Tuesday, October 19, 1999
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P U N J A B | |
Tuesday, October 19, 1999 |
weather  spotlighttoday's calendar |
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Work
paralysed in govt hospitals No hike in bus fares: minister |
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Pandey
takes oath
Robbers’ gang busted Arpana showcases rural
women’s art Embezzlement of college funds
alleged Badal lauds role of private
schools CPI leader for meetings at dept
panels Bhora condemns demolition
Kidnapped boy rescued ‘Exorcist’ arrested Management panel head ‘beats
up’ teacher Country’s first 800 kv line
by March |
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Arrest of health officials LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Work in all government hospitals here remained paralysed in wake of a strike call given by the various organisations of the Health Department in protest against the alleged false implication of officials of the Health Department and their arrest by the crime branch. The PCMS Association, the Pharmacist Association, the Ministerial Staff Association, the Laboratory Technician Association, the LHV and ANM Association, Paramedical and Sehat Karamchari Union, Drivers and Technical Staff Association and Class IV Association organised a joint rally at the Civil Surgeon office here. Leaders of these organisations addressed the rally and criticised the functioning of the crime branch officials. Dr J.S. Bhullar, member, joint action committee, said they had submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal on his visit here yesterday. The memorandum sought the immediate release of Dr Harvinder Singh, District Immunisation Officer, Dr K.K. Jindal, SMO, Hathoor Sahib, Dr Dharam Pal, SMO, Khanna, Dr J.P. Singh, SMO, Samrala and pharmacist Jagdev Singh. It also demanded the withdrawal of cases against these officials and sought a high-level judicial probe by a sitting high court judge to bring the real culprits to book. Meanwhile, the joint action committee of the Health Department has decided to intensify the stir, including the boycott of the pulse polio campaign, if these officials were not released and reinstated pending inquiry. SAMRALA: On the call given by the PCMS Association, doctors, nurses and other staff of the local Civil Hospital, observed a strike in protest against the arrest of four senior doctors. The employees also held a rally and sat in dharna and raised anti-government slogans. They demanded a high-level probe into the arrest of the doctors. PATIALA: The PCMS Association has demanded a high-level judicial probe by a sitting high court judge into the purchase scam reported in the Health Department in Ludhiana district fearing that the investigations by the crime branch of the state may not be able to identify the real culprits. Charging the government and the investigating agency, of falsely implicating four senior medical officers of Ludhiana district in the drug purchase scandal, the PCMSA alleged that an attempt was being made to shield real culprits by diluting their crime by including a larger number of junior officers who were never in a position to influence the decisions in the purchases. Dr D.C. Sharma, general
secretary of the association, alleged that the scam in
Ludhiana district was the result of non-transparent
purchase policy being pursued by the state government. |
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No hike in bus fares: minister KAPURTHALA, Oct 18 (UNI) — Punjab Transport Minister Raghbir Singh said today that there was no proposal to increase the bus fares because of hike in the prices of diesel. Talking to mediapersons here, the minister said the Transport Department had launched a special drive against the operation of private buses in the state without valid permits. He said no one would be spared and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had also given strict instructions to impound the buses which would be found plying without valid route permits. On the illegal plying of private buses by certain Punjab Ministers as alleged in a news reports, he said, no private bus was registered in the name of any minister named in the report. He said District Transport Officer would be held responsible if any private bus was found plying without valid permit in his area. The minister said the Transport Department had extended the date for depositing the old road tax without penalty and interest till November 30. Mr Singh suspended Ish Kumar Arya, an Assistant Transport Officer, today as he was found absent from duty in a surprise check of the district transport office here. Mr Arya, when contacted, said he had reached the office five minutes after the minister’s visit. He said he had verbally informed the District Transport Officer on Saturday for granting him leave on Monday. But he had to attend the office on the instructions of State Transport Commissioner, who had informed him telephonically on Sunday night to join the duty in view of the visit of a high-level committee. Mr Arya said he had
