest. He is holding regular meetings with officials in this regard," said the official.

He said the schools were being started to provide quality education to intelligent students, who belonged to poor families. The students would be given professional training in Class XI and Class XII.

"A recruitment board has been set up by the government to appoint special teachers for these schools. The board members include the vice-chancellors of two universities in the state, besides the Principal Secretary, Education," said the official.

Ludhiana, August 7
A 55-year-old production manager of a factory unit died after a water tank fell on him at the unit on the Rahon road last evening.

The victim has been identified as Inderjit Singh, a resident of the Tibba road. A father of two daughters and a son, the victim was working in Pushkar Hosiery on the Rahon road.

According to the victim's daughter, Kirti, her father had called her minutes before the incident.

Factory workers said the incident took place around 7.30 pm, when Inderjit was inspecting the factory unit to ensure that no one was left on the premises.

He was on the top floor, when suddenly a water tank fell on him. Hearing a thud, workers rushed to the top floor and shifted a badly injured Inderjit Singh to a private hospital.

His condition worsened following which he was taken to a multi-speciality hospital where he was declared brought dead.

It is learnt that the owner of the unit, Suraj Parkash Jain, was in a state of shock and had to be taken to a hospital.

Meanwhile, Inderjit's relatives today staged a protest at the factory unit demanding the registration of a murder case against the factory owner.

The protesters, including Kavi, Mukesh, Gagan and Billa, said the police should investigate "whether Inderjit was murdered and his death shown as an accident". The police is yet to register a case.

victim a resident of tibba road

The victim has been identified as Inderjit Singh, a resident of Tibba road. A father of two daughters and a son, the victim was working in Pushkar Hosiery on the Rahon road. He was inspecting the unit when the mishap took place

Ludhiana, August 7
Politics for most women might be a "relative" business, with a majority of the women across the country joining politics only if they're from a political family or have a relative in active politics. Yet if BJP Mahila Morcha national president Saroj Pandey is to be believed, the BJP Mahila Morcha will play an important role in the 2014 parliamentary poll.

"As the leader of the BJP Mahila Morcha, it will be my endeavour to get the party ticket for as many Mahila Morcha members as possible," said the two-time Mayor from Durg in Chhattisgarh, who was later elected as an MLA and an MP. "We will put this issue forth for consideration of the party election committee," she said.

In the 2014 parliamentary poll, at every polling booth two women party workers will be deployed along with their male counterparts, said Pandey. In February 2014, a convention will be organised to train party workers in this connection.

Flaying the UPA government for having "failed" to provide a secure environment to women, Pandey alleged that the Union Government was not serious about the security of women. "Women are being raped and killed. They are being exploited by unscrupulous elements. It's a sorry state of affairs, yet the Centre continues to have a cavalier attitude towards women-related issues," alleged the Mahila Morcha president.

Maintaining an aggressive stance, she alleged that not even a single rupee from the "Nirbhaya Fund" had been spent on the rehabilitation of rape victims.

Ludhiana, August 7
Seven persons, including the sons of two cops, have been booked for dumping the body of an alleged drug addict, who died due to a drug overdose in 2009.

The accused, Yadwinder Singh, alias Kala, Manpreet Singh, Pardeep Kumar, Amrik Singh, Harkamalpreet Singh, Pirthipal Singh and Nandu, all residents of Shimlapuri and the surrounding areas, were booked by the police here today.

Yadwinder Singh and Pardeep Singh are sons of police officers Santosh Kumar and Ashwani Kumar. Santosh Kumar and Ashwani Kumar are serving as additional station house officers in in the city.

According to the police, the incident dates back to 2009, when a 25-year-old man, identified as Sunny, a resident of Janta Nagar, arrived at Yadwinder Singh's house. Both of them consumed smack. Sunny fell unconscious due to a drug overdose.

Yadwinder Singh was also on a high and soon fell asleep. The next day when Yadwinder Singh woke up, he was shocked to learn from a migrant, Nandu, that Sunny died due to a drug overdose.

Instead of informing the police and family members of Sunny, Yadwinder Singh planned to dump his body. He called his accomplices and narrated the incident to them.

They arranged a car and reached the Sirhind feeder canal near Doraha where they dumped Sunny's body.

After dumping the body, they visited the Alamgir gurdwara where they took an oath to keep the incident a secret.

