Shimla, August 4
The State Disciplinary Committee of the Congress has cleared the decks for dropping show-cause notices issued to 73 party leaders for indulging in anti-party activities during the 2012 Assembly elections.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Congress, which met here today under the chairmanship of AN Vidyarthi, decided to drop the show-cause notices issued to them and give them an opportunity to work for the party.

The meeting was attended by other members, including Ajay Mahajan, MLA, former MLA Maj Krishna Mohini and Congress committee spokesperson Naresh Chauhan. The committee had earlier dropped the notices issued to 13 leaders, so 73 are still awaiting the opportunity.

The committee, after examining all cases, authorised Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu to issue formal orders for the dropping of the show-cause notice.

“It was after examining the replies received from the Block and District Congress Committees that the State Disciplinary Committee decided to drop the notices and give all these leaders an opportunity to work for the party,” said Chauhan.

However, a decision on about 10 leaders, some of them former MLAs, who had contested the Assembly election against the party’s official nominees is still pending. The State Disciplinary Committee cannot take the final call on taking back those leaders who have either been expelled or suspended from the party and it is only the All-India Congress Committee which will give the nod for their homecoming.

The Congress had issued notices to 86 leaders for anti-party activities after the last Assembly elections, while 26 had been expelled for contesting the elections against the official party nominee. Prominent among those who were expelled included former MLAs Yog Raj from Paragpur, Mast Ram from Karsog, Ishwar Dass from Ani and other senior leaders such as Amar Chand Pal from Arki, Sneh Lata Thakur, wife of former minister Satya Prakash Thakur, and Dharamvir Dhami from Manali.

Shimla, August 4
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the poll results were the collective responsibility of the Congress and this was the time to strengthen the party and not indulge in bickering and blame-game.

“This is the time to ponder over the reasons for the defeat and remove the shortcomings, if any, so that the party emerges stronger,” he said, talking to mediapersons here. He gave his reaction when asked whether he supported putting the blame of the poll debacle on AICC chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

The Chief Minister also said it was his duty to get the allegations contained in the Congress chargesheet probed and it was immaterial as to who provided the details as the document was the collective responsibility of members of the Chargesheet Committee headed by GS Bali.

He said it was improper for anyone to create a controversy on the issue as it did not matter who gave the inputs about the acts of omissions and commission during the BJP regime.

“The document bears the signature of all members and it does not behove anyone to take names as to who gave the documents as it is their collective responsibility,” he said.

It was Transport Minister Bali who had named his ministerial colleague Sudhir Sharma when he remarked at a press conference two days back that he had provided papers on the land purchase by lawyer Prashant Bhushan. Other Congress leaders too had criticized Bali for naming leaders who had provided material for the chargesheet.

Virbhadra also clarified that he had no animosity against anyone and he was only performing his duty of getting the chargesheet probed as a Chief Minister. “I was not even a member of the committee as I was a Union Minister at that time and now since the Congress adopted it and made it part of its election manifesto, it is my duty to get it probed,” he said. He said those who were innocent need not fear and those who were guilty would not be spared.

The Chief Minister also said he had no plans to reshuffle his Cabinet and the filling of the lone ministerial berth would take place only after the monsoon session of the Assembly.“I have no plans to fill the vacant ministerial berth in my Cabinet as of now and there is no move to change the portfolios of the ministers,” he said. He admitted that the name of Banjar MLA Karan Singh did figure on the list of ministers approved at the time of formation of the ministry.

“His name did figure at number 10 on the list, but I have not made any commitment to anyone and it is the prerogative of the high command to approve the names,” he said in a reply to a question that Karan Singh had written a letter to the high command that he had not been given a ministerial berth. Speculation has been rife in political circles that the lone vacancy in the Cabinet could be filled shortly with name of Karan Singh doing the rounds.

Shimla, August 4
The Select Committee of the Vidhan Sabha, examining the Lokayukta Bill, today decided against increasing the number of members in the Lokayukta from the present one to three in view of the limited number of complaints being received by the body set up in 1983.

The Lokayukta Bill, which was tabled in the Assembly during the winter session on February 19 this year, was referred to the Select Committee without being debated. The committee which met under the chairmanship of Kaul Singh Thakur, Health and Law Minister, decided against making the Lokayukta multi-member.

