Shimla, August 21
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today hinted that a 10-day session of the Vidhan Sabha could be convened in September or October so that the Assembly could keep up the tradition of completing a minimum of 35 sittings in a year.

“Though the condition of a minimum of 35 sittings is not mandatory, I want that Himachal keeps up this tradition,” said the Chief Minister. He said though the exact dates had not been finalised, the government was keen that in view of the curtailed monsoon session earlier this month, some more sittings are held.

It was on August 12 that the 16-day session had to be adjourned on the fifth day as the BJP decided to boycott the Chief Minister, forcing the government to seek sine die adjournment of the Assembly. The monsoon session which began on August 6 was to continue till August 29, with a total of 16 sittings.

“The day the House was adjourned sine die, an important discussion on the Rashtriya Uchchtar Shiksha Abhiyaan (RUSA) was to take place but BJP legislators created ruckus, forcing the adjournment of the House,” he said. He said he would appeal to the BJP to participate in the Assembly session so that discussion could be held on important issues concerning the public and welfare schemes launched by the state government.

He rued that the BJP had failed to play the role of a responsible Opposition. “Rather than creating uproar in the House and raising slogans outside the Assembly, it will be better if BJP legislators take part in the debate,” he said.

He lamented that during the winter session in Dharamsala, the BJP members did not take part in the proceedings and they continued with this irresponsible behaviour even during the budget session, most part of which they utilised for making preparations for Narendra Modi’s rally at Sujanpur.

“The behaviour of the BJP MLAs gives an impression that Leader of the Opposition PK Dhumal is using his party members,” he said. “I hope the BJP will come and participate in the session in a refined manner and not disrupt the proceedings and hurl abuses and accusations at others,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the treasury benches could also have indulged in similar mud-slinging but the Congress desisted from doing so as such rowdy behaviour was against the culture of the party. “We do not wish to make the House a fish market and a place to settle personal scores as the Assembly is known for its high-level of debate and conduct,” said Virbhadra.

The Chief Minister also said he had written to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to release the remaining Rs 200 crore that were still due to Himachal on account of the damages suffered during the monsoon in 2013. He said out of Rs 295 crore approved by the Centre under calamity relief fund, only Rs 95 crore had been given.

In tradition

Though the condition of a minimum of 35 sittings is not mandatory, the CM wants that Himachal keeps up this tradition. Though the exact dates have not been finalised, the government is keen that in view of the curtailed monsoon session earlier this month, some more sittings are held

Dharamsala, August 21
A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale jolted the Kangra valley today. The epicenter of the earthquake was near the Dhauladhar ranges between Kangra and Chamba. The earthquake shook the region at 1:40 pm and lasted for a few seconds.

Students come out of their classes after an earthquake at PG College in Dharamsala on Thursday. Photo: Kamaljeet

Dr Sushsil Kumar, Head, Geophysics, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, said the earthquake was caused by the movement of tectonic plates of the Himalayas in the region. An earthquake of milder intensity also hit the region at about 6 am in the morning.

Since, the epicentre of the earthquake was located about 24 km north-east of Dharamsala, its intensity was felt maximum in the area.

As per reports reaching the district headquarters, jolts were also felt in Palampur.

People rushed out of their houses. No loss of life or property was reported.

People, however, equated the intensity of earthquake to the one that struck the region in 1986, during which many buildings in the Naddi region were damaged. Dharamsala falls in zone 5 (highest vulnerability) in terms of vulnerability to earthquake.

The biggest earthquake in the Kangra valley was witnessed in 1905. It led to death of about 80,000 people.

The sources here said since 1905, over 400 earthquakes had hit the region.

The region receives about three to four jolts of earthquake annually on an average. Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh also felt tremors of low intensity today. No loss of life or damage to property has been reported so far. 

Shimla, August 21
Condemning the statements of BJP MP Anurag Thakur against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh which reportedly appeared in a section of press today, Chairman, State Marketing Board, Dr Subhash Manglate and Vice-Chairman, State Forest Development Corporation, Kewal Singh Pathania today termed the allegations baseless.

In a joint press statement, they said former Chief Minister PK Dhumal and MP Anurag Thakur were feeling the heat of ongoing inquiries into the omissions and commissions of the previous BJP government. Therefore, they were levelling accusations against Virbhadra Singh.

Anticipating the legal action, they were resorting to malicious propaganda against the Chief Minister to divert the attention of the people, they said, adding that people were aware that the propaganda of the BJP leaders was a well-planned strategy.

