Jalandhar, March 4
Two passengers were killed and 24 others were injured, some of them seriously, when a private bus in which they were traveling, turned turtle on the busy Jalandhar-Jammu Highway at the Raipur Balla village near here, this afternoon.

One of the deceased has been identified as Jarnail Singh, a resident of Balla village while the identity of a woman, who lost her life in the mishap, could not be ascertained.

Eyewitnesses revealed that the driver lost control over the wheel following which the bus hit the road divider before turning turtle. The driver is said to be driving rash and interacting with certain passengers sitting on the bonnet.

The overloaded bus, owned by Janta Transporters, was heading towards Bhatija from Jalandhar when the tragedy struck. The bus driver, Gona, a resident of Kali-Bein in Kapurthala, reportedly fled after the mishap.

The injured were rushed to the nearby hospitals including Janta Hospital, Kapur Hospital and the local Civil Hospital. Windowpanes of the bus were broken to extricate the passengers stranded inside it.

Traffic on the highway was also disputed for over an hour after the accident.

Investigating officer ASI Balwinder Singh revealed that 12 injured were rushed to Janta Hospital, seven to the Kapur Hospital and five to the local civil hospital. The condition of the injured is stable. The police said a case of rash and negligent driving has been registered against the bus driver.

It may be recalled that two students of the CT Group of Educational Institutions were killed and many were injured when a private bus over-turned on the Jalandhar-Nakodar Road in Shahpur village on February 19.

The nature of both the accidents was same. In both cases, the private buses were overloaded and were speeding. The accidents have raised questions on the functioning of the 
district transport authorities that have failed to tame the unbridled drivers.

Dera Baba Nanak, March 4
A religious fair commemorating bringing of Chola Sahib (holy robe) of Guru Nanak Dev from Balkh Bokhara (Afghanistan) to Dera Baba Nanak was organised at the historic Gurdwara Chola Sahib here today.

The fair is being organised for the past two and a half centuries. Devotees not only from across the country, but also from abroad reach Dera Baba Nanak from March 4 to 7 to pay obeisance.

Besides the holy robe, a handkerchief, which was embroidered by Bebe Nanaki (elder sister of Guru Nanak Dev), is also displayed for the devotees. She presented the handkerchief to the Guru on his marriage.Cloves are always kept with the holy robe and are offered to childless mothers. The tale has it that Baba Kabli Mal, ninth descendant of Guru Nanak Dev, had dreamt about Guru Nanak Dev who asked him to bring the holy robe lying in a cave in Balkh Bokhara (Afghanistan) back to Dera Baba Nanak.

When Baba Kabli Mal reached Balkh Bokhara, people of the area confirmed that the holy robe was lying inside the cave which was blocked by a big rock. After reciting Japuji Sahib and sprinkling water five times on the rock, he moved the rock aside and retrieved the holy rob.

He reached Dera Baba Nanak on 21st Phalgun (March 4). The holy robe is being looked after by Baba Anoop Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak Dev.

Earlier, a follower of Sikh Gurus, Bhai Tota Ram of Balkh Bokhara, had taken the rob to Afghanistan after receiving it from Guru Arjan Dev in return for his selfless devotion towards the “Guru Ghar.” The holy robe was the same which was passed along with five more symbols to Guru Angad Dev by Guru Nanak Dev while bestowing “Gurgadi.”

Jalandhar, March 4
Director general (DG) of Doordarshan Aruna Sharma today said that DD will give extensive coverage during the upcoming commonwealth games next year.

“All arrangements pertaining to the broadcast of the games are under process. We have decided to outsource the commonwealth games along with our state-of-the-art in-house productions”, she added. She was here to attend the 8th annual DD awards at the Doordarshan Kendra, Jalandhar.

Addressing a press conference here at the DD kendra in Jalandhar, the DG said the audience would indeed feel the difference in the quality of the transmission of the games.

Further, lauding the effort of DD in bringing some memorable programmes on the tercentenary celebrations of the guruta gaddi divas, she said it is a matter of pride for the in-house production teams who presented rare details of Sikh history.

“This is indeed an achievement of sorts that nearly 5,000 DVDs of the programme ‘Guru Manyo Granth’ have been sold so far. We are overwhelmed by the tremendous response of the audience across the globe”, she stated.

Amritsar, March 4
The special narcotics cell has seized huge quantity of poppy husk and nabbed infamous interstate poppy husk smuggler Jasvir Singh of Dararh Garh, Sangrur. However, his accomplice Leela Singh, alias Lal Singh, of Barnala managed to dodge the police.

The police team caught the accused from Harike in the Tarn Taran area. The team recovered about 20 bags of poppy husk each containing about 30 kg of narcotics. Both the accused were waiting for a party to deliver the consignment near Jimidara Dhaba at Sarhali-Harike Road in their vehicle.

A case under section 15/25/29/61/85 of the NDPS Act has been registered in this regard.

The DIG said as per the preliminary investigations Leela was running an interstate syndicate involved in smuggling of poppy husk from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka and supplying the same to the local poppy husk smugglers in Punjab.

The special narcotics cell (SNC) arrested two Indo-Pak smugglers and recovered 2 kg of heroin from them.

The smugglers were identified as Nirvail Singh, alias Naila, resident of Bundala, Ferozepore, and Harchand Singh, alias Jhanda, resident of Kalia, Tarn Taran.

Meanwhile, another specially constituted police party of the SNC seized 1 kg of opium and arrested notorious inter-state opium smuggler Mohammad Mehboob of Nagore district, Saharanpur.

Cases under the NDPS Act were registered.

Phagwara:Phagwara police nabbed Bahadur Singh alias Badi of Muthadha Khurd village with 3.80 quintal poppy husk in 19 sacks.

Phagwara DSP Harkamalpreet Singh Khakh stated that Phagwara Sadar SHO Paramsunil Singh nabbed Bahadur Singh from Bhanoki village after a tip off. An FIR under sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against him.