However, the police came to know about the incident from its sources and arrested Yadwinder Singh, Manpreet Singh, Pardeep Kumar, Amrik Singh, Harkamalpreet Singh. A hunt is on to nab Gurpreet Singh, alias Raju and Nandu.

During questioning, the accused confessed to having committed the crime.

They also admitted that all of them had got hooked to smack and were chronic drug addicts.

The police has booked them under Sections 304-A and 201 of the IPC for "involuntarily" causing death and destroying evidence.

Doraha, August 7
The BJP Yuva Morcha at Doraha, Payal, and Sahnewal came out on the road and raised slogans against Pakistan for its alleged involvement in the killing of five Indian soldiers today. They urged the Indian Government to scrap all ties with Pakistan. Onkar Aggarwal, district vice-president of the BJP Yuva Morcha, said, "India should respond aggressively to any incident of firing by the Pakistani forces. It was a well-planned move and our government should understand that Pakistan can never be our well wisher."

Rohit Gupta, general secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha, Doraha, Lakhvir Singh, president, mandal Doraha, Vijay Mal Gupta, general secretary, mandal Doraha, were among those who prominently participated in the protest march taken out through the main market of the town. The protesters burnt the effigy of Pakistan in front of former Chief Minister Beant Singh's statue. They raised slogans against the Pakistan government.

"This has been continuing for years now. Pakistan nurtures hatred against India. It is revealed from time to time through such brutal acts.

"India should not overlook the blunders Pakistan keep on committing from time to time.The truth of the entire situation is that Pakistan is trying to degrade our country in every possible way," the protesters said. 

Doraha, August 7
As per the orders of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU), the teachers of all private colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh shall observe two-period-stay-in strike tomorrow. The same shall be carried on August 13 while on August 22 all the teachers shall hold protest march in front of DPI colleges in Mohali.

“The first quarterly grant which should be distributed in the month of April has not yet reached despite the fact that Rs 200 crore has been sanctioned in the annual budget by the Punjab Government. Even in the previous session, only two quarters of Rs 43 crore each were disbursed and the third quarter was disbursed only to half of the 136 aided colleges of Punjab. This resulted in around 2,000 teachers waiting for their salaries from past nine months and around 1,000 teachers for the past 12 months,” said Dr Kuldip Singh, general secretary.

“The cases of Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) are lying pending in DPI colleges for many months because of ambiguity regarding UGC notification. The higher education department of Union Territory, Chandigarh, has kept the cases pending for a long time. This despite the fact that the UGC notification of September 2009 paragraph tenth, clearly states that until and unless the respective state governments does not notify the new scheme, the old CAS will continue. Neither the Punjab Government nor the UT administration has notified the new CAS till now.,” said Dr. PS Gill, president.

Prof Komal, district president, said, “The other pending demands include the amendment in the Service Security Act of 1974, creation of posts of professors in aided colleges, arrears of pay revision of teachers working against un-aided posts, relaxation of refresher courses , speeding up the case of arrears of DPEs/Librarians lying pending from January 1, 1996, similarities in granting PhD increments with the counter-part Government colleges, initiation of dialogue on Pension scheme, etc.”

Ludhiana, August 7
The Punjab Aided School Teachers' and Other Employees' Union has threatened to intensify their agitation if state government did not merge aided schools with government schools. The protest of the association entered third day today and the state president of the union, Gurcharan Singh Chahal, said if the schools were not merged soon, then teachers would intensify their struggle and would not feel hesitant to go to jails. 

Jagraon, August 7
The suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal by the Uttra Pradesh Government has annoyed the common people as well as the representatives of different officer lobbies throughout the country.

Nagpal, who had shown courage and dared to stop the illegal sand mining while performing her duty as the Divisional Magistrate in Gautam Budh Nagar of Uttra Pradesh, was suspended by the state government some days ago.

But the controversy has put the UP Government on back foot.

This controversy has increased the pressure on the state government manifolds and brought a lot of embarrassment for the government.

Though, the state government led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has been facing strong criticism over the issue, it government seems immovable and it has not revoked its decision the despite repeated demand by the public as well as the representatives of different associations of officers.

The suspension of Nagpal by UP Government has scared the officials working at various places in Punjab too.

The sand mining is taking place at various places throughout the state. This has made the authorities reluctant to take action against powerful and illegal sand mining lobbies.

According to sources, the illegal mining of sand has been going on unchecked at various places near the Sutlej.