explained about his absence to the minister during raid
in the office but the minister was not satisfied with his
explanation. |
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Non-supply of diesel hits
bus services NANGAL, Oct 18 — Bus services of the Nangal depot of Punjab Roadways have been hit due to non-supply of fuel by Indian Oil Corporation. Only a few buses are plying on local routes and that too after borrowing diesel from adjoining depots. According to sources in the Transport Workers Union, Indian Oil Corporation has stopped the supply of fuel as the depot failed to clear the dues of the last quarter to the company. The financial crisis at the depot is due to the budgetary cuts in the expenditure of the depot, by the Punjab Government. It has been receiving 10 per cent of it’s usual budget for the past two quarters. The supply of diesel to the depot has been irregular for the past six months. Earlier, the supply was replenished by buying diesel from the private parties. The payment for this diesel was made from the fare collected by the respective bus conductors. However, the higher authorities in the Transport Department have sought an explanation from the local General Manager, for buying diesel from the private parties. Moreover, lack of funds had also hit the supply of spares to the depot. About 30 buses of the depot have stopped functioning for want of spares. Members of the Transport Workers Union today held a rally in front of the local bus stand in protest against the non-supply of the diesel. Various union leaders alleged that the Punjab Government had deliberately stopped the supplies to depot to help private bus operators. The general secretary of the local AITUC union, of the transport workers union while addressing the rally said that the workers would start hunger strike tomorrow if the diesel supply to the depot is not replenished. He also demanded a high level inquiry into the reasons leading to non supply of diesel to the depot. The General Manager of the local depot was however not available for comments. Members of the union
have threatened to go on fast if the supply of diesel was
not restored. |
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Clash between Akalis averted FATEHGARH SAHIB, Oct 18 — The controversy over the holding of Dasehra tournament at Chanarthal village between two warring Akali factions was solved by the district administration today. According to Mr V.K. Januja, Deputy Commissioner, none of the Akali group was allowed to host the tournament at the controversial site. The venue had been cordoned off by a heavy police contingent and the Tohra faction which had earlier taken possession of the venue by starting akhand path there, restarted another akhand path after the bhog of the earlier one. Fearing the Badal group might take the possession by force. Addressing workers at the venue, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra alleged that the political masters at Chandigarh wanted to disturb the peace at the grassroots level. He cautioned people not to be mislead by those politicians, who wanted to get political mileage out of it. He said that he knew the constraints on district administration and urged upon both parties not to involve politics in games. Mr Tohra said the village panchayat had the right to organise the tournament, but to avoid the clash, he had advised the panchayat to shift the venue of the tournament. Meanwhile both factions, started the tournaments at different places. PTI adds: Mr Tohra told reporters that the need of the hour to think about federal system in the country. The results of the Lok Sabha poll had revealed that people of the country had strengthened the regional parties while the performance of national parties was not up to the mark. The Congress was rejected by the voters and the BJP could not expand its base, he said. Mr Tohra advocated that
the states should be given more powers. |
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3 Armymen killed in blast BATHINDA, Oct 18 — As many as three Army personnel, including a Major, were killed and nine injured in a mine blast at the local military station in afternoon today. Police sources said all injured had been admitted to the military hospital and their condition was not yet known. The sources added that Army personnel of 53 Infantry Regiment were laying down the mines from 8 a.m. and suddenly one anti-tank mine exploded around 12.20 p.m. killing two persons on the spot and injuring other 10. The sources added that out of three killed in the blast, two had been identified as Maj B.D. Singh and Hav Harish Chand. The third Armyman killed was a sepoy. After the incident, senior police officials and military officials reached the spot and sealed the area for making foolproof investigated. Preliminary inquiries revealed that mine blast took place accidentally. The sources said that it was second time blast in the local military station in the past few months. Earlier, a mine blast killed one Armyman when the Kargil conflict was going on. Mr Kaka Singh, DSP, city, when contacted said the police had not registered any case in this regard as the mine blast was accidental. He added that post-mortem of those killed in the blast would be done in the military hospital. No senior Army official
could be contacted as all telephones of the military
station were temporarily disconnected from the city. |
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Pandey takes oath CHANDIGARH, Oct 18 (PTI) — Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal today administered the oath of office to Mr Rakesh Pandey of the Congress as MLA following his election from the Ludhiana (North) Assembly constituency in the recent by-poll. Leader of the Opposition
in the assembly Choudhary Jagjit Singh and a number of
Congress MLAs were among those present. |
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Robbers’ gang busted GURDASPUR, Oct 18 (UNI) — The police has busted an inter-state gang of robbers and cheats who looted passengers after drugging them in trains and buses. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Virender Kumar said that five persons had been arrested in this connection. They were identified as Kulwant Singh, Bhupinder Singh alias Deputy, Neetu, Rajinder Singh alias Ladi and Rajesh Kumar alias Bobby. The SSP said the gang members robbed many people of lakhs of rupees after drugging them through soft drinks, tea and milk. The SSP said Kulwant Singh, father of one of the gang members, confessed during interrogation that his son and other members of the gang used to operate from his house at Subash Nagar in Phagwara. Investigations revealed that the gang was operating in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Ambala, Kurukshetra and Jammu. Some of the gang members had been arrested by the Jalandhar police in 1997, but they managed to get bail, he added. They bought cars with the looted money and also used to offer lifts to strangers and rob them. The suspects had also got prepared fake car finance documents to get the vehicles released in the event of their seizure by the police. Kulwant Singh also confessed his involvement in nine robberies. He said he had deprived a man of Rs 2.75 lakh after offering him a lift in his car from Ambala to Amritsar, robbed another person of Rs 1.75 lakh, looted Rs 90,000 from a person while going from Chandigarh to Ludhiana, deprived another person of Rs 40,000 in the Jammu area. A case under Sections
379, 320, 401 of the IPC had been registered by Pathankot
city police station. |
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Arpana showcases rural
women’s art JALANDHAR, Oct 18 —The Arpana dedicated to provide economic empowerment to rural women in Haryana, Charitable Trust has put up an exhibition of hand-embroidered household linen, at the Skylark Hotel here. The exhibition-cum-sale includes items like bed covers, matching cushions, bedsheets, and other hand embroidered items made by over 1600 rural women working under a charity project run by the trust. The exquisite pieces offered for sale are of export quality and are also reasonably priced. The proceeds of this venture would go to various projects being run by the trust. The welfare projects also include10 schools for slum children. As part of a project of
the trust over 1600 rural women have been trained inhand
embroidery to enable them to earn and become financially
independent. The designs and shades are chosen by the
supervisors at Madhuban, Karnal. Strict quality control
is the hallmark of Arpana products, which already have an
established clientele in metropolitan cities. Coming to
the city for the first time, Arpana’s exhibition
also include a whole range of items for kids. |
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Embezzlement of college funds alleged AMRITSAR, Oct 18 — Controversy over the reported charges of corruption against the present managing committee of the Khalsa College here took a dramatic turn today as the scion of Majithia family and son of former Minister of State of Defence late Mr Surjit Singh Majithia, Mr Satyajit Singh Majithia today threatened to go on fast seeking early probe into the charges of embezzlement and poor administration. In a stormy meeting of the governing council held here today of the one of the oldest Sikh educational institutions, the Khalsa College, the factionalism among the managing committee came to fore as a group led by Mr Majithia demanded a probe by a sitting or retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court into the various charges of corruption and misutilisation of funds by the present office-bearers of the council. On the other hand, the office-bearers of the college and Mr Rajmohinder Singh Majithia, Rajya Sabha member and vice-president of the council defended the decisions of the council and said that the allegations made by Mr Majithia were baseless and misleading. He added that all their accounts were totally transparent and there was no question of any embezzlement. The honorary secretary Mr Charanjit Singh Chadha, also refuted the allegations of the rival faction stating that college functioning had improved during the past two years and the college enjoys grater financial stability. Mr Chadha added that the
repair work to maintain the heritage building of the
college was going on with greater vigour he added that
the work for the maintenance will soon be completed. He
denied all the charges levelled by Mr Majithia. |
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Badal lauds role of private
schools MOGA, Oct 18 — Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today advised the students to develop a scientific attitude towards life during this computer era and called for the adoption of modern management techniques in educational institutions. Mr Badal was speaking on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of the local Dev Samaj School for Boys. He also praised institutions like Dev Samaj, Arya Samaj, Sanathan Dharam for their role. These had been playing in spreading education in this state and had already set up a large number of schools all over the state and also in other states for this purpose. He also said that these institutions had also spent crores of rupees for education in the country and advised them modernise education which he said was the need of the day. He said that the Punjab government had decided to help these institutions too and every possible help would be provided to them. He said that the government was committed to imparting education even to aged persons in villages to remove illiteracy. Mr Badal advised Education Minister, Tota Singh to send teams of teachers in rural areas for this purpose. He added that the money collected after imposition of new tax of Re one per bottle of liquor recently by the government would be spent on education as the Education Department was at present in loss due to increased pay scales of teachers. He also announced Rs five lakh from his discretionary fund as grant for the Dev Samaj School and directed Education Minister Tota Singh who was present there to grant substantial amount from his "gupt" fund to the school but did not made it clear that what did he mean by the "gupt" fund the Education Minister had. Education Minister Tota Singh said the government had already curbed the copying in schools of Punjab to help students. Principal of the school
Mr Kewal Krishan Arora welcomed the Chief Minister for
his visit. Mr Gurmukh Singh Dhillon son of the founder of
the school donated Rs 11,000 for the school from his
pocket. |
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CPI leader for meetings at
dept panels BATHINDA, Oct 18 — Mr Hardev Arshi, leader of the CPI group in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha today said that the SAD-BJP government in Punjab had been violating norms of democracy by not holding meetings of the Departmental Consultative Committees. In a press note here, he pointed out that after a struggle for two years the MLAs of the opposition parties the Departmental Consultative Committees constituted on May 3, 1999 for the redress of grievances of people. He added that thus far not even a single meeting of any Consultative Committee had been held by any minister despite one meeting being mandatory after every three months. He alleged that in Punjab all powers had been cornered by the Chief Minister, ministers and bureaucrats and the elected representatives had been reduced to a non-entity. He added that all fora for raising the public grievances had been weakened. He pointed out that no meeting of the Departmental Consultative Committee was held by Finance Minister, Mr Kanwaljit Singh though Punjab was in the grip of severe financial crisis. He added that his repeated requests to the Finance Minister in this regard failed to be of use. Earlier, the Punjab
government had reduced duration of Vidhan Sabha session
he alleged. He demanded that to solve the problems of
people, all Department Consultative Committees, District
Grievances Committees and other fora be activised
meaningfully. |
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Bhora condemns demolition BATHINDA, Oct 18 — Mr Bhan Singh Bhora, MP, today condemned the demolition of permanent and kutcha structures in the Civil Lines area here by the Public Works Department (PWD) authorities on Saturday. Addressing a rally organised by the occupants of these structures, Mr Bhora alleged that the Punjab Government had started harassing the poor to avenge the defeat of the SAD-BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. He demanded that all occupants, whose structures had been demolished, should be compensated suitably and rehabilitated elsewhere. Mr Jagjit Singh Joga,
