Patiala man held for spying

Patiala: The Patiala police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested a man who was “secretly sharing sensitive information” related to Indian military activities with Pakistan.

“The accused came in contact with a girl through a fake Facebook ID, and later provided her with an Indian SIM card and WhatsApp activation code. Using that, they were operating WhatsApp on an Indian number from across the border,” said Patiala SSP Varun Sharma. TNS

2 officials suspended over poor sanitary conditions

Ropar: Minister for Local Government Ravjot Singh on Wednesday suspended Junior Engineer (JE) Naresh Kumar and Sanitary Inspector Varinder Singh posted with the Morinda Municipal Council over the issue of poor sanitary conditions prevailing in Morinda town. He also ordered the transfer of Executive Officer (EO) of the MC. TNS

Accused in SBI scam held

Faridkot: In a breakthrough in the Rs 6-crore fraud at the SBI branch in Sadiq, the police on Wednesday arrested key accused Amit Dhingra (bank clerk) from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. As the police team closed in on the building where he was hiding, Dhingra climbed out of a window on the ninth floor and threatened to jump. After prolonged efforts, the police managed to apprehend him. He is being brought back to Faridkot. TNS

942 employees regularised

Chandigarh: The Punjab Government on Wednesday regularised the services of 942 contractual employees of the Forest Department. These employees were handed over appointment letters by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The CM said the successive state governments fooled the people by giving incentives in the last year of their tenure, but his government had been worked since day one to ameliorate hardships faced by the people. He said sectors like health, education, power, water and infrastructure were top priorities of the government and no effort would be spared in ensuring good amenities. TNS