They said the BJP leaders had lost faith in democracy and they were running away from the responsibility which people had given them in the last Vidhan Sabha elections. They had also failed to act as responsible Opposition by boycotting the House proceedings time and again.

Shimla, August 21
The Cabinet will discuss the recommendations of the Select Committee of the Vidhan Sabha on the Lokayukta Bill that had been referred to it by the Assembly.

The recommendations will be placed before the Cabinet which will meet here tomorrow under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. The Lokayukta Bill was tabled in the Assembly during the winter session on February 19 and was referred to the Select Committee without being debated in the absence of BJP legislators in the House.

The Cabinet will decide whether to accept the recommendations of the Select Committee or seek some changes so that some other amendments could be proposed to the existing Lokayukta Act.

In such an eventuality, the government could bring in a new Bill which would be placed before the Assembly. “We will have a look at the recommendations of the Select Committee and then decide what is to be done next,” said Virbhadra Singh.

The Select Committee headed by Health and Law Minister Kaul Singh Thakur has submitted its report to the government. Had the monsoon session not been adjourned abruptly on August 12, the Assembly would have discussed the Lokayukta Bill.

The Lokayukta Bill, which was tabled in the Assembly during the winter session on February 19, was referred to the Select Committee without being debated. Sources said the Select Committee, which finalised its recommendations after holding five meetings, had recommended that there was no need to make it multi-member as considering the workload, one member was enough.

Himachal was among the first state in the country to set up its own Lokayukta way back in 1983. The Lokayukta Bill had been brought in by the Congress regime so that the state could make amendments to the Lokayukta Act which would have been in concurrence with the Lokpal Act passed by Parliament.

Besides being opposed to making the Lokayukta multi-member, the Select Committee was also against making any changes in the selection process of the Lokayukta. A majority members felt that the Select Committee comprising the Chief Minister (Chairman), Leader of the Opposition, the Chief Justice of the High Court and an eminent jurist was appropriate for making the selection process.

Shimla, August 21
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Dr (Col) Dhani Ram Shandil urged the Union Government today to include Himachal under the Multi-Sectoral Development Programme for the welfare of minorities in the state.

He apprised Dr Najma Heptulla, Union Minister for Minority Affairs that Himachal had not been included under the programme implemented by the Centre.

He said the minorities, which constitutes 4.5 per cent of the total population in the state, were unable to take benefits.

Shandil also demanded to open two residential schools in the state for children of minority communities.

He said lands at Holi in Chamba district and Satrol in Solan district had already been identified for the purpose. He also demanded to strength the state Minorities Community Financial and Development Corporation, so that loans on minimum rate of interests could be provided to maximum youths.

He also urged to enhance financial assistance to children of the community under vocational training.

Shimla, August 21
The HP High Court has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary on the issue of encroachment on government land by a private resort in Kufri. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan passed the orders on a petition taken up suo motu by the court as a Public Interest Litigation on a letter written to the Chief Justice by Infinity Adventure Tourism.

It is alleged in the letter petition that Kufri Fun World owners encroached nearly 10 bigha government land and the Forest Department was also acting at their behest.

It was also alleged that after an accident on June 6, 2014, in which a tourist had died during adventure activities, the administration closed all such activities and forcibly removed stalls of local people, thereby depriving them of their source of livelihood.

The letter also alleged that military barracks vacated by the Army on Mahasu peak were being used as a private property by the pradhan of gram panchayat Shataiyan, who also had a share in Kufri Fun World.

The applicant also complained about pollution and mismanagement of horse dung, garbage and sanitation conditions.

The applicant alleged in the letter written to the Chief Justice that the entry fee of Rs 10 per tourist was being collected by the gram panchayat Shataiyan from tourists, and thus a huge fund had been collected. But the same was not being spent on the development and sanitation of the area.

The notification for levying entry fee specifically mentioned that the entry fee was to be used for maintenance of Mahasu peak and for toilets and sanitation.

Apart from chief secretary, the court also issued notice to 17 others and directed them to file their replies by September 17. 

Shimla, August 21
Him Agri Fresh Private Ltd today announced the launch of the 5,100 metric tonne (MT) capacity controlled atmospheric store (CAS) at Balghar in Theog tehsil of the district.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Pradeep Aggarwal, Director, Him Agri Fresh, a Jalandhar-based company, said the company would provide storage facility to farmers on chamber basis, which could be availed by them in groups.

