R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Muktsar
Two legal aid clinics opened: The district legal services authority, Muktsar, today opened two legal aid clinics in the remote villages of the district--Mithri Budhgir and Tarkhanwala. The district and sessions judge, JS Kular, presided over the function. In his address, the judge said these legal aid clinics were established with the prime aim of making free legal aid services accessible to the poor, marginalised and weaker sections of society. These clinics would be manned by the advocates and para legal volunteers. 

HARYANA

Chandigarh
Brig Poonia: Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda administered oath of office and secrecy to Brig Nand Lal Poonia (retd) as chairman of the Haryana School Teachers Selection Board at a function organised at his residence here on Wednesday. Others present on the occasion were Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal, Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Chhatar Singh, Additional Principal Secretaries to Chief Minister KK Khandelwal and Shiv Raman Gaur and other dignitaries. 

Pay scales: The government has revised the pay scales /pay structure of senior architect and assistant architect, architech, aenior architect of Chief Architect’s office, Haryana, assistant librarian and librarian of Haryana, Civil Secretariat, pharmacists and chief pharmacists of Health Department, APO of Renewable Energy, technical supervisor, reporter, senior reporter, chief reporter, Editor of Debate and superintendent, publication, Haryana Vidhan Sabha, with immediate effect.

FARIDABAD
Cop booked: A constable charged with raping a minor girl for more than one year near Old Police Station where he was posted has now absconded to evade arrest. The accused, Virender Tomar, during his posting at the police station in 2010, frequented the victim’s house. He hails from her maternal village, and thus used it as a leverage to get close to her family. An FIR was registered on Thursday against the constable who absconded about 15 days ago. 

Hodal
HAP jawan found murdered: A Haryana Armoured Police (HAP) constable posted at Haryana Bhawan in Delhi was found murdered in bushes along the Faridabad-Gurgaon road last evening. The police said the deceased had left with two outsiders from his house in Hassanpur, near here, in a car on Tuesday evening. 

Kaithal
School debate: DAV Public School, Pundri, has recently won a trophy in the inter-district school debate competition hosted by DAV Centenary Public School, Pehowa. The topic of the debate was “Should there be a common entrance examination for all engineering institutions?” Nine teams from DAV Public Schools - Assandh, Shahbad, Pehowa, Cheeka, Karnal, Jind, Pundri, Ismailabad, Police DAV Public School, Ambala City, participated. The best debater prize went to Aarti from Police DAV Public School, Ambala City.

Rewari
Blood camp: As many as 12 girl students and two male lecturers donated blood at a camp organised at DAV Mahila College at Kosli on. Deputy Commissioner CG Rajini Kaanthan, who inaugurated the camp, affixed badges and also distributed certificates of blood donation. 

Rohtak
Drug shops: A three-member team of the Haryana Food and Drug Administration Department sealed three drug shops in Rohtak and Sonepat districts on Thursday after a raid. As many as 21 samples of the drugs were lifted by the team. According to officials concerned, a drug store here had no record of the medicine procured and sold. The store owner could not produce any document of the sale of medicines and thus was sealed, claimed Gurcharan Singh, Drug Control Officer.

Sirsa
PO arrested: The police on Friday arrested a proclaimed offender, who had been evading arrest since long in a case of house trespass and assault. The police had booked the accused under Sections 323, 324, 452 and 34 of the IPC on October 11, 2007. A local court had pronounced him a proclaimed offender in orders passed on December 5, 2011. 

Sonepat
Rs 12 lakh looted: Around Rs 12 lakh was looted by car-borne five gangsters at gunpoint from a car of the State Bank of India near Tihar Mor turn on the Sonepat-Gohana road on Thursday. Before looting the cash, one of the gangsters also fired at the bank’s car driver, Ran Singh, who has been injured seriously. On the complaint of a bank clerk, Jaibir, and guard, Chander Singh, a case has been registered in Mohana police station. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Worker dies: Raj Kumar, a worker at the ACC Cement factory at Barman, near here, of nearby Panjgaain village was killed and three other workers of the factory, who were also working with him on the same platform, were injured as they were involved in an accident while they were working at the Kiln No 2 of the factory on Thursday. Reports said the platform, on which they were standing, suddenly gave way and they suddenly fell around 30 ft down to the ground. Raj Kumar was rushed to the Regional Hospital here but later succumbed to his injuries on the way. 

