R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Officer’s son held for rape: A police officer’s son Rajinder Singh was on Saturday arrested by the police in Mansa district for allegedly raping a schoolgirl. Prem Singh and his wife Kiranjit Kaur, who performed the girl’s abortion, have also been arrested. Senior Superintendent of Police Narendera Bhargava said the boy raped the girl while she was on her way to school. The boy’s father is presently posted as an ASI at Budladha.

ASI’s son held for rape: A police officer’s son Rajinder Singh was on Saturday arrested by the police in Mansa district for allegedly raping a schoolgirl. Prem Singh and his wife Kiranjit Kaur, who performed the girl’s abortion, have also been arrested. Senior Superintendent of Police Narendera Bhargava said the boy raped the girl while she was on her way to school. The boy’s father is presently posted as an ASI at Budladha.

CM’s birthday celebrated: Chief Minister of Punjab, Prakash Singh Badal’s 86th birthday was celebrated here today. Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Sarup Chand Singla, and others organised a Sukhmani Sahib path at the Gurdwara Qila Sahib in the morning and distributed sweets. 

Hoshiarpur

Red Ribbon Express: The Red Ribbon Express will reach the city railway station on December 27. At a meeting of district officials to review the arrangements for the campaign, Harminder Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), said the train would remain stationed here till December 28. Dr Surinder Gangar, Civil Surgeon, appealed to government officials, NGOs and social and religious organisations to extend their support to make the event successful.

Illegal liquor seized: The Garhshankar police arrested two persons and seized intoxicants and liquor of various brands from them. Sources said a police team intercepted an Indica car at a naka at the canal bridge. On a search, the police seized 420 gm of banned drug powder, 22 cases of liquor of various brands. The police arrested the occupants of the car under the NDPS Act and the Excise Act.

Illegal liquor seized: The Garhshankar police arrested two persons and seized intoxicants and liquor of various brands from them. Sources said a police team intercepted an Indica car at a naka at the canal bridge. On a search, the police seized 420 gm of banned drug powder, 22 cases of liquor of various brands. 

Youth faces rape charge: A 15-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by her 22-year-old neighbour in Dabwali Malko Ki village of Lambi area. In her complaint with the police, the victim, a Class VIII student, alleged that she was raped by Sukhdev Singh alias Gora.

Nakodar

3 killed in road mishap: Three pedestrians, including a mother-daughter duo, were killed on the spot when a speeding car hit them before ramming into a tree near Dherian village on the Nakodar-Jalandhar road on Friday evening. The deceased were identified as Amandeep (25), her 11-month-old daughter Archna and Kamla (39). 

Ropar

House gutted in fire: Property worth over Rs 2 lakh was gutted in a fire that broke out in a house at Giani Zail Singh Nagar here on Saturday. No one was present in the house at the time of the incident. Eye witnesses said they noticed smoke billowing from the third floor of the house in the afternoon. The fire brigade was informed which soon doused the fire. Furniture, LCD, air conditioner and other goods was damaged in the fire. Owner Gurvinder Johal’s wife said she had gone to the market in the afternoon and the children were playing outside. It was presumed that a short circuit caused the fire.

HARYANA

Court arrest: The municipal employees of the Gurgaon Division will take part in “jail bharo” agitation of the Sarva Karamchaari Sangh, Haryana, scheduled for December 12. The decision was formally taken here on Saturday at a meeting of the Nagar Palika Karamchaari Sangh, which was presided over by its president Naresh Shastri. The employees will court arrest outside the Deputy Commissioners' offices in all districts of the Gurgaon Division. 

Fatehabad

Anti-encroachment drive: The district authorities on Saturday launched "Operation Clean" drive to make Fatehabad free from encroachments and unauthorised hoardings. Officials led by SDM Baljit Singh removed encroachments from the town. The authorities told shopkeepers to remove their encroachments voluntarily.

