Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 12
Daring to enter his minor beloved's house to meet her defying orders of her father almost cost a youth of Mandi Ahmedgarh his life. He was set afire by her angry father and uncle after hitting his head with a sharp-edged weapon when they found him sneaking into her house last night.

The youth, Karan Sharma of local Jandali Road, is now struggling for life at a multispeciality hospital at Ludhiana with over 50 per cent burns and head injuries.

He would have died had a patrolling party not passed by the house where he was held captive and being attacked. His SOS calls were heard by patrolling cops, who knocked at the house and saved him. He was already burnt badly and blood was oozing out of his head.

They immediately shifted him to a hospital from where he was referred to a Ludhiana hospital.

According to the police, the youth, who had an affair with the minor girl since their school days and were stopped to meet each other, went to her house last night. He remained there for many hours but was caught in the small hours by her father Kuldip Singh.

Kuldip Singh reportedly caught hold of him, called his relatives from Ludhiana and attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon. When the youth offered them resistance, they sprinkled petrol on him and set him on fire.

The police has booked three persons, including the father of the girl

Parents of the girl, however, maintained that the victim had attempted to commit suicide after he was cornered by them.

In his statement recorded with the police, Karan stated he and Ramandeep Kaur had started loving each other when they were studying at a private school about four year ago. Karan used to go to Raman's house occasionally. Though the parents of the girl were against their relations, Karan continued meeting her. The parents attempted to murder her when they caught him with her last night.

"As settled with Raman in the day, I reached her room through roof of her house last night. Kuldip Singh, her father, Jagdev Singh, uncle, and Karamjit, a cousin, detained me in a room and attempted to murder me, " Karan stated.

Ludhiana, October 12
The house of SSP, Vigilance, Patiala, Shiv Kumar Sharma, whose son Mohit Sharma was arrested on the charges of masterminding the high-profile robbery case involving diamonds worth Rs 1.75 crore, remained abuzz with activity soon after the news spread today morning.

The top brass of police and industrialists visited his house situated near Khalsa Collage for Boys soon after the Vigilance team from Jalandhar visited his palatial house this morning. However, the persons concerned, reluctant to come in the public eye, parked their vehicles inside the Khalsa College compound.

Even the fleet for cars owned by the family was missing from his house. According to the family sources, Mohit’s father went into depression soon after it was revealed that his son was the masterminded the high-profile robbery.

The neighbours were also peeping out of their windows as the relatives and friends of the family kept pouring in. Some of them could not believe that why he had taken such a step as he was enjoying all the luxuries in life.

"I cannot understand why he took such a drastic step as he had all the luxuries of life and was never in dearth of anything. The money should not be a matter of consideration as they have already enough of it," said a well-wisher.

A successful businessman, he maintained a very low profile image and popular amongst people for his polite nature. Everybody who came in contact with him once was shocked at the news.

A relative said, "He never took advantage of his father's position and never indulged in any such activity which brings bad name for his family. It still surprises me how he was involved in such a heinous crime, I think there is something else to the story."

Ludhiana, October 12
Befriending Mohit Sharma was like having a snake in the grass for Mumbai’s diamond magnet Bhupesh Shah, who was injured seriously and robbed of diamonds worth Rs 1.75 crore under a plan masterminded by his friend.

Both came in contact with each other when Mohit got the franchisee of D'Dmas diamonds two years ago. Common business goal became a pivotal point for both of them to come together and become friends.

Soon Bhupesh was found staying with Mohit in his palatial house at Col. Gurdial Singh Road in Ghumar Mandi. Whenever, he visited Ludhiana, he was extended hospitality by Mohit. They were seen together in high-profile parties of the city.

On the day of incident also, Bhupesh was a guest with Mohit. Mohit knew Bhupesh had diamonds worth crores with him when he had to visit Amritsar. The latter had expressed his security concerns to his friend also who assured him to hire a safe taxi to that city.

Mohit got a taxi for him and even dropped him at the taxi stand in his Innova also. An hour after he had left the city, he was injured on leg and hands. He could have been killed had he not retaliated and given a fight back. This caused him stab injuries on his hands and legs. He was spotted by passersby otherwise he could have bled profusely and anything could have happened.