"Though the authorities are well aware of the practice, yet they do not take any action against such people as the people involved in the illegal mining have links with senior leaders of the state government," said sources.

Gurmit Singh, SDM, Jagraon, said the administration was in constant touch with the Mining Department officials as well as the police to stop the illegal mining near Sutlej.

"Whenever we receive information about it, we immediately conduct raids. Several cases have been registered against many persons in this regard. We have impounded my transporting vehicles and machines," said the SDM. 

Khamano, August 7
A confrontation was averted between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supporters and the Congress workers today. They had entered into a heated argument over the election of the office-bearers for the Khamano block samiti. Local SAD MLA Justice (retd) Nirmal Singh and Congress MLA Charanjit Singh Channi were also present during the heated arguments.

The Akali Dal bagged the the post the chairman and vice-chairman of the samiti amidst protest by the Congress and PPP leaders. Where the local Akali Dal MLA Nirmal Singh claimed that the party had won due to the policies of the Punjab Government, the Congress leaders termed it an eye wash. In Khamano block samiti elections, six members of the Akali Dal remained victorious while the Congress and PPP bagged seven and two seats respectively. In today's election, all 15 members of the samiti were present and Kulwinder Kaur of the Akali Dal was elected as the chairperson of the samiti by SDM-cum-returning-officer Sukhdev Singh Mahal. She secured 8 votes out of 15. Congress candidate Jaswinder Kaur could get only seven votes. Darshan Singh Billa of the Akali Dal was elected as the vice-chairman of samiti. He got eight votes. Congress-PPP candidate Gurcharan Singh Dhindsa could get only 7 votes.

Interestingly, out of the 8 Congress-PPP votes, only 7 members votes in favour of their candidate. After the elections, the Congress leaders, including Malwa Zone in charge MLA Charanjit Singh Channi, Amrik Singh Dhillon, MLA, Samrala, and Harbans Singh Pandher alleged that they were not allowed to enter the meeting premises. They staged a protest and termed the elections as betrayal. They said they would raise the issue with Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa. They also raised slogans against the Punjab Government.

Meanwhile, Justice (retd) Nirmal Singh, MLA of the area, who was jubilant after the victory said the voting was done as per the law and the Akali Dal candidates had majority of voters. He flayed the charges of the Congress leaders. A number of Akali Dal and BJP workers raised slogans after the declaration of the result. Earlier, the elections for these posts were postponed two days ago due to the lack of quorum as only eight Akali Dal members had turned up for the meeting. 

Ludhiana, August 7
Hands were raised and eyes were closed in the prayer of almighty Allah as namaz was performed on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr in the city. The Eid marks the end of Ramzan, the month of fasting for the Muslim community. People were excited about the festival and wore new clothes, exchanged gifts and offered namaz .

Shahi imam of Punjab has appealed to the Muslim community to see the moon on August 8. If the moon is out, then Eid will be celebrated on August 9. Otherwise, it would be celebrated on August 10, shahi imam of Jama Masjid said.

During the month of Ramzan, Muslims observed "roza" everyday and broke the fast in the evening, Muhammad Muskeem, principal secretary to the shahi imam said. He said the festival and the month was a gift from Allah. "During this month, every Muslim is supposed to keep away from evils, practise charity, help the poor," he said.

"Every Muslim should forget differences and feeling of animosity. This is the month to keep away from worldly desires and achieve purity ," said Irfan, a resident.

"There is a feeling of brotherhood in the city and all community members congratulate, share greetings during the fesival," a resident of Field Ganj area said. 

Ludhiana, August 7
Tax deductors beware!. Those who default in depositing tax deducted at source (TDS) in the government account are now liable for prosecution under Section 276B of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

According to a notification issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) recently, tax deductors who default in depositing tax deducted at source (TDS) in the government account, after deducting the amount from specified payments, are now liable for prosecution.

According to sources in the department, it had come to the notice of the Income Tax Department that many deductors were deliberately not depositing the taxes so deducted in the government account and were deploying the funds so retained for business purposes or for personal use.

“Such retention of government dues beyond the due date is an offence liable for prosecution under Section 276B of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The defaulter, if convicted, can be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for a term, which can extend up to seven years," said the CBDT.

“For the benefit of public at large, it is now clarified that defaulters, who have retained the TDS deducted and failed to deposit the same in the government account within the due date, will be liable for prosecution, irrespective of the period of retention,” said the CBDT in the notification.

“However, the offence under Section 276B of the Income Tax Act can be compounded by the Chief Commissioner having jurisdiction on the case, either before or after the launching of prosecution proceedings. In the recent past, several defaulters have submitted petitions for compounding of such offences and compounding orders have also been passed by the Competent Authority in suitable cases," it added.

Ludhiana, August 7
As part of the 21st World Breastfeeding Week celebrations, the Department of Pediatrics and IAP, Ludhiana, today organised a declamation contest on the topic “breastfeeding: support and close to mothers”.

The speakers, during the contest, underlined the importance of breastfeeding for achieving the overall physical and mental growth of children.

Dr Daljit Singh, Principal and Professor of Pediatrics, said: “Convincing a new mother or a family on breastfeeding a newborn within an hour of birth or up to six months continues to be a tough task”.

He said: “Age-old myths like giving honey or sacred water from the local temple to the infant still continues to be the norm. This is followed by people living in both the rural and urban areas”.

“One of the common practices in India is to give bottle milk, which is dangerous for babies,” said Dr Harmesh Singh Bains, Professor and Head of pediatrics. Feeding with bottle milk can lead to respiratory infections, diarrhoea and malnutrition.

According to a data published recently, in rural areas, myths and age-old traditions prevent women from breastfeeding, while in urban areas, most working mothers don't have the time to breastfeed their infants.

"The health of babies should be of prime importance. Working women can extract breast milk and maintain it at room temperature for nearly eight hours and give it at short intervals. It will not do any harm to infants,” said Dr Promila Jindal, Professor and Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Informative lectures

The Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Neonatology and Paediatrics at SPS Apollo jointly organised a series of initiatives for observing World Breastfeeding Week. As part of this public awareness initiative, the hospital organised a series of informative lectures and interactive sessions for the public, patients as well as the hospital staff. August 1 to August 7 is also being observed as the breastfeeding week on the hospital premises. Over 100 people participated in a special educative programme in the hospital today.

The programme was an interactive session on complete maternal and child nutrition. It was attended by over 100 lactating and pregnant women.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Zeenie Sarda Girn, senior consultant, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, enlightened the audience on preparing themselves for breastfeeding.

Dr Venus Bansal, consultant, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, highlighted the importance of nutrition for lactating mothers.

Dr Pradeep Kumar Sharma, senior consultant, Department of Neonatology, focused on the benefits of breastfeeding, while Dr Vikas Bansal, senior consultant, Department of Pediatrics, discussed about complementary feeding.

The session served as an open platform to the receptive audience and solved their queries related to breastfeeding. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 7
To celebrate International Breastfeeding Week, the Hind Institute of Paramedical Sciences and Civil Hospital, Ahmedgarh, organised an awareness camp and a seminar for women and health workers here.

The speakers, including the convener of the project, Dr Sunit Hind, Dr AK Handa, SMO, Dr Garima and Dr Punit, discussed the health problems of adolescents and reproductive women and the legal rights of the women.

Doctors highlighted the myths and facts about breastfeeding.

Dr Handa said breastfeeding within one hour of the delivery could save 22 per cent infants.

He said this could also save children from diseases like hypertension, heart ailments and diabetes later in the life.

Pardeep Sethi and Inderpal Singh Walia presidents of the local units of the Rotary Club and Lions Club, called upon the residents to launch a movement to educate students of various institutes to prepare themselves for the benefit of the younger generation.

Ludhiana, August 7
Don Bosco Global School celebrated the Teej festival on Wednesday. The children impressed everyone with their mellifluous song, colourful dupattas. Girls enjoyed swing in the rainy and pleasant weather. The teachers danced with the students, applied Heena on their hand and sang songs. Traditionally, the festivals is important from the cultural and religious point of view. A Teej queen was chosen from every class.

Maple Bear Canadian Playway & Nursery School

Maple Bear Canadian Playway & Nursery School, Udham Singh Nagar, celebrated the Teej festival with great fanfare and enthusiasm. The Teej is an important festival for the Punjabi girls. This month is eagerly waited by the Punjabis as different festivals fall during this time of year. The children actively participated in the celebrations. Heena was applied on the hands of girls during the celebrations. The children participated in rangoli, mehendi, dance, singing and painting events. The girls also performed giddha on the occasion.