“A crate can store 20 kg apple and we will charge Rs 1.70 per kg for a month, following which the cost of a 20 kg crate comes out to be Rs 34. We will provide plastic crates for free to growers to transport the fruit to CAS,” he said.

He said: “Growers can book a chamber that stores 8,500 crates for a minimum period of five months. But this limit can be relaxed.”

“We have 34 chambers in CAS, which has state-of-the-art technology, which can be availed by farmers who can sell the fruit during lean months in January and February to fetch better prices,” he said.

Aggarwal said the company would buy fruit which had longer shelf life for which the buying price would be announced in a day or two after the formal opening of the CAS tomorrow.

The team would visit orchards to see the fruit and advise farmers not to use ethereal sprays which diminishes the storage quality, he said.

He said: “CAS is the state-of-the-art technology imported from Italy and Germany and no other company provides this technology at their stores. We have automatic grading, sorting, and packing machine.”

He said the company had employed local youth in CAS. 

Dharamsala, August 21
In a major relief to Tibetans who are facing eviction from their houses and commercial establishments in McLeodganj, the government has decided not to treat their structures on the forest land as encroachments.

Sources here told The Tribune that the decision had been taken by the government under directions from the Centre. It had been decided that the government would not treat the establishments of Tibetans in McLeodganj as encroachments.

The Forest Department had earlier filed 210 cases of encroachments against the Tibetans who had raised structures on the reserved forest land on the McLeodganj-Dharamkot and McLeodganj-Bhagsunag roads. The National Green Tribunal had ordered action against all encroachments on the forest land.

Fearing demolition of their houses and commercial establishments, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) lobbied with the Union and state governments and sent delegations to protect the establishments.

The district administration as well as the Forest Department was hesitant in acting against the encroachments by the Tibetans on the forest land due to their refugee status.

In response to a petition, a committee appointed by the Tribunal inspected the areas where the Tibetans have encroached upon the forest land.

The report, submitted by the committee, claimed that Tibetan families had encroached on the forest land, cut trees and built houses. Tibetans in McLeodganj were also accused of carving rocks with religious inscriptions and tying flags on trees, causing serious destruction to the natural environment.

The tribunal has directed the forest authorities to file a report. A delegation of the CTA met the Chief Secretary and Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in October last year to seek solution to the problem. The efforts of the CTA have yielded results as the government will not treat their establishments as encroachments now.

The Tibetans are claiming that they have been staying in the area even before the land was declared forest land. The previous Congress government has brought a policy to give one-time relaxation to the Tibetans
who have encroached upon forest land by regularising their properties. However, the policy was never implemented.

The lack of policy on the part of the state government and the Union Government over rehabilitating Tibetan refugees is also responsible for the present situation. The population of Tibetans has been increasing. However, due to their refugee status, they cannot buy land. They resort to encroachments or benami land transactions.

Shimla, August 21
The farmers in the apple belt of Shantha-Dewat-Maroag-Chopal-Nerwa have blamed the Horticulture Department and the Horticultural Produce Processing, Marketing Corporation (HPMC) for giving a step-motherly treatment to the Chopal apple belt, which has emerged as the leading apple-producing area in the district.

Demanding a controlled atmospheric store (CAS) near Chambi or Dhurla, they said the HPMC and the Horticultural Department had focussed on the Shilaroo-Jarol-Tikkar and Thanedhar belt, which is the home segment of Horticultural Minister Vidya Stokes.

Surat Singh Bragta, former, Chairman, Chopal Block Samiti, said: “An HPMC-run CAS storage facility will come up at Theog, but the Chopal belt does not even have a single shed in the name of a cold store. Successive state governments have never paid heed to farmers of the Chopal subdivision.”

Mangat Ram Azta, an orchardist-cum-social activist from Shantha-Dewat, which is a leading apple-producing area in Chopal tehsil, said: “Cold storage facilities have been created at Guma in Kotkhai and Rohru, but the HPMC has ignored the Chopal apple belt.”

The farmers said: “The 198 bigha farm land of potato seed farm, which is lying unused at Dhurla and the PWD land which is also lying unutilised at Chambi on the Chopal-Chaila road, can be used by the HPMC and Horticulture Department to set up a CAS store in the area.”

Chet Ram Thakur, an orchardist from Deha, said: “The Chambi site is the best bet for the entire apple belt, as it will cover Maroag-Shantha-Dewat and Chopal areas, besides Deha, Balson and Jhina-Jagholi belt.”