Kurukshetra
KU VC gets 3-yr extension: Haryana Governor and Kurukshetra University (KU) Chancellor Jagannath Pahadia has extended the term of Lt Gen Dr DDS Sandhu (retd), Vice-Chancellor, KU, for a period of three years. The university authorities today received a letter in this regard from the Haryana Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh. Dr Sandhu had joined as Vice-Chancellor of KU on February 5, 2010. He also held the additional charge of KU VC from September 2009 to February 4, 2010, while he was the VC of Guru Jambeshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar.

Purse stolen: Neelam Sachdeva of Shakti Nagar was getting her slippers repaired from a cobbler near Maharana Pratap Chowk on Friday, when some pilferer run away with her purse that was lying on her scooter parked there. The purse contained Rs 8,000, a cellphone and an ATM card. The police has registered a case of theft.

SIRSA

Opium seized: The police has seized 1-kg opium from a vehicle near the district jail here. The police had stopped a vehicle on the Barnala road for a routine checking. However, the occupants of the vehicle escaped in the nearby fields. The police has seized the contraband and confiscated the vehicle. SSP Rajshree Singh said the accused would be arrested soon. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR

Man gets one-year RI: Vishal Bhamnotra, Judicial Magistrate, First Class, at Ghumarwin has sentenced Kamlender of Barotta village in Barotta panchayat to one-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) and a fine of Rs 5,000 for trying to outrage the modesty of a married woman of the same village. The woman launched an FIR on September 17, 2009, that Kamlender tried to molest her when she working alone in the field. The judge also sentenced Kamlender to six-month jail and an additional fine of Rs 500 for beating her. All sentences would run concurrently. The court ordered that the fine amount of Rs 4,000 be given to the woman as compensation.

Boy missing: Vishal Jamwal (16), son of Purushottam Jamwal of Syotha village near Ghumarwin, is missing since boarding a bus from the Una bus stand for his village four days ago. Reports said Om Lata, mother of Vishal, has lodged an FIR at Ghumarwin police station saying that Vishal had gone to get recruited in the Army at Una, but was not accepted for being under age. He informed her on the phone that he had boarded a bus for home. The police has started search for the boy. His mobile phone has been located in Uttar Pradesh. 

DALHOUSIE

Fire destroys house: A house was burnt to the ground at Allen Naali village near Bathri in Dalhousie, 12 km from here, on Saturday, according to an official information. At the time of the fire, owner of the house widow Vimla Devi was away, while her two daughters were in the house. However, there was no loss of life. Officials of the local administration had rushed to the incident site to carry out relief and rescue operation and the loss caused due to the fire was being assessed.

NURPUR

JCBs confiscated: Two JCBs and two tractor-trolleys were confiscated by the Jawali police during its raid at Dehar khad at Harian on Friday evening. These were being used for doing illegal mining. DSP, Jawali, Sanjay Sharma said the JCBs were owned by a stone crusher unit and it was challaned under the Mining Act and sent to the court for further action. 

1 held for thrashing mother

The Jawali police arrested Tarsem Singh of Sarolli village under Fatehpur police station on Friday evening for allegedly thrashing, intimidating his mother Biaso Devi and brother Bariyam Singh. He was produced in the court on Saturday and remanded in judicial custody till December 20. The police has lodged a case under Sections 323, 341, 428 and 506, IPC, against him after a complaint was lodged by his mother at Jawali police station. DSP Sanjay Sharma said the accused, who was creating terror in the area, was released from Dharamsala jail last week after undergoing a sentence in a criminal case. 

PALAMPUR

Auto driver arrested: Auto driver Vinod Kumar was arrested by the Joginder Nagar police in connection with the murder of Jiwan Lal of Gartholi village of Baijnath subdivision on Saturday. Earlier, the police had arrested Krishna Devi, wife of Jiwan Lal, as prime accused. The SHO of Joginder Nagar told mediapersons at Baijnath on Saturday that Krishna Devi had disclosed during investigations that she had used Vinod Kumar’s three-wheeler to carry Jiwan Lal’s body to the forest and Vinod had assisted her in disposing of the body. 

SHIMLA

Two killed in accident: Two persons were killed and four injured when a car met with an accident at Sharana Nullah near Kisharu in the Jubbal area on Friday. The mishap took place when the car (HP-08A-1717) rolled down a gorge, killing two persons on the spot. The deceased were identified as Chaman Lal and Daulat Ram. 