After the recommendations of the Select Committee are placed in the Assembly and passed by the House, these will be tabled before the Cabinet for the final approval. It is only after the Lokayukta Bill in its new form is passed by the cabinet that it will be introduced.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said he was in favour of a stronger Lokayukta and wanted to give it more teeth. “It is for the Assembly to decide whether to accept or reject the recommendations of the Select Committee, examining the Lokayukta Bill,” he said.

The Select Committee at its last meeting held here on July 28 had called for the entire data of complaints received by the Lokayukta. “Since a little over 2,000 cases have been received since its inception, we do not think it is worthwhile to increase the number. All complaints received during the tenure of the present Lokayukta have been resolved so we feel increasing the number of members is not required,” said sources.

Another issue which was deliberated upon by the Select Committee was the issue of re-constitution of the Select Committee for the appointment of the Lokayukta as well as the other members if its strength is raised to three. “A majority of the members felt that the committee comprising the Chief Minister (Chairman), the Leader of the Opposition, the Chief Justice of the High Court and an eminent jurist was quite appropriate for making the selection process,” said sources.

The Lokayukta Bill could not be discussed as the main Opposition BJP had staged a walkout. Leader of the Opposition PK Dhumal had criticized the Bill by stating that it had a lot of lacunae and could be easily challenged in the court of law.

Shimla, August 4
The agitating non-teaching employees of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) today demanded an urgent meeting of the Employees’ Grievances Redressal Committee to look into their issues.

They said they had been forced to adopt the path of confrontation due to the adamant and insensitive attitude of authorities.

The employees, who have been holding protest meetings for the past one week to highlight their demands, threatened to intensify their agitation in case the authorities failed to respond positively.

Hitendra Thakur, president, Joint Coordination Committee of Non-teaching Employees, said: “The university is reeling under financial and staff crunch and even the pensioners are being deprived of their retirement benefits. Additional financial assistance to the university from the government is the only way to pull it out from the present morass.”

Thakur said: “Instead of extending financial support to the university, the government has added an insult to injury by redoing the grants.”

The employees demanded that the budgetary support to the university be raised to Rs 120 crore.

They said vacant posts should be filled for the proper implementation of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), which has been implemented in a tearing haste.

Executive Council member Chaudhry Waryam Singh Bains said: “As many as 245 posts of teacher are lying vacant, 14 employees have retired this year and 18 will retire the next year. Not only this, 333 posts of non–teaching employees are lying vacant and 62 more will retire this year due to which the employees are overburdened with work.”

Stating that the university came into being through an act of HP Vidhan Sabha and the salary of university employees was on the pattern of the secretariat employees, he demanded the continuation of the pattern as in Punjab.

Kullu, August 4
Gobind Singh Thakur, MLA, Manali, and Kullu BJP president, has stepped forward to resolve the ongoing dispute between the oustees of the Parbati power project in the Sainj valley and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) authorities.

While addressing the protesting residents today, he said he would raise the issue in the upcoming Assembly session, scheduled to begin from August 6. He said Mandi MP Ram Swaroop Sharma would apprise the Prime Minister on the issue and the protection of rights and interests of the oustees would be ensured.

Bhimsen Sharma, general secretary, BJP, Kullu, said it had been mentioned in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the state government and the NHPC that all the oustees would be provided permanent employment. But, the company had diverged from its commitment. He lamented that the protests were being sabotaged by the company authorities and the protestors were implicated in false cases by the police and the administration.

“If the authorities of the company and the district administration fail to provide permanent employment to the oustees, they will stage a dharna at the District Commissioner’s office,” he added.

Shimla, August 4
Sarojani Ganjoo Thakur, chairperson of the Himachal Pradesh Private Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPIRC), said today that the commission would focus on streamlining admissions and courses.

She said the commission would make the evaluation system transparent to ensure that there was no compromise with the quality of education.

“The commission will take steps to ensure that there is uniformity in the syllabus and the courses. Qualified faculty is a must for quality education,” she added.

She said all the private institutions were equipped with highly qualified faculty. The institutions were only required to get accreditation from statutory bodies like NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council), Washington Award and other such bodies.

“The institutions should create awareness about the courses and facilities being offered by them. They should help students to decide the courses suitable for them,” she added. 

