R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

BANUR
Spontania-09: Swami Vivekanand Institute of Engineering and Technology organised a carnival, including tech fest Spontania-09 and annual function Noor-09 on Thursday. Over 3,000 students participated in Spontania-09. Director of NIT, Jalandhar, Professor Moin Uddin inaugurated the event. events like robotics, RJ hunt, film festival, photography, painting exhibition, auto show and group dance were organised.

Chief guest Group Captain T.M. Shashidhar giving away prize at a function held in Delhi Public School, Bathinda, on Thursday.  A Tribune photograph

Bathinda
Annual prize distribution: A prize distribution ceremony was held on Thursday in Delhi Public School, Bathinda. The students were awarded and felicitated for brilliant achievement in academics, sports, dancing, music and art. Group Captain T.M. Shashidhar, Commander, 10 TAC Air Force, consented to be the chief guest at the programme. Parents of the prize winners were also invited. Manjeet Kumar, Vineeta Jha and Priarsh Khippal were honoured as best speakrs where as Shubhneet Kumar, Devyansh Tyagi was adjudged as best artist. Ajaydeep Singh Dhillon, Medha Singh and Gaurav got the award for best instrumentalists.  In dramatics, Iknoor Singh, Pranavi, Rattanjot and Kunal were honoured. Besides, students who scored 80 per cent or more in aggregate were felicitated with scholar badges. Special prizes were given to students who have shown 100 per cent attendance and improvement in academics. The students also presented colourful dances and melodious songs on the occasion.

Protest rally held: Members of the Bar Association, Budhlada, held a protest rally and staged a dharna on Thursday for not providing sufficient funds for the construction of the chambers in the new court complex by the state government. In a press release issued here, the members alleged that though the civil courts were being shifted in the court complex there was no proposal to shift executive courts there, causing inconvenience to the lawyers and the litigants alike. Meanwhile, Chiranji Lal Garg, former minister, persuaded the agitating lawyers that their demand for new chambers in the court complex would be met soon.

CHANDIGARH
‘Implement pay panel’: Punjab Pradesh Congress acting president Lal Singh on Thursday demanded implementation of the recommendations of the 5th pay commission alleging the state government did not want to give relief to employees despite having received the nod from EC.

FATEHGARH SAHIB
Profs call off strike: The professors and staff members strike in Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College ended with a compromise with the college authorities on Tuesday. The authorities bowed before most of the demands of striking professors and also decided to reinstate professors, services of whom were terminated.

FEROZPUR
CBI arrests ITO accepting bribe: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested income tax officer from Abohar DK Gupta for accepting bribe of Rs 30,000 from businessman Naveen Sethi on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, the CBI team raided his residence at Bathinda and sealed his house, bank lockers and accounts. The CBI recovered Rs10 lakh in cash, gold jewellery worth Rs11 lakh and documents of purchase of property. Gupta was said to be threatening Sethi to initiate tax-related inquiry against him. "He was demanding Rs1 lakh from Sethi but deal was struck for Rs 30,000,". Gupta was produced before a CBI court in Patiala which remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.

Jalandhar
Mazdoor union threatens protest: To express their resentment against the local administration, the Pendu Mazdoor Union will hold a demonstration against the authorities here on April 27. In a press note issued by the state president of the union, Peter Taresm, said the district administration had been doing nothing to prevent atrocities on Dalits of Ghugshor village in Kartarpur for the past some months. Moreover, setting up of a house of a Dalit, Joginder Singh, on fire in the village last night was an ugly act by certain unscrupulous persons.

Ludhiana
Man shot at: A hairstylist was shot in the neck in his shop at the H-Block Sarabha Nagar market on Thursday evening. The victim has been identified as Jeewan Mattu, the owner of Hollywood Hairdresser. The assailants entered his shop and opened fire at one of the customers. The bullet hit Jeewan as he tried to protect the customer. Two bullets missed the target. His condition is stated to be serious.

MOGA
Ex-BSP MLA joins BJP: Former MLA of the BSP Baldev Singh Bhatti, along with his supporters, joined the BJP at a function held at Dharamkot in Moga district on Tuesday. The district president of the BJP Tarlochan Singh welcomed him into the party fold. Bhatti was elected to the state legislative assembly on BSP ticket in 1992. A few years ago, he left the BSP and joined the BSP (A), a breakaway group of the party.

SANGRUR
Govt employees hold rally: State government employees of various departments led by district president of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union Raj Kumar Arora on Thursday held a rally at the district administrative complex here to express their resentment against the Fifth Pay Commission by terming its recommendations as “anti-ministerial staff”. Arora said the pay commission had done “injustice” to the ministerial staff.

