AMRITSAR
Farewell: The Guru Nanak Dev University Officers Association, in a function held here on Saturday, bid farewell to Dr Inder Pal Singh, Pro Vice-Chancellor. Dr H.S. Soch, Vice-Chancellor, presided over the function. Dr Soch presented a model of the Golden Temple to the outgoing Pro Vice-Chancellor on behalf of the officers association.

GURDASPUR
Foundation stone: Mr Manoranjan Kalia, Health Minister, Punjab, on Saturday laid the foundation stone of the Ujagar Singh Sekhwan Charitable Hospital at Sekhwan village under Batala subdivision in the district. The hospital is estimated to cost Rs 10 crore.

HOSHIARPUR
Annual function: The annual function of St Soldier Divine Public School was held here on Saturday. Mr K.K. Sharma, Chairman, Citizens' Cooperative Bank, Punjab, presided and Mr D.D. Tarnech, Additional Deputy Commissioner, was the chief guest. An exhibition on educational projects, handicrafts and fine arts was also organised by the students on the occasion.

Raped: Lal Chand, son of Mata Parshad, allegedly raped a minor at Binjon village on Saturday. According to the FIR, Lal Chand took the girl to the haveli of Girdhara Singh in the village and committed the crime. The Mahilpur police has registered a case under Section 376, IPC, and arrested the suspect.

JALANDHAR
Seminar: A seminar on "Oral Contraceptives and Use of Drugs during Pregnancy" was organised here by the local chapter of the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India and the Indian Medical Association. It was attended by about 90 delegates and was addressed by Dr Kamal Gupta, Dr B.S. Parmar and Dr Rakesh Vij.

KHANNA
Elected: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local Bar Association: President — Mr J.S. Lotey; and Secretary — Mr H.L. Narang.

Distributed: Fifty sweaters were distributed to the poor students of S. Tara Singh Government Senior Secondary School, Salana, by the local Lions Club, according to Mr Tarlok Gupta, President of the club.

NAWANSHAHR
Cultural programme: The local D.A.N. College of Education for Women organised a cultural programme dedicated to the Kargil martyrs on the college campus on Saturday. Mr Ashwani Kumar Sharma, General Secretary of the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Punjab, presided over the function. Mr Ishwar Chander, IPS, Zonal Chief of the CID, Jalandhar, was the chief guest.

PATIALA
Appointed: The Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia, has appointed Prof Navjeet Singh Johal as Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication and Dr Manjit Singh as head of the Department of Social Work, according to a university press note. The appointments are for a period of three years.

PHILLAUR
Bullet injuries: A scooterist, Prem Kumar, sustained bullet injuries on his arm when his pillion rider Rakesh Kumar's pistol went off accidentally. The incident took place near Garrhi Maha Singh village in Phillaur subdivision on Saturday. Rakesh Kumar brought Prem Kumar to Goraya Hospital. A shocked Rakesh Kumar collapsed and died on the spot when hospital authorities referred Prem Kumar to CMC Hospital, Ludhiana. The police suspect that Rakesh Kumar consumed some poisonous substance to commit suicide.

SUNAM
Constables killed: Two constables belonging to a Punjab Police band party died and 18 others were seriously injured on Sunday when the bus in which they were coming here from Patiala collided head-on with a truck near Bhawanigarh, 26 km from here, due to fog. The deceased were identified as Sukhwinder Singh and Piara Singh.

TARN TARAN
Convocation: The Union Minister for Rural Employment and Poverty Allievation, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, on Saturday presided over the annual convocation and prize distribution function of Mata Ganga Girls College here. He said the youth had a responsibility towards shaping the destiny of our country. Earlier, on his arrival, Mr Dhindsa visited the Darbar Sahib and paid obeisance there.

Elected: The following have been elected office-bearers of the women wing of the Sanjha Chetna Manch, Sector 32: President — Sarla Gupta; Senior Vice-President — Rakesh Sharma; Vice-President — Sukhvinder Kaur; and General Secretary — Sneh Lata.

Deputation: A deputation of the Chandigarh Pradesh Valmiki Sabha met the local MP, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, and submitted to him a memorandum highlighting the difficulties faced by members of Scheduled Castes in getting Scheduled Caste certificate from the Chandigarh Administration. Mr Bansal assured the delegation that he would take up the issue both with the Central Government and the Chandigarh Administration.

Condoled: The Akhil Bharatiya Karamchari Sangthan at its meeting held under the chairmanship of Mr Jai Ram Joshi on Sunday condoled the death of Mr Krishan Lal Sharma, Senior Vice-President, Bharatiya Janata Party.

Gang busted: The police has busted a gang of cheats and arrested four persons for cheating several persons here and at Kala Amb. According to Mr Prithvi Raj, SP, Sirmaur, on receiving information that some persons were offering to pay double the amount of their money to some people, a police party left for Kala Amb in Nahan tehsil. Posing as customers, the team arrested the gang members red-handed. The currency pakcets which the cheats were giving to their customers contained only three to four currency notes and the rest of the packet contained only plain papers.

KAITHAL
Fire: Property worth lakhs was destroyed in a fire which broke out in the Triveni Timber Street area here on Sunday. The fire brigade personnel controlled the fire. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained. The police has registered a case.

Resentment: Resentment prevails among the members of the District Bar Association here over the delay in the completion of the judicial complex building. In a memorandum sent to Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, the President of the association, Mr Kavi Rao Sharma, has expressed concern that the construction work which started in 1997 was much behind the schedule. The advocates were suffering great inconvenience in the old District Courts building due to lack of various amenities there. He has also pointed that no provision had been made for the construction of lawyers' chambers and litigants' shed.

PANIPAT
LPG consumers: The number of LPG consumers in the district has gone up to 60,150. Out of these 42,900 consumers are double-cylinder holders and the remaining 17,250 have been given single-cylinder connections. According to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Sandeep Garg, there are nine gas agencies in the district catering to the needs of consumers. Those with single cylinder connections are being supplied three litres of kerosene oil and consumers without gas connections are being given five to 10 litres of kerosene oil on ration cards. The Food and Civil Supplies Department has already distributed new ration cards in rural and urban areas of the district.

Suspended: Mr K.L. Sharma, Personal Assistant of the Managing Director of Panipat Cooperative Sugar Mill, has been suspended for allegedly keeping service records at his residence. The records were recovered by the mill authorities in a raid at his residence in the presence of the police.

SONEPAT
Assembly elections: Mr S.N. Solanki, President of the state unit of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), announced here on Sunday that he would contest the Assembly elections from the here. Talking to mediapersons, he said he had already asked his party workers and other like-minded parties to extend their support to him in facing the challenge posed by the ruling INLD-BJP combine besides the Congress.

KULU
Suicide: Neerat Singh of Khola Aage village allegedly committed suicide on Friday by jumping into the Beas near Bhuntar Bridge, about 10 km from here. The deceased was working in Khadi Mandal here. His body had not been found so far.

Stabbed: Chet Ram of Hawai Shiah village in Gadsa valley, about 20 km from here, was allegedly stabbed nine times by Inder Dev on Saturday. The assailant fled after the incident. Chet Ram was admitted to the zonal hospital here in a critical condition. The police has registered a case.

UNA
Eye camp: As many as 485 patients were examined at an eye camp in Madanpur Basoli village, 6 km from here. The camp was organised jointly by the Nehru Yuva Kalyan mandal, Madanpur, and the Palampur Rotary Eye Hospital. It was inaugurated by Mr K.K. Pant, Deputy Commissioner.