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PUNJAB

Bathinda
Councillor hurt in mishap:A woman municipal councillor sustained injuries in a road accident that took place on the GT Road today The councillor, Shanti Jindal, who was on a rickshaw, fell on the road after a speeding car hit the rickshaw near Pragma CT Scan Centre. While the councillor got her arm fractured, the rickshaw puller too got injured. Volunteers of the Naujawan Welfare Society, an NGO, rushed the injured to a hospital.

2 hurt in mishap:Two persons received injuries after an Army truck and a bus collided near the cantonment area. The bus was on its way to Ludhiana from Bathinda. The bus driver and the conductor were injured in the accident. The injured were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Chandigarh
CM launches 51 rural bank branches: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has launched 51 rural branches of HDFC Bank across the state. He inaugurated one such branch at Badal village through video conferencing at his official residence on Thursday. A press release said the Chief Minister had asked HDFC Managing Director Aditya Puri to provide soft loans to peasants, dairy farmers and other allied farming sectors, who had been facing a tough time due to squeezing profit margins due to high input costs.

Moga
1 more held in passport scam: The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the Moga passport scam, has arrested a man from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, on charges of getting a passport issued on forged documents. A lookout notice was issued against him two years ago. ASI Pritam Singh, a member of the SIT, said the accused, Hardev Singh Dhaliwal of Kishangarh village in Nihalsinghwala sub-division, got a passport by forging documents relating to his address proof in 2002 and manipulating with local policemen. Hardev, who lives in the US, had come to India this week. He was detained by the airport authorities, which informed the Moga police. The SIT has got his police remand from a local court. 

Youth arrested for raping minor: A 17-year-old minor girl belonging to a backward class was allegedly raped several times by a youth on the pretext of marrying her. The girl’s parents reported the matter to the police after the youth, Amandeep Singh resident of Landeke village, married another woman. A medical examination of the girl confirmed the allegation. The accused has been arrested after a case under Sections 376, 363, 366A and 323 of the IPC was registered against him, said Sub-Inspector Bhupinder Singh.

Man gets life term for killing wife: Additional District and Sessions Judge Harpal Singh has convicted a man to life imprisonment after pronouncing him guilty of murdering his wife. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him. The convict, Kulwant Singh of Madoke village, had killed his wife Paramjit Kaur with sharp-edged weapons on January 23, 2009. Victim’s parents had alleged that Kulwant had been harassing her daughter for dowry.