R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Abohar
SEIZED: The police on Tuesday arrested Krishan Chander Sharma of Amritsar and seized 550 grams of smack from his possession. DSP Narenderpal Singh said he was nabbed from a bus stop near Chakra village, 7 km from here. A case has been registered. In another case, the police arrested Kaka Gill of Moga and seized 6 kg of opium.

BOOKED: The police booked Jagjiwan Ram, a resident of Danewala Satkosi village, on Tuesday under Section 304-B of the IPC following alleged suicide by his wife Santro Devi. Dharam Pal, brother of the deceased, had alleged that the accused harassed his sister for not bringing enough dowry.

DIED: Shambu Pandit, a migrant labourer, died and Roni Pandit and Sunil Yadav were injured when the roof of their house in Street No1 near SD College collapsed on Monday night. In another incident of roof collapsing near the Civil Hospital, Banti died while her husband Bhagat Singh got injured.

AMLOH
FAREWELL PARTY: A farewell party was organised to bid adieu to Mr Balbir Singh, Headmaster on his superannuation from Canal colony elementary school here on Monday. He had served the department for 32 years. A cultural programme was presented by the teachers and the students.

Amritsar
ALLEGED: State BJP president and MP Avinash Rai Khanna alleged on Tuesday that the recent spate of kidnappings of schoolchildren, murders, snatching and looting incidents proved that the law and order situation had touched an all time low in the state.

Bathinda
ORGANISED: A knitting contest was organised at Bathinda cantonment on Tuesday by the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) in association with Vardhman Spinning and General Mills. As many as 400 ladies, mainly wives of Army personnel, participated. Ms Rita Negi got the first prize while Ms Poonam Devi and Ms Santosh Devi stood second and third, respectively.

Bhulath
TOLL TAX: State Finance Minister Surinder Singla said here on Tuesday that the state government was planning to introduce toll tax on 18 corridors stretching up to 1200 km. He said the foundation stone of a 500-MW power station at Lehran Mohabbatan would be laid by the Chief Minister on February 28.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
SWEATERS DISTRIBUTED: Sweaters, uniforms, shoes and books were distributed among needy students of Govt Elementary School, Badinpur, and Govt Senior Secondary School, Tanda Bada, on Wednesday. Mr Dev Singh, District Education Officer, accompanied by Ms Sawtantar Arora, incharge of the district Red Cross Society, visited these schools and handed over the material to students. Ms Arora said the district Red Cross Society had been serving the needy and poor. She said the Deputy Commissioner had directed to identify the needy students so that uniforms, books and sweaters could be given to them.

Jagraon
One held: The police station Dakha has registered a case against Sukhdip Singh alias Gurpreet Singh for misbehaving with a constable on duty and threatening him. According to the information, Mr Prem Singh was on duty at naka in Chowk Mullanpur when he noticed a fast moving car coming from Ludhiana side. The signal led to stop the car (PB-56A-0097). Sukhdip Singh who was driving the car, alighted from the vehicle and misbehaved with the constable and threatened him. The police has arrested the accused.

6 booked for assault: Shamsher Singh, Inder Singh, Kehar Singh, Swami, Piara Singh and Seetoo of Gorsian Khan Mohamad allegedly assaulted Ms Piaro and the Sidhwanbet police has registered a case under Sections 323,354, 148 and 149, IPC, on the complaint of Ms Sunita Rani of the village. According to information, the reason for assault, as stated by the complainant, was that her husband’s brother had illicit relations with the wife of Shamsher Singh, accused.

Ludhiana University’s clarification: Mr Rajesh Kumar, branch head ICFAI University Ludhiana in a press statement today clarified that the recent Supreme Court’s Judgement of quashing the Chattisgarh Private Universities Act, was confined only to those universities which were established under Chatisgarh Private Universities Act and not other universities. Consequently, the ICFAI University network continued to function normally.

CELEBRATED: The Lodhi Club here organised a function to celebrate the Valentines’s Day. Gate, stage and dancing floor were decorated with redcoloured, heart-shaped balloons. Ms Alak Nanda, Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, was the chief guest. A dance troupe from Delhi entertained the audience. Youngsters danced to various foot-tapping numbers.

VAT RESENTED: The United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association, at a meeting here yesterday, said that the VAT and service tax in present form were harmful for the industry. Mr Pardeep Wadhawan, secretary of the association said the Finance Minister Punjab, has given no indication so far of calling the trade associations for any meeting on VAT.

Mansa
INAUGURATED: Mr R.R. Bhardwaj, Deputy Chairman, Punjab State Planning Board, inaugurated a water works at Government Nehru Memorial College here on Tuesday. Mr Bhardwaj said the state government had been ensuring basic infrastructural facilities in all educational institutes.

