Bathinda, March 9
The daughter of a head constable with the Punjab Police was allegedly kidnapped today from the busy Hanuman chowk area in the heart of the city. The girl, a student of class X of Saint Paul’s School in Adarsh Nagar, was reportedly abducted by unidentified teenagers.

Parveena Rani, the girl's mother, said her daughter was accosted by two youths who pushed the girl aside, forced her to sit on the bike and fled.

The mother and daughter were walking towards their residence after alighting from a bus when the incident took place near the Hanuman chowk.

Kuldip Singh, the investigating officer, said a case in this connection has been registered under sections 363-A and 366 of the IPC at the Civil Lines police station here.

He said the mother had accompanied her daughter who was to appear in a school exam. It is yet to be verified whether the boys were from the same school, he said.

It is also not yet clear whether the girl was forced to sit with the boys or was willing to go with them.

"The parents of the girl had rebuked her while she was talking to someone over the phone a few days ago. Since then, the parents had started accompanying the girl to the school during the exams," said the investigating officer.

He said the mother failed to describe the physical appearance of the youths and only informed that the one of the youths was tall and of fair complexion. He was on a red colour bike bearing the registration number 6683.

Efforts are on to locate the girl, he added.

The head constable, the father of the missing girl, said fearing social stigma, the family members did not inform anyone though they contacted some relatives to trace the missing girl.

The head constable has three children including two sons and a daughter. The girl is the youngest of the three siblings.

It may be recalled that in January this year, a class X student of a school in Nai Basti was kidnapped in a similar fashion. The girl was recovered after a few days.

One of the three youths, accused of kidnapping the girl, is still in jail while one was out after being granted bail. The third accused is still absconding.

Investigating officer in this case, Piara Singh of the Civil Lines police station, said the girl was kept at different locations in Punjab and adjoining Haryana.

The third youth, who helped the main accused in kidnapping the school girl, will be arrested soon, he said.

He said the boys, the students of MHR School, used a bike and forced the girl to sit with them. The boys conned the teacher where the girl had gone for tuition saying her father was not well and wanted her to reach home immediately.

Factfile

* The girl was accosted by two youths who forced her to sit on their motorcycle.

* The motorbike was of red colour & its registration number was 6683.

* At the time of the incident, the girl was heading home along with her mother near the Hanuman chowk.

* The girl had gone to appear in a school exam. 

Bathinda, March 9
Apprehensive over the recent attacks on teachers, the SC/ BC Government Teachers' Union has demanded security cover for teachers performing duties during the Board examination, slated to begin soon.

President of the union, Swaranjit Singh said earlier, the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) had deputed one supervisor for every 35 students. This has now been changed to one supervisor for every 45 students.

Earlier, two deputy superintendents were deployed to monitor 170 students. This has now been reduced to just one. "The classrooms are very small in size and cannot accommodate 45 students comfortably. This would result in higher incidents of cheating during the examination, which would mean action against the examination supervisor and the superintendent," said the press secretary of the union, Mahinder Singh.

The union has pointed out that keeping in view the attacks on teachers the government should ensure safety for the teachers deployed on examination duty.

The members of the union said in some cases, the PSEB authorities have assigned duties to the teachers more than 50 kms away from their homes. A handicapped teacher from the Kotshamir government school has been deployed as superintendent at Bhagta. Similarly, a teacher from Phul has been deployed on examination duty at Rai Ke Kalan village.

There were more than ten women, 46 supervisors and around 30 superintendents deployed at exam centres in far-flung areas, they claimed.

Bathinda, March 9
Barring a few incidents of skirmishes, the festival of colours passed off peacefully in the city. Volunteers of the NGOs were, however, on tenterhooks while shifting those who had gone over the top in their drunken revelry, to the Civil Hospital and night shelters.

People in a drunken state were seen creating a ruckus or were found lying unconscious at various market places and by the roadside in the city.

President of Sahara Jan Sewa, Vijay Goyal, said volunteers of his NGO picked up as many as 18 drunkards who had consumed various kinds of intoxicants to 'celebrate' Holi.

It was a Herculean task to handle such people, especially those who had consumed bhang and liquor, Goyal said.

"Though we have been helping such people everyday, the volunteers were at the receiving end due to the sudden increase in the number," Goyal said.

He added that despite lending a helping hand to people in an inebriated condition, the volunteers of his NGO had to put up with abuse and violent behaviour.

One such inebriated person, who was in his sixties, proved quite difficult to handle and more volunteers had to be called to shift him from the middle of the Mall road to a night shelter, said Goyal.

The man, from Parasram Nagar, was dragged into an ambulance and was shifted with a lot of difficulty.

"We got frantic calls from the onlookers. They urged our volunteers to either shift those who were in an inebriated condition or else they would die," said one of the volunteers, Tarsem Kumar.

He said there were many people lying unconscious by the roadside and were taken to the Civil Hospital. Many of them even abused the doctors attending on them and created a ruckus in the hospital.

