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TOP STORIES

Akali backlash fear
22 pro-Congress families plan to shift
Amritsar, April 5
Twentytwo families aligned to the Congress and belonging to Madh village near Rayya have decided to shift to safer places fearing suppression from Akali workers.

Punjab asks UT to drop cases against teachers
Chandigarh, April 5
The Punjab government has urged the Chandigarh administration to drop the cases against 133 teachers who were arrested by the UT police for violating prohibitory orders imposed under section 144, CrPC. Teachers of government-aided schools from Punjab had come here to hold a demonstration in support of their demands in December last year. Many of them from Moga district were arrested for violating the prohibitory orders. They were later released on bail.

TREE FELLING
Govt overlooks law; to issue permits
Gurdaspur, April 5
Permitting felling of trees in forest area and amending the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), the Punjab government is likely to violate the management plan of the forest department besides disregarding the Supreme Court (SC) directions.

 

 

POLITICS

PPCC chief ‘likely’ to be Hindu
Gurdaspur, April 5
A Hindu is likely to be made the chief of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC). The Congress high command is giving it a thought, said Ashwani Kumar, union minister of state for industrial policy and promotion, here today.

COMMUNITY

Home Guard jawan ‘tortured’ at police station
Nabha, April 5
A Home Guard jawan posted here has alleged torture at the hands of SHO Sadar, Bindu Bala, ASI Ajaib Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Lakha Singh late last night at the sadar police station.

 

OF CRIME AND FEAR

SE in judicial custody Bathinda, April 5 In a development, which could expose the malfunctioning of local municipal corporation, its superintendent engineer (SE), V. K. Setia was caught red-handed yesterday while accepting a bribe from Kewal Krishan, chairman, local Modern ITI, for sanctioning the site plan of a building to be constructed by the complainant. The accused was remanded into judicial custody for 14 days when he was produced in the court of the chief judicial magistrate here today.

IPS officer gets interim bail Amritsar, April 5 Senior IPS officer T.P.S. Sandhu was granted interim bail by Additional Sessions Judge Archana Puri till April 12. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had publicly issued a threat to AIG (CID ) by name while addressing a rally at Beas, a few days after the formation of the SAD-BJP government for allegedly torturing Manjinder Singh Kang, a former chairman of the Forest Corporation, during his (Sandhu's) stint as SP (Vigilance).

Minister’s visit stumps health staff
Patiala, April 5
Minister for health Luxmi Kanta Chawla today visited the Mata Kaushalya Government Hospital and the Ayurvedic Hospital and Pharmacy. Staff of both health institutions were taken aback by the surprise visit of the minister. The minister said the previous government ignored alternative forms of medicine. Even the grants offered by the union government for ayurvedic dispensaries were either not spent by the government or were put to other uses.

Scholars discuss aspects of Buddhism
Patiala, April 5
The centre for Buddhist studies, Punjabi University, here organised a two-day national seminar on “Socially engaged Buddhism”.

Ex-chief of MC attacked
Sangrur, April 5
A former president of the local municipal council Ashok Kumar Rajja was admitted to the local civil hospital this evening with broken left wrist and abrasions on various parts of his body.

UT-Ldh rail link by 2010
Chandigarh, April 5
The Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link will be completed within two and a half years, said Ramesh Inder Singh, chief secretary, Punjab, while presiding over a meeting of railway officials.

Row over Nanakshahi calendar
Chandigarh, April 5
The Institute of Sikh Studies has urged president of the SGPC Avtar Singh not to tamper with the Nanakshahi calendar in any manner.

ADMINISTRATION

Govt to probe ad allotment
Patiala, April 5
The Punjab government will probe the allotment of advertisements to particular media channels during the stint of the previous government. Certain media channels were given government advertisements worth crores in violation of norms.

CRIME

Quack booked for aborting female foetus
Hoshiarpur, April 5
Senior medical officer of primary health unit, Paldi, the Mahilpur police registered an FIR under Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the medical termination of pregnancy Act sections 34, 197 and 314 of the IPC against Paramjit Kaur wife of Gurwinder Singh of Badhna, on Tuesday evening.

8 booked for attack on CPM leader
Rajpura, April 5
The police has booked eight persons on the charge of attacking CPM leader Inderjit Singh Bhagrana.

Missing girl’s body found in pond
Rajpura, April 5
Mystery shrouds the death of a 17-year-old Dalit girl of nearby Khadoli village. Her body was found floating in the village pond  yesterday.

EDUCATION

Rs 1 lakh grant for non-existent school!
Amritsar, April 5
A grant of Rs 1 lakh has been allegedly sanctioned to a non-existent school in the year 2005. These allegations have been made in an anonymous complaint to the Chief Minister, Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, sent last month.

CM for Khush as VC of PAU 
Chandigarh, April 5
As a replacement for vice- chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University K.S. Aulakh, the Punjab government has made up its mind to approach international rice breeder Gurdev Singh Khush, who is now settled in the US.

A silent protest Amritsar, April 5 Students of three affiliated colleges of Guru Nanak Dev University here today held a silent protest outside vice-chancellor Dr Jai Rup Singh’s office against the decision to prepone the exams of bachelor in physiotherapy course. Students of physiotherapy sit on a dharna outside vice-chancellor Jai Rup Singh’s office at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, on Thursday. — Photo by Rajiv Sharma

Students earn for institution
Patiala, April 5
Students of the department of physiotherapy of Punjabi University here have been running an OPD wing in the university health centre, without any support from the university or any other organisation.

MoU on student exchange
Patiala, April 5
The Punjab School of Management Studies (PSMS), Punjabi University, Patiala, signed a MoU with Kutztown University, Pennsylvania, under the students and faculty exchange programme, here today.

Students to boycott classes
Patiala, April 5
Students of the history department of Punjabi University here will boycott classes from tomorrow in protest against the expulsion of two research scholars. — TNS

BUSINESS

Project delay to cost PSEB 250 cr
Patiala, April 5
The delay in the implementation of the Lehra Mohabbat stage-II project is going to cost the PSEB dear. The organisation will have to pay a penalty of about Rs 250 crore for the delay.

Petrol stations to suspend operations on April 13

Jalandhar April 5 All 32000 petrol stations across the country, including about 2700 in Punjab, will remain closed on April 13. Punjab Petroleum Dealers Association president J.P. Khanna (centre) addresses reporters in Jalandhar on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph