R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Chandigarh
DSP’s murder: Cong for CBI probe: The Congress has demanded a CBI probe into the murder of a Punjab Police DSP and a woman in Ludhiana. The Punjab Police, it claimed, had met a dead end in its investigation. Pawan Dewan, Ludhiana Congress president, said the deteriorating law and order situation in Ludhiana too was a matter of concern. He claimed the police had either failed in its investigations or was deliberately concealing truth.

Jalandhar
‘Jail Olympics’ from March 1: Aimed at reforming the prisoners and motivating them to shun evils, the Department of Jails would be organising 'Jail Olympics' from March 1 in all correctional centres across the state. A brainchild of DGP (Jails) Shashi Kant, such an event was being organised for the first time in Punjab. It is being sponsored by Kapurthala Heritage Foundation, Gold Cup Spares and a few other NGOs. The events would be held in Patiala, Sangrur, Nabha and other jails.

Man injured in assault: A labourer was injured by some unidentified assailants at Bulandpur village last night. The victim has been identified as Chandan, a resident of Bulandpur. He was returning from work when unidentified youths attacked him with sharp edged weapons.

Ludhiana
City Centre case deferred till Mar 17: The Court of Sessions Judge SP Bangarh on Saturday adjourned hearing in the alleged multi-crore Ludhiana City Centre scam involving former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh till March 17. No effective proceedings took place in the court except from marking presence of the accused persons. Amarinder, his son Raninder Singh and former Minister Chowdhary Jagjit Singh were not present during the hearing as their appearance was exempted by the court following a written plea.

Moga
Protest against rising crime: Residents of Ghal Kalan village of the district on Saturday staged a protest outside the SSP office here to register their protest against the rising cases of theft and burglary in their area. The residents alleged the policemen posted in the area were hand in glove with the thieves. They alleged that a thief was recently caught by them "red-handed" and handed over to the police but the latter let him go.

CHANDIGARH

Mohali
Youth fest kicks off: Elation 2012, the two-day annual inter-college youth festival organised by Amity Global Business School, began today at the AGBS campus, Mohali. Events, such as quiz, debate, business plan competition, collage making, painting and sketching were held. The youth festival saw more than 300 students vying for the top honours in more than 20 events.

HARYANA

Chandigarh
Hooda backs terror body: Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said that terrorism can be contained only with combined efforts throughout the country and Haryana supports the proposal of the Central Government to set up National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) for the purpose. Hooda was speaking to mediapersons after presiding over the Cabinet meeting here today. Asked to comment on the setting up of the NCTC, he said the problem of terrorism was not confined to a state or the nation.

DEHRADUN

Kumaon Briefs
Youth killed in accident: A youth was killed when he was hit by a vehicle in the Tanakpur area of Champawat district. The deceased has been identified as 22-year-old Sanjay Chand of Bichai village. He was going on the Khatima-Champawat road when a vehicle hit him. He died while being taken to a hospital in Khatima. He had come to his native place to attend a friend’s wedding. The police has registered a case in the matter and efforts are on to trace the vehicle that had hit the youth.

Vegetable vendors demand space: The retail vegetable vendors in Khatima have demanded that space be allocated to them for carrying out their daily sale. The have sought allocation of space in the Sabji Mandi. The vendors said the administration kept harassing them in the name of their having encroached upon public land. They also said the demand for a separate place for the retail sellers was very old and had been aired on several occasions over the past three decades. The vendors have once again approached the administration after submitting a memorandum on the issue.

Admn carries out surprise checks: Waking up to the mismanagement with regard to the supply of cooking gas, the administration in Jaspur has launched surprise checks in the town. During the drive, the administration recovered 27 gas cylinders that were in illegal possession. The administration had been receiving a series of complaints that the LPG cylinders meant for consumers were being used for commercial purposes. The people had also been pointing out to the irregularities with regard to the supply of cylinders.

Body identified: The youth, whose dead body was found close to Jaspur couple of days ago, has been identified. The deceased has been identified as Sunny of Mohalla Gujaratiyan of the town. He was a taxi driver by profession. His body was found in the forests of the Pantrampur area on Thursday by a forest guard. A large portion of his body had been eaten up by wild animals. The deceased had been missing since January 15 and the matter had been reported to the police on January 26. His family members have expressed fear that he was murdered.

Woman consumes poison, dies: A woman resident of the Valleyzelli area in Haldwani died after consuming a poisonous substance. The deceased has been identified as Geeta Sharma of the Dhari area of Nainital district. She had been residing away from her husband with her two children for the past three years. The couple had been married in 1998. The reason why she took the extreme step remains uncertain. The police investigations are on in the matter.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)