"But we knew that they were not in a condition to understand anything and handled them gently," said Tarsem.

The volunteers said most of the people in a drunken state were from below the poverty line families, labourers besides a few youths belonging to the middle class.

Many literate persons and youths from well to do families fled after the volunteers tried to shift them to the Civil Hospital.

Police officials said barring a few stray incidents of brawls and minor accidents, the festival passed off peacefully in the city. 

Bathinda, March 9
The district health authorities celebrated International Women's Day on the premises of Civil Hospital here yesterday. The theme of the event was 'Empower rural women, end hunger poverty'. Bathinda civil surgeon Dr Iqbal Singh presided over the programme.

Addressing the gathering, the Civil Surgeon said under the 'empower rural women, end hunger-poverty' plan, special efforts were being made by the government to provide nutrition to women and protect them from starvation so they get security on all fronts. He further said that successive governments had taken important decisions to make the women self-reliant.

District health officer (DHO) Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa asked the students of the local ANM Training School to contribute towards the welfare of the women as a majority of them lived in rural areas. He said they could also create awareness in a big way among the rural women on various issues.

Dr Kundan Kumar Paul, district school health medical officer, said under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), special efforts were being made to uplift the living standards of the rural women. He said for this purpose, the Janani Suraksha Yojna and Balrri Suraksha Yojna were being run by the central government. He also said pregnant women should eat nutritious food to deliver healthy babies. Students of the ANM Training School, Gurpreet Kaur and Manpreet Kaur gave a rendition of a song and poem.

Among others present on the occasion were deputy medical commissioner Dr Vinod Garg, senior medical officer of Women and Children Hospital Dr BS Gill, SMO of the local Civil Hospital Dr Satish Goyal, district family welfare officer Dr Ravanjeet Kaur, district TB officer Dr Ashok Monga and district immunisation officer Dr Manpreet Kaur Rupal. 

Bathinda, March 9
Activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad (ABVP) and some other organisations here today burnt the effigy of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government against its reported move to reduce the Amarnath Yatra's duration from two months to 30 days.

The protesters were led by the state vice- president of the VHP, Sukhpal Singh Sra.

While burning the effigy at the Hanuman Chowk here, they also raised slogans against the J&K government and the central government, besides disrupting traffic in the area for some time.

Addressing the protesters, Sra asked the governments at the Centre and in J&K not to interfere in religious affairs. He said a conspiracy was being hatched to reduce the Amarnath Yatra's duration from two months to 30 days in the first phase while it would be further reduced to 15 days in second phase.

On behalf of the protesting organisations, he warned the central government not to interfere in religious affairs or be ready to face an agitation or call for 'Bharat bandh' as they this move of the government would not be tolerated.

Besides Sra, state vice-president of the ABVP Ashutosh Tewari, Kailash Garg, Sandip Pathak, Sandip Aggarwal and Pawan Kumar also took part in the protest.

Bathinda, march 9
The annual fest of the Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), Arrhythmia, regaled the audience with medical students presenting colourful traditional songs, dances and items.

Students of MBBS courses present a formation while performing bhangra and (Top)stride down the ramp during a fashion show at Arrhythmia, the annual fest of the Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), held in Bathinda on Friday. photos: bhupinder Dhillon

Chief guest on the occasion, Major General Anil Verma, Chief of Staff, 10 Corps, was overwhelmed to see the creativity of the medicos and congratulated the students for their spontaneity and talent.

Addressing the audience, principal Dr GPI Singh said, “The students’ council of the college organised this event under the guidance of faculty members Satnam Singh, Dr Vishal, coach Gagandeep Talwar, Dr Maria, Dr Sandeep 
Kaur and the director of Students Welfare, Dr Harkiran Kaur.”

In the graffiti event, Prabhjot Kaur and Shaifali from the 2010 batch 
stood first, followed by Amisha Chawla and Eshita Dadwal of the 2008 batch and Meenakshi and Navpreet of the 2009 batch at second and third places, respectively.

In the salad dressing contest, Amanpreet Singh, Tanish and Geet Bagri of the 2009 batch secured first place while Manjyoti, Medha and Navharsh of the 2009 batch secured the second place.

In the mehendi applying contest, Deepika and Gagandeep Kaur of the 2009 batch secured the first place. Yasha and Dilpreet from the 2009 batch and Navpreet Kaur and Palak of the 2009 batch secured second and third places, respectively.

In the caricature making contest, Mohit and Kritika of the 2008 batch secured the first place, Shivani and Tavleen of the 2011 batch secured second place and Zeevanjit and Briti of the 2008 batch secured the third place.

In the antakshri contest, MBBS 2008 batch, MBBS 2009 batch and MBBS 2010 batch secured first, second and third places, respectively. In the skit competition, MBBS 2008 batch, MBBS 2009 and MBBS 2010 batch secured the first, second and third places, respectively.

