Amritsar
‘Include all Takhts on train itinerary’: The SGPC on Monday shot off missives to the Prime Minister and the Union Railway Ministry urging them to include all five Takhts of the Sikhs in the itinerary of the newly announced Guru Parikrama train. In a statement released here, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said while the government did well in starting the train connecting Sri Akal Takht, Takht Sri Hazur Sahib (Nanded) and Takht Sri Patna Sahib, it left out Takht Sri Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo) and Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib (Anandpur Sahib).

Abohar
Fake currency racket unearthed: A team of Khuyiansarwar police led by ASI Kartar Singh raided a house in village Sappanwali today in the morning and recovered fake currency worth Rs 64,000 and seized the equipment used to make the counterfeit notes. The police arrested Chhinderpal Singh of village Sappanwali and Sonu Singh of border village I-C (Hindumalkot) under Section 489 of the IPC.

Faridkot
Faridkot jail inmate commits suicide: A 35-year-old undertrial allegedly committed suicide at the Faridkot Central Jail on Monday. While the jail authorities claimed that Lakhwinder Singh committed suicide by hanging himself with a piece of cloth from the railing along the staircase, his family members are not ready to accept the suicide theory. The District and Session Judge has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident. Lakhwinder had been lodged in the jail since July 2011 after he was arrested by the Moga police for allegedly killing his wife.

Malout
Hospital staff strike work: Medical services were disrupted at the Civil Hospital here when doctors and paramedical staff went on a strike demanding security after some drunk youths allegedly misbehaved with a doctor. The staff went on a strike for an hour from 10 am to 11 am and demanded a police post inside the hospital. Dr Gurdeep Bhullar, Civil Surgeon, Muktsar, who had come to Malout to pacify the protesters, assured them to take up the matter with the higher-ups.

Fatehabad
Fire in gas agency: Gas stoves and other goods worth over Rs 3 lakh were damaged in a fire that engulfed the upper floor of the Balaji Gas Agency here on Saturday night. Raj Kumar, a spokesperson of the dealer, said the fire started due to a short-circuit. Some record of the agency was also damaged.

Kurukshetra
Axis Bank opens branch: Shrikant Gupta, Vice-President and Circle Head, Axis Bank, inaugurated the branch of Axis Bank at Bhiwani Khera, 3 km from here, recently. In his inaugural address, Gupta said: “The opening of this branch reinforces our commitment to providing banking services to retail customers through a fast expanding network of branches and other channels.” Puneet Gupta, the newly appointed branch manager of the bank, thanked the people present on the occasion.

177 cases settled: As many as 177 cases were settled in a Lok Adalat here on Sunday. Chief Judicial Magistrate Ranjana Aggarwal said the settled cases included 47 general and 10 criminal cases . A compensation of Rs 55, 55,500 was ordered to be paid to thevictims’ kin, she added. 

Sirsa
HJC protest: The HJC women’s wing has decided to launch an agitation against rising prices, corruption and law and order in the state. Starting from Bhiwani on April 2, activists of the Haryana Janhit Mahila Congress (HJMC) will gherao offices of the deputy commissioners. Kusum Sharma, president of the state HJMC, toured Sirsa on Sunday to mobilise women for this programme. She said crime against women had risen considerably in the past few months and the party would soon meet the President and give a memorandum in this connection.

YAMUNANAGAR
Y’nagar girl accorded warm welcome: Kavita Devi, a student of BSc (final year), Physical and Sports Sciences, Guru Nanak Khalsa College, and a winner of gold medal in the first World Cup Kabaddi was accorded a warm welcome on her arrival after winning the World Cup Kabaddi (women) National Style held in Patna (Bihar). Her parents, Ram Mohan Siwach and Krishna Devi, Rohtash, Raju, Sonu Lather and Ajay, chairman, Governing Body of the college, congratulated Kavita on her achievement. Verinder Kaur, principal of the college, said the competition was organised for the first time in Patna where 16 teams from all over the world, participated. In the final match, India defeated Iran by 16-25 points and won the gold medal.