R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Samrala
Youth Cong stages dharna: Activists of the legal cell of the state unit of the Congress and the Youth Congress staged a dharna in front of the SDM’s office to express solidarity with state president of the Youth Congress Ravneet Singh Bitu. He is sitting on a chain fast for the past a few days in protest against the menace of drugs. President of the local unit of the Youth Congress Jaspreet Singh Kalalmajra alleged that youths were getting addicted to drugs, but the government had failed to do anything in this regard. 

HARYANA

FATEHABAD
Held taking bribe: The State Vigilance Bureau (SVB) on Tuesday arrested accountant Mohan Lal of the local municipal council while receiving a bribe of Rs 1000 from safai karamchari Jai Singh for releasing a Rs 10,000 GPF loan. The SVB team laid a trap and went to the municipal council office with the complainant and duty magistrate Naurang Dass. As soon as the accused accepted the bribe money from the complainant, the SVB nabbed him. The accused tried to swallow the two currency notes of Rs 500 but was overpowered by the vigilance team. — TNS

SONEPAT
School gate locked: Residents of Agwanpur village on Monday locked the main gate of the school in protest against the use of liquor on the school premises by some residents of the village and the alleged beating up of school employees by the accused. The villagers have demanded action against the accused. Gannaur tehsildar Chader Prakash and SHO Yash Pal Khatana reached the spot and persuaded the villagers to open the lock assuring that action would be taken against the accused. — OC

BHIWANI
Stone laid: Kiran Choudhry, Excise and Taxation and Public Health Engineering Minister, on Monday laid the foundation stone of a chaupal for the backward classes at Tosham in this district. Announcing a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the construction of the chaupal, she said if required, more funds would be provided for the construction of this chaupal. — OC

SIRSA
Demonstration: Members of Dr Ambedkar Students Front of India on Monday held a demonstration in protest against the killing of a Dalit at Bani village recently. The students raised anti government slogans outside the main gate of Chaudhary Devi Lal University and burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister. The agitating students threatened to launch a statewide agitation if the police failed to nab the killers of the Dalit soon. — TNS

REWARI
2 killed in mishap: Two youths - Ravikant Soni ( 23) of Neem Ka Thana town in Rajasthan and Rajender Yadav ( 30) of Udaipurwati village of Jhunjhunoo district in Rajasthan - were killed on the spot when their car hit a tree near Budhpur village, 6 km from here, on Monday night. The mishap took place when they were coming from Neem Ka Thana to Rewari. A neelgai abruptly appeared on the road, making the car dash against a tree. — OC

REWARI
Man held: The city police has arrested Vijay Saini of Mohalla Muftiwara here, who allegedly kidnapped a minor girl (15) belonging to the Dalit Samaj from the mohalla on April 20. The girl is a classmate of the abductor’s daughter. He was produced in a local court, which remanded him in judicial custody. The kidnapped girl, who had approached the Panipat police after she was left there by her abductor, was recovered by the Rewari police on April 29. The girl’s medical examination confirmed sexual assault. — OC

REWARI
Dowry death: The Jatusana police has booked Bala Devi’s husband Krishan Kumar, father-in-law Sube Singh, mother-in-law Mukesh Devi and one other, all residents of Daroli village, 17 km from here, for the dowry death of Bala Devi (25), who reportedly set herself on fire on Monday. — OC 

PANIPAT
Roof collapses: Five members of a family were injured when the roof of their mud house crashed on them on Sunday night while they were asleep at Bhodwal Majri village in the district. The injured have been identified as Surinder, his wife Rani, sons Mohit and Gaurav and daughter Shallu. — TNS

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Shimla
CPM holds protest: Activists of the CPM, along with locals, yesterday staged a protest at Sangrah tehsil in Sirmour district against the alleged atrocity against a woman in the general house held at Bhawai panchayat last month. They took out a procession from the tehsildar’s office to register their protest against Dwariki Devi. — TNS

BILASPUR
Relay fast enters Day 2: The 24-hour chain hunger strike by the action committee of the Bilaspur District Truck Operators Cooperative Society at Barmana, near here, led by former society president Jagdish Sankhyatyan, entered the second day as another batch of five truck operator leaders, Suresh Mahajan, Chuni Lal Thakur, both Society Executive Committee members, and Neelam Chandel, Suresh Dittu and Nand Lal Thakur sat down on the dharna. — OC