Babies' Paradise Playway School

Babies' Paradise Playway School celebrated the Teej, a festival of swings on Wednesday. The girls dressed up as punjabi "mutiyars". Malpuras, kheer and bangles were were distributed among the children. Heena was also applied on girls' hands. The children danced and sang many songs during the celebrations.

Hindi declamation contest

Ludhiana, August 7
Vardhman Textiles Limited is undertaking expansion activities with spinning project at Satlapur, (MP), which has been partly commissioned with a capacity of 29,568 spindles during the current quarter, and will become fully operational with a capacity of about 70,000 spindles during the current financial year.

The company is also coming up with expansion at its Budhni plant (MP) with 230 looms and about 55,000 spindles, which will be commissioned during the current financial year and will further add to the capacities.

The spokesperson for the company said the company recorded its highest-ever net profit of Rs 144.50 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013, as compared to Rs 54.89 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, registering an increase of 163 per cent.

The net profit increased by 25.38 per cent in comparison to the immediately preceding quarter. The company witnessed an improvement in almost all operational parameters.

The net sales of the company is Rs 1,193.61 crore as compared to Rs 939.58 crore in quarter ended June 30, 2012, showing an increase of about 27 per cent.

Khanna, August 7
A state-level function will be held on August 15 at Issru village to pay tributes to martyr Karnail Singh Issru.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will be the chief guest. This was stated by Rahul Tewari, DC Ludhiana, at a meeting of civil and police officials at Nagar Council office in Khanna while taking stock of the arrangements.

He told Satinderpal Singh, Superintendent of Police (H) Khanna, to take care of the safety measures and to arrange proper parking facilities along with planning of proper routes for the flow of traffic. He also directed the officials concerned to make arrangements for cleaning, temporary bath rooms, health services, drinking water and seating.—OC

Appointed

Bhupinder Singh and Mukesh Kumar have been appointed as the president of ward number 41 and 46 of Bhai Ghanaiya Ji Mission Sewa Society, respectively. The newly appointed presidents said, “Our main fight is against drugs and we want to make society free from it. A society or a country can progress only if its youth is healthy and hearty.” To make our society progress, we need to make our society drug-free, they said.

Meeting

A special meeting of Bahujan Samaj Party was held on Wednesday. Workers from ward number 3 and 4 also participated in the meeting. Sohan Lal Shudar said the base of any party should be strong to make it a success. “Now our main focus lies on making the party strong at the ground level,” he said.

Procession held

District unit of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front burnt an effigy of Pakistan. The unit conducted a procession near Domoria Bridge and raised slogans against the killing of jawans at LoC and appealed to the Indian government to retaliate.

Pension received after 25 years

A widow received the family pension 25 years after her husband's demise. The PWD Retirees Welfare Association’s district president Vijay Marjara said two years back Darshanpal Kaur had approached the association and the members approached further, but the officials did not pay any heed. “After consistent efforts by the association, the family pension has finally been released,” members of the association said.

Elected

Ruby Nanchahal has been elected as the secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Mahila Congress. The Punjab Pradesh Mahila Congress president Malti Thapar congratulated Nanchahal on her appointment.— TNS

Ludhiana, August 7
The police has booked Kulwinder Singh, a resident of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, for harassing his wife for dowry. The case has been registered after the investigation by ADCP-IV. Gurjinder Kaur, a resident of Hadiwal village, said she got married to Kulwinder Singh in 2011. After sometime, her husband started harassing her for dowry. She brought the matter to the notice of the police, following which a case under Sections 406, 498-A of the IPC was registered against the accused.

Woman drug peddler nabbed

The city police has nabbed a woman drug peddler with 5 kg of poppy husk. The accused has been identified as Gurmail Kaur, alias Molo, a resident of Gill village. Gurmel Kaur (50) was nabbed from a police checkpoint at Mohalla Jasdev Nagar, Gill road, here yesterday. The police suspected her activities and on checking her belongings, the police seized 5 kg of poppy husk from her possession. She was booked under Sections 15-61-85 of the NDPS Act.

Couple booked for carrying opium

The city police has booked a couple for carrying 500 gm of opium and 55 kg of poppy husk. The accused have been identified as Daljit Kaur and Inderjit Singh, residents of BRS Nagar. The incident took place on Monday night. The accused were heading towards the Ferozepur road in a Tata Indigo car. On spotting the police at a checkpoint, Inderjeet alighted from the car and fled the scene. During the search, the police seized 500 gm of opium and 55 kg of poppy husk from the possession of the accused. A case under various sections of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused.