District Secretary, CPI, alleged that the structures were
demolished by the PWD authorities without giving any
prior notice to the occupants. He added that all PWD
officials, who were involved in the demolition, should be
punished. |
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Kidnapped boy rescued FEROZEPORE, Oct 18 — A six-year-old schoolboy, Gurjinder Singh, of Behak Pachharian village in the Zira subdivision of the district, who was kidnapped by two unidentified persons on October 16, has been rescued by the police. The SSP, Mr Gurcharan Singh Pherurai, at a press conference held here today, said two accused Rajvir Singh, alias Raja and Pipal Singh, alias Babbu had been arrested and efforts were on to arrest their accomplice, Surjit Singh. Mr Pherurai said on October 16 when Gurjinder Singh was on his way to school, he was kidnapped by two scooter-borne unidentified persons. On interrogation, the duo revealed that they, with the assistance of Surjit Singh, had written a letter to Gurjinder’s father asking him to pay a ransom of Rs 3 lakh. The SSP said the letter
was written in the name of Sukhchain Singh, alias Chaina
of the Babbar Khalsa high command. The boy had been
handed over to his parents and a case under Sections
364-A, and 34 of the IPC registered, he added. |
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‘Exorcist’ arrested FEROZEPORE, Oct 18 — A "baba" Sukhdev Singh, alias Sukha, who on October 10, allegedly beat Baljit Kaur (32) to death at Khippanwali village in Fazilka subdivision of this district, has been arrested by the police. Giving details at a press conference held here today, the SSP, Mr Gurcharan Singh Pherurai, said when Baljit Kaur’s husband, Paramjit Singh along with his mother brought her for treatment to the dera of "baba", she was beaten up with iron rods and chains on the pretext of exorcising her. On October 12, the "baba" came to the house of Paramjit Singh and told him that his wife had been cured and he should bring her back from the "dera". When Paramjit Singh along with his mother went to the "dera", he found that Baljit Kaur dead. When they tried to question the "baba", he threatened them with dire consequences and asked them to cremate the body without informing the police or anyone else. Later, on October 13, Paramjit Singh reported the matter to the police. The Fazilka DSP, Mr Ajay
Maluja said earlier too, the "baba" had
committed atrocities on several women and he had been
"earning" money by befooling innocent persons. |
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Management panel head ‘beats
up’ teacher AMRITSAR, Oct 18 — Mr Harpal Singh, lecturer in English at Sant Baba Labh Singh Senior Secondary School and Guru Hargobind Khalsa College at Guru ki Ber, about 40 km from here, was allegedly beaten up by President of the Management Committee of the school-cum-college today. The incident occurred when Baba Sajjan Singh, President of the committee, entered the classroom and told the lecturer that he was not teaching properly. When the lecturer said he was taking all pains to teach the students, the President of the committee allegedly beat him mercilessly. The students later boycotted the classes to protest against the incident. Mr Harpal Singh said he would meet Giani Puran Singh, Jathedar Akal Takht, to take action against the ‘Baba’. However, Baba Sajjan
Singh denied that he was involved in the incident. He
said his followers had beaten up the lecturer. |
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Lake dries up Sheesh Mahal's
beauty PATIALA: Sheesh Mahal in Old Moti Bagh Palace here is one of the most sought-after spots by tourists, but a dry lake lying abandoned in its premises acts as a damper on the visitor's spirit. The lake, which is as old as the Sheesh Mahal, holds a rich potential for tourism in itself but its bald state gives an ugly look to an otherwise majestic aura of the palace. Originally a water tank, but popular as Sheesh Mahal Lake or the Lakshman Jhula Lake, it was built in 1847 during Maharaja Narinder Singh's rule on the pattern of Shalimar Gardens of Lahore. It had a similar design of terraces, fountains, channels and flower beds. The inner palace was given an artistic tinge with Kangra and Rajasthani art displayed in convex and coloured mirrors in Sheesh Mahal. The Maharaja also got constructed the lake in front of Sheesh Mahal. It was fed by the Rajbaha drain which through the Patiala navigation channel brought water from a tributary of the Sutlej flowing near Nabha town. In 1897, the Maharaja's son, Rajinder Singh, further enhanced the beauty of the lake by getting constructed a Lakshman