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PUNJAB

Residents of Dudhala village with the deflated balloon. Tribune photo

Amritsar
'Mystery balloon' in Amritsar village: Mystery shrouds the landing an air balloon in the bordering Dudhala village here today. Manjit Singh, a resident, found the balloon in the fields. He later informed the police. The balloon with "I love Pakistan", "Jive Jive Pakistan" written on it in Urdu language became a matter of curiosity among the residents. Manjit said he found the white-colour plastic balloon in his fields. Pritpal Singh Virk, SSP, Amritsar rural police, said investigations were followed after the residents found the 5-ft-long balloon. He said it was mere a polythene bag. He ruled out the possibility that it had come from across the border with the wind. He said someone from Pakistan might have brought the polythene bag with him and later threw it.

Chandigarh
CM approves removal of chairmen: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday approved the removal of chairmen and vice-chairmen of the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) and Punjab GENCO Ltd with immediate effect. An official spokesperson said the development paved way for the appointment of new chairmen and vice-chairmen of both these organisations.

Muktsar
Minor gangraped in Muktsar: A 13-year-old girl, daughter of a migrant labourer of Chhapianwali village, was allegedly gangraped by three youngsters of the village for more than four months. The victim's family moved an application in a local court at Malout seeking the arrest of the accused, Manga, Deepak and Sonu. On court's directions, a medical examination of the girl was done at the local Civil Hospital. Kabarwala SHO Gursewak Singh said: "The girl's family did not approach us".

Sangrur
College official held for graft: A team of the Vigilance Bureau, led by DSP Balwinder Singh Sidhu, on Wednesday arrested an accountant of Desh Bhagat College, Bardwal (Dhuri) for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 2,000 from a senior clerk of the college. The DSP said senior clerk Parkash Chand had complained that accountant Mohan Lal had been demanding Rs 2,000 for sending his pay fixation case to the Director (Colleges), Education Department.

HARYANA

Kurukshetra
Workshop begins: A seven-day workshop was started by the final year students of Institute of Mass Communication and Media Technology, Kurukshetra University, here on Wednesday. The aim of the workshop was to literate and provide basic knowledge to wards of underprivileged and labour class. About a dozen wards of those who were involved in construction activity and rickshaw pullers attended the workshop.

Man killed: Dheeraj, a resident of Vikas Colony, Ladwa, was killed when an unidentified tractor-trolley hit him near Jai Ambey Rice Mill at Ladwa on Tuesday evening.

Rewari
Gangster held: The Government Railway Police (GRP) has arrested a gangster, identified as Jaljit of Hisar district, who along with two accomplices had allegedly stolen Rs 5.5 lakh from the suitcase of a soldier, Mahesh Kumar, from the Sriganganagar Express here on Tuesday. The GRP has also seized the entire stolen amount from him.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar
Sonamarg-Gumri road to close on Oct 31: The Sonamarg-Gumri road connecting Kashmir valley to Ladakh region will be closed for vehicular traffic from October 31. According to a notice issued by the Chief Engineer Project Beacon, general public, tourists and transporters have been asked not to ply their vehicles beyond Gagangir on Sonamarg-Gumri road after October 31 without checking Border Roads Organisation (BRO) advisories.