R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
50 bottles of illicit  liquor seized: The police has recovered 50 bottles of illicit liquor from the possession of Rajiv Kumar, a resident of the Gawal Mandi area. The investigating officer of the Cantonment police station said no arrest had been made so far. He said a case under Section 13/3/67 G. Act had been registered.

Three vehicle lifters held: The police has  arrested three persons for vehicle lifting.  While one of their accomplice managed to escape. Those arrested have been identified as Baldev Singh, Sandeep Kuar and Paramjit Singh. The one who slipped from the scene during the raid was identified as Gurpreet Singh. Two motorcycles bearing registration numbers PB-02-E-0023 and PB-02-AN-8171 had been recovered from their possession. 

Rotary Club  felicitates teachers: The Rotary Club, Amritsar South, felicitated the teachers to mark the Teacher’s Day. Punjab Technical University, Vice Chancellor, Dr Rajneesh Arora was the chief guest on the occasion. The organisers of the function, principal Nanak Singh and the president of the club presided over the function. 

Barnala
Forest ex-chairman gets 3-year jail: Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge for NDPS cases BS Sandhu on Wednesday sentenced former chairman of the Punjab State Forest Corporation Bharpur Singh Dhanaula to three years' rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him. Dhanaula was arrested along with Surjit Singh of Nabha on May 17, 2003 in a case registered against them under the NDPS Act. The police had seized 1 kg of opium from Dhanaula and 250 g from Surjit Singh. The court sentenced Surjit to rigorous imprisonment for one-and-a-half-years and slapped a fine of Rs 5,000. 

Chandigarh
SAD decries move to hike fuel prices: The SAD on Tuesday lashed out at the UPA government's reported move to further hike the prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and other petroleum products. A resolution passed at a meeting of the party’s core committee said the move would add to inflation which had already hit the common man. “Fuel prices have a direct bearing on inflation. The Union Government must desist from going ahead with the proposal,” said Chief Minister’s Adviser on National Affairs and Media Harcharan Bains after the meeting, which was chaired by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal. 

Ludhiana
Swine flu case in Ludhiana: Forty-five-year-old Balbir Kaur, hailing from Kuliawal village of Hoshiapur, has been tested positive for swine flu. She is undergoing treatment at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital here. Dr Dipak Bhatia, coordinator, Integrated Disease Surveillance Project, Punjab, said: "This is the first swine flu case of the season. I have instructed Hoshiarpur health officials to take corrective steps, trace the patient's contacts and start prophylactic (precautionary) treatment of her attendants and close relatives". 

Malout
Woman arrested for robbing passengers: The Malout police on Wednesday arrested a woman for allegedly robbing passengers after offering them lift in a vehicle. The police said acting upon a complaint by Devjeet Kaur of Muktsar, a search operation was launched and the accused, Sukhwinder Kaur of Arniwala in Fazilka district, was arrested. SHO Prem Singh said the gang involving this woman was active in the area for the past few months. They had recently robbed a passenger of his belongings worth Rs 90,000. 

Moga
173 wheat bags siphoned off: As many as 173 bags of wheat were siphoned off by a labour contractor from Kot Mohammad Khan grain market in the district during the last procurement season. 

Phagwara
Girl consumes poison, dies:A girl, Baljit Kaur, reportedly died after consuming poisonous substance at nearby Randhir Garh village last night. She was brought to the Civil Hospital here, but could not survive. The dead body of the deceased was handed over to the family members of the deceased after conducting postmortem examination.

Girl dies of snakebite:A girl, identified as Maya, died due to snake bite at Ravinder Nagar on the Phagwara-Banga Road last night. The deceased was brought to the local Civil Hospital in unconscious condition, where she succumbed to her injuries.

CHANDIGARH

Chandigarh
Interviews for docs on Sept 17: The Health Department Selection Committee constituted to conduct walk-in interviews of specialist doctors will hold the first round of interviews on September 17 at the State Institute of Health & Family Welfare, Phase VI, Mohali. The government had earlier decided that recruitment of specialist doctors will be held through walk-in interviews as well as campus placements at various medical colleges of the state and at PGIMER, Chandigarh.

HARYANA

Chandigarh
Plantation drive: With a view to increasing green cover in cities like Gurgaon, Mahendragarh, Kurukshetra, Karnal and Palwal, a plantation drive will be carried out in these cities for the first time. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting here.

Faridabad
Undertrial attempts suicide: An undertrial made an abortive bid to commit suicide in Neemka Jail in the district on Wednesday night. Indentified as Rahul, the accused tried to hang himself in the bathroom of Barrack No. 1(Block 4) of the jail. However, he was rescued by other inmates. He was in judicial custody in connection with a murder case. The jail authorities today got an FIR registered against him for trying to end his life. 

Hisar
Newlyweds fear threat to life: A newly married couple from Sirsa, fearing threats to their lives from the girl’s family, has sought police protection. The couple got married in a temple here recently and wanted to get the marriage registered. As they reached the judicial complex here, they were allegedly followed by more than 50 members of the girl’s family. The scared couple hid in the chamber of a lawyer who informed the police which then took them to the DSP who sent them to a protection home. 

Withdraw cases, say protestersr: Activists of the Indian National Students’ Organisation (INSO) staged a demonstration here on Wednesday to express resentment over the registration of police cases against students of Barwala who had blocked traffic on a road last week in support of their demand for transport facilities.

Kurukshetra
Drawing contest for children: Additional Deputy Commissioner Sumedha Kataria on Wednesday has directed all school principals of the district to organise a drawing competition on the subject of energy conservation before September 30. The students of Classes IV, V and VI will participate in the competition.

Toll-free number: Deputy Commissioner Mandeep Singh Brar has launched the state’s first toll free number for public to get information regarding files and process in various departments. Launching the number 18001801744 at e-disha centre, Brar said at the centre all data related to driving licence, registration of vehicle, ration card, facilities in public health and other information was available online.