R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Barnala
Body donated: The body of a follower of Dera Sacha Sauda, Piara Singh Insan (78), was on Thursday donated at Jodhpur village near Barnala by his family for medical research purposes. He was the seventh such donor from the village. The ambulance in which Piara Singh Insan’s body was kept, was flagged off by a former sarpanch of the village, Balvir Singh. Villagers and relatives besides members of the Shah Satnam Ji Green S Welfare Force Wing were also present on the occasion. Balwinder Singh, a son of the deceased, said his father had desired to donate his body after his death for medical research purposes.

Chandigarh:
Panchayat secy held for graft The Vigilance Bureau on Thursday allegedly nabbed Panchayat Secretary Tejinder Singh posted at Fatehgarh Sahib red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000. Suresh Arora, Chief Director-cum-DGP, Vigilance Bureau, said the complainant, Beant Singh, a former sarpanch of Kotla Jattan village, had alleged that the official demanded the bribe to conduct an audit of the gram panchayat. 

Officer in fake RC case suspended:  The Punjab Government has placed under suspension PCS officer Bhupinder Mohan Singh, who was arrested by the Bathinda Police on August 9. Posted as District Transport Officer in Ropar, his services have been placed under suspension from the date of his arrest. 

Fatehgarh Sahib
14 kids detected with heart disease: Fourteen students studying in government schools of the district were found to be suffering from heart disease. While presiding over a meeting of the district Health Society here on Thursday, Deputy Commissioner Arun Sekhri said their cases had been sent to the government to ensure free treatment for them. These students were identified during a medical examination of 16,909 students conducted under the school health program in the district.

Sangrur
Rival groups protest in rape case: A number of residents of Dirba blocked the Sangrur-Patran main road for an hour on Thursday, demanding the arrest of four rape accused. Former MLA Surjit Singh Dhiman and Congress area in charge Ajaib Singh Ratolan also joined the protesters. On the other hand, supporters of the accused, alleging frame-up, blocked another road in the town. 

Undertrial kills self: Nirbhey Singh, a 25-year-old undertrial, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Sangrur District Jail on Wednesday night. A case under Section 176 of the CrPC has been registered. A magistrate inquiry was also held. Jagjit Singh, the investigating officer, said Nirbhey, resident of Sekhuwas village (near Lehragaga), had been lodged in the jail for over a year in an NDPS case. He was booked on August 12, 2012 under Sections 15, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act at Chhajli police station, Jagjit Singh said. The post-mortem examination of the body was conducted at the Civil Hospital here. 

Patiala
Varsity forms five new depts in UCOE: Punjabi University will form five departments in the University College of Engineering (UCOE) to improve the management of the college. The departments are: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Applied Sciences and Electronics and Communication Engineering. The university has also decided to create separate posts of Dean students and faculty for UCOE in its syndicate meeting. With 4,000 students in UCOE, the university authorities had been finding it difficult to manage the department under one head. 

CHANDIGARH

Mumbai rape condemned: The Media Welfare Society has condemned the rape of the photojournalist in Mumbai on Thursday. The society demanded strict punishment for the culprits and formed a human chain at Sector 17, Chandigarh, against the crime.

HARYANA

Sirsa
Man with 17 SIM cards held: The police today arrested a man, who had come to meet his son lodged in District Jail here, with 17 mobile SIM cards. The accused has been identified as Sushil Kumar, a resident of Sirsa. The police has booked him under various provisions of the Prisons Act, IT Act and Section 511 of the IPC. The police said Sushil's son Hemant was lodged in the jail in connection with a theft case. When the accused entered the jail premises, the jail staff found 17 SIM cards of mobiles hidden in his socks. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Amritsar jeweller fined: On a tip-off, an Excise and Taxation Department team, led by Excise and Taxation Officer Lalit Poswal and Excise Inspector Sanjiv Jaswal, stopped an Indigo car in the main market area here on Tuesday. After questioning its occupant, they searched the car and found 5.177 kg silver jewellery in it. Manjinder Singh, a jeweller of Amritsar, did not carry any papers or proof of having paid any tax on this jewellery. Rupees 70,000 was charged from him as tax and penalty on the spot. 

28-year-old man electrocuted: Chuni Lal (28) of Kothi Haryala village in the Naina Deviji constituency was electrocuted at his home on Tuesday. Lal had returned home at noon after some work. As soon as he touched the switch to run the fan in his room, he received an electric shock. No family member was at home at the time of incident.

Mandi
One held with 1.5 kg charas: The police on Thursday arrested Chand Singh, a resident of Sarandhar village in Banjar, under the NDPS Act after it recovered 1.5 kg charas from his Santro car (HP34A-0598). The police has impounded the car after the accused was arrested. 

30 timber sleepers seized: The police on Thursday recovered 30 timber sleepers from the possession of Kaltu Ram, a resident of Jhatingri. A case under Sections 41and 42 of the Indian Forest Act and 379 of the IPC has been registered against him at the Jogindernagar police station. 

NURPUR
Truck driver gets one-year jail: Pankaj Gupta, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Indora, on Tuesday sentenced truck driver Tarsem Lal of Bhalwana in Abohar district (Punjab) to one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000. Vijay Rihalia, Assistant District Attorney, said the driver had been booked by the Indora police in April 2008 under various sections. He was driving a truck (HR 56 D-0125) and had hit a cyclist Banti Lal of Pathankot at Mazra near Indora. The victim had died on the spot.

SHIMLA
Engg institute gets Chairman: SD Rattan, Director of state-owned HPSEBL, has been elected Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh State Centre of Institution of Engineering (India). Pankaj Daddwal, Superintending Engineer, HPSEBL, Shimla, has been elected secretary of the organisation from 2013 to 15.

Temple, four houses gutted: The Lord Swarg Narayan and four houses were gutted at Ribba village in Kinnaur district on Monday night. The fire was brought under control by local people. Three other houses suffered partial damage. The village is located 18 km from the district headquarters of Reckong Peo. Deputy Speaker and Kinnaur MLA Jagat Singh Negi has directed the district administration to provide immediate relief to the affected families.

SUNDERNAGAR
Bharat Bhushan is Bar Assn chief: Bharat Bhushan Sharma was elected president and Dinesh Saklani vice-president of the District Bar Association, Mandi, on Monday. Other officer-bearers elected unanimously are Lokender Kutlehria, general secretary, Vikrant Sharma, joint secretary, Raj Kumar Sharma, treasurer, and Hem Singh Thakur, librarian. Gitanjali, Vijay Bhandari and Diken Rana were elected executive members. Ravi Singh Rana, convener, said the elections were held peacefully. 

DEHRADUN

IAS officer Panwar given additional charge: Dr Uma Kant Panwar, Secretary, Transport and Tourism, and CEO of the Tourism Development Board has been given the additional charge of Secretary, Religious Affairs. Jyoti Khairwal, Chief Development Officer, Almora, has been relived of her present charge and transferred and posted as Chief Development Officer, Dehradun, in place of Sushil Kumar, who has been transferred as Additional Secretary, Secretariat Administration, Dehradun. Iqbal Ahmed, Joint Magistrate, Almora, has been posted as Chief Development Officer, Almora.