Batala
Holi celebration: Holi was celebrated here today with great enthusiasm. Peoples of all walks of life celebrated the festival splashing colours on one another. This festival strengthened the brotherhood amongst the various communities of the town. Holi was celebrated with fervour in the town with youngsters driving around the town, sprinkling colours on each other and dancing on drumbeats. Eve-teasers, too, were active. Senior citizens celebrated Holi in a traditional way by distributing parsad.

Youth dies:A youth, Gaurav Mahajan (22), resident of the local Pahari Gate, died at K.D Hospital, Amritsar, on Tuesday. He was critically injured by a group of seven persons with baseball bats on February 21. He was taken to the local civil hospital and later admitted to K.D. Hospital, Amritsar. The city police station registered a case under sections 302, 308, 325, 323, 148 and 149 of the IPC against the seven assailants.

Ludhiana
Jhankar: The annual function, “Jhankar”, of DAV School by pre-KG and LKG students was organised on Monday.The tiny tots participated with great exuberance. RS Patial, principal, encouraged the students. The major attractions were Rajasthani dance, choreography and gidda. The principal said the parents should be concerned about the balanced upbringing of their children.

Elected:Dr Raj Kumar, professor and head of microbiology, and Dr Deepinder Chhina, professor of microbiology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), were elected as the adviser and the secretary of the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists (North-West) chapter,respectively, in the executive council.

ATM opened: Punjab National Bank installed a new ATM here today. NC Jain, field general manager, PNB, Chandigarh, said 71 ATMs were already in operation in the city and two more ATMs at Bahadur Ke Road and Dera Bassi would be operational by March 31. He further said customers of the PNB could operate their accounts at more than 45,000 ATMs in the country as per the bank's ATM sharing arrangement.

Vinod is Zonal commissioner: Assistant commissioner Vinod Sharda has been transferred as zonal commissioner of zone-D. He has also been given additional charge of the zone-C. Sharda said he had also been made incharge of the house-tax department. He revealed that the municipal commissioner had issued order of his transfer on February 28, but he received the copy on March 6. The post of zonal commissioner in zone-D has been lying vacant since joint commissioner Kuldeep Singh got promoted as ADC (D) in Ludhiana.

PAU alumni meet: More than 150 students will have a get together on March 20 at the PAU. Dr GS Hira, former additional director of research, said the purpose of the gathering would be to meet the old friends. He said an organising committee comprising Dr Zora Singh Brar, Dr Jagir Singh Sidhu and Dr Yog Raj Chanana, who retired as university professors, would be organising the meeting. The event would be a regular feature, said a committee member. Hira further added it would be a historical event as the PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Manjit Singh Kang was also the student of the same batch.

Nawanshahr
Ved Parkash dead: Ved Parkash Mehan (93), a veteran political and social leader of the town, died here on Tuesday. His cremation was attended by the representatives of 
different political, social, educational and trade organisations. The local grain 
market and Sanatan Dharam educational institutions remained closed as mark of respect to the departed soul.

REWARI
3 held in murder case: The police has cracked a murder case of Jogender Yadav (40), a resident of Dhana village, with the arrest of three persons, Praveen Yadav, Subhash Yadav and Sanjay, all residents of the same village in Mahendergarh district. Jogender, along with the three accused, had joined a marriage party on February 19. As all four were badly drunk, they had an altercation over some issue following which Jogender was allegedly done to death by the accused. Later, Jogender’s decomposed body was found from a well on February 22.

Held for setting wife afire: The police has arrested Mahipal Yadav for allegedly setting his wife Sushma Yadav on fire at their farm house in Khatavali village on Saturday. Mahipal was produced in a local court on Tuesday, which remanded him in judicial custody. Sushma was admitted to a private hospital in Gurgaon, where her condition was critical till the filing of the report.

Annual kisan mela: Haryana Agricultural University will hold the annual Kisan Mela on March 17 and 18. It was officially stated here on Tuesday. The focus of the mela will be on the conservation of soil health. Director of extension education and convener of the mela HD Yadav said depleting soil health had become a matter of concern for farmers, scientists and agriculture policy planners. Sale of improved seed of various kharif crops and an agro-industrial exhibition will be attractions of the mela.

SONEPAT
Criminal held: The police claimed to have arrested criminal Devender Jatheri, who was carrying a cash reward of Rs 20,000 on his head. He was produced in a court on Monday and was remanded in five-day custody. Devender had allegedly shot dead Virender, a property dealer and resident of local Ashok Vihar, in the Bharat Hospital here on December 22 last. The alleged accused was identified by footage of a camera installed at the hospital.