KANGRA
Bharat Scouts, Guides camp held: A three-day proficiency badge training camp of Bharat Scouts and Guides was inaugurated at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Yol Cantonment, on Tuesday. It will conclude on Thursday. HP Singh, Principal of the school, said nearly 325 scouts and guides of 45 schools of KV schools of the Chandigarh region, along with their escorts, were participating in the camp. — OC

HAMIRPUR
3 held with 16 kg copper wire: The police arrested three members of a gang involved in wire theft on Monday night at Dosraka near Hamirpur. SP Kuldeep Sharma said, “The police was tracing the movement of a few members of a gang involved in the wire theft and arrested three persons Mehar Singh, a resident of Punjab, and Pradeep Kumar and Harjeet Singh, residents of Jahu”. The accused were travelling along with 16 kg stolen copper wire in vehicle No. HP0-1K- 2178 on Monday night when they were trapped by the police at a police barrier. — TNS

DEHRADUN

Dehradun
Lab technicians boycott work: Laboratory technicians of government hospitals boycotted work for two hours demanding action against a pharmacist who had allegedly manhandled a lab technician at a government hospital in Uttarkashi on Monday. Both are employed at the same hospital. “We will continue to strike work for the entire week and may intensify the stir, if no action is taken against the pharmacist,” said Rakesh Rawat, president of the Laboratory Technician Association. — TNS

Suicide: A 38-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticides at her home in Basant Vihar on Tuesday. The police said the reason behind the suicide couldn’t be established yet. The woman worked as domestic help. Her husband Mast Singh Negi works as a peon at a local school and her two small children are studying. — TNS

Gang-rape case : The family and relatives of the minor girl who was allegedly gang-raped by three persons on Tuesday met the SP (City) and demanded further action in the case. Javed, one of the three accused, is still at large. Two accused have been arrested. - TNS

Elopement case: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly enticed to flee from her house by a man living in the neighbourhood on Nemi Road. Her mother lodged a complaint with police alleging that Jishaan enticed her minor daughter to elope with him. A case was registered at the Dalanwala police station on Monday. — TNS

Kumaon Briefs

Policemen attacked following girl’s death in accident: A mob attacked a police team in Gadarpur following a hit and run accident. According to the information available, 15-year-old, Aarti of Dhimarkheda village was crushed to death by a speeding truck coming from behind. The girl was going to her school on a bicycle. The body of the girl lay on the road causing a massive traffic jam till a police team arrived on the scene. Accusing the police of insensitivity, people attacked the police personnel and even damaged their vehicles by throwing stones. The police also resorted to thrashing the attackers. The people were agitated over the fact that the late arrival of the police had allowed the driver to flee the scene. Finally, the matter was resolved with the intervention of the local administration. The police has taken the truck into custody.

Two drowned in river: Two persons were drowned in the Gandak river flowing close to the district headquarters of Champawat on Monday. According to the information available, an 18-year-old youth, Vibhor Bisht, had descended into the river for a dip along with his friends but was soon taken away by a fast flowing current. Seeing the drowning youth, a labourer, who was collecting sand nearby, jumped into the river to rescue the youth, but was drowned in the process. While Bisht was a resident of Punetha village, the 30-year-labourer hailed from Larabora. The bodies of the two were retrieved with great difficulty.

Rise in cases of typhoid, jaundice: With the onset of summer, hospitals in the region are reporting a high incidence of cases of typhoid and jaundice. This has led to a concern among members of the medical fraternity as well as the citizens. Reports in the local media say that the incidence of typhoid is 15 per cent, while that of jaundice is 12 per cent. In addition, a large number of diarrhoea cases have also been reported. The cause of these diseases is said to be the consumption of contaminated water. The Haldwani Municipality has decided to carry out a special drive against those selling unhygienic foodstuff from May 4.

Women lead anti-liquor agitation: An agitation against liquor is going on in full swing in the Lamgarah area of Almora district. Seeking removal of liquor vends from their existing locations, members of the Sharab Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti resorted to an eight-hour road blockade on Monday. This caused a lot of inconvenience to commuters on the stretch. Women of the area are leading the agitation. The administration had conveyed to the women agitators that the vends would be relocated within a week.

Traders seek ban on burning of effigies: A large number of traders in Bageshwar have written to the district administration for banning the burning of effigies on the main road in the town. In their letter reprsesentatives of the Zilla Udyog Vyapar Manch have stated that the daily burning of effigies sends a wrong social message and does not yield any result. They have further stated that it causes a lot of inconvenience to tourists as well as locals as the roads remain blocked during the burning of effigies.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)