R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
Farmers’ ‘rail roko’ protest today: Farmers will hold a "rail roko" agitation on Friday in protest against inadequate power supply to the farm sector. Kanwalijit Singh Pannu, convener, Kisan Sangharsh Committee, said leaders of various farmer organisations were mobilising peasants in every village and district to ensure massive participation. A majority of the villages were getting four to six hour supply instead of eight hours as promised by the government. He said due to extreme hot weather and inadequate power, the standing crops had damaged.

Chandigarh
UGC helpline for ragging victims: Victims of ragging can now dial a toll free number 1800-180-5522 and register their complaint. An official release here said the UGC had launched a helpline for ragging victims. It said instructions had been issued to the Education Department to take a strict action against the guilty. The guidelines framed to stop ragging were available on the UGC website www.ugc.ac.in. The UGC had also issued instructions to all educational institutes to put a copy of the guidelines on their notice boards. It would also be mandatory for educational institutions to depute a nodal person to whom the victims could contact for help.

Online registration of property soon: Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal has announced that the state is all set to become the first in the country to start online registration of property and land with the completion of a pilot project in two districts, SAS Nagar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. In a meeting on Thursday, Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said going by the commitment of the SAD-BJP government to bring transparency in revenue transactions, the department would implement online registration of property and land in Mohali by October.

Fatehgarh Sahib
Three booked for raping minor: The Sirhind police has registered a case against three residents of Tarkhan Majra village for allegedly raping a minor girl of the village after forcibly entering her house when she was alone. DSP Harvinder Singh Sandhu said the accused had been identified as Pargat Singh, Rajdeep Singh and Jagoo. The police had arrested Pargat while the other two were absconding, he said, adding that the victim had been admitted to the Civil Hospital for a medical check-up.

Jalandhar
Yannick case: Police remand for accused: A city businessman's son Harsh Gosain of the New Jawahar Nagar locality has been remanded to four-day police custody in connection with assault on Burundi student Yannick Nizhanga. The court has also sent Nawanshahr SP Dharam Singh Uppal's son Romi Uppal to 14-day judicial custody after the completion of his police remand. Meanwhile, the police is raiding various places to nab the remaining accused.

CHANDIGARH

Mohali
Plantation drive: In a bid to make the area green as per Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the local Youth Akali Dal wing conducted a plantation drive at Phase VII here. Parmajit Singh Kahlon, general secretary of the Youth Akali Dal wing, here planted over 100 saplings in the area.

Panchkula
Power shutdown at Panchkula:There will be a complete shutdown on 66 KV Power House at Raipurani and 33 KV Power House at Morni tomorrow due repair work. There will be no power supply between 9 am to 5 pm on Friday in Raipurani and Morni.

HARYANA

Rewari
2 POs held: The police has arrested two proclaimed offenders, Sher Mohammad and Rayees, both residents of Mewat. Sher Mohammad who was involved in an attempt to murder case had been evading arrest for the past 20 months while Rayees who had stolen a tractor from Rampuri village in 2005 had been at large since then. Both of them were produced in a local court on Thursday, which sent Sher Mohammad to 14-day judicial custody while Rayees was remanded to two-day police custody.

Boy killed: Apparently following a heated exchange of words over some trivial matter, a teenaged boy Charan Kumar (15) of the local Qutubpur Colony was done to death with a brickbat by a youth at the Rao Tula Ram Park on Wednesday night. The police has registered a case of culpable homicide in this regard.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

DALHOUSIE
Patwari dies in road mishap: A patwari was killed on the spot when the car he was driving went off the road near Panchpula in the suburbs of Dalhousie late Wednesday evening, according a report received here on Thursday. The deceased had been identified as Rattan Chand who was posted at Patwar circle, Kakira, 25 km from here. The body had been handed over to his kin after postmortem and a case registered.

KANGRA
Man dies of poisoning: A 31-year-old man from Raita village of Chamba district died of poisoning at the DRPGMCH, Tanda, late Tuesday evening, the police said here on Wednesday. SHO, Chamba, Kailash Walia said the victim was identified as Naresh Kumar and in a statement to the police he said he had consumed poison by mistake. A case under Section 174, CrPC, has been registered.

62 donate blood: Sixtytwo persons, including 38 students of MCM DAV College, donated blood at a camp organised by the local branch of the Rotary Club here on Wednesday. Inderdeep Sachdeva, president of the club, said among the donors were some Rotarians and local residents too. He said the team of doctors collected the donated blood for needy patients at the DRPGMC Hospital, Tanda.

DEHRADUN

Dehradun
Abandoned baby found: A one-week-old baby was found crying in a vacant plot near Luxmipur in Sahaspur on Thursday morning. The police has handed over the child, who was healthy, to the Child Care organisation. It was at 6 in the morning that passers-by heard a child crying from the plot. They then picked the child and informed the police. The child was medically examined by the doctor. The police is still investigating into the matter and has not been able to trace the mother of the child. 

Injured woman hospitalised: A young woman, around 30, was found lying unconscious near Dak Pathar road in Vikasnagar on Thursday. The woman had injury marks on her body which suggested that she was beaten up. She has been admitted to Doon Hospital. Though she has regained consciousness, she is not in a position to speak. The police is relying on her statement to gather what transpired with her.