Shimla, August 4
Keen to get red beacons restored atop their vehicles, legislators both from the Congress and the BJP today met the Chief Minister to press for the demand, which Virbhadra Singh said would be looked into.

The legislators have been demanding red beacons atop their vehicles ever since the Supreme Court restricted the use of red beacons on the vehicles of VIPs. “The legislators have approached me to allow them use of red beacons atop their vehicles and we will consider their request,” said the Chief Minister.

However, it is still not certain whether the MLAs will be allowed the use of red beacons or the amber ones. A proposal had been drawn and placed before the Cabinet to allow use of amber lights for MLAs, senior bureaucrats and district-level judicial officers. However, it was not approved by the cabinet as it was felt that this would defeat the very purpose of restricting red beacons.

“We want that we should be allowed red beacons and not amber ones as the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police have been allowed red beacons. If we are to be given amber beacons, then both officers should also be allowed amber lights,” said Sanjay Rattan, Chairman of the Association of the First-Time Legislators.

He said the Congress, BJP and independent MLAs were unanimous on this view and had requested the CM to allow them red beacons as some other states had done. Sources said the proposal had been prepared after examining the notifications issued by Punjab and Haryana in this regard.

Mandi, August 4
The Kissan Sabha unit of Darwahad falling under Sarkaghat subdivision has urged the district administration to take steps to overcome the shortage of LPG cylinders in the area here.

Todar Mal, president of the unit, said about 5,000 residents of the area had been facing an acute shortage of LPG refills for the past two months. He asked the administration to speed up the construction work of the Darwahad primary health centre. — TNS

Mandi, August 4
The construction activity at Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Ner Chowk Medical College has been adversely affected due to financial crunch.

Different ongoing works on the college premises have not been completed as the National Construction Corporation (NCC) has failed to make payments to suppliers, petty contractors and workers engaged in construction work.

The medical college building is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crore and construction work in major parts of the college building has been already completed, but still works worth Rs 150 crore are still pending.

The building was inaugurated in March 2014 by then Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandez before the General Election and the ESIC authorities are still awaiting clearance from the Medical Council of India (MCI) for starting MBBS classes in the new building.

The ESIC authorities have directed NCC officials to finish construction work by December 2014.

However, the construction activity has been adversely hit by financial crunch for quite some time.

Those supplying construction material, petty contractors and workers have not been paid for the past six months.

A supplier said: “Our payments for several months are due and we are finding it difficult to cope with the market pressure. Not only this, payments of tractor owners supplying material have also not been made.”

Another contractor said: “Nearly 50 petty contractors working on piece rate have not been paid for the past two months for different works.”

Workers working with contractors are the worst sufferers, as their payments have also been held up.

Ajit Singh, NCC General Manager, said: “The payments have been delayed due to some financial problems, but we have been making payments from time-to-time and the work will not be affected.” 

Shimla, August 4
A large number of fruit agents or arhtiyas have come up illegally along roadsides in Solan, Theog, Narkanda, Rohru, Parala, Kingal and other places and the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) has virtually given them a free run.

They fleece innocent farmers, thereby making a mockery of Clauses 39, 19, 22 of the HP Agricultural and Horticultural Produce (Development and Regulation) Act, 2005, which provide for the regulation and checking of trade, payment of the produce sold in the market at the same day, preventing them from using designated market yards for doing business and not exceeding trade beyond their capacity as notified by the board and APMCs.

Certain commission agents operate from places such as Chandigarh, Delhi and Saharanpur after getting licences in the name of locals and run their shops by swindling farmers, as most of the payments are not made even after years, farmers said.

In other cases, licence holders rent out space to proxy operators inside marketing yards as neither APMCs nor the Marketing Board bother to physically verify the identity of licence holders, revealed insiders. The licence can be availed easily, they said.

The APMCs have issued 3,528 licences in the state, while the Board has issued 17 unified licences, including the two private marking yard licence at Jarol Tikkar in Kotgarh and another at Dador in Mandi this year, to applicants.

Both APMCs and the Board, the apex body controlling APMCs, have no foolproof system of issuing licence to commission agents.

“The APMC charges Rs 300 as fee for a new licence and Rs 150 as renewal charges, while the Board charges Rs 500 for a new licence and gets bank statements for six months,” the officials said.

