R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Ropar
Undertrial attacks Ropar jail official: On not being allowed to meet his acquaintances, an undertrial allegedly attacked Ropar Jail Deputy Superintendent Rajiv Arora in his office. The accused, Simranjeet Singh Simra, allegedly seized Arora's official firearm and tore his uniform before warder Chaman Lal came to his rescue. Simra allegedly also attacked the warder. Simra was shifted to the Nabha Jail after the incident. A case has been registered.

Sangrur
Bank field officer held on graft charge: The Patiala unit of the Vigilance Bureau has caught red-handed a field officer of the Punjab Agriculture Development Bank, Lehra, while allegedly accepting Rs 10,000 as bribe from Bhawishan Singh of Dhindsa village for sanctioning a loan of Rs 2 lakh. Amrik Singh was produced in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Patiala, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody. A vigilance official said the accused had demanded 5 per cent commission from Bhawishan for sanctioning his loan case.

9 dengue cases detected in Sangrur: At least nine confirmed dengue cases have been reported in the district in the past two months. Of these cases, five were tested positive at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, while four were tested positive at the local civil hospital. While five cases were detected this month, two each were detected in August and September. All the patients belonged to Sangrur, Sunam, Ahmedgarh and Dhuri areas. District Health Officer Dr Surinder Singla said precautionary measures had been taken in the affected areas.

Three arrested in blind murder case: With the arrest of three persons, the police claims to have solved a six-month-old blind murder case of a woman from Dirba, Gurdev Kaur (55). It has also reportedly recovered an iron rod, allegedly used in the murder, and ear rings of the deceased. SSP Harcharan Singh Bhullar said Satgur Singh, Karnail Singh and Raj Singh were arrested following a tip-off from Dirba. They had allegedly killed the woman on April 18.

718 examined at health camp: As many as 718 patients were examined during a two-day free health check-up camp organised by NGO Umeed Foundation here on Sunday. The patients were checked for cardiac and neurological diseases. The camp was organised in collaboration with Medicity Hospital, Gurgaon. Free medicines were given to patients at the camp. While 405 patients were examined on the first day, 313 were checked the second day.

HARYANA

Kurukshetra
Two killed: Two persons, Amreek Singh of Pehowa and Darshan Singh of Julmat, were killed when a school bus hit Amreek’s motocycle near Jurasi Khurd village bus stand and a car hit Darshan’s motorcycle near the Diwana village bus stand on Saturday.

Poppy seized: A poppy husk smuggler, Kulwinder Singh of Gondar village, who had been absconding since May 5, 2011, has been arrested. Around 11-kg poppy husk was seized from his residence.

Office-bearers: Following were declared elected as office-bearers of a newly formed state-level Backward Class A Welfare Sabha at a meeting held on Sunday. Shamsher Kashyap - president, Ram Bhaj Sain and Satpal Jangra - vice-presidents, Jasbir Bhat - general secretary, Sudesh Pal - secretary, Gulshan Bhat - organising secretary, Ravinder Prajapati - press secretary, Jeeta Ram Pal and Balbir Singh Rohila - patrons.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
1 killed in mishap: One person was killed and two others injured when their car skidded off the road and fell into a 400-m gorge near Poolan village of the district on Friday morning. The deceased Jagdish Chand succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital.

HAMIRPUR
2 die as car falls into gorge: Two persons died in a road accident when their car plunged into a gorge near Baroha on Wednesday evening. The police said Puran Chand of Chamned and his nephew Nand Lal of Parnali village, who were travelling in an Alto car died on the spot.

Shimla
Rahul to visit state on Oct 25: AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi will address three election rallies on October 25 in support of Congress candidates in the Solan, Jaisinghpur and Lahaul-Spiti Assembly segments. He will also seek votes for Yadvinder Goma (27), the youngest candidate to be fielded by the Congress from Jaisinghpur in Kangra. Rahul will address rallies in support of Solan nominee Dhani Ram Shandil and Lahaul-Spiti nominee Ravi Thakur.

Sundernagar
IIT students’ bail extended: Mandi Sessions Judge Virender Singh yesterday extended the anticipatory bail granted to 12 first-year students of the Mandi IIT till October 30. They were allegedly involved in staging an obscene scene from the Mahabharata during a freshers’ party, which was subsequently uploaded on YouTube.

DEHRADUN

Nainital
Tourism scheme for remote areas: The Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) has started a new scheme to boost tourism in far-flung areas of the district. The nigam is appointing nature guides for tourists.

Pithoragarh
Sports Hostel Dehradun win: The Sports Hostel Dehradun team became champion in the under-17 state-level football tournament after defeating the Dehradun team. The match was played at the DS Bisht ground on Saturday. “After two teams scored equal goals, the decision was taken on the basis of sudden death in which the Sports Hostel boys defeated the rival team by 4-3 goals,” said Vinod Singh Waldiya, District Sports Officer and organiser of the tournament.

Ramnagar
Corbett opens for tourists: The Corbett park has been opened for the tourists from Saturday on the orders of the state wildlife chief. “The Bizrani and Jharna zones of the park, which remained closed for the past three months following the orders of the Supreme Court, will also be opened,” said CK Kavadiyal, Deputy Director of the park.