R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Jalandhar
Bookies’ gang busted;kingpin held: The Jalandhar police claimed to have busted an international gang of bookies and arrested its kingpin from Makhdoompura locality here on Saturday. The police also recovered 70 mobile phones, three recorders, three laptops and two TV sets from his possession. The accused Surinder Singh alias Chotu and his three accomplices, who managed to escape, were running an illegal betting racket for the Champions Trophy being played in South Africa, said SSP Jalandhar, RK Jaiswal. They were operating from Chadha apartments in the Makhdoompura area. Acting on a tip-off, the police raided the apartment and arrested Surinder Singh.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Jammu
Body found: The police recovered the body of an unidentified man, aged between 60 to 65 years, from Ranbir Canal here on Saturday. Official sources said the body was spotted in the canal by some people this morning. They informed the Canal police post, and a police party fished out the body. Later, the body was shifted to Government Medical College for identification. “It appeared that he might have drowned six to seven hours before his body was spotted by the people,” a police officer said.

Rajouri
Cop booked: The police has booked a constable, Dev Raj, for attempting to rape a housewife in the Jawahar Nagar area here on Thursday evening. A case has been registered against him for attempting to rape a woman in the neighbourhood. However, when the woman raised the alarm, other neighbours rushed for help and nabbed the accused.

Srinagar
Exhibition on ayurveda concludes: A four-day exhibition on ayurveda and aromatic plants jointly organised by AYUSH, Department of Information and Public Relations, Handicrafts, ISM and FICCI concluded here on Saturday with thousands of people from within and outside the state attending the concluding function. It was inaugurated jointly by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Director Information Farooq Ahmad Renzu, Director Handicrafts Showkat Ahmad Zargar, Director Tourism Farooq Ahmad Shah, Director Health Services Mohammad Amin Wani and Director ISM Abdul Kabir, besides executive officers of FICCI and AYUSH attended the concluding function.