Even after the incident, he trusted Mohit enough that he took his help in making the sketches of the accused. It was due to their friendship only that the police was also taking help of Mohit in cracking the case. But when the police zeroed in on Mohit only, Bhupesh was shattered. His trust was betrayed.

When the news spread in the city, a wave of shock and disbelief gripped all those who knew their freindship. ‘‘There were many who were envious of their friendship. But nobody knew it would end in this manner.

They were seen together in many hotels of the city and everybody in diamond business wanted to be a part of their group. But this was shocking,’’ said a close friend of Mohit.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 12
Passers by and the police help save the lives of nine persons, including seven women, who sustained injuries after a Sumo van ferrying them rammed into a tree on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road, Pohir village, near here today. A cyclist was also injured in the incident.

Those injured have been identified as Gurdev Singh (driver), Kulwant Kaur, Sukhdev Kaur, Ajaib Singh, Surjit Kaur, Balvir Kaur, Harjit Kaur, Kartar Kaur, Sukhwinder Kaur (all residents of Banbhaura village in Sangrur district) and Pardeep Singh of Jandali Kalan, the cyclist.

Investigation revealed that the Sumo (4 CE 8060) had rolled many a times after the driver lost control over the vehicle while trying to overtake another vehicle near Pohir village today morning. The impact was so severe that the roof of the vehicle got completely smashed.

On receiving information about the accident, The Dehlon SHO launched a rescue operation with the help of the passers by and villagers. Windowpanes of the vehicle were broken open and the occupants rescued. Later, the police got them admitted to a private hospital. The victims were o n their way to attend a bhog ceremony of one of their relatives at Gill village.

Ludhiana, October 12
The hot and spicy food of Ludhiana is what actor Divya Dutta misses the most. It was at Shiv Chaat Bhandar in Ghumar Mandi where she used to dig in hot ‘tikkis’.

Sharing her love for food, the bubbly actress says, "I miss the spicy food of Ludhiana. Though ‘alu tikki’ and ‘chhole kulche’ are available in Mumbai also, but they lack the perfect taste and aroma.”

Though Mumbai is also famous for ‘barf ka gola’, but Divya misses the ‘barf gola’ from the Cemetery Road. "Even the gola from Juhu is not as tasty as is available in the city," adds the actress while busy getting her hair done. She was in the city on Saturday evening to attend a musical nite at the GRD Academy.

Sharing the memories attached with the city, Divya said that she was very active in taking part in youth festivals during her college days. "Once curfew was imposed in the city, but our group was determined to rehearse for the coming youth festival. Not caring about the curfew, we went to the college in a car and made it a point to carry our practice session. Our group was a ‘bindaas’ one and we did want we wanted,” she adds with a sparkle in her eyes.

Being a head girl of the college (Government College for Women) she had loads of responsibilities, but in between them the mischievous girl in her never took a backseat. Sharing her yet another incident, she said: "Once we were so tired after rehearsing for our play that we did not feel like attending our lecture, so that was the time I tested my acting abilities and pretended to faint in front of my teacher. The idea clicked and we were allowed to go.”

Refusing to be a part of any of the reality shows on air these days, she says, “I would not be a part of the show at any cost. I cannot live without my cell phone as it is my lifeline, so can never participate in shows like Big Boss. I don't like to be judged. Being a judge of the reality show is different but I do not like others judging my capabilities so reality shows are not my cup of tea.”

Talking about her films, Divya says she was satisfied with the response to “Welcome to Sajjanpur”. "The audience has liked my character of simple village belle,” says Divya.

The Ludhiana girl would soon be making her entry into Hollywood with the movie ‘Hiss’. The other films in her kitty include “Oh my God, Delhi 6, Chehra, Monica, Masti Express, Love Khichdi, Hello Darling, Chaalu Movie” and three other untitled films.

Divya has done theatre, films, serials and advertisements. When asked about the best medium, she says "To express is the most beautiful thing. Medium is not as important to me.” 

Ludhiana, October 12
The number of women suffering from heart diseases has trebled in the past 10 years and there has been a constant increase of fatal heart diseases among Punjabi women, revealed Dr H.S. Bedi , chairman, cardiac sciences at Sigma New Life Heart Institute.

Referring to the gravity of problem, Dr Bedi said it couldn't be the sheer conincident if all patients of heart disease admitted in Sigma today were females. The ages of these patients very between 30 and 75 years, the doctor stated. The fact that women are from the city and rural areas adjoining Ludhiana is a matter of concern, Dr Bedi added.

