R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Abohar
Man killed by stray cattle: An old man died after stray cattle attacked him outside a park near RSD Girls' School in Nai Abadi area here today. The victim, Hari Chand Narang (85), was declared brought dead. He was out for an evening walk when was attacked. More than five people have lost their lives in past two years in this fashion, but the administration or NGOs are yet to take action to curb the menace.

Two held for raping minor: The police on Monday arrested two people on the charge of raping a minor girl. The accused, Pawan Kumar Kamboj and Raj Kumar, have been booked under Section 376 and 34 of the IPC. They had allegedly abducted the 15-year-old victim while she was her way to school last week and raped her near a drain outside Khuyiansarwer village in the district.

Chandigarh
4 IAS officers transferred: The Punjab Government has issued posting and transfer orders of four IAS officers with immediate effect. Karuna Raju has been posted as Director, Rural Development and Panchayat, and in addition Controller, Stores & Disposal (Department of Industries); Rahul Tiwari as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, and in addition CA, GLADA, Ludhiana; Tejinder Singh Dhaliwal as Director, Sports, and Special Secretary, Sports and Youth Services; and Supreet Singh Gulati as ACA, GLADA, Ludhiana, and in addition Chairman, Improvement Trust, Ludhiana.

Fazilka
Cong protests property tax: Congress workers protested against property tax here on Monday. Members of block Congress committee led by former two-time Congress MLA from Fazilka Dr Mohinder Kumar Rinwa took out a procession.

Nawanshahr
Man held for setting ablaze wife: The police have arrested Kamaljit Kumar of Khamancho village for allegedly setting ablaze his wife by sprinkling kerosene on her under the influence of liquor. The victim, Paramjit Kaur of Palli Uchi village, was brought to the Civil Hospital here for treatment. She was later referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. She was married to the accused 10 months ago. Kamaljit, who had been harassing his wife for seeking dowry, has been arrested.

Ropar
BBMB surpasses generation target: Riding on the recent achievement of successfully upgrading two 108 MW units at Bhakra Left Bank Power House to 126 MW each, the Bhakra Beas Management Board has surpassed the energy generation target set by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for 2013-14 within the first nine months. The BBMB generated 9,679 million units up to December 21 this fiscal against the full-year target of 9,665 million units. This was facilitated by ensuring high machine availability of 95.08 per cent as well as optimal water reservoir operations leading to effective utilisation of inflows, said a press release.

Tarn Taran
Flesh trade racket busted: The Bhikhiwind police have busted a flesh trade racket in the border township by arresting four women and two men of the area. The accused have been identified as Baljit Kaur alias Bawi, the kingpin, Gurjit Kaur, Sarabjit Kaur and Sharanjit Kaur of Bhikhwind, Angrej Singh of Pahuwind and Rajwinder Singh of Havelian. Harpal Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the police had seized Rs 2000 and some objectionable material from the accused.

3 booked in cheating case: The city police have booked three persons in a case of cheating. The accused have been identified as Satinder Kaur, her brother Navjot Singh of Nanaksar Mohalla and Harjinder Singh of Mattewal village. They had allegedly defrauded Daya Singh of Muradpur of Rs 38,500 on the pretext of helping him get a bank loan.

CHANDIGARH

Blood donation camp: The Director, PGIMER, Dr Yogesh Chawla, inaugurated a blood donation camp. The camp was organised by the PGIMER Physiotherapists Association in collaboration with the department of transfusion medicine. Medical Superintendent Dr AK Gupta, NK Talwar, and the assistant general manager, SBI-PGI branch, were present on the occasion. Staff, students, members of the Aam Admi Party and others participated in the camp. Over 100 units of blood were donated.

Academic session of PGIMER begins today: Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Chairman Dr R Chidambaram and Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet Vigyan Bhawan will be inaugurating the new academic session of the institute on Tuesday. During the function, 29 silver medals and 32 bronze medals will be given to students for their outstanding research and academic excellence. The pin-up ceremony for the session (July, 2013, and January 2014) will also be held during the function. — TNS

e-Sampark Centre comes up in Sec 48: Chandigarh: Deputy Mayor Devesh Moudgil today inaugurated an e-Sampark Centre in Sector 48. Mukesh Mehta, a resident of Sector 48, said the centre had come in as relief as now they would be able to deposit electricity and telephone bills in their sector. The Administration is also mulling over opening more centres in the southern sectors. 

Photo electoral rolls revised:The photo electoral rolls for the Chandigarh Parliamentary Constituency have been revised with effect from January 1, 2014. Claims/objections were invited and the rolls were revised in accordance with the provisions of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. A copy of the photo rolls was published today and will be available for inspection at the election department, Union Territory, Chandigarh, or on www.ceochandigarh.nic.in. The prepared EPIC will be distributed among the newly registered electors at polling stations on January 25. — TNS

Panchkula
MLA booked: Doon MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary has been booked under Section 120-B for criminal conspiracy by Hoshiarpur police. His wife, Nidhi, middlemen Rajender, Ladoo and Ladoo's wife have been booked under Sections195-A, 323 and 506. It was after Panchkula police sent a zero FIR that the case was lodged by the Hoshiarpur police.

Ex-employee accused of stealing records: On a complaint registered by Housing Board, the police have registered a case of theft against a former executive engineer of the same department. CR Mittal, a retired official of the housing board was accused of stealing official records from office. The investigations are still going on while police is yet to arrest the accused.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Doda
Canteen in Doda gutted: A canteen in the police line area of Doda district was gutted late last night following a short circuit. The fire tenders rushed to the spot and started rescue work. No loss of life was reported.