Shayam Singh Mehta, a farmer from Jhina, said: “Chambi lies on the main road of Chopal subdivision and the PWD land and the adjoining vacant forestland can be used for the creation of a CAS store which will benefit farmers.” Even potato cultivation had gone out of repute as the farmers have completely switched to apple cultivation in the area.

The farmers charged that the HPMC and the Horticulture Department had been focusing on the development of the areas represented by the horticulture ministers whether from the BJP or the Congress.

Azta said: “The HPMC is not targeting the cheap-storage technology proposed by the Bayer Company in Thanedhar area on a trial basis. This lopsided development has created regional imbalance as a large segment of farmers is being ignored.”

Vice-Chairman, HPMC, Prakash Thakur said the agency would consider the demand of the growers of Chopal area. “The Rs 1,000 crore horticulture project, when approved, will focus on all areas for balanced development,” he said.

Dharamsala, August 21
Illegal mining is continuing in the name of stock clearance. The National Green Tribunal, in an order passed on August 5, 2013, had restrained any person, company and authority to carry out mining on riverbeds without obtaining environment clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests or the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority. All deputy commissioners, SPs and the mining authorities of all states were directed to ensure compliance of the order.

Sources said a large number of stone crushers were operating without any environmental clearance.

One such stone crusher was operating in Mann Khud at Nadaun in Hamirpur district. Basant Singh Thakur of Nadaun has been complaining against the stone crusher in the rivulet to various authorities. Talking to The Tribune, Basant alleged that the stone crusher authorities were carrying out illegal mining in the river in connivance with the local mining authorities.

He alleged that after the ban by the National Green Tribunal on mining, the state government allowed stone crushers to crush the existing stock. However, crushers have been using the relaxation to carry out illegal mining in connivance with mining authorities.

Basant alleged that a stone crusher Ambey Stone Crushers has been carrying out illegal mining in the name of stock clearance or material brought from cutting of roads. The power consumption of the stone crusher proved that it had crushed much more material than the permission given by the authorities, he alleged.

Mining Officer, Hamirpur, Rajiv Kalia denied that any illegal mining was taking place in the Mann rivulet. He said the stone crusher was being allowed to crush the material. It had been given permission to crush the material by the state government, he said.

The mining officer admitted that stone crusher operating in the Mann rivulet did not have permission.

Sources also said most stone crushers in Kangra and Una districts did not have clearance. As per the orders of the National Green Tribunal, they could not operate.

However, as per the power consumption bills, most stone crushers are operating in the name of stock clearance or material brought from road cutting or digging of fish ponds.

The authorities admitted that illegal mining was continuing in the state under pressure of local demand for construction and other activities.

Una, August 21
Decks have finally been cleared for the funding of the fourth phase of the Swan river channelisation project.

Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri in a statement issued here today said: “Under the project estimated at Rs 55 crore, stone-pitched wire mesh embankments have been proposed to be constructed along the 4 km stretch of the river between Santoshgarh and Bathari villages before it enters the Ropar district of Punjab.”

The statement said a joint meeting of high-level officers from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and the Central Water Commission (CWC) was held at the Union Ministry of Water Resources in Delhi today, in which the officers from Punjab finally gave the No-Objection Certificate for the project.

He said the meeting was chaired by CWC chairman Harinder Pandey.

While the Swan river and its 73 tributaries are being channelised at a cost of about Rs 1,350 crore, the channelisation of the final 4 km stretch of the river was hanging fire for the past several years since the officers from Punjab feared that the trained waters from Himachal Pradesh could cause excessive damage to adjacent land in their state.

Agnihotri said: “The CWC is expected to submit its report to the Union ministry shortly.” He said with the clearance of this project, the entire 56-km stretch of the Swan river along with its network of 73 tributaries will be channelised and protected from the fury of monsoon floods.

Solan, August 21
With the state government failing to revise its excise policy in the past seven years, the state exchequer is facing revenue loss and a chosen few are monopolising the trade.

Sources said the value of vends has not been assessed properly ever since the new policy was introduced about seven years ago and there were cases, where despite their value having increased multifolds due to large-scale commercial activity in their vicinity, only marginal hike was added each year by the Excise Department.

This had also led to a situation where a few players have monopolised the trade while willing new players have failed to invest as fresh bids have not been invited and old ones were renewed each year after affecting marginal hike.

The quota of liquor assigned to each vend, therefore remained less vis-à-vis demand and since it was directly linked to the reserve price of vends, the licensees, in a bid to meet their demands, indulged in large scale smuggling of liquor from Chandigarh and other neighbouring states.

