R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Chandigarh
Another officer to join AAP: Former IAS officer Harkesh Singh Sidhu will join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday. He said he along with former Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department, and Joint Director, Agriculture Department, both retired, would join the party in Patiala.

Fatehgarh Sahib
Three peddlers held: The police held three drug peddlers with 8 gm smack and 13,000 intoxicant tablets on Sunday. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurmeet Chauhan identified the accused as Mohit Chopra of Sirhind, Jagtar Singh of Rajindergarh village in Fatehgarh Sahib and Pawandeep Singh of Balhari Khurd village. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered.

Hoshiarpur
Man found dead: The police have recovered the body of a man from a choe in village near Patti. The body bore injury marks on the head. A hammer was found lying near the body. The deceased could not be identified, but sources said the victim appeared to be a migrant labourer. A murder case was registered.

LUDHIANA
Meeting: A meeting of Master Cadre Union, Punjab, and DPI, Punjab, will be held on February 11. Various issues such as shifting of male staff form girls schools, headmasters on contractual basis, appointments of teachers and issues of the SSA and RMSA will be discussed.

Muktsar
Train halts at Gidderbaha: The Bikaner-Delhi Sarai Rohilla train on Sunday made its first halt at Gidderbaha railway station in the district. The train would benefit cancer patients in the district, local MLA Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said.

Nawanshahr
Lecturers await wages: The Principals’ Association of Privately Managed Government-Aided Colleges (affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar) has flayed the non-release of salary.

Sangrur
Rly station inaugurated: The Sangrur railway station, revamped as an 'Adarsh station' at a cost of Rs 3.15 crore, was inaugurated by Vijay Inder Singla, Congress Member of Parliament (MP) from Sangrur, on Sunday. AK Kathpal, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala Division of Northern Railway, was also present on the occasion.

Tarn Taran
Scheme launched: The state government has launched a dairy farming scheme for women, under which a subsidy of Rs 11 lakh would be given for setting up a farm, sais Animal Husbandry Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike after inaugurating a veterinary dispensary at Verowal village here on Sunday.

HARYANA

Ambala
School’s annual day: E-Max International School celebrated annual function here on Saturday. Om Parkash Aggarwal, CMD, E-Max Group of Colleges, was the chief guest. A cultural programme, including various dances, games, plays, solo songs, were also performed on the occasion.

Kaithal
16 farm accident victims get aid: Victims of farm accidents were given financial assistance by Deputy Commissioner (DC) NK Solanki on behalf of the Kalayat market committee here on Saturday. The DC handed over cheques for Rs 5.6 lakh to 16 farmers and farm labourers.

Bhukkal opens school: Education and Industrial Training Minister Geeta Bhukkal on Saturday inaugurated a senior secondary school in Baata village in the Kalayat block in Kaithal. The construction cost of the building is Rs 62 lakh. The students presented a cultural programme.

Kurukshetra
Varsity VC awarded: The Punjab Commerce and Management Association (PCMA) on Saturday conferred the PCMA Life Time Achievement Award on Lt Gen Dr DDS Sandhu, Vice Chancellor, Kurukshetra University (KU). Dr Sandhu received the award at a function held at Chandigarh University’s Gharun campus, said Prof Brajesh Sawhney, Director, public relations, KU.

Panipat
Kanungo booked: The district police have booked two persons, including a kanungo, on the charge of allegedly preparing forged property documents. An FIR has been registered against kanungo Hawa Singh and Sadhu Ram of Alupur village on the complaint of Bhim Singh. In his complaint, Bhim Singh alleged that the accused prepared forged documents of his two kanals. Both accused are at large.

Sirsa
Gang of robbers busted: The Sirsa police on Saturday claimed to have busted a gang of robbers by arresting two persons and recovering several stolen items from them. The accused have been identified as Deepak of Bhawdin and Praveen of the Indira Vikas Colony. The police have recovered 300 gm gold, 2 kg silver, two motorcycles and several LPG cylinders from their possession.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
Thieves decamp with jewellery, cash: Thieves decamped with jewellery worth lakhs and Rs 75,000 from two houses at Pehadwin village under the Bakroa gram panchayat near here on Tuesday night. Reports said the thefts were detected in the morning, after which the police were informed. Vasu Dev said he had lost gold and silver ornaments along with Rs 40,000 and Jai Dev some jewellery and Rs 35,000. The police registered a case and were investigating.