Jhula (swinging bridge) over the lake. It is said that the spot was used as a leisure valley by the rulers of the erstwhile princely state. Not only the royal family members enjoyed themselves here but the place was also used to entertain state guests as well as 'friendly' British. Apart from these temporary guests, the lake was exclusively used by ladies of the harem. A number of platforms and other structures seen in the barren lake bed today also suggest that swimming and boating was the pastime for these women. No commoner could dare have a peep into the palace. Huge boundary walls, security and stringent punishment discouraged many an enthusiast. The bad phase of the lake began with the falling of the princely era. All property and assets of Princes came into the hands of the government. The hiatus resulting from the switch over of the possession and finally to the Archaeological Survey of India took a lot of time due to which the drains feeding the lake suffered damage and encroachments. The Patiala navigation channel sank into oblivion as new drainage system, keeping in mind the needs of the public, came up. Today the lake and the Rajbaha drain stands but the link between them had snapped. An effort to revitalise the project by the Central and state governments is hanging fire due to paucity of funds. According to sources, in the state Conservation Department, the Punjab Government received a letter from the Central tourism department in April regarding the estimate of expenses for bringing back the lake to its life. The state government had sent an estimate for Rs 78 lakh and requested the union government to bear the entire expenses as the state government was facing a financial crunch. Nothing about the revitalisation of the project has been heard so far. Mr Balwant Singh,
Assistant Conservator, here said Rajbaha drain had been
encroached upon at a number of places. The department was
helpless in removing the blocks as the drain did not come
under it. He said if funds were made available the lake
could become operational provided the public also
cooperated in removing the blockages. |
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Country’s first 800 kv line by March MOGA (Punjab), Oct 18 (UNI) — In its efforts to ensure high-quality transmission and distribution of electricity, the Power Grid Corporation of India would commission the country’s first 800-kv transmission line between Moga and Kishenpur in Jammu and Kashmir by March next year. Corporation Chairman R.P. Singh said the commissioning of the line would boost industrial development and improve the standard of living of people in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, besides Chandigarh. Power Grid northern region-II Additional General Manager R.B Mishra said the World Bank-funded 275-circuit-km first line would be commissioned by March, next year. The second 286-circuit-km line between Moga and Kishenpur would be commissioned by the end of 2000. The two officials said the line was being built by the Spanish company Cobra with the assistance of Indian company KEC. The first line would be completed at an estimated cost of about Rs 800 crore, while the cost of the second line was yet to be calculated. Mr Mishra said the 880-kv transmission lines had the capacity to carry a power load of about 2500 mw as against the 400 kv lines in vogue in most parts of the world. This extra high-power
line would also help cut transmission losses to
one-fourth, he added. |
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Sena activists call off fast BATALA, Oct 18 (UNI) — Two activists of the Shiv Sena (Thackeray group) today called off their four-day-old fast following the acceptance of their demand for probe into the alleged negligence by a doctor of a local civil hospital, which had led to the death of a woman patient last month. Sena activists, Ramesh Nayyar and Kamla Verma, who had been agitating since October 2 and began their indefinite fast on October 15, called off their agitation when additional Chief Health Officer Balbir Singh assured them to conduct a probe into the alleged negligence by Dr Amandeep Singh which led to the death of Sarbjit Kaur. Dr Balbir Singh also assured to improve in hospital hygiene curb the activities of doctors’ touts and transfer of ultra scan machine to the hospital from another hospital coming up on the Batala-Qadian road here. The SDM, Mr A.K. Sinha
and SP (Headquarters) Surinder Singh Sidhu offered fruit
juice to the Sena activists who ended their fast this
afternoon. |
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Man shot at, injured JALANDHAR, Oct 18 (UNI) — Gian Singh was shot at by two persons at Garha in Phillaur subdivision this morning, police sources said. The victim, who was
injured in the shoulder, was admitted to the Civil
Hospital at Phillaur, the sources added. |
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