Jalandhar, June 13
Another prisoner, identified as Dharmendra (25), of the Jalandhar Central Jail allegedly died due to overdose of drugs, which had been smuggled into the jail recently.

According to jail authorities, the prisoner died in the civil hospital where he was referred in the wee hours today.

Jail Superintendent SP Singh said Dharmendra died because of overdose of intoxicating capsules. On the contrary, Dharmendra’s family members alleged some foul play behind his death.

The Jail Superintendent said as many as 170 intoxicating capsules had been recovered on Friday at about 8 pm from Dharmendra, a permanent resident of Bihar, presently residing at Sabowal village with his family.

SP Singh further stated a packet of these capsules had been thrown into jail by some peddler from the adjoining Luxmi Narayan Temple road.

While the jail authorities succeeded in seizing 170 intoxicating capsules, he hid nearly 30 capsules and reportedly consumed most of them when he had gone to a bathroom inside the jail.

After consuming overdose of capsules, he started feeling uneasy, the Jail Superintendent added.

At this, he was taken to jail hospital. When his condition further deteriorated in the wee hours, he was referred to the civil hospital.

Dharmendra was convicted in two cases of stealing and keeping unlicensed weapon registered against him under the Arms Act and IPC, whereas he was facing trial in two other cases of dacoity and rioting. He was lodged in this jail for last about three years. SP Singh said six intoxicating capsules were also found during his postmortem. These capsules were hidden in the zip of his trousers.

Hoshiarpur, June 13
Faqir Singh (58) of Ajnoha, an undertrial prisoner, died at the local Civil Hospital last night.

According to police sources, Faqir was admitted to the hospital by the authorities of the District Jail, Hoshiarpur, following his ill health, last night.

He was arrested by the police on April 6, 2006, registered against him under sections 409 and 120 B of the IPC at the Mahilpur police station. The police has handed his body over to his family after postmortem examination. 

Krishan Lal persuaded Suman many times to discontinue her relationship with Gurcharan Singh, but she did not pay heed. When his younger son Ajay Kumar saw his mother in a compromising position with Gurcharan Singh, he consumed some poisonous substance.

He was immediately taken to Community Health Centre, Mahilpur from where he was referred to a Nawanshahar hospital where he died today. 

Tarn Taran, June 13
Three passengers sitting on the roof of a private bus died as they fell down after they were entangled in the loosely-hanging cable wire near Jaura village on the Tarn Taran-Patti Road in the afternoon today.

The victims died on the spot while the Patti police, after preliminary investigations, booked the driver of the bus and a tractor trolley under various relevant sections of the IPC. Two persons were also injured in the incident, said Kirpal Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Po lice.

According to information, the wood in the overloaded tractor trolley, which passed before the bus, got entangled with the cable wire due to which it loosened and started hanging.

The accused were identified as Sarvan Singh of Sabhra village and Satnam Singh of Mianwind village, drivers of the bus and tractor trolley, respectively.

The deceased include Raghubir Singh (40), Sukhdev Singh (31) both residents of Takkarpura near Patti township and Harjinder Singh (30) of Patti.

The injured were admitted to the local civil hospital where their condition is said to be stable and out of danger.

The bus was going from Tarn Taran to Patti and was overloaded during the incident. The eyewitnesses said the deceased was entangled with wire and fell down from the bus suffering serious head injuries.

The accused are absconding and raids are being conducted to arrest them. Meanwhile, District Transport Officer, Angrej Singh Hundal, when contacted, said he did not have any information regarding the incident and added that he would look into the matter besides taking necessary action in this regard. 

Jalandhar, June 13
Deputy Commissioners of the seven districts of Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Nawanshahr, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran have been asked to collect data on the students who have gone to Australia fo study purpose.

Commissioner of the Patiala division Jasbir Singh Bir directed all the DCs of these seven districts to prepare and submit the data by June 17. He was presiding over a meeting of DCs and ADCs after taking over the additional charge of the commissioner of Jalandhar division.

Bir said as many 1,779 students from Jalandhar, 1,100 from Hoshiarpur, 665 from Gurdaspur, 333 from Nawanshahr, 305 from Tarntaran and 102 students from Amritsar district were studying in Australia.

Kapurthala: Meanwhile, the Kapurthala district administration has already set up a special counter on Friday at the Suvidha Centre to collect the data and particulars about students studying in various colleges and universities in Australia.

Kapurthala DC Raj Kamal Chaudhary asked parents, whose wards study in Australia, to submit the particulars of their wards in order to prepare the data bank of these students, which could be used when required.

Registration forms are available at the Suvidha Centre and parents can contact the special counter on the number 01822-230666 or 236663.