R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Two held in visa racket: The police have arrested Major Singh of Daud village in Amritsar and Kashmir Singh of Gurdaspur in a visa racket. They were remanded in police custody for 3 days. Recently, five persons of a travel agency near the bus stand in Abohar were booked in the same case. They allegedly took Rs 50,000 from the complainants on the pretext of getting them visa.

Hoshiarpur
3 drug peddlers booked: Three peddlers, including a jail inmate, were booked under the NDPS Act. An inmate of the district jail, Avtar Singh of Pathralian village, was booked on the complaint of jail superintendent after 2 gm of narcotic powder was seized from him. Sarabjit Singh of Rahimpur was arrested for allegedly possessing 44 gm of heroin. In yet another case, the Hariana police arrested Varinder Kumar of Bassi Maruf with 150 gm of narcotic powder.

Seminar on peace of mind: A seminar on "Peace of mind: A journey to healthy life" was organised by the Sadbhavna Committee to mark the 30th death anniversary of former MLA and renowned socialist Om Parkash Bagga at DAV College auditorium here. The gathering was addressed by Sadhvi Bhuvneshvari Devi.

Muktsar
Five thieves held: The police on Saturday arrested five thieves and seized 15 two-wheelers and a car near Malout town. Superintendent of Police Gurinderjit Singh said the five accused were held at a naka near the sugar mill. A case has been registered.

Ropar
22-yr-old labourer drowns: A 22-year-old labourer reportedly drowned in the Bhakhra canal on Sunday. The victim is identified as Dharminder Singh of Akbarpur village. The police said Dharminder left his house at 7.30 am on his bicycle and never returned. They found his bicycle parked on the bank of the canal. The victim’s father, Pritam Singh, did not suspect any foul play.

BBMB officials honoured: Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) chairman AB Agrawal awarded 61 officials with gold medals, appreciation letters and Rs 5,000 each for their efficient work during 2013-14 on the occasion of the board’s raising day. Though the raising day falls on May 15, due to code of conduct for the Lok Sabha election, the function was organised on May 30.

4 arrested for murder: Four persons have been held for allegedly murdering a 33-year-old resident of Bada Samana village on Saturday. Sarabjeet Singh’s body was found under mysterious circumstances in a well near Rasulpur village on May 28. The accused, Harpreet, Ranjit, Gurinder and Avtar of Bada Samana village, were sent to police custody for two days. A case has been registered.

Sangrur
Seminar on solar energy: Sangrur District Industrial Chamber (SDIC) in association with Solar India Limited (SIL) held a seminar on Solar energy on Friday night. Among others present were Ashish Singh, Chief Executive Officer of SIL, and SDIC president Balwinder Jindal.

Tarn Taran
Majithia's effigy burnt: Activists of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha burnt an effigy of Cabinet minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia in Tarn Taran on Sunday. They were protesting against his alleged involvement in the drug trade. Amritpal Singh, leader of the sabha, said Majithia should be removed immediately.

One killed in accident: Kulwant Singh (50), a resident of Ludhiana, was killed when a car hit the bike that he was riding near Bhagupur village, around 30 km from Tarn Taran, on Saturday evening. He was taken to the Civil Hospital, Patti, where the doctors declared him "brought dead". A case has been registered.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

CHAMBA
2 IFS officers to study US forestry: Two Indian Forest Services (IFS) officers ARM Reddy and Sameer Rastogi have been sponsored by the Government of India and included in a team of 29 IFS officers of the country for a special mission on forestry in the United States. Official sources said these officers were attending training programmes on various aspects of forestry at Syracuse University, New York. They would be given an insight into the working of forests in the US. The team would also study the analysing policy operations and practices of the US forest services where the forest area was in 751 million acres.

KULLU
Panchayat presidents rue authorities' apathy: A dharna by presidents of 13 panchayats, including seven women in the Kaza region of Lahaul and Spiti district, for the improvement of basic amenities like electricity, water and roads, entered its sixth day on Saturday. The protesters rued the apathetic attitude of the district administration and the state government towards benefits of tribals. Kaza panchayat president Padam Dorje said a delegation would submit a memorandum to the CM, who is scheduled to visit Lahaul on June 2. BS Thakur, DC, Lahaul And Spiti, said the memorandum had been forwarded to the CM and the Tehsildar, Kaza division.

MANDI
Civil Engg course at IIT Mandi from 2015: The classes for the first semester of BTech degree course in civil engineering will commence from August 2015 and not from August 2014. This was stated by a spokesman for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here on Wednesday.

RECKONG PEO
Wangto-Poo route cleared: The Kinnaur administration has cleared the route from Wangto to Poo. The route was blocked for a few hours after an oil tanker of Hindustan Petroleum turned turtle near Skiba on Friday evening. Kinnaur DC DD Sharma said the administration swung into action as the news of the accident reached it, paving the way for small vehicles to pass through the patch. After interchanging of passengers, the buses were diverted back to their respective destinations. There was no casualty reported.

UNA
Office-bearers for district softball assn: The Una District Softball Association was formed on Friday with Akhil Agnihotri as its president and Manoj Bhardwaj its general secretary. Agnihotri said Sham Lal Thakur, pradhan of the Basoli panchayat, had been elected president of the District Softball Academy, which was already functional at the Rockford School Grounds. He said another training centre would shortly begin at Sri-Sri Ravi Shankar School in Una. Umang Thakur had been elected senior vice-president and Ekta Attri, Rajesh Sharma and Sumit Anand vice-presidents. Ajay Cholia would be event advisor, Puneet Mehan coordinator, Prince Rajput and Vikas Bhardwaj patrons.