“APMCs and the Board have failed to check this burgeoning problem, as they do not take bank guarantee and mortgage property as provided under Clause 22,” said Rakesh Singha, president, HP Apple Farmers’ Association.

The APMC should take Rs 50 lakh as security and mortgage property worth Rs 3 crore as the commission agent does trade worth several crores and there was no way to safeguard farmers trapped by dubious commission agents like HB, skyline etc operating in Narkanda, he charged.

“The modus operandi of these sarak-chhaap arhtiyas or commission agents is simple. They trap gullible farmers by paying some advance, promise to sell their fruit at higher rates than they will get in markets. Then they make some payments and issue post-dated cheques for 15 days which is not released even after six months,” farmers rued.

“I have not received my last year’s payment from one Shayam firm in Kotgarh, which was operating its shop in Theog,” said S Chauhan, a farmer from Balsan.

HS Baweja, managing director, Marketing Board, said they had constituted a special cell to check the menace of roadside arhtiyas.

“The APMCs have been directed to challan illegal commission agents and remove them from roadsides or markets,” he asserted. 

Shimla, August 4
Mobile phones have brought about a revolution in the communication sector. But these are gradually becoming a nuisance for people, especially women and girls, who are being tortured with a spate of unwanted calls and messages.

Blank, crank and threatening calls have become the order of the day and 5-10 complaints are being registered every single day in the police control room (telephone number 100).

A woman officer in the police control room said the maximum number of complaints pertained to crank and blank calls from one or multiple numbers and vulgar or threatening text messages.

The complainants alleged that they were receiving threatening and abusive calls or were troubled with continuous missed and blank calls. The control room has also received complaints of the caller threatening to upload videos on internet, she added. Shimla SP DW Negi said maximum complaints received in the control room were about blank and crank calls to girls, followed by men complaining that they received repeated blank calls at midnight.

“We are recording each and every call coming to the control room as there have been instances of people calling up the control rooms to talk to women officers without any reason,” he added.

Ruchi (name changed), a B Com student, said getting blank and crank calls was normal, but one became apprehensive when the caller used abusive language or indulged in offensive conversations in a threatening tone and sometimes the calls were followed by boys approaching the girls face to face. However, complaints and FIRs in eve-teasing cases were lodged only when matters turned worse, she added.

When a complainant reports about such calls, the police note down the number from which the calls are being made and refer it to the police station concerned. The police calls up that person and warns him and if he persists with objectionable activities, the caller is summoned to the police station and his background and antecedents are checked to ascertain whether he has any past criminal record.

If there is no criminal record, he is let off after a stern warning while a habitual offender is nabbed and penalised, police sources said.

Another frequent complaint reaching the police control room is about spam calls where the caller asks about the PAN number details, policy details, ATM number update or seeks credit card number on the pretext that he is calling from an organisation. The police have asked residents to be aware of these calls and not reveal their personal information.

Palampur, August 4
The state government is yet to cancel the sale deed of 4.68 hectare land purchased by the Kumud Bhushan Education Society headed by social activist and senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan at Kandwari village, 10 km from here.

The Congress government, soon after taking over the reins of the state in 2012, had initiated proceedings to cancel the land purchase, but no final decision has been taken so far on whether to declare it an illegal purchase in violation of Section 118 of the HP Land Revenue Act or not.

Bhushan had purchased an abandoned tea garden from a local resident after getting legal sanction from the previous BJP government headed by Prem Kumar Dhumal in 2012.The sale deed of this land was registered before the local registrar on February 2, 2012. Official sources said the matter had already been discussed several times at a higher level, but no final decision could be arrived at and the case was still pending in a revenue court.

Narinder Jamwal, who had sold the land to Prashant Bhushan, said he had followed proper rules and procedures while selling the land to Bhushan and the sale deed was registered after the permission was accorded by the government. Besides, he said he had not taken the benefit of the HP Land Sealing Act, therefore, there was no bar on him to sell the tea garden.

Jamwal said Prashant Bhushan was not the only one who had purchased tea gardens in Kangra. He said several others, including religious and private institutions such as the Radha Soami Satsang, had been given permission to buy tea gardens to which the Congress as well as the BJP government had given permission overlooking the provisions of the HP Land Revenue Act. Hence, Bhushan should not be singled out, he said.

