R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Relief Fund: Punjabi University, Patiala, has donated an amount of more than Rs 4 lakh as financial assistance for the flood victims in various parts of the country. The amount has been collected as a measure of donation in shape of one day's salary, donated by the faculty and its employees, on an appeal made by the vice-chancellor, Dr Jaspal Singh, to this effect. The draft has been sent by the university registrar, Dr S. S. Khehra, to the principal secretary to the Punjab Chief Minister for forwarding it to the Prime Minister Relief Fund.

CHANDIGARH

HARYANA

Ambala
Inaugurated: A scooter and car parking was inaugurated on Friday at Ambala cantt railway station by divisional railway manager, H. K. Jaggi. The parking has been made in double the area of the existing parking at next to the main entrance of the station. The parking fee will be applicable.

Gurgaon
Candidates stage protest: Nearly 400 candidates, who were called for interviews for the posts of peon, chowkidar and mali, staged a protest in front of the municipal corporation office here on Friday. They said they were not informed that the interviews had been posponed and they had to travel long distances to reach the venue. Rajeev Sharma, municipal commissioner, tried to make them understand the reason for postponing the interviews. "We have already given in newspapers that the interviews had been postponed but many have still turned up," he said.

JHAJJAR
3 killed in mishaps: Three youths were killed in road accidents in Bahadurgarh town here on Thursday. Two persons identified as Kanwar Singh and Suraj Mal were killed when the van they were travelling in was hit by an unidentified vehicle near Aasuda village. The duo was returning to Rohtak from Delhi. In another incident, Ramesh of Uttar Pradesh was killed when the motorcycle he was riding on was hit by an unidentified vehicle on National Highway 10. The incident took place when he was returning to his room from MIIE area.

KURUKSHETRA
Office-bearers elected: The office-bearers of the District Kurukshetra Headmasters Association were elected in a meeting held at Sannihit Sarover Park here on Friday. President Virender Walia; vice-presidents Ram Pal Saroha, Om Prakash and Kamal Batra; general-secretary Shekhar Sharma; deputy secretary Kashmir Singh; joint secretary Chander Shekhar Kaushik; organising secretary Usha Sharma; treasurer Shyam Lal; adviser Prem Kumar Sharma; legal adviser Madho Ram Sharma and accountant Rameshwar Das.

NARNAUL (MAHENDRAGARH)
ASI shoots himself: An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the Haryana police, Babu Lal, allegedly shot himself with his service revolver in Palsi Panihar village here on Friday, the police said. He died on the way to Jaipur, where he was being taken for treatment. The police is investigating.

REWARI
Cash, jewellery looted: Some persons burgled into Chander Bhan’s house in Malpura village, near Dharuhera, on Thursday. They reportedly decamped with Rs 13,000 as well as jewellery and valuables worth Rs 27,000. In another incident, thieves broke into a room of Government Primary School in Tatarpur Khlasa village, near Dharuhera, on Wednesday night and reportedly stole away a TV set, an inverter and two batteries worth Rs 25,000. The police has registered cases in this regard.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Conference rescheduled: Annual state-level conference of the Himachal Pradesh State Pensioners Welfare Association would be held at Una town on December 14 and not on December 12 as reported earlier. This was said by senior vice-president of the association J.K. Nadda and general secretary D.R. Parwalia here on Friday. They said Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal would be the chief guest in this conference.

HAMIRPUR
One found dead: The police has recovered body of Prakash Chand (in his 50s) at Sakroha village on Friday, near a hill. Police sources said Prakash Chand, a resident of Dalchehda village, near Bijahdi, was working in Mumbai and coming back to his village. On December 8 he had telephoned from Chandigarh to his house that he would be reaching home in a day. When he did not reach home his relatives lodged a report with the police and they recovered his body.

KULLU
Nepalese held: The Manali police has nabbed Mohan Singh, a Nepalese, near Prini bridge about 4 km from Manali, possessing 750 grams of charas on Thursday evening. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered in the Manali police station. SP Jagat Ram said the police had launched a hunt for the drug peddlers and successfully nabbed more than 12, including four foreigners, during the past one month.

One dead: Madan Lal (24), a resident of Archhandi village, was found lying injured on the Bran link road on Thursday evening, about 30 km from here. He was rushed to the Lady Willington Hospital, Manali, by the police after the local panchayat pradhan informed them. However, he succumbed to his injuries on Friday. Police sources confirmed that the case looked to be of a murder as the victim had multiple head injuries. A case of murder has been registered. The body has been handed over to the relatives after a post-mortem.

NAHAN
Khair trees: Forest officials on Friday caught red-handed Ali Mohammad of the Palhodi area when he along with three other accomplice were felling Khair trees in the nearby forest. Divisional forest officer of Paonta Sushil Kumar Singla said forest officials raided the site on a specific tip-off. But the three accused escaped along with a pickup vehicle. A case has been registered in the Majra Police station.

Wine bottles seized: As intensive checking continued on the inter-state border, the Paonta police on Friday recovered 150 bottles of English wine from a Maruti car (DL-6-CA-3565) during a search of the vehicles on the Yamuna bridge in Paonta town. According to the police, both Pankaj (37) and Rishi (33), both residents of Delhi, have been arrested. The wine was being carried in the vehicle without any permit.

PALAMPUR
Award for bravery: Major Anshul Shukla of Palampur has been awarded Shaurya Chakra by the President of India for bravery shown during a militancy operation in the North East. Born in Molichakk village Shukla had joined the Indian Army in 2002 and now he was posted in the Assam Rifles. In December 2006, a group of militants was crossing the Indo-Bangladesh border in Manipur when a platoon headed by Major Shukla foiled the attempt of the militants to enter in the country killing all on the spot.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

JAMMU
JU forms panel for polls: The Jammu University (JU) on Friday constituted an election panel for holding the elections for a new body of the Jammu University Research Scholars Executive Association (JURSEA). The panel included head of the Chemistry Department B.L. Sharma as election commissioner, Dr Shailendra Singh as presiding officer and Vijay Atri as returning officer. As per an official circular, the panel will work independently. However, the Department of Student Welfare shall provide all assistance to the committee for the smooth conduct of election process.

Order to enforce tobacco ban: The government on Friday directed health and medical education officials to ensure a strict ban on smoking at public places, an official spokesman said. The state government, in exercise of powers conferred under Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003, has authorised officers to compound the offence, he said. While the health directors had been authorised to deal with the offence at public places, medical superintendents and hospital administrators had been nominated as the penal authorities in government and private hospitals. SDMs, tehsildars and executive officers of municipal corporations and committees would check smoking within the municipal limits.

Srinagar
Labourer found dead: A Nepali labourer died under mysterious circumstances in Leh district, official sources said on Friday. They said panic gripped the Sonam base camp at Hanu when Nima Kazi Sharpa, son of Lanuri Sharpa, a resident of Nepal, was found dead by other workers. The cause of his death was not immediately known. The police has registerd a case.

13 hurt in mishap: At least 13 persons, including a driver, were injured in a road accident on the Drass-Leh national highway, official sources said on Friday. They said a minibus skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge near Pashkun, Kargil, , resulting in injuries to the passengers. Rescue teams were immediately rushed to the area and the injured were shifted to hospital, where the condition of some of them is stated to be critical, they added.

Repoll in Gurez polling station: Sheikh Mushtaq Ahmad, district election officer (DEO), Bandipora, said the Election Commission of India (ECI) had ordered a repoll in 25-Jawdara polling station of the Gurez constituency of Bandipora district on December 17. According to the DEO, the polling station for 224 voters of 25-Jawdara will be at Rajdhani Top.