BLOOD DONATION CAMP: Jasdev Singh Sandhu College of Education, Kauli, organised a blood donation camp in college. Dr Rajinderpal Kaur Sidhu, principal, welcomed the chief guest Prof R.S.Ghuman, Dean Colleges and Prof of Economics, Punjabi University, Patiala, and a team from blood bank, Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. Prof Ghuman said blood donation was the only way to serve humanity. Fifty students donated blood and 50 units of blood were collected by blood bank team.

CHANDIGARH

CERTIFICATES FOUND: Three CBSE certificates belonging to Amardeep Singh, son of Jhankar Singh have been found by Dr S. Lavasa near her clinic in Sector 15. The person can contact Dr Lavasa at her mobile No 9417262239 to collect his certificates.

HARYANA

ambala
CAMP: A medical check-up camp for students concluded at PKR Jain Senior Secondary School on Tuesday. The camp was presided over by CMO B.K. Parinja. Students from nursery to Class X were examined at the camp.

ANNUAL FUNCTION: The annual function of Lord Mahavir Jain Public School, Ambala Cantt, was held here on Tuesday. Deputy Commissioner R.P. Gupta was the chief guest. Principal Sudha Mathur read out the annual report and highlighted the achievements of students. A cultural programme was presented by nursery students.

ANNUAL FUNCTION: PKR Jain Model School, Ambala City, organised its annual function in Mahavir Jain Bhawan, here on Wednesday. Mr Raj Kumar partner, Pooja Sarees, was the chief guest on this occasion. Mr Rishabh Kumar was the guest of honour. The schoolchildren presented a colourful cultural show. The president of SA Jain Sabha, Mr Ashok Jain, the vice-president Mr Gulshan Jain, the manager of the school, Mr Indresh Jain, and Mr Shanti Prakash Jain, were also present at the function.

Kaithal
CONSTITUTED: Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala said here on Tuesday that a six-member committee had been constituted to inquire into the complaints that some INLD workers had campaigned against the official candidates. He claimed that the party would return to power with clear majority.

RESENTED: Resentment prevails among teachers of government schools here over their deployment on non-teaching jobs. Mr Jai Prakash Shastri, secretary, District Teachers Union, and Mr Satbir Goyal, secretary, Block Teachers Union, said it was surprising that during examinations the teachers had been assigned the work of scrutinising records relating to persons living below poverty line.

COMPENSATION: The District Consumer Forum has directed the National Insurance Company to pay compensation of Rs 32,000 along with 12 per cent interest to a farmer whose insured buffaloes died due to some disease in 2002. The company had allegedly failed to settle the claim when the buffaloes died.

PROTEST: Activists of the Shiv Sena burnt Valentine Day cards and organised a protest in the Chhota Kathera area here on Monday. Mr Sohan Lal, president of the local Shiv Sena, said it was an attempt by the vested interests to misguide youths and to pollute the social environment.

kalka
Housing scheme: The State Bank of Patiala on Tuesday launched a rural housing scheme with a long repayment programme in the Kalka sub division. The senior manager of the bank, Mr S.C. Dhall, said that a special team would be visiting the villages in the area to create awareness about this newly launched scheme among the rural masses.

Sonepat
DEMANDED: Representatives of the National Integrated Medical Association on Tuesday met SP Kuldeep Singh Sihag and demanded arrest of the alleged killers of Subhash, son of Dr Sunil Kumar. The doctors also observed a day-long strike by keeping their clinics closed.

SUCCUMBED: Fateh Singh, a resident of Kharkhauda town, who got injured in a road accident, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. According to another report, a person was injured when his scooter slipped on the GT Road near Qumashpur village, 13 km from here, on Wednesday.

CASE REGISTERED: The Civil Lines police has registered a case against four youths, including Ravi Kant of Dabarpur village, allegedly for murdering Suhas, a class XII student of Shiva Shiksha Sadan. The action followed a complaint by Dr Sunil Kumar, father of the victim.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Mandi
PROTEST: Pensioners and depositors of the Mandi Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd (MUCBL) on Tuesday staged a protest march at the Chauhata bazaar here and called upon residents of the town to socially boycott the defaulters of the bank. Mr Krishna Nutan, convener of the Depositors' Action Committee, warned the defaulters to repay their loans.

Shimla
AWARDED: Mr Pawan Kumar Sharma, Principal, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Theog, has been awarded the Dr S. Radhakrishanan Award by the Avantika, a Delhi-based organisation of artists and intellectuals, in recognition of his contribution in the field of environment protection and education.