Arrested: Richhpal Singh, his father, Devi Lal, and mother, Bhura Devi, have been arrested for alleged killing Charanjit Kaur, wife of Richhpal Singh, at Morzand Sikhan village in Sangria, 17 km from here. Charanjit Kaur was brought to the Civil Hospital here with serious burns on November 26.

AMRITSAR

Holiday: The administrative offices and non-teaching departments of Guru Nanak Dev University will remain closed on December 24, according to Dr R S Bawa, Registrar. The holiday has been declared in lieu of November 24, a public holiday on which the university offices remained open due to the annual foundation day celebrations.
Office-bearers: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Amritsar Bar Association: President — Mr Sarabjit Singh; Vice-President — Mr R.S. Bindra; Secretary — Mr P.K. Modi; and Joint Secretary — Mr Rajan Puri.
Review sought: The Shiromani Youth Akali Dal (Kahlon) has urged Bhai Ranjit Singh, Jathedar of Akal Takht, to review the hukamnama on langar (community kitchen).

GARHSHANKAR

Memorial converted: Local leaders have demanded the restoration of the library constructed in memory of Malkiat Singh, who gave his life while saving nine school children. This library has been rented out to the Punjab police and new houses the DSP's office.
Farmers' debt: To press the waiver of the huge loan of Punjab farmers, which is making them commit suicides, the Punjab Kisan Sabha, will launch a movement. It has already started recruiting 10,000 volunteers to sacrifice their lives for this cause.

KHARAR

Medical camp: As many as 248 persons were examined at a free heart disease awareness and check-up camp organised by the Local Rotary Club at Khalsa Senior Secondary School on Sunday. A team of doctors from the PGI, Chandigarh, led by a noted cardiologist, Dr H.K. Bali, and Dr Daljit Rishi, examined the patients.

PATIALA

Demanded: The local unit of the Bajrang Dal has demanded publication of a telephone directory in Hindi or Punjabi. In a communication to the Union Telecommunication Minister, the Dal has said that as a majority of the population is not conversant with English, directories should also be published in Hindi or Punjabi.
Distributed: The local Lions Club (Baradari) distributed 100 winter school uniforms to needy students at a function held at Dhudial Khalsa School here on Monday. Mr Mohan Lal Chugh said in a statement that Mr Kewal Kumar, SP (Detective), and Dr S.P.S. Banga, an ENT specialist, Government Rajindra Hospital, were honoured by the club for meritorious service.

PHAGWARA

Award : Dr S P S Sooch, who was the honorary secretary of the local branch of the IMA during 1997-98, has been selected for the National President IMA Appreciation Award for best honorary secretary of a local branch. The award will be presented by Dr R. Roy Jayachandra Reddy, National President of the Indian Medical Association, on December 27 at Hyderabad. The award carries a trophy and scroll.

SAS NAGAR

Protest meeting: The Godrej-GE Employees Union organised a meeting here on Tuesday to protest against the alleged victimisation of employees by the management and issuing of charge sheets without any basis. The union demanded the withdrawal of the charge sheets and an end to the harassment.

Open durbar: At an open durbar held on Monday, Mr Rajbir Singh, president of the Yuva Gramin Sudhar Sagathan, complained to the Deputy Commissioner that the names of many persons of Dhana Ladanpur village, 5 km from here, have not been included in a list of those living below the poverty line.
Inaugurated: Development projects worth Rs 4 crore were inaugurated by Mr Jagan Nath, Public Health Minister, in Bawani Khera tehsil of the district on Sunday. The projects included a dharamshala for Dalits and backward classes at Bawani Khera village and a Dalit Chopal at Jeetu Khera village.

HISAR

Fire: A minor fire broke out in the storeroom of Jindal Strips here on Sunday night. Although no major loss was reported, the company officials said some records were gutted in the fire. The officials ruled out any sabotage and said the fire was caused by an electric short circuit.
Traffic panel: The district administration on Monday set up a committee to monitor the traffic in view of the number of accidents in the city in the past three weeks. The subcommittee would be headed by the SDM, Mr Balraj Singh. The administration also banned the movement of heavy vehicles from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the road from Canal Rest House to the Civil Hospital.
Award: Dr Pawan Kumar, Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Haryana Agricultural University, has received the Young Scientist Award for his outstanding anatomical work on goat brain. The Indian Association of Veterinary Anatomists conferred on him this award at its annual convention at Guwahati recently.

KURUKSHETRA

Elected: The following have been elected office-bearers of the District Bar Association here: President — Mr Subhash Sharma; Vice-President — Mr Dina Nath Arora; Secretary — Mr A.N. Manocha; Joint Secretary - Mr Lovekesh Soni; and Treasurer - Mr Sanjay.

REWARI

Power crisis: The district-level general body meeting of SUCI activists held under the chairmanship of Mr Chandan Singh here on Sunday expressed concern over the power crisis in the rural areas of the district. About 125 villages under the Burolipal and Palhawas substations have been facing a power crisis for the past two weeks.

SHAHABAD

Appointed: Mr Mohinder Singh Budhwar, an advocate of Sunarion village, near here, has been appointed convener of the panchayati raj cell of the Congress in Kurukshetra district.
'Paarshva Jayanti': The birth anniversary of the 23rd 'Tirthankar' of the Jain community, was celebrated here with great enthusiasm on Sunday. People from Karnal, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Ambala and Panipat districts and Chandigarh participated.

SIRSA

Woman's eye burnt: Saroj Rani, a married woman of Rania, about 20 km from here, received serious burns in her right eye on Sunday following a dispute with her husband. She alleged that she was being forced by her husband to bring huge cash from her parents but she refused to do. In anger, her husband Lakhanpal, damaged her right eye with a hot iron rod. She has been hospitalised.
Vishvas centre: Vishvas, an all-India organisation, has decided to establish a meditation centre in memory of Hans Raj Phutela on Dabwali Road here. The foundation stone of this centre was laid by Swami Vishvasji, founder and head of the organisation, here on Sunday.

Died: Bhagwant Sood, a transporter of this town, died following a heart attack on Sunday night. The bazars of Kulu, Bhuntar and Manali remained closed as a mark of respect to the departed soul. Buses owned by him did not ply on Tuesday during his cremation. Mr Sumer Nath Awasthi, President of the Municipal Council, Kulu, and Mr Alkam Chand, Chairman of the Zila Parishad, mourned his death.
Mishap: Jitender Sharma (26) of Haripur village, about 30 km from here, was killed and another boy, Jitender Thakur, seriously injured when the scooter they were riding collided with a bus in the village on Monday.

MANALI

House gutted: A house was gutted in a devastating fire that broke out at Shanag village, 7 km from here, on Sunday. The house belonged to Chane Ram. There was reportedly no loss of life.

SUNDERNAGAR

Stone laid: Mr Rup Singh, Forest Minister, on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the office of the Chief Conservator of Forests. This building will be constructed at a cost of Rs 36 lakh, out of which 14 lakh will spent in this financial year.