R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Abohar
Van runs over biker: A speeding pick-up van, which was being chased by Rajasthan police, reportedly hit a motorcycle resulting in the death of Sanwer Mal (38) of Nayiansar village on the Sardarshehar road on Thursday night. The police said the vehicle was being used to smuggle 60 cartons of country-made liquor from Haryana. The driver of the van, Ramjas of Nelusar, has been arrested.

Live bomb found: A live bomb was found by a farmer, Krishan Swami, when he was working in his fields in Arayinwala village near Raziasar on the Sriganganagar-Bikaner highway on Friday. The police said the Army had been informed and the bomb might be diffused on Saturday by the special squad. Villagers said it might have been dumped during an annual exercise of the Army.

Man found dead: Ramesh Sharma of Hanumangarh was found dead at a room in Beopar Mandal Dharamshala in Abohar on Friday. The 40-year-old victim had reportedly been working as manager there for the past few years. Preliminary inquiry indicated that he had consumed some poisonous substance. The police are investigating.

Chandigarh
Child labour monitoring panel: The government has constituted a state-level monitoring committee to implement the National Child Labour Project in the state. The committee would be chaired by Labour Minister Chunni Lal Bhagat, while Principal Secretary/Secretary, Department of Labour, Vishavjeet Khanna would be its Vice-Chairman. The Labour Commissioner would be the Member Secretary of the committee.

phagwara
Ex-serviceman robbed: Two armed men robbed ex-serviceman Ranjit Singh of Narur village of a gold chain, a ring and Rs 25,000 near his village on Thursday. The victim fell from his scooter after the masked assailants hit his vehicle.

Ropar
3 killed in accident: Three people died and 13 got injured, when a truck hit a tempo near here on Thursday night. The tempo was ferrying pilgrims to Naina Devi temple. The deceased have been identified as Tari Singh (35), Chamkaur Singh (45) and Hardeep Singh (17). The injured have been admitted to local Civil Hospital. A case has been registered against the truck driver.

Sangrur
Farmer commits suicide: Surinder Singh, a 55-year-old farmer of Kular Khurd village, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in his field on Friday. He was reportedly under stress due to financial crunch. Investigation officer (IO) Darshan Singh said the body was handed over his family after a post-mortem examination.