In the group singing contest, MBBS 2009 batch, MBBS 2011 batch and MBBS 2008 and 2010 batches secured first, second and third places, respectively.

In the western dance competition, MBBS 2009 batch, MBBS 2008 batch and MBBS 2010 batch were ranked first, second and third, respectively.

In the Mad Ad contest, MBBS 2008 and MBBS 2009 batch secured the first and second places. In the solo song contest, Kamaljeet Sharma from the 2010 batch, Kanwarbir Singh from the 2009 batch and Harleen from the 2011 batch were adjudged first, second and third, respectively.

In choreography, MBBS 2009 batch and MBBS 2008 batch secured the first and the second places. In folk dance, MBBS 2008 batch, MBBS 2009 batch and MBBS 2010 batch secured first, second and third places. In duet dance contest MBBS 2009, MBBS 2008 and MBBS 2010 batches secured first, second and third places.

In mono-acting, Deepali, Kashish and Divyangi secured the first three positions, respectively.

In solo dance, Divyangi and Asha came first and second places. In fashion show, MBBS 2010, MBBS 2009 and MBBS 2008 teams secured te first, second and third places, respectively.

Bathinda, march 9
The host, Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Bathinda, won the circle style kabaddi and the volleyball contest in the boys’ groups on the third day of the ongoing Zonal Sports Competition here on Friday.

The ITI Bathinda defeated GGSITC Bhaini Bagha to win the circle style kabaddi while boys of the institute beat GGSITC Nathana to win the volleyball tourney.

Students of nearly 22 government and private ITI institutes from the zone are taking part in the four-day tournament which was inaugurated by the principal of the host institute, Balbir Singh, on Wednesday. 

Bathinda, march 9
The International Women’s Day was celebrated in the girls’ hostel of the Punjab Technical University Giani Zail Singh campus (PTU GZS), under the guidance of the warden, Jyoti Rani, and assistant warden, Rekha Garg.

An expert lecture was organised on ‘Adolescence Problems: Medical and Spiritual Solutions’. Chief guest on the occasion, gynaecologist Dr Usha Madan, delivered the lecture. She addressed topics like HIV/AIDS and its control, personal hygiene and its importance in life. She emphasised practising exercises or yoga daily to lead a peaceful and healthy life.

The students discussed various problems like breast cancer, fibroids of ovaries and uterus and related issues and their medical solutions with Dr Madan.

Sister Shivani, a Rajyoga expert, was the guest of honour on the occasion. She expressed concern over the rise in crime against women and suggested solutions to tackle the problem.

Also present were a teacher from Government Senior Secondary School, Gehri Buttar, Gurinder Kaur Hundal, PTU GZS Department of Electrical Engineering coordinator Sarabjeet Kaur Bath and assistant professor, Department of History, Dashmesh Girls’ College, Badal, Meenal Krishna. 

Bathinda, march 9
Department of Applied Sciences, Punjab Technical University Giani Zail Singh Campus (PTU GZS), Bathinda, held an expert lecture of Prof Hardev Singh Virk, who retired from the Eternal University, Baru Saheb, (Himachal Pradesh).

The lecture ‘My Encounter With Nano — Technology’, was organised for the orientation of the faculty members.

While welcoming Prof Virk, head of the department Dr Gursharan Singh spoke about the 45-year long teaching career of Prof Virk in research related to nanotechnology.

He delivered a detailed lecture on different experiments, procedures and the results of nanotechnology.

He also spoke on the topics related to various uses of nanotechnology in different fields, which are still unknown to the scientists.

PTU GZS principal, Dr Jasbir Singh Hundal thanked Prof Virk for his special visit to the campus. 

Bathinda, march 9
NGO Nishkam Sewa Society of Model Town will hold a free eye check-up camp at Gurudwara Jeevan Prakash in Model Town. Experts from the Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital would be holding the camp.

DSP (retd) Jaswant Singh, Nachhattar Singh and others stated that the patients would be distributed medicines free of cost.

The patients, required to undergo surgery, would also be operated upon free of cost and the NGO will bear all expenses. 

Bathinda, march 9
St. Xavier’s kindergarten conducted an educational trip “Learning With Fun” to the Rose Garden, here recently. The educational trip to was conducted for the students of LKG, UKG and classes I and II from March 5 to March 7.

The young students were given information about various varieties of plants and flowers.

The teachers also told the students about the importance of keeping the surroundings clean and green and encouraged them to plant more trees at home.

Bathinda, March 9
Sixteen people have been booked by the police for betting on cricket matches. Two of them have been arrested. The arrested have been identified as Mohit Bansal and Vinod Bansal, both brothers.

They have been charged with betting on cricket matches and conning people on the pretext of investing money in cricket players. A laptop, a television and four mobile phones have been recovered from their possession. The brothers were arrested from near Bhaleria Wala Mohalla.

A case under the IPC and the Gambling Act has been registered. — TNS