R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Hoshiarpur
Blood donated: On the 21st martyrdom day of Principal Om Prakash Bagga, a veteran socialist leader and former member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, his children, Dr Ajay Bagga, and Mr Vijay Bagga donated blood at the Bhai Ghaniaya Charitable Blood Bank here on Thursday so as to inspire the general public to donate blood in memory of their elders. Mahant Prithpal Singh of Dera Haribhagat Pura, Gurdwara Mitha Tiwana, Dr Kuldip Nanda, President, District Congress Committee, Dr S.P.S. Sohal, Civil Surgeon, and Mr Tikshan Sood, MLA were also present.

Money snatched: Two unidentified motor cycle-borne youths snatched pension amount of Rs 6500/- from Mr Avtar Singh of Jhaji village at Bodal Kotli Choe at 6.30 on Wednesday evening while he was going home. According to police sources. Mr Avtar Singh withdrew his monthly pension from Punjab National Bank Tanda. In the evening he left from Tanda to his village on his cycle. On the way two youths snatched the amount and escaped on their motor cycle. The police has registered a case.

Husband booked: On a complaint by Ms Ranjit Kaur daughter of Mr Mohinder Singh of New Jagatpura, the police registered a case under Sections 406 and 498-A, IPC, against her husband Balwinder Singh, son of Mr Sohan Singh of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, Ludhiana, on Wednesday. In her complaint Ms Ranjit Kaur stated that she was married to Balwinder Singh on May 21, 2000. After the marriage, members of her in-laws’ family, including her husband, started harassing and compelling her to bring Rs 2 lakh from her parents.

Kapurthala
SHOBHA YATRA: A shobha yatra in honour of Goddess Bhadrakali was taken out here on Wednesday. The shobha yatra having tableaux of gods and goddesses started from Bhahm Kund temple and passed through the main roads and markets of the city before culminating at Mata Bhadrakali Temple at Shekhupur village near here.

DHARNA: Members of the Revenue Patwar Union, Punjab, sat on a dharna at the Tehsil complex on Wednesday protesting against the privatisation policy of the government. The Kapurthala district unit president, Mr Balraj Agnihotri, demanded the reinstatement of those patwaris and kanungos whose appeals were pending in the High Court after conviction by the lower courts till the order on their cases was delivered by the High Court.

Phagwara
MEMORIAL: The Shiromani Khalsa Dal, a radical outfit, on Wednesday contended that the Damdami Taksal had the bona fide right to raise the memorial for the martyrs of Operation Bluestar. Commenting at the decision of the SGPC to raise a memorial Minar-e-Shaheedan for the martyrs, Jathedar Harwinder Singh Phagwara, district president and Mr Jasvir Singh Dhilwan, district senior vice-president of the SKD, asked the SGPC to hand over the responsibility of raising the memorial to the Damdami Taksal.

HARYANA

Sonepat
RAIDED: The police conducted a raid on a hotel, opposite the Civil Lines police station, near Subhash Chowk here on Wednesday and arrested a woman along with her paramour. A case under the suppression of Immoral Trafficking Act has been registered.

SUSPENDED: The SSP (Railways), Mr Ravi Karan, has ordered the suspension of three employees of the Government Railway Police on the charge of beating up Rattan Lal Ranga, a resident of Kailana village. The suspended employees are Sube Singh, Balwan and Ashok.

INJURED: At least six persons were injured when a three-wheeler, carrying them, overturned on the Sonepat-Bahalgarh road near here on Thursday. The injured have been hospitalised and stated to be out of danger.

Rewari
PROTEST: Irate residents, mostly women, of Bhatsana village held a demonstration before the office of the Executive Engineer, DHBVN , Dharuhera, on Wednesday in protest against the erratic power supply in the village. They also submitted a memorandum complaining that their repeated requests for improving the power situation had gone unheeded.

ASSAULTED: As many as six miscreants, armed with lathis and rods, assaulted Bhagat Singh and other members of his family who were sleeping in their field at Maheshwari village, about 20 km from here, on Tuesday night. After injuring Bhagat Singh, his wife Hawa Kaur, mother Surji Devi and two other members of the family, the miscreants decamped with cash and ornaments. The injured have been hospitalised.