Chandigarh, June 17
Two youths from Shimla drowned in a swimming pool in Sector 23 late last night.The police fished out the bodies of the two, identified as Nitin Mokta and Ajay Lohlta, in the wee hours today after a two-hour-long search operation. The two had entered the pool by scaling the wall to beat the heat.

Ajay Lohlta was employed with HDFC Bank in Sector 35 here and was staying in the city for the past over four years in a rented accommodation in Sector 23. Nitin Mokta, Ajay’s friend, had come to the city for some work with three other friends on June 15 and all four of them were staying at Ajay’s place. Nitin was employed as a private contractor with the Municipal Corporation in Shimla.

According to preliminary investigations, the two were swimming when Nitin went towards the deeper side and began to drown. He cried for help and Ajay, who was then out of the pool, rushed to his rescue. There was no security guard present near the pool.

Ajay broke a branch of a tree and put it into the pool for Nitin. As Nitin held 
the branch, Ajay too fell into the pool and both of them drowned.

Nitin’s was still seen holding on to the branch when his body was recovered.

The police said Nitin and Ajay, along with three other friends Nitin Chauhan, Ashish and Devesh, first had dinner in Sector 23 at 10.30 pm when Ajay suggested that they all should go to the nearby swimming pool. While the three others refused, Nitin Mokta agreed to accompany Ajay.

Around 2 am, Nitin Chauhan woke up and found that the two had still not returned and went to search the two along with Ashish and Devesh. They found the clothes of the two lying by the side of the pool. He then noticed that the two had drowned.

A search operation began and the fire brigade staff was also called which recovered the bodies of the two lying on the floor of the pool. Their families were informed and the post-mortem on the bodies was conducted.

Their families said both were not good swimmers and were natives of Jibbal In Shimla. A guard posted near the pool, Ravinder Singh, came to know about the incident only when a police party knocked his door.

A ladder and around 15 feet long rope was also found near the spot and it is believed Ajay had used these two for rescuing Nitin. 

Nalagarh, June 17
Three-time Nalagarh BJP MLA HN Saini today bade adieu to politics following prolonged illness and handed over his political legacy to his wife Gurnaam Kaur.

Gurnaam Kaur, who has been accompanying Saini eversince he had fallen ill in February this year, was a novice in politics. Saini’s supporters, who had gathered to meet him at his native village Rajpura near Nalagarh, urged him to continue, but raised hands in unison to show approval for Gurnaam Kaur when Saini insisted them to support her.

In an emotional outburst, Saini said, “I have finally decided to quit politics following my ill-health and request you to extend your support to my wife.”

Accompanied by his family members, including his brother Avtar Singh and wife, Saini said, “I have always worked for the welfare of the people and have no difference of opinion with the Chief Minister over any other issue apart from the development issues. There was no difference of opinion on any personal issue,” he said.

He said he had been discussing issues relating to various developmental works with the Chief Minister and was hopeful that they would be executed soon.

Saini had expressed desire to meet his supporters at his native village and was brought here this morning from his Kharuni-based residence.

Anandpur Sahib, June 17
Two women were killed and 20 suffered injuries when the bus they were travelling in overturned near Dher village on the Anandpur Sahib-Nangal Highway at 5.30 am today.

The bus (CH04L0581), carrying 22 pilgrims, was on its way back to Kangra after visiting four Hindu shrines. When the bus reached Dher village, the driver lost control over the vehicle and the bus fell on its side. A passenger Kamla Devi, wife of Brij Lal of Gadiar village of Palampur, died on the spot and 21 persons were injured.

The injured were rushed to the local civil hospital at Anandpur Sahib. As Sharda Devi from Kangra area was seriously injured, she was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. But she succumbed to her injuries near Ropar.

The injured include Sansar Chand, Gadiar village resident Brij Lal, Nirmala Devi, Shakuntala Devi, Mool Chand, Vidya Devi, Krishna Devi, Simro Devi, Jyoti, Kaushalya Devi, Des Raj from Bilaspur, Pratap Singh and Manohar Singh from Sujanpur village in Pathankot, Reena Kumari from Jawali Kangra, Astha from Baijnath Kangra, Ayodhya Devi from Dehra Kangra, Shakuntaka from Dharamsala, Leela Devi from Joginder Nagar Mandi and Tanuskha Devi from Jalandhar Cantt.

Bus driver Jai Prakash fled from the spot. A case has been registered against him. MP Rajya Sabha Avinash Rai Khanna and secretary, BJP Punjab, Jatinder Singh Athwal met the injured persons.

Bilaspur, June 17
Alleging negligence on part of the duty doctor here at the Regional Hospital, Dina Nath Sharma of Rally village near here has sought a high-level inquiry into the death of his pregnant daughter.