Badminton executive panel formed: District Badminton Association (DBA) president Sunil Tadu declared the district executive committee of the association here on Thursday. RL Sharma was appointed its adviser, Vibhor Gupta general secretary, Neeraj Vasu treasurer and Shashi Pal Sharma senior vice-president. Dinesh Sharma, Sudheer Gupta, Dinesh Chopra, Tejaswi Sharma, Dr Pravesh Sharma and Ashish Sharma were vice-presidents, Dr Nilambar Dutt, Kareem Khan, Sanjeev Sharda, Vikas Bhardwaj and Sanjay Kaushal joint secretaries, Praveen Sharma and Aditya Mohan Kashyap legal advisers and Karan Chandel press secretary.

389 examined at medical camp: Chetna, a social organisation, and the Himalaya Health Exchange Programme organised a three-day free medical treatment and assistance camps in the district. First two camps were held at Harlog and Bharadi. American specialists, local doctors and technicians checked as many as 389 patients at the camp. Amar Singh Kashav, administrative manager of Chetna, said the camp was inaugurated by organisation president and industrialist Nand Prakash Vohra. American specialists Dr Paul Hart, Dr Arthi Senra, Dr Pooja Murthi and Dr Sango Maryann treated patients along with 12 other volunteer specialists and doctors.

Man attempts suicide: Vikas Chand of Dhadhole Kalan village under the Bharaadi police station had a narrow escape here on Saturday. Sources said the victim had a quarrel with his wife over some issue and suddenly bolted himself in a room and set his room afire. Unaware of the sudden step, family members shouted for help. Villagers rushed to the spot and forcibly opened the door and took out Vikas almost unhurt in the fire. A case has been registered in this regard.

KANGRA
Labourer succumbs to burn injuries: A 40-year-old migrant labourer, who was seriously burnt and admitted to the DRPGMC at Tanda on February 4, died on Wednesday night in the hospital, the police said here on Thursday. The police said the victim, identified as Beta Lal, was a resident of Vill Thai under Davinder Nagar tehsil (MP). He was drunk and his clothes caught fire when he was sitting before a bonfire at Rehan village in the district on February 1. The body was handed over to relatives after postmortem. The police were investigating the case under Section 174 of the CrPC.

123 donate blood at camp: As many as 123 youth donated blood at a day-long blood donation camp in Dehra subdivision today. The camp was organised by the Sri Satya Sai Seva Organisation at Government Senior Secondary School, Garli. Organisation district president Sesh Bushan Sharma said 123 youth donated blood on the occasion. He said the blood was collected by medical teams from the DRPGMC, Tanda, and Dharamsala. He said the blood was donated to the Tanda medical college and the Red Cross Society for onward transmission to the needy.

PALAMPUR
930 gm charas seized, 1 arrested: The police seized 930 gm of charas from a shop at Andretta, 10 km from here, on Friday night. A special wing of the Kangra police had received information that a local shopkeeper was selling charas to local youth. The police raided the shop at night and recovered a packet of charas. The police arrested shop owner Jagat Ram and a case under different sections of the NDPS Act was registered against him. A senior police official told newsmen that the police had been keeping tabs on the illegal sale of narcotics in the district, particularly near educational institutions.

Remove encroachments, vendors told: The Baijnath police on Friday directed roadside vendors to remove illegal encroachments from the narrow Pathankot-Mandi national highway. A police spokesman said encroachments on the highway resulted in frequent traffic jams in Baijnath and Paprola towns. He also sought cooperation from local beopar mandals, panchayat representatives and the Block Samiti chairman. He said in the absence of a bypass, all heavy and light vehicles used the highway to enter the towns. Besides, unplanned parking of vehicles had further made matters worse, he added.