There is a misconception among women as well as doctors that pre-menopausal women may not have heart disease . The number of women who attribute symptoms of heart disease to asthma, gas or indigestion can suffer a needless heart attack, the surgeon confimed.

Dr Bedi called upon cardiologists to take symptoms of heart attack seriously in women, adding that, "When a woman comes to emergency room complaining of indigestion, she is treated for indigestion. Whereas she should be sent for an ECG."

Recent studies in the US point towards the problem as one in two women die of heart disease and one in six die of breast cancer.

Citing the example of Dalip Kaur of Jagraon, the doctor said she had been ignoring her symptoms till she landed in an emergency with an additional blockage of her leg vessels requiring a major surgery.

Prevention is the main mantra for women as many risk factors for heart disease like diabetes, high blood pressure, stress, sedentary lifestyle, junk and fried food are equally important in men and women. Most, if not all of these, can quite easily be controlled with regular checkups, exercise, proper diet, lifestyle modification and proper medication. A counselling of general public and lectures are routinely held to educate the women about the importance of these measures.

Ludhiana, October 12
The NGO centre for Agricultural Research and Rural Development has claimed that machinery is now available that can prevent the burning of rice straw in the field.

Talking to the TNS, Dr I.K. Garg, former head and emeritus scientist, department of farm power and machinery, Punjab Agricultural University, and member of NGO, and Dr Joginder Singh, former head, department of economics, PAU, and chairman of this organization, said burning of rice straw in the field was causing a major environmental hazard in the state.

Burning decreased the efficiency of some weedicides used for controlling weeds during wheat growth. Also significant quantities of valuable nutrients got lost in the process.

Though the government had banned straw burning, farmers continued to do so for want of alternative machinery for straw management.

However, all this was set to change now as efforts had been made to develop equipment at the PAU to manage rice straw.

They said the machines include equipment for straw collection and straw incorporation in the field.

Straw baler and straw harvester-cum-loader could be used for collecting straw from combine harvested fields and cleaning the field for subsequent sowing by no-till drill or traditional drill.

The clean field could also be prepared easily before sowing. Harvester-cum-loader cut the paddy straw from the bottom with flail-type blades and loaded it onto a trailer behind it.

The capacity of machine is around 0.4 hectare/hour and is operated by a 45 hp tractor. In a baler, straw is compressed into a bale chamber and rectangular bales of different sizes are formed.

The bales can be piled outside the field for use at a later date.

Machines used for straw incorporation include straw chopper-cum-spreader.

The machine in a single operation harvest. Subsequent wheat sowing is done as usual by the use of seed drill or strip till drill.

The machine consists of rotary shaft mounted with blades named as flails to harvest the straw and chopping unit consisting of knives. Capacity of machine is about one acre per hour and costs around Rs 50,000.

In case farmers are unable to perform the above operations, the other solution under partially burnt field conditions is use of roto-till drill. In a roto-till drill, seed drill is mounted over the rotavator and thus seed bed preparation and sowing is done in a single operation.

Currently, a large number of manufactures have started fabrication of the machine and is considered a best solution for straw management as it can avoid 40-50 per cent pollution in addition to some organic matter in the soil at minimum cost.

Ludhiana, October 12
The Diamond Jubilee Zonal Youth and Heritage festival (Zone B) of Panjab University, Chandigarh, started at Guru Nanak Girls College here today. The contestants from 11 other colleges are participating in the five-day cultural extravaganza.

The festival was inaugurated by Punjab advocate general Hardev Singh Mattewal. Dr S. M. Kant, director, youth services, Panjab University, was guest of honour.

College principal Dr Charanjit Kaur Mahal welcomed the delegates and participating teams.

The events, which were held today, included on-the-spot painting, rangoli, clay modelling, cartooning, folk dance, kawishri, folk songs, collage making, poster making, still-life drawing, art and craft competitions like cross stitch, dasuti, phulkari, bagh, mehndi, essay writing and story writing.

The teams from various colleges, including Khalsa College for Women, Guru Nanak Girls College, SDP Colleges, MTS College, Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Government College for Women, AS College, Khanna, Mata Ganga College for Women, Kota, participated in the events today.