Writing workshop: A creative writing workshop will be held by the Gurukalp at the Gaiety Theatre here on December 15 and 16. A workshop on creative writing for English teachers will be held on December 15. The next day a workshop will be held for students from Class VI to XII. The book “The Gurkha’s Daughter” by Prajwal Parajuly will also be released. 

DEHRADUN

Champawat

DM spends night at village: Champawat District Magistrate Sridhar Babu Addhakhi spent a night in the Raidhari village to acquaint himself with the problems of the villagers. The DM held a meeting in the village and sorted out the problems of widows and those related to education and drinking water. “Addhakhi became the first District Magistrate to spend a night in a remote village. He learnt about the problems of the villagers,” said Meena Phartiyal, a villager.

Dehradun

Football match filmed: Film Director and popular ad maker Sujan on Saturday took shots of a football match at the ground of the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun for an untilted film. A footballer, Virendra Rawat, acted as football coach in the scene. Rawat said a football match was shot for the film and a large number of young footballers participated. Sujan has been assistant director in Don 2 movie.

Mayor praised: The Gorkha Democratic Front has thanked Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli for installing a statue of martyr of the Ajad Hind Fauj Durga Mall at Durga Mall Park in Dehradun. A delegation of the front met the Mayor and handed over a letter of appreciation to him.

Sugarcane crushing season: The sugarcane crushing season has started at the Doiwala sugar mill in Dehradun. Sugarcane Minister Surendra Singh Negi inaugurated the start of the crushing season by performing a hawan. Negi said the state government was sensitive towards the concerns of the farmers. Local MLA Premchand Aggarwal was also present.

Dharna outside Assembly: The Uttarakhand Shiksha Mitra Mahasangh continued its dharna in support of its demand for increase in honorarium outside the Vidhan Sabha for the fifth day on Saturday. The mahasangh president, Lalit Diwedi, said they would be forced to intensify their agitation if the state government did not consider their demand by Tuesday.

Protest for better pay: The Uttarakhand Matra Shishu Evam Parivar Kalyan Mahila Karamchari Association continued with its dharna outside the Vidhan Sabha for the 39th day on Saturday. The protesters were demanding better pay and perks. The association has held several meetings with the Chief Minister but their concerns are yet to be addressed.

Quota in promotions: Seeking quota in promotions, the Uttarakhand SC/ST Employees Federation continued with its dharna at the Vidhan Sabha for the 10th day on Saturday. The protesters accused the state government of befooling the SC and ST employees. They pledged to continue with their struggle till their demand was met.

Haldwani

Women stage protest: Thousands of women from different villages of Chorgalia and the Nandhaur area in Haldwani protested in front of the District Magistrate and the Kumaon Commissioner’s office against the proposal to declare 260 sq km of their forest area as sanctuary. The Ministry of Environment and Forest has put a condition before the Forest Department in lieu of allowing mining on the Gaula and Dabka riverbeds in the area. “If the areas of the Nandhaur forest is declared as sanctuary, our traditional rights on forest will be curtailed. We have decided to launch an agitation to protect our traditional forest rights,” said Sandhya Dalakoti, leader of the protesting women.

Pithoragarh

Computer lab inaugurated: Major Gen JS Cheema, Commander, 69 Mountain Division, on Saturday inaugurated a computer lab set up to educate children of ex-servicemen in the district. He also listened to the problems being faced by retired jawans. “The problems that ex-servicemen have brpught to my notice will be put before the higher officer on priority basis,” said Maj Gen Cheema.

Rudrapur

527 ration cards cancelled: A total of 527 ration cards have been cancelled in Udham Singh Nagar district as the verification work on the ration cards is in progress in the Kumaon region these days. “Most of the ration cards have been cancelled due to migration from the district,” said Bipin Kumar, District Supply Officer of the district. The work on the verification of ration cards to find genuine cardholders in various categories is in progress in the region.

(Compiled by BD Kasniyal)