Meanwhile, a senior state government officer told this correspondent that the Kumud Bhushan Education Society had been asked to provide more information in support of their claim that the land was being used for education purposes and the society had not changed the land use as per conditions laid down in the HP Land Revenue Act. He said the state government would follow proper rules and regulations before the cancellation of land purchase if required.

Sandhya Gupta, spokesperson of the society, said: “The society has not changed the land use. It is using the land for the welfare of local residents and social activities, as per the conditions laid down for the use of land in the transfer documents.”

She said there was no violation of rules and the entire record of the society was open for scrutiny. The society had extended full cooperation to investigation agencies when they visited their office, she added. 

Kangra, August 4
A pilgrim was killed and 37 others were injured, four of them seriously, when the tempo they were travelling in overturned on the Hanuman Mandir curve at Dhaliara falling under Dehra police station here today, the police said.

BD Bhatia, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Dehra, said the tempo (PB-08-R 9694), carrying pilgrims from Ajnala in Punjab, overturned on the curve near DG Hotel. The pilgrims were on way to Dehra after paying obeisance at the Chintpurni temple.

Bhatia said five seriously injured pilgrims were referred to the DRPGMC at Tanda. He said the tempo overturned as it was being driven rashly by Chinder Singh. The tempo hit a private bus (HP-36 4799) coming from the opposite direction. However, no bus passenger was injured in the accident.

The SDPO said the injured were rushed to the Dehra Community Health Centre and five seriously injured were referred to the Tanda medical college. The injured included nine women and seven children.

The deceased was identified as Laadi, son of Sohan Singh of Ajnala. Four seriously injured pilgrims were identified as Lal Singh, Avtar Singh, Gurdeep Singh, Jagtar Singh, and Shinder Singh, all residents of Ajnala (Punjab).

The police have registered a case under Sections 279 and 337, IPC, and 19-A, MV Act, against the tempo driver who was also injured in the accident.

Kangra, August 4
A two-day programme on the mahasamadhi of Swami Chinmayanand, observed at the Chinmayanand Mission regional headquarters at the Sandeepni Himalayas at Tapovan in Kangra, concluded this morning.

Hundreds of the devotees attended the celebrations of the mahasamadhi. The puja of Swami Chinmayananda was held with religious enthusiasm at the samadhi of the saint.

Swami Sabhodanand, regional chief of the Chinmayanand Mission, held puja amid Vedic chanting by Brahmchari Vedanta students and devotees. Swami Chinmayananda was a spiritual leader who formed the Chinmaya Mission in 1953.

Swami Chinmayananda authored 95 publications, including commentaries on the major Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. He served several American and Asian universities as a visiting professor of Indian philosophy.

Shimla, August 4
After running a packed house in the summer season, hoteliers are feeling the pinch of about 40 per cent slump in the tourist arrival in Shimla, Kullu-Manali and Lahaul-Spiti due to the rains, the FIFA World Cup and the trouble in the Gaza Strip, which resulted in a drastic drop in low-budgeted Israeli tourists, mainly in Manali.

The occupancy in hotels in Shimla and Manali has dipped to 40 per cent these days, but the weekend tourists from Chandigarh, Punjab and Delhi in the Shimla circuit has been keeping occupancy up to 40 per cent.

Foreign trekkers from England, Germany, Australia, the USA and other countries, and domestic bikers are going from Manali to Leh. But the occupancy has dipped from the 70 per cent to 30 per cent these days, said Tashi Karpa, president, Lahaul-Spiti Hoteliers Association.

Following trouble in the Gaza Strip, the Kullu-Manali-Parbati tourist circuit has witnessed more than 90 per cent drop in low-budgeted backpackers.

The tourist visas of the Israelis were cancelled by the Israeli government as most of the younger lot, who travel to Himachal in summers, were enrolled in the army there, said 
travel agents. Second, the FIFA World Cup in July kept off potential tourists, said Sanjay Thakur, a hotelier in Shimla.

The bad condition of the Chandigarh-Manali, Manali-Keylong, Shimla-Kinnaur-Spiti and Koksar-Kaza highways has been hitting tourist arrivals in the state mainly the Buddhist circuit of the state, said hoteliers.