CHANDIGARH

Chandigarh
High Court notice to Bindra: A local court has issued notice of accusation in a cheque bounce case against the chairman and managing director of PML Industries A.S. Bindra on a complaint filed by Frick India. The company had supplied double contract plate freezer to Bindra in February, 2005 that was amounting to Rs 5.76 lakh. The cheques given by Bindra bounced following which the complaint was filed in July, 2005.

Chandigarh
Probe into blog content begins: The Chandigarh police today initiated an inquiry into the contents of a blog accusing certain IPS, IAS officers and judges from the city of indulging in corruption. The information on the blog, in which the names of present and former police officers, including IPS officers posted in the city, advocates and judges, have been mentioned as corrupt, was posted in August, 2008. A senior police officer said it was a pseudo-blog as the creator of the blog had identified himself as tj_999.

HARYANA

Ambala
Lecture on semiconductor technology:Guru Nanak Institutions, Mullana, organised a “guest lecture” by Prabir Basu, visiting professor, University of South Korea, on the topic ‘Semiconductor Technology with Emphasis on Photo-Voltaic Cell’ for the B.Tech students yesterday. As there is an urgent need of eco-friendly environment in the current scenario, Basu stressed on the need of maximum utilisation of non-conventional energy resources. He also explained construction, working, characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of the photovoltaic silicon solar cell.

Board results on phone: BSNL has tied up with the Haryana Shiksha Board to provide the board results. The result can be obtained by calling number IVRS number 12555 from their mobile and landline and registering their roll numbers into the system. The results can also be obtained over SMS by sending HB08 for Class 8th results, HB10 for class 10th and HB12 for class 12th results followed by roll number and sending it to 56505.

BHIWANI
48 officials face action: As many as 48 officials of different departments have been slapped with strict action under Section 134 of the RP Act, 1951, for finding absent during the first day of training for polling duty. District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Vikas Gupta said 29 officials of first batch and 19 of second batch were found absent from the election training on the first day being held at Tibdewala auditorium on thursday. He said the training would continue till April 25. He said seven employees of the Irrigation Department, 17 of the education Department, five of the Agriculture Department of first batch and 15 employees of the Education Department from second batch were found absent from the training duty.

GURGAON
Suicide: Kabir (25) committed suicide by jumping from third floor of S L Tower at DLF here on wednesday. The reason behind the same is not known yet. The deceased was the resident of Colcutta and was working at a PIDILIT company in Hyderabad. He came to the city three days back to meet his brother. People, who were close to him, say that he was in depression since the past few days and there might be some family dispute that he took such a step. The police had sent the body for postmortem after registering a case.

JHAJJAR
Code violation: Former leader of the BJP Ram Kumar Gautam, who had resigned from the membership of the Assembly on Wednesday, has fallen into yet another controversy. This time not for making surprising statements against the BJP-INLD poll pact and the party leaders, but for holding a press conference at the canal rest house in Jhajjar. The SDM-cum-Assistant Returning officer, Jhajjar, Satyender Duhan, has served a notice on Ram Kumar Gautam for violating the model code of conduct by using a government place for the press conference.

SIRSA
House burgled: Some unidentified miscreants burgled the residence of a local physician-cum-scribe Dr Gulab Singh on Wednesday. The miscreants took away some gold ornaments and decorative pieces made of silver from his residence. The doctor and his wife, Suman, principal in a college, were sleeping, when the miscreants burgled the house and escaped. The exact loss is yet to be ascertained.

CM to visit Rajasthan: Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has emerged as a prominent Jat leader in his party and is in great demand in other states, where the Jats have considerable population. Hooda is heading for Rajasthan on Friday, where he will address election meetings at Jaipur, Nagura, Ajmer and Chittorgarh. The Chief Minister, according to sources close to him, will also be visiting Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab to woo the Jat voters for the Congress. As per the tentative programme, Hooda is to visit UP on April 27 and Punjab on May 1.

YAMUNANAGAR
One booked in bribe case: The police on Thursday registered a case of allegedly demanding illegal gratification of Rs 2 lakh against district town planner RK Singh. The police has registered a case under Sections 162, 165, 427, 500, 506 of the IPC and 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against RK Singh acting on the complaint of Rajiv Kumar Garg, a resident of Shashtri colony, here.

DEHRADUN

Dehradun
Training for polls: A training programme for government officials on election duties was held under the headship of District Election Officer Amit Singh Negi at the Rangers Ground, here on Thursday. Negi directed the employees not to work under any kind of pressure and also be "unbiased". Negi announced that the last phase of the training programme would be held on May 3, 4 and 5 at the Rangers Ground.