Shimla, November 16
The police today arrested Geeta Ram Sahibi, a Forest Services officer, for his alleged involvement in the HP-CPMT paper-leak case, while the five other parents arrested yesterday have been sent to a 14-day judicial remand.

Continuing with the arrests of the 38 parents who allegedly arranged to buy the question paper for their children, the police arrested one more person today.

The arrested parent, Mr Sahibi, an officer posted at the Soil Conservation Wing of the Forest Department, will be produced before a Magistrate tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the five persons arrested yesterday were produced before a Magistrate, who sent them to a 14-day judicial custody after rejecting their bail application.

The five persons - Kuldeep Rao, younger brother of Excise and Taxation Minister Rangila Ram Rao, Dr Nalin Sharma, a Theog-based private doctor, S.K. Sood, SDO in the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, J.D. Kalia, General Manager, State Bank of India, Solan, and O.P. Chaudhary, Block Medical Officer, Chail - have been booked under Sections 406, 418 and 120-B of the IPC.

These sections pertain to criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

Police sources said the arrests of the parents of candidates who allegedly benefited from the paper leak and made it to the PMT in the first attempt would continue.

“After scrutinising the answer sheets of these doubtful candidates, we suspect the involvement of 38 parents, most of whom will be arrested within two days,” said the police sources.

It is learnt that the majority of the parents who are apprehending arrest are seeking anticipatory bail.

Police officials said they had sought the custody of the machine man Jaijeet from the Punjab Police as he had procured the PMT question paper from the Maxwell Printing Press in Lucknow.

Another person Ram Bahadur, who had brought the paper from Lucknow to Delhi, is also in the custody of the Punjab Police. The Himachal Police is hopeful that it will get the custody of these two persons within two days.

Shimla, November 16
It was a walk down memory lane as the Afghanistan President, Mr Hamid Karzai, took a leisurely stroll on the Mall and the Ridge today after a long wait of 23 years. The stroll revived memories of the carefree time spent by him in the hill town as a student.

Mr Karzai, who spent four years of his student life in the town, spent the day refreshing old memories. He enjoyed the leisurely walk along with his entourage from the Cecil hotel to the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS), where he spent some time.

"What a feeling it is to visit the IIAS in Shimla after so many years. It is as pleasing to the eye and the mind now as it was then. I hope to come here again rather soon," the President wrote in the visitors book at the institute.

Mr Karzai, who spent almost an hour here, took keen interest in the books and other publications in the library of the institute.

Taking a walk through the campus of the Himachal Pradesh University he headed straight for the guest house of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Summer Hill, of which he has some pleasant memories. He spent some pensive moments in the attic room of the guest house where he had stayed on his arrival in the town in 1976.

Later in the afternoon, after having a post-lunch meeting with the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, the President decided to pay a visit to the Mall, which he said was a ritual every university student followed religiously.

He also showed them the YMCA from near the Church where he stayed for four years.

Mr Karzai will leave for Delhi tomorrow.

Dharamsala, November 16
The Bharat Tibet Sehyog Manch here today made an appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the Tibet issue in detail with Chinese President Hu Jintao during his forthcoming visit to India and also asked him to facilitate a meeting of the Dalai Lama with Mr Jintao.

Mr Sunil Manocha, state president of the manch, said in a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister through the district administration here today that the Bharat Tibet Sehyog Manch also condemned the statement by the Chinese Ambassador that Arunachal Pradesh was a part of China.

He said the UPA government should not make any compromise on the national security of the country and nobody should be allowed to endorse such views, which were aimed at dividing the country. Mr Manocha said India should also raise the issue of deteriorating human rights condition in Tibet and the demand for Tibetan as a medium of instruction in schools in Tibet.

He demanded that the mass settlement of Chinese in Tibetan capital Lhasa should be stopped and Tibetans be given the right to practice their religion.

Chamba, November 16
After 20 years of enactment of the Himachal Pradesh Open Place Prevention of Disfigurement Act, 1985, the Dalhousie police registered three cases on Tuesday for putting up advertisement boards and hoardings by various hotel establishments and other business enterprises on the roadside on the Pathankot-Dalhousie highway.

An official press release issued here today, said Mr Hans Raj, manager of the Sher-e-Punjab restaurant, Mr Tarun Kumar, manager of the Sher-e-Punjab dhaba and Mr Suresh Chand, owner of a paan shop, all of Dalhousie, had been booked by the police for violating the provisions of the Act. These persons had displayed advertisement boards of their establishments along roads.

Interestingly, the provisions of the Act are being enforced after a period of over 20 years, for reasons best known to the law-enforcement agencies.

Shimla, November 16
The Himachal High Court, which has been severely affected by shortage of judges, is likely to have three new judges soon.

The appointment of three judges, which has been hanging fire for the past one year, has been finally cleared by the President of India. According to sources, the warrant of appointment of Mr D.D. Sood, Senior Advocate, Mr V.K. Ahuja, District and Sessions Judge, Shimla, and Mr S.S. Thakur, Secretary (Law), will be issued shortly and they may take oath next week.

The High Court has a strength of nine judges, including Chief Justice, out of which six posts have been lying vacant for quiet some time.

Shimla, November 16
The state unit of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) has urged the government to make provision for reserving 50 per cent seats for bona fide Himachalis studying in private universities.

A deputation of the NSUI led by Mr Kewal Singh Pathania, president, met the Governor, Mr V.S. Kokje, at Raj Bhavan today and submitted a memorandum underlining the need for bringing uniformity in laws governing private universities.