The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

HARYANA

FATEHABAD
Convict booked: A convict serving imprisonment in a case of narcotic smuggling is alleged to have demanded a ransom from a trader at Tohana. The police has booked Ram Kumar, of Kanheri village, for extortion under Section 384 of the IPC. Sudershan Modi, a trader, from Tohana has alleged that Ram Kumar, who is on parole from the jail, came to him on July 11 and demanded Rs 5 lakh. Modi alleged that Ram Kumar threatened to kill him, if he failed to pay the ransom amount. Earlier, the police had booked Ram Kumar for extortion of Rs 50 lakh from another trader in July 2008.

REWARI
Fire at storehouse: Diesel and bitumen worth lakhs of rupees were gutted in a fire that broke out in a storehouse of a Chinese concern on the Delhi-Jaipur highway near Sangwari village on Tuesday night. A senior police official said while the cause of the fire was being ascertained, it was presumed that it was caused by a short circuit.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Body found hanging from fan: The body of Raj Kumar (32), a cleanliness employee at the Regional Hospital here, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his room at Lower Nihal Colony here on Wednesday. Reports said Raj’s wife had gone to her parents’ home two weeks ago along with their two children. The cause of this step is not known. No suicide note has been found by the police. A case has been registered and the body handed to the family after postmortem.

Cop hit by tractor-trailer: Head Constable Tiru Ram was seriously injured when a speeding tractor-trailer suddenly hit him near the Kainchi ka Mode police check post on the NH-21. Tiru is said to be trying to cross the road to his quarter when the accident occurred. He was rushed to the Suharghat Primary Health Centre and admitted with multiple injuries. The police has arrested tractor driver Prehalad.

Truck with buffaloes seized: The police at Ghumarwin, near here, early Wednesday morning accosted a truck fully loaded with some two dozen buffaloes being carried to Saharanpur for being sold to a slaughter house there. The police arrested two persons Tasleem and Masrood under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The truck was also seized and a case registered against them.

KANGRA
Wife takes poison, husband arrested: Tension gripped Amtrad village under Nagrota Bagwan police station on Wednesday following the death of Asha Devi, 32-year-old mother of two daughters. She was allegedly being tortured by her husband Dev Raj and consumed poison to end her life, alleged relatives from the victim’s parental side. According to the police, Asha Devi had consumed poison at her home on Tuesday evening and rushed to the DRPGMC, Tanda, but died on the way. The police has registered a case under Section 498-A and arrested Dev Raj in a case of abetment to suicide.

SUNDERNAGAR
35 injured as bus goes off road: Thirtyfive passengers were injured when a bus went off the Dhalwahan-Patrighat road on Wednesday evening. According to information, at Dhalwahan the driver lost control over the bus and it went off the road. A tree on the slope saved the bus from falling into a deep gorge. According to SP, Mandi, PD Parshad, he has ordered to immediately shift the injured to a hospital and a case has been registered against the driver at Sarkaghat police
station.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar
Two dead, three hurt in mishaps: At least two persons died and three others, including a boy, were injured in different road accidents across the Kashmir valley since Tuesday. The driver of an auto-load carrier died when his vehicle collided with a tipper at the Tengpora bypass, Srinagar. A cyclist died on the spot when he was hit by an oil tanker near Pantha Chowk, Srinagar. Two persons were injured when their motorcycle collided with a load carrier in Anantnag district.

DEHRADUN

DEHRADUN
In-laws booked in dowry case: The police has booked a Clement Town-based family in a dowry case. The victim, Santosh, has lodged a complaint with the police that her husband Monu, mother-in-law Dayavati, brother-in-law Sonu and sister-in-law Amrita allegedly harass her for bringing more dowry. They also allegedly beat her up and warned her of dire consequences. The police got married in 2006. Several meetings were held between the two to unite them, but all efforts proved to be futile.

Jewellery stolen from car: A bag containing jewellery was allegedly stolen from the car of a teacher of Doon School. The incident took place on Tuesday on Rajpur Road. Rajiv Majumdar had gone to HDFC Bank on Rajpur Road to take out the jewellery from the locker. After parking his car near a restaurant, he went to a shop. However, when he came back, he found the bag missing.

3 Kanwariyas electrocuted: Three Kanwariyas were electrocuted when they came in contact with a high-tension wire while unloading luggage from a bus in Haridwar, the police said. They have been admitted to a hospital where the condition of one of them is stated to be critical, the police added.

Six held for gambling: Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested six gamblers from the Premnagar area last night. It has recovered Rs 20, 240 and chits that are used in gambling from their possession. Inspector, Cantt police station, Gajender Singh Rautela said they were arrested red-handed at 9:30 pm. They have been booked under the Gambling Act.

Kumaon Briefs
Water crisis:Residents gherao official: Irked over water crisis, residents of Nuri Maszid and Indira Nagar, Haldwani, gheraoed the Executive Engineer of the Jal Sansthan on Wednesday. They said if the problem was not solved at the earliest, they would launch an agitation. “We are being forced to drink contaminated water,” said Sayed Ahmed, a local resident.

KMVN to modernise tourist rest houses: The Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) has decided to modernise tourist rest houses falling under the Ram Nagar zone. “Tourist rest houses at Salt, Baijnath, Mohaan, Ranikhet and Bhikiyasein will be modernised,” said Ravi Mohan Aggarwal, Deputy Chairman of the KMVN.

9th batch of Kailash pilgrims reaches Pithoragarh: The ninth batch of Kailash pilgrims reached Pithoragarh on Wednesday. The batch will proceed to the base camp at Dharchula in the evening and will start its journey from the Sirkha camp on July 21. Meanwhile, the 5th batch of the Kailash pilgrims reached the base camp, Dharchula, after completing their pilgrimage. The 8th batch has reached Gunji on the way to Tibet.

Wakf property: Appointment of administrators opposed: The Anjuman Sewa Samiti has opposed the appointment of administrators to take care of Wakf property in Almora. They took out a rally and asked the state government to appoint local Muslims as caretakers of these properties. “Local Muslims should be appointed as administrators as these properties have been protected by the locals for years,” said Haji Noor Akram Khan, a leader of the samiti.

Cruelty to animals during Devi Dhura mela: The Champawat administration will stick to the court’s orders to prevent cruelty to animals during the Devi Dhura mela to be held in the district from August 9 to August 21. “We have consulted representatives of all four clans and seven landlords who look after the mela. It has been decided that the sacrifice, if necessary, be made at a lonely place and the body of the animal be consumed by devotees themselves,” said Pankaj Pandey, District Magistrate of Champawat district.

(Compiled by BD Kasniyal)