R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Man dies of cardiac arrest at Golden Temple: A devotee, identified as Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Gurdaspur, died of cardiac arrest on the premises of the Golden Temple today. Bhagwan Singh, in-charge of the Galliara police chowki, said the deceased had come to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple. He complained of uneasiness and collapsed. 

Hoshiarpur

2 killed in mishaps: Two persons were killed in mishaps near Chohal. The accident took place when a truck loaded with gas cylinders collided with a truck parked on the road. Truck driver Vipan Kumar succumbed to his injuries. Meanwhile, Narinder Singh of local Dhobi Ghat was killed and friend Manoj was seriously injured when their motorcycle also hit the truck.

Ludhiana

Birth anniversary: The Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle celebrated birth anniversary of Guru Harkrishan, Sewa Diwas today. Members of the circle visited hospitals and nursing homes, distributed fruits and prayed for the early recovery of patients. 

moga

Naib Tehsildar held: The Vigilance Bureau (Mohali) caught Bachittar Singh, Naib Tehsildar of Dharamkot sub-division in Moga district, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh on Thursday. A case has been registered. Bachittar had allegedly demanded Rs 6 lakh from Harpreet Singh of Kishanpura Kalan village for making two registrations of land. The deal was struck at Rs 4 lakh. The accused was nabbed when Harpreet gave him the first installment at the tehsil complex at Dharamkot.

Ropar

Jail warder held with smack: A jail warder was allegedly caught while smuggling smack in the Ropar jail here on Wednesday. The accused, Rashpal Singh, has been arrested. Jail Superintendent Balbir Singh Tejee said on a tip-off, a search was conducted on the person of Rashpal Singh when he was entering the jail at 3 pm. While 10 grams of smack was recovered from his turban, tobacco products were found from his pockets and socks.

Tarn Taran

One killed in mishap: One person was killed while another was seriously injured when two motorcycles collided head-on near Ghariala village. The deceased has been identified as Harbhajan Singh (50) of Talwandi Sobha Singh village. Injured Nirvail Singh of the same village was rushed to hospital.

HARYANA

Bus pass system for Gurgaon, Panchkula: The Haryana Government today announced introduction of the general public pass system for city bus service in Faridabad, Gurgaon and Panchkula. Transport Minister Aftab Ahmed said the passes would be issued to travel within municipal limits for non-AC and AC buses on a monthly, quarterly, half yearly and yearly basis. The rates for a monthly bus pass would be Rs 450 and Rs 700 for ordinary buses and AC buses, respectively. He said that quarterly bus passes would be issued for Rs 1,300 and Rs 2,000 for ordinary buses and AC buses, respectively. Rates for half-yearly bus passes would be Rs 2,500 for ordinary buses and Rs 3,900 for AC buses. Similarly, Rs 4,800 would be charged for yearly bus passes of ordinary buses and Rs 7,400 for AC buses.

Panipat

BJP ticket aspirant: Rajpal Singh Chauhan, former president of the Textile Processing Industrial Association, expressed his willingness to contest the Assembly election from Panipat rural on the BJP ticket. Chauhan, chairman of the Maharana Pratap Sabha, said he had already informed BJP district chief Gajendra Saluja about his willingness to contest the coming elections.

Sonepat

Man gets 10-yr jail for rape: Additional District and Sessions Judge Manisha Batra has sentenced Ravinder of Nunan Khera village to 10 years' imprisonment for raping a minor girl of Kharkhoda town. The court also imposed a fine of ~35,000 on the convict. In case of default of payment, the convict would serve an additional imprisonment of three years, the court ordered. On October 18 last year, a resident of Ward No.9 in Kharkhoda town lodged a complaint in the police station stating that his 15-year-old girl went missing while going to school. After registering a case under different Sections of the IPC and POCSO Act, the police arrested the alleged accused on October 20 and recovered the girl from his custody.

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Srinagar

Rafiq is PDP vice-president:PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has nominated Sardar Rafiq Hussain Khan as the vice-president of the party, Choudhary Zulfikar Ali as a member of the recently constituted manifesto committee and Zaffar Iqbal Manhas as the chief election coordinator for the Kashmir province.