The seizure of liquor worth Rs 9 lakh from near Parwanoo recently by a team of the CID is an indication of the large-scale smuggling. This liquor was meant for sale in Chandigarh, but was being transported to Shimla in the garb of quarry material. A similar case had been reported earlier too near Parwanoo, where a huge haul of illegal liquor was seized.

Interestingly, despite introducing steps like placing an exclusive Excise and Taxation Officer, along with an inspector, in several districts like Mandi, Sirmaur, Solan, Kangra, etc, not much success was achieved in tapping the flow of illegal liquor into the state.

Officials in the department, however, said the decision of the state government to reject posting of dedicated police force to the department was a deterrent as seizure of illegal liquor was often met with resistance from the smugglers who did not even hesitate to use arms. 

Kullu, August 21
Block Medical Officer (BMO), Banjar, Dr Suresh Thakur notified the dates for the examinations to recruit 36 Asha workers in the Banjar subdivision. He said the applicants could apply by August 25 at the office of Medical Officer, Sainj or at BMO office at Banjar. He added that an applicant should be aged between 25 and 45 years and should have passed eighth standard.

He said the test would be held for Deuridhar, Shainsar and Gadaparli villages on August 27, Shangad, Suchaihan and Banogi villages on August 29 and Dushad, Dhyaugi and Kanon villages on August 30 at the Community Health Centre in Sainj.

The test for Kotla, Chakurtha and Largi villages will be held on September 1 and Thatibid, Gopalpur and Mangalore villages on September 2. Written test for Palahach, Chanon and Deutha villages will be conducted on September 4, while for Kalwari, Shrikota and Nauhanda villages, the test will be held on September 5. He said the tests would be held on September 8, 10, 12, 15 and 16 in Tung, Mashiyar, Shilhi, Sarchi, Kandidhar, Kothi Chehani, Tandi, Kharagaad, Bahu, Balagaad, Shikarighat, Khabal and Seraj region of the subdivision. Keylong BMO Ranjit Ved said the exams would be held to fill the posts of 34 Asha worker in the Lahaul region. 

Shimla, August 21
The Congress leaders today hit back at the statements issued by BJP leaders regarding natural calamities in the state. They said the statements made by BJP leaders indicated that they were frustrated.

Ram Lal Thakur, Chairman, State Planning Development and 20-Point Programme Committee, GR Musafir, Vice-Chairman, State Planning Board, Kuldeep Pathania, Chairman, State Pollution Control Board, Ajay Bahadur, Chairman of HIMFED, Ramesh Chauhan, Deputy Chairman, Khadi Board, and Devender Shyam, Advisor, Marketing Board, issued a joint press statement.

They said BJP leaders were trying to take political benefit out of the incidents of natural calamities.

They said largescale loss had been reported in different parts of the state during the last few days due to heavy rains and landslides.

The state government had released Rs 23 crore as immediate relief during this week and Rs 76 crore had been released so far this year to carry out relief works.

They said former Chief Minister PK Dhumal must remember that assistance was provided as per the relief manual. Proper relief and rehabilitation works were being carried out in the affected areas by Deputy Commissioners concerned.

Palampur, August 21
The sudden rise in the number of monkeys in the Palampur region has become a matter of serious concern for farmers and fruit growers. A troop of monkeys enter fields and destroy standing crops. They have not only posed problems for people in rural areas, but also for those living in urban areas.

A survey conducted by a local NGO revealed that every year crops worth Rs 50 crore is destroyed by monkeys and other animals in the Palampur region.

Daleep Sharma, a member of the NGO, said: “Villagers feel the problem has become more acute because of laws such as the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Wild Life Protection Act.”

Another factor responsible for the increase in the number of monkeys is the ban on its export imposed by the government of India.

In the past five years, more than 500 people have been bitten or injured by monkeys in Kangra district alone, which resulted in the death of a dozen innocent persons.

Monkeys also snatch handbags from passersby, steal food from houses, medicines from hospitals and even files from government offices.

Women and school-going children have become soft targets for these animals. Fatal accidents have also been reported due to these animals. In lower areas of the Palampur region, thousands of acres of land have turned barren as farmers have stopped cultivation in view of damage being caused to their crop by monkeys.

CM Virbhadra Singh has announced that monkeys will be sterilised and rehabilitation centres set up in the state, but the announcements have remained confined to official files only. 

Nurpur, August 21
The Municipal Council (MC), at its special meeting, approved annual budget proposals to the tune of Rs 3.60 crore for the current fiscal year here on Tuesday. The meeting was presided over by MC chairperson Krishna Mahajan.