Ludhiana, October 12
Bharti Retail’s Easyday stores at Model Town Extension, Dugri and Civil Lines, today engaged people in the cleanliness drive to mark the ‘Safai Divas’ for the ongoing festive season.

Over 300 enthusiastic shoppers registered for the cleanliness drive. Registrations were opened on October 9 for the people to volunteer for cleaning the neighbourhood parks. They were involved in different activities like clearing debris, trimming the grass, de-weeding the park, clearing garbage, putting barricades around the parks and making children paint them.

Besides, there were a host of exciting games for everyone like the sack race, tag-of-war, tambola etc. Prizes were given to the winners of various activities and games.

Chief marketing officer of Bharti Retail Limited K. Venkatramani said, “Our motto is to ‘Enable India Live Better’. Our aim is not to just bring a great shopping experience to our customers, but also to give back to the community where we operate. This festive season, we are encouraging families to go beyond cleaning their homes and practice cleanliness for the environment by making them participate in the Easyday ‘Safai Divas’."

Ludhiana, October 12
More than 150 patients, afflicted with various bone disorders, attended the joints-replacement and arthritis treatment camp organised at SPS Apollo Hospital here today to mark the World Arthritis Day.

The camp provided the patients with a chance to discover more on the options of joint-replacement therapy and get more information on managing the pain of osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, said Dr Harpreet Singh Gill, an orthopaedician in his inaugural lecture.

Dr Rahul Bhan, another prominent orthopaedician at the hospital, said this year the theme for the World Arthritis Day is ‘Think Positive’. The theme acknowledges that the challenges associated with arthritis and rheumatism can also affect the patients emotionally. But there are a number of positive things they can do to help feel better and get more from life, he added.

Ludhiana, October 12
There has been an acute shortage of di ammonium phosphate (DAP) in Punjab. Private agencies have further aggravated the problem of farmers by asking them to buy other insecticides, pesticides, urea, etc. if they wanted to get the DAP.

Farmers, left with no other option, are being forced to buy products that are not even required by them. Leaders of farmer unions have blamed the directorate of agriculture, Punjab, for not making bulk purchases from the central government on time.

Bhartiya Kisan Union, Punjab, general secretary (administration) Sharanjit Singh Mehlo told The Tribune that farmers were going through a bad phase in the absence of DAP fertilizer.

Private agencies were charging hefty amounts as government societies had stopped the supply. Farmers were a worried lot as sowing of wheat was going to start from October 15 in Punjab. In the absence of sufficient amount of fertilizer, the sowing process could be delayed.

“Political leaders, in spite of giving assurances, are doing nothing for early allocation of fertilizer. Farmers are not getting the supply from societies like Markfed or Punjab Agro either. Currently, the DAP is needed in potato crop too. But the government seems to be least bothered. Farmers seem to be on last on their priority list,” complained Mehlo.

Bharti Kisan Union (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal said private players were exploiting farmers by selling the DAP in black-market.

During wheat sowing process, farmers needed 50-75 kg DAP per acre but due to its acute shortage, the sowing process will not start. He said the ideal time for sowing was between October 15 and November 22, after that late varieties will be sown. If farmer were not be able to get the fertilizer on time, the sowing schedule would be badly affected.

He said the directorate of agriculture, Punjab, was responsible for the mismanagement. “The state government has to tell it to the central government well in advance about their requirement. Our government has not followed the procedure properly. Had they been told about the shortage, agencies like Punjab Agro and Markfed could easily have procured it from other countries,” said Rajewal.

Ludhiana, October 12
“Sat Sri Akal”, dedicated to the 300 years of Gur-ta-Gaddi Divas of Guru Granth Sahib, is slated to release on November 7. The star cast of the film includes Manpreet Singh and Kimi Verma.

"The audience would have a chance to listen to the only shabad sung by Ishmeet Singh, who died recently, in any movie," says Satnam Singh, the film distributor.

"Though these days a very few religion-oriented movies are being made, but his venture is a dedication to the 300 years of Gur-ta-Gaddi Divas and we are sure the film would be well received by the audience," he adds.

Apart from this, noted ghazal singer Jagjit Singh has also sung three ‘shabads’ in the movie.

"The subject of the movie is love and faith," added Satnam Singh. Ravinder Singh has given the music for the film.