Gang of vehicle thieves busted, 4 held

With the arrest of four persons, the police claimed to have busted a gang of vehicle lifters and thieves. The accused have been identified as Deepak Dhaliwal, alias Deep, a resident of Mundian Khurd, Balwinder Singh, alias Bobby, of Machhiwara, Munna Kumar of Mundian Kalan and Deepak Kumar of Lakshaman Nagar. The accused were nabbed following a tip-off. The police was informed that the accused, who were riding on two stolen motorcycles, were heading towards the Gill road through the Kohara side to sell the bikes. The police laid a trap and nabbed the accused on the GT Road. The police also impounded the stolen bikes. The police also recovered eight cellphones and one camera from their possession. During questioning, the accused confessed that they had stolen these articles. A case under Section 411 of the IPC has been registered against the accused.

Attempt to commit suicide

An inmate has been booked for attempting to commit suicide at the Women's Jail at Tajpur. The accused has been identified as Shashi Kanta. The incident took place yesterday night. The inmates spotted Shashi Kanta while trying to strangle herself. The prisoners informed the jail authorities about the incident. After conducting the investigation, the police registered a case against Shashi Kanta under Section 309 of the IPC.

Travel agents booked

The city police has booked two persons for running a travel agency without a licence. The accused have been identified as Vipal Sehgal, a resident of New Tagore Nagar, and Haibowal Kalan and Gaurav Tondon of Joshi Nagar. The case has been registered following an investigation by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the police. It was found that the accused were running a travel agency and were giving advertisements without having the government licence for the same. A case under Sections 10-16-24 of the Immigration Act has been registered against the accused.

Two thieves nabbed

With the arrest of two persons, the city police claimed to have busted a gang of thieves who had so far targeted four houses in the Rishi Nagar area. The police has also arrested the man who used to purchase stolen articles from the accused. The accused have been identified as Shubham Kumar and Sunny Singh. The trader, who used to purchase stolen articles from the duo, has been identified as Rajinder Kumar. The duo was nabbed from Rishi Nagar late last night. The police has recovered three cooking gas cylinder, a stolen Maruti A-Star car, an LCD television and cellphones from their possession. The accused told the police that they had handed over the rest of the material to Rajinder. They also told the police that in order to ensure that no occupant was in the house, they used to check the electricity meter. They told the policed that the light installed in the electricity meter blinks after 32 seconds if no electricity was used.

Remand extended

The local court today extended the police remand of Amit Kumar, the key accused in the Manish Bharara kidnapping case, till August 12. Amit was arrested on July 31. Harpreet Sandhu, advocate, counsel of the complainant, argued that Amit was one of the main accused involved in this most heinous crime and the accused, along with other accused, Sahil, carried the ransom amount of Rs 4.62 crore to Himachal Pradesh. After listening to the arguments, the court extended the police remand of Amit till August 12.

Goldsmith claims theft

Ashok Trara, a goldsmith of the Sarafan Bazaar, said three persons barged into his jewellery store around 8:30 pm and took away a bag containing gold ornaments worth Rs 40 lakh. He has not reported the matter to the police. Some of the goldsmiths of the Sarafan Bazaar said Ashok was raising a false alarm. They claimed that no such incident took place.

Ludhiana, August 7
On the third day of the District-Level School Games, matches of cricket, badminton, basketball, chess and swimming were held at different venues in the city.

Cricket matches of 10 overs were held at Government Senior Secondary School, PAU. In the U-16 quarterfinal matches, Jagraon defeated Raipur by 28 runs. In another match, Samrala Zone defeated Rara Sahib Zone by 10 runs. In the third match, PAU Zone defeated Khanna Zone by nine wickets.

In the U-14 cricket match, Jagraon defeated Sahnewal Zone by 15 runs.

In the U-14 badminton semifinal matches, PAU defeated Raikot, while Ludhiana-2 defeated Zone Sahnewal. The final match will be played between PAU Zone and Ludhiana-2 Zone.

In the U-17 quarterfinal badminton matches, Zone PAU defeated Sahnewal Zone, and Ludhiana-1 defeated Killa Raipur Zone.

In the quarterfinal badminton matches of U-19 girls’ category, PAU Zone defeated Sahnewal, and Ludhiana-1 defeated Jagraon.