R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Chandigarh
Justice Parsoon to take oath today: Gurgaon's District and Sessions Judge Bharat Bhushan Parsoon will be administered oath as an Additional Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday. The names of four judges were cleared for elevation recently. Sources said the elevation of other judges had been delayed by a couple of weeks. Besides Justice Parsoon, three other judges, Justice Paramjeet Singh, Justice Naresh Kumar Sanghi and Justice Rameshwar Singh Malik, will be sworn in as regular judges.

Jalandhar
PIT eases norms for B.Tech: The Punjab Institute of Technology (PIT), Mansa, a constituent institute of Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, has announced to give one more chance to students to apply for B.Tech (integrated six-year course). The PIT has also allowed matriculate students to participate in spot counselling on June 14, said Dr Buta Singh Sidhu, Dean, Academics-cum-officiating director, PIT. He said 30 per cent seats had been reserved for rural students.

Phagwara
Man booked for impersonation: A woman's ex-husband named Hemant Chowdhary was arrested on charges of impersonation and defamation on Monday. He had created her fake ID on Facebook, and defamed her on the site. Chowdhary was arrested after his estranged wife complained to the police and a case was registered under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act by the Cyber Crime Cell. Chowdhary was later released on bail, the police said.

Man dies of heat stroke: The ongoing heat wave in Punjab claimed a life here on Tuesday. The police found an unidentified middle-aged pedestrian lying unconscious on the national highway in Chiherru village, Sadar SHO Ravinder Singh said. The person was taken to the local civil hospital where he died after some time. Hospital staff said the victim might have died of a heat stroke.

Two commit suicide in Phagwara: Two persons reportedly committed suicide here on Tuesday. In the first incident, a drug addict identified as Krishan Lal of Matfallu village reportedly hung himself from a tree in the fields. The police said he was dipressed as his marriage had been suffering due to his addiction to drugs. In the second incident, an unidentified labourer was found hanging from a tree under mysterious circumstances near Mehtan village on Tuesday. The Government Railway Police has registered a case and sent the body to the local civil hospital.

Sangrur
Wife booked for abetment to suicide: In connection with an alleged suicide by 25-year-old Nachhattar Singh at Ghanauri Kalan village near Dhuri, the Sadar police on Wednesday registered a case against four persons, including the wife of the deceased, under Sections 306 (abetment to suicide) and 201 of the IPC. Station House Officer Bhupinder Singh said the police had booked the victim's wife Pardeep Kaur, brother-in-law Kuldip Singh and two others. No arrest had been made so far, he added.

3 IPS, 15 PPS officers shifted: The Punjab Government on Wednesday issued the transfer orders of three IPS and 15 PPS officers with immediate effect. An official spokesman said IPS officers Kuldeep Singh, Navin Singla and Swapan Sharma had been posted as SP/Special Protection Unit (CM Security) after their promotions from the posts of ASPs. Besides, 15 PPS officers have also got new postings/additional charges.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar
Army men booked for timber theft: The J&K police has booked two Army men for timber theft in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. The government has ordered a probe into the incident. “A case has been registered in the Kupwara police station against two men of the Territorial Army’s 160th battalion who were smuggling 59 cubic feet of timber and had concealed it in two Army vehicles,” said the conservator of forests, north Kashmir, Mian Javed.