Jagraon, October 12
Five persons have been booked for stealing a passport of an NRI. Incidentally the NRI happens to be the mother of those booked.

Ranjit Kaur, wife of Harnet Singh, a resident of Gagra village, had along with her husband come to India from Hong Kong about five months ago . After staying here for some time her husband returned to Hong Kong.

Her children were here for the marriage of their younger brother Gurdeep Singh. They stole Ranjit Kaur’s passport so that she could not return to Hong Kong. Her sons Gurdeep Singh and Harbhajan Singh, Daljit Kaur, wife of Harbhajan Singh, daughter Karamjit Kaur and Jora Singh of Bassian refused to handover the passport to her.

She refused to accompany them for Gurdeep’s marriage unless the passport was handed over to her. At this, she was beaten up by the accused. She had to be admitted to the local civil hospital. Her relatives tried to pacify both parties but failed after the children refused handover the passport to her.

Ludhiana, October 12
Sudhar managed to prevail over Fatehgarh Sahib 3-2 in a group C match of the u-14 years section in the ongoing Punjab State Weekend Hockey Tournament for boys being organised by the Punjab Sports Department at the Prithipal Singh Memorial AstroTurf Stadium, Punjab Agricultural University, here today.

Sudhar surged ahead in the 11th minute through a field goal scored by Ranjit Singh. They enhanced the lead in the very next minute when Amanjot Singh found the target to make it 2-0.

Two minutes later, Fatehgarh Sahib lads bounced back into the game and reduced the margin through a field goal scored by Jaskaran Singh. Amanjot Singh scored his second goal in the 19th minute to lead by 3-1.

After making repeated forays into the Fatehgarh Sahib’s citadel, Amanjot Singh managed to sneak into the danger zone, found the custodian on wrong foot and rolled the ball into the net to help his team wrap up the issue 3-2.

The second match played in the group C in the u-16 years section between Bahadurgarh and Sangrur turned out to be a one-sided affair in which the former came out triumphant without being challenged 9-0.

Mandeep Singh scored four goals while Varinder Singh senior accounted for three goals and Varinder Singh junior contributed two goals to complete the rout.

In the third match (u-14), Shaheed Balwinder Shergill Hockey Academy of Barnala defeated Patiala 4-2. It were Patiala lads who went into an early lead in the second minute through Ripudaman Singh. Barnala Academy restored parity in the 17th minute as Sukhchain Singh sounded the board.

Patiala players again earned lead in the 19th minute when Ripudaman was on the target. However, Barnala boys scored an equaliser in the 34-minute through Ravinder Pal Singh while six minutes later, they gained the lead as Navjot Singh scored a fine field goal and Akashdeep Singh struck in the 49th minute, which helped their team to clinch the title 4-2.

The fourth match of the day in group A (u-16), played between the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Patiala and Gurukul Mehta Academy, Doraha, turned out to be an absorbing contest in which the former squeezed past 3-2.

Tarundeep Singh put SAI, Patiala, into the lead in the 9th minute and Harsimranjeet Singh converted a penalty corner in the 17th minute to consolidate the lead while Prashant scored a field goal in the 31st minute to further cement the lead (3-0).

Doraha lads reduced the margin in quick succession through Harminder Singh (59th minute) and Harvinder Singh (60th minute) and salvaged some pride (3-2).

Ludhiana, October 12
Hosts Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Gujjarkhan Campus, Model Town, and Satish Chander Dhawan Government College emerged champions in the women and men’s sections, respectively, in the 4th Senior Ludhiana District Baseball Championship that concluded at the Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Gujarkhan Campus, Model Town, here today.

In the women’s section, Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women eves, in their last super league fixture thrashed the Ramgarhia Club 11-0 to romp home champions while the GNW Club finished runners up and Ramgarhia Girls College had to content with third position.

In the men’s final, Satish Chander Dhawan Government College survived a scare against the PPC Club before managing to scrape past with a narrow margin of one point (12-11). In the match to decide the third spot, My Nine Panthers Club outnumbered R.S. Model Senior Secondary School 8-0.

District Bar Association, Ludhiana, president Parupkar Singh Ghuman distributed prizes. Harbir Singh Gill and Sukhdev Singh Aulakh, president and honorary secretary, respectively, of the Ludhiana District Baseball Association along with other office- bearers were also present during the function.