Chamba, August 4
Residents in Chamba have demanded that all super-fast buses of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) be plied via the Banikhet-Dunera-Nurpur route from Chamba town to other destinations in case the state government wanted to avoid any untoward mishap via the Jot-Chowari route.

The highway via Jot-Chowari is hazardous as it passes through the winding hills and undulating road. The highway from Chamba to Chowari via Jot is almost devoid of parapets and full of pot-holes, residents said.

Whereas, the highway via the Banikhet-Dunera-Nurpur route was wide, comfortable and worth travelling, they said. It is also the shortest route and recommendable from the risk point of view, they added.

“Keeping in view the good condition of the Chamba-Banikhet-Dunera-Nurpur highway, state Transport Minister GS Bali should immediately take cognisance of the voice of the people and change the route in public interest,” they demanded.

Kullu, August 4
The Manali Hoteliers Association (MHA) elections witnessed over 96 per cent polling while 340 of the 352 members cast their votes to elect the office-bearers.

Budhi Prakash was elected the vice-president. Dole Raj was elected general secretary, Mukesh Thakur joint secretary, Gagan Thakur treasurer and Mohan Singh Boktapa press secretary of the MHA. The counting for the post of president was underway, till the filing of this report.

Presidential candidates, AR Thakur and Gajendra Thakur, had denied any political affiliations in the MHA. 

Palampur, August 4
The local police today arrested a priest for allegedly raping a married woman.The police said the woman had called Sanjiv Kumar, a priest, to her home last night to perform havan as there was some family problem.

He performed the religious ceremonies and stayed at her house. He later allegedly raped her.

Navdeep Kumar, DSP, Palampur, said the woman and her child were alone in the house when the incident happened.

He said the woman reported the matter to the police in the morning and the priest was arrested immediately.

“Sanjiv is a professional priest and resident of Garhwal. He has been staying in Palampur for the past five years,” he added.

A case under Sections 376 and 376-A for raping a woman under the amended provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at Palampur police station.

A potency test of the priest was also conducted. He was produced in the local court which remanded him in police custody. 

Kullu, August 4
One Chandermohan (48) from Anandpur of Punjab was nabbed with 2.770 kg charas in Ani subdivision of this district today.

A team of the police and CID found the contraband hidden inside the vehicle in which the accused was travelling. It is learnt that the accused had been convicted earlier in a separate case and undergone imprisonment.

Chamba, August 4
An employee (gramin dak sewak) of the Department of Posts died when his foot slipped from a hillside path and he fell into a gorge near Tiyari village in Salooni tehsil here on Saturday, a delayed report said today.

The report said the deceased, identified as Rattan Chand, was on official duty in the area. When he did not return home in the evening, his family members and villagers carried out a search and recovered the body the following day.

The body had been handed over to the family after a postmortem in the Civil Hospital, the report said.

RS Rana, Superintendent of Post Offices, Chamba, said an immediate relief of Rs 14,000 had been provided to the next of kin of the deceased. 

Kullu, August 4
Neeraj (32) of Bashing village was killed when the Bolero (HP-51(T)-8856) he was driving rammed into the backhoe of a JCB machine in the Akhara Bazar area here last night.

The JCB belonged to a private power project being undertaken near Fozal village. The police said a case had been registered and the body handed over to the relatives after a postmortem conducted at the Kullu hospital. 

Shimla, August 4
A youth was killed and another seriously injured when the pick-up van they were travelling in fell into a 300-foot-deep gorge near Devimod on the Shimla-Narkanda road, 30 km from here, today.

The vehicle (HP-30-3473) was carrying 81 boxes of apple. The deceased driver, identified as Kapil (19), hailed from Ani.

Injured Govind (17) was rushed to the Civil Hospital at Theog. A case had been registered, but the cause of the accident could not be ascertained, police sources said. The body had been handed over to the family members after a postmortem, the sources added.

Shimla, August 4
The High Court today adjourned the case relating to the 24 BTech students from Hyderabad, who were washed away in the Beas near Thalout in Mandi district to August 11.

The court directed the state to file a fresh status report before the next date and asked the amicus curiae appointed by the court to assist it in this matter to examine the entire issue and make submissions in one week.

The college informed the court that it had deposited their share of interim compensation amount. It had also released the amount of insurance and tuition fee to the legal representatives of the deceased students, the college authorities added. — OC