In a representation to DC Ritesh Chauhan, Dina Nath said in the wee hours of the morning of June 1, his daughter Preeti was bitten by a snakeon her arm while she was asleep in her room. She was immediately rushed to the Regional Hospital here where the duty doctor did not treat her, but referred her to the PGI, Chandigarh.

He said they were even denied hospital ambulance by saying that it would be available after two hours and they had carried the patient in another vehicle. The duty doctor untied the knot which was earlier tied on her arm to prevent poison from spreading it to the entire body.

Dina Nath said Preeti breathed her last on way to Chandigarh and, according to him, this happened as the poison had spread in her body.

The DC has ordered the Chief Medical Officer to hold an inquiry into this incident and report the matter to him immediately.

Dina Nath has also urged the Chief Minister and the Health Minister to intervene in this matter and order proper arrangements to save precious lives of snake bite cases in this hospital. — OC

Shimla, June 17
Girls outnumbered boys once again in B.Com-III (Pass Course) results which were declared by HP University here todayTen of the top 13 positions have been bagged by girls even though it is Sameer Verma, student of Government Degree College, who managed to share the top rank with another girl student, Samridhi Bansal from Government College, Nahan. Both shared the first rank with an aggregate of 80.59 per cent.

The pass percentage in the exam is 87.24 per cent as 2,427 of the total 2,782 students were declared successful.

The second position has been bagged by Nivedita from Rajkiya Kanya Mahavidyalaya (RKMV), Shimla, while Rohita Mahajan from Government College, Sanjauli, was third.

The fourth position was bagged by Pooja Gupta of Government College, Poanta Sahib followed by Sunita Devi from Government College, Hamipur, who was ranked fifth. The sixth position in the merit was shared by Bhavika Sood of RKMV, Shimla, and Ruchika Malhotra from DAV College, Kangra.

The others on the list include Ruchi Chawla (7) of Government College, Nahan, Kanchan Bala (8) from Government College, Daulatpur, Shruti (9) from SVSD College, Bhatoli, and Mohamed Ahmed Safee and Anirudh Sood, both from Government College, Sanjauli, sharing the tenth position.

Kangra, June 17
Shiv Charan, a student of Class XII at Government Senior Secondary School, Kachiari, had allegedly attacked political science lecturer Devi Prasad (45) of the same school which left him injured.

The lecturer had asked the student the reason for his absence from the morning prayers. On this the student attacked the lecturer on his face leaving him injured and bleeding. The police has registered a case against Shiv Charan under Sections 353 and 332 IPC and arrested him.

Principal of the school Mastan Singh said the student was struck-off from the rolls of the school and on the request of the accused student and his parents he was discharged from the school.

In another incident in the same school, a Class X student, Raman, assaulted his classmate Vishal leaving him injured. Vishal was admitted to Dr RPGMC at Tanda.

Kangra, June 17
The body of Rajesh Kumar (33), a resident of Barri Haleard ward 9, Kangra, was found near a flour mill on the outskirts of the town under suspicious circumstances in the wee hours today.

The investigating officer, sub-inspector Yog Raj, said Rajesh had left home at noon on Thursday, but did not return. Rajesh was a taxi driver by profession and addicted to liquor.

Yog Raj said the preliminary autopsy report indicated death due to head injury. He said the head injury might had been caused due to a fall under the influence of liquor. He had strained relations with his wife who was now living at her parent’s house. He said the deceased had been visiting his wife at his in-laws house and after creating a scene there was returning.

The police ruled out the possibility of murder in this case, however, investigation was in progress.

Shimla, June 17
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has ordered an inquiry into complaints regarding encroachments on the land of Narsingh temple in Nahan and directed the authorities to immediately remove unauthorised occupants to make the land available for religious activities. He asked the authorities to ascertain the ownership of the land and ensure that the religious sentiments of the devotees were not hurt at any cost.

In another case, the Chief Minister directed HIMUDA to settle the claim of AS Negi of Jaipur, who had purchased a flat in Shimla on free-hold basis in 1995 by paying full and final payment for the same. He directed the authorities to examine the case as per legal provisions and the mode of payment decided therein.

He also directed the authorities to provide information sought by the applicants under the Right to Information Act as per the laid down norms and directed the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmour, to provide information sought by Khushi Attri of Nahan from Project Director, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, as per the provisions of the Act. — TNS

Shimla, June 17
To save its government from further embarrassment at the hands of its own party MP, the BJP high command has finally issued a show-cause notice to defiant MP Rajan Sushant on disciplinary grounds for which he has been given one-week time to file his reply.

It is reliably learnt that the Central BJP Disciplinary Committee, headed by Om Prakash Kohli, has issued a show-cause notice to the belligerent MP who is on the virtual warpath with Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

Sources said action had been initiated against Sushant on the basis of the utterances being made by him under the banner of the Himachal Adhikar Manch.

Senior party leaders from Himachal had brought to the notice of the high command the statements and allegations being levelled by Sushant not just against the party but also against the Chief Minister at various meetings and interaction with people. — TNS