NURPUR
Road mishap: Jaswant Singh of Ward No. 3, Nurpur, who was travelling in a tractor trolley died on the spot when the driver lost control while negotiating a turn on the Bagni-Baldoon link road, near here, on Friday. A case under Sections 279, 337 and 304 (A) of the IPC was registered against the tractor driver, Sippi. 

Three remanded: In connection with the alleged murder of Ajay Kumar (28) of Sadwan village, the police has arrested Ranjit of Manoya, Ajay of Mehla and Ankush of Niar village on Thursday evening. They were produced in the judicial court on Friday and remanded in police custody till February 27. According to DSP Rajinder Jaswal, after preliminary investigations two minor culprits will also be produced in the judicial court at Dharamsala on Saturday. 

Pensioner benefits: The local unit of the HP Government Pensioners Association in its memorandum submitted to CM PK Dhumal has demanded pensioner benefits at par with neighbouring Punjab for which the then government had made a written commitment to the high court on May 28, 1998. SL Gupta, president of the association, in a statement here has lamented that pensioners were being deprived of benefits like enhancement of pension of 5, 10 and 15 per cent on attaining the age of 65, 70 and 75 years, respectively. 

SHIMLA
Ration allowance: The Himachal Pradesh Police Employees’ Welfare Federation has urged the government to increase the ration allowance of police personnel from Rs 100 to Rs 500 per month and construct 500 housing units for providing family accommodation to them across the state. A deputation of the federation met Chief Minister PK Dhumal here on Friday and urged him to give enhanced allowances to police employees on the Punjab pattern and ensure at least three promotions for a police personnel during the entire service period.

Fatal fall: Raj Kumar, who worked as a group instructor at the local Industrial Training Institute, died after an accident fall. His body was found near the railway tunnel No. 103 on Friday. ASP Arul Kumar said the body had been sent for autopsy and prima facie, it appeared to be a case of accidental fall from height. He ruled out any possibility of foul play.

Donated: Social activist Premi Devi (70) of Kutheda village, 35 km from here, handed over a cheque of Rs 2.20 lakh to RK Sharma, Principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Kutheda. She was the chief guest at the annual prize distribution function of the school on Thursday. Reports said Premi Devi donated this amount in memory of her husband Kirpu Ram. She also declared that every year she would give a scholarship of Rs 10,000 to a student who get the first position in the annual Class X examination. The scholarship had also been named after her husband. 

DEHRADUN

Kumaon Briefs

One killed, another injured in accident: A youth was killed while another was seriously injured when the motorcycle they were riding was hit by a car in Haldwani. The accident took place near Tikoniya. The deceased has been identified as 21-year-old Gautam Joshi of the Ambika Vihar locality. He was pursuing a course in hotel management from a Delhi-based institute was home on a holiday. The driver of the car fled the spot after leaving his vehicle behind. The police investigations are on in the matter.

Motorcyclist killed: A motorcycle-borne youth from Haldwani, who got injured while trying to save a cyclist, died during treatment at a hospital. 22-year-old Mukesh Rawat of the Charayal Naya Bagh locality was employed in State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttaranchal (SIDCUL) hub near Pantnagar. On Wednesday night, he was going with a friend on the Kashipur road in Rudrapur when the two fell down while trying to save a cyclist. He sustained major injuries and was being treated in a hospital in Haldwani where he died on Thursday.

Run over by train, man dies: One man was killed when he was run over by a train in the Kashipur area of Udham Singh Nagar district. The deceased has been identified as 30-year-old Mohammad Yamin of Gaddha Colony in Kachnalgazi village. He was trying to cross the railway track while going for duty when the train going from Ramnagar to Moradabad ran over him, killing him on the spot. His body was handed over to his family members after the postmortem analysis.

Residents stage protest: Residents of the Mandalsera and Jeetnagar area of Bageshwar are agitated over the failure of the Irrigation Department to open an irrigation canal in the area. The villagers report of suffering major agricultural losses on account of the delay in opening of the canal by the officials of the department. They say that despite their having taken up the matter with the district administration and orders having been given for opening of the canal, the personnel of the department have not executed the orders. The villagers carried out a massive protest at the tehsil office on Thursday to show their resentment.

Anti-encroachment drive in Didihat: The local administration in Didihat has carried out an anti-encroachment drive on the land meant for the construction of a polytechnic college. A large number of illegal structures had come up on the land and some part of Van Panchayat land in the Lohar village area. The administration carried out the demolition of the illegal structures. No resistance was offered by anyone while the drive was on.

(Compiled by Rajeev Khanna)