MC executive officer RS Verma said no new tax had been proposed by the council for the current financial year and proposed an expenditure of Rs 2.34 crore for various development works.

He said Rs 1.25 crore would be disbursed on the salaries of MC staff. “The MC will generate an income of Rs 57,16,500 from its own resources such as house taxes, building rents and other taxes in the current year. Apart from this, the MC is likely to get around Rs 2.54 crore as grant-in-aid from the state government and it will also realise outstanding taxes and rents to the tune of Rs 30 lakh from defaulters,” he added. 

Shimla, August 21
The state committee of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), which gave a two-day ultimatum to the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) authorities to announce the dates of the Students Central Association (SCA) elections, would lodge their protest by taking out statewide rallies tomorrow.

SFI state secretary Manish Sharma said: “The Vice-Chancellor is working like a dictator for the past three years, as evident from the dissolution of the SCA year after year. The VC is unwilling to announce the election dates to suppress the voice raised against him by the SCA.”

They said the HPU authorities had stated that results under RUSA would be declared within 45 days, but even after 200 days, the university had failed to declare the results. They said by hiking fees by 35 per cent, the HPU had added extra financial burden on students.

Secretary of the SFI district unit Chanderkant Verma warned the university authorities of aggressive agitation by students from August 25 in case the results were not declared by August 23.

Meanwhile, the meeting of the Employees’ Grievances Redressal Committee was convened under the chairmanship of Pro-Vice-Chancellor Rajender Singh Chauhan who said the demands of employees had been discussed several times at different levels, adding that the work regarding final orders and notifications was on. He said the commitment of the university administration to resolve every demand would be fulfilled in a phased manner.

Shimla, August 21
Two persons were killed and nine others sustained injuries, when the Bolero jeep they were travelling in fell into a gorge at Patsari near Hatkoti in Jubbal tehsil of the district, 110 km from here, yesterday.

The jeep, carrying 11 persons, including two women, was on its way to Rohru from Hatkoti when it skid off the road just 1 km after Hatkoti. The deceased were identified as Kanta Devi (25) and Bimla Devi (37).

Two seriously injured persons were rushed to the Indira Gandhi Medical College, while the remaining seven persons were admitted to the local hospital in Rohru.

A case of negligent driving under Sections 279 and 304-A, IPC, had been registered against driver Kamal on the statement of injured passengers, police sources said.

Nurpur, August 21
The Jawali police arrested Ashok, Balbir and Chuni Lal of Anuhi village for allegedly molesting a schoolgirl who was on her way home after attending school at Kotla here last evening.

They were produced in a local court, which remanded them in judicial custody till tomorrow. As per her complaint lodged through the Kotla police chowki, she was chased by the accused who were in an inebriated condition on a motorcycle when she boarded a bus from Kotla to reach her home. When she reached Batees Meel, two of the three accused boarded the same bus and the third one followed the bus on his motorcycle. When she alighted from the bus at Seoni, the two accused also got down and the third joined them at that place. They tried to outrage her modesty there. She raised an alarm and nearby villagers assembled there and thrashed the youths. Later, they were handed over to the Kotla police chowki.

Jawali DSP DC Verma said a case under Sections 354, 354-D and 34 of the IPC had been registered against the accused who were medically examined. 

Nurpur, August 21
Following the order of a judicial court, the local police registered a dowry harassment case against the husband and three members of the in-laws of complainant Lima Bibi, daughter of Umerdeen of Bharoya, here last evening.

In her complaint, Lima alleged that her husband Ali, son of Sheru of Kiri (Pathankot), her brothers-in-law Roshan Deen and Pathan and sister-in-law Shina Bibi had been torturing her for want of dowry for the past few years. After failing to get justice in her case registered with the police, she had filed a petition under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC in the judicial court.

DSP Manoj Joshi said the police had registered a case under Sections 498-A and 34, IPC, against all accused. After conducting thorough investigations, the police would take further action. He said the complainant, a mother of two children, had been married for 13 years.

Mandi, August 21
The police have registered a case against Khem Chand and his family members for physically and mentally harassing his wife.

In her complaint to the Padhar police, Soluxmi, a resident of Sandoa village in the district, alleged that after some time of their marriage, her husband Khem Chand started harassing her physically and mentally.

She alleged that on August 17, her husband, along with his family members, beat her up and also threatened her with dire consequence. ASI Ashok Kumar said investigation was on in the case.