Briefly Region

Two held with 2 kg heroin
Amritsar: The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) claimed to have arrested two notorious smugglers,Sandeep Singh and Jodhbir Singh of Hawelian village in Tarn Taran,and recovered two kilograms of heroin from their possession. Manminder Singh,Superintendent of Police (Anti-Smuggling) said they laid a trap near Gurdwara Atari Sahib Sultanwind and intercepted the two who were on a motorcycle. A case has been registered against the two. Preliminary investigations revealed that the seized heroin was part of a bigger consignment recently smuggled from Pakistan,said the police.

Rafi remembered on death anniversary
Amritsar: The Rafi Memorial Society organised functions on Sunday to observe the 30th death anniversary of legendary singer Mohammad Rafi. Awards were given to budding singers at the Guru Nanak Bhawan here to mark the occasion. Rafi was originally from Kotla Sultan Singh village near Majithia in this district and his family had shifted first to Lahore and then to Mumbai. Punjabi singer Amardeep Gill was conferred the ‘best singer’ award,while Daljit Singh was adjudged ‘best lyricist’,Hardeep ‘best folk singer’,Kanth Kaler ‘best Punjabi singer’,Raja Sagoo ‘best comedian’ and Roshan Prince ‘best pop singer’. Former minister and MLA Bikram Singh Majithia was the chief guest.

PM’s home town celebrates his birthday
Amritsar: Sweets were distributed and people danced to the tune of drums as the home town of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh celebrated his 78th birthday on Sunday. The PM’s younger brother,Surjit Singh Kohli,and Congress MLA O P Soni held prayers together. “An ‘ardas’ was held for the PM’s long life,” said Kohli.

Khap panchayats,honour and dera politics in Punjab,Haryana to be debated at IIAS
Shimla: The Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS) in Shimla has decided to have an open debate on the recent changes observed in the social fabric of Punjab and Haryana,discussing khap panchayats,dera politics,land disputes,honour,immigration and caste and Dalit politics. During the next three days,beginning September 27,social thinkers and academicians from across the region will gather here to discuss the burning issues faced by the two states,said an IIAS official. A seminar on ‘modernity and changing social fabric of Punjab and Haryana’,will be addressed by IIAS Director Peter Ronald deSouza and former vice-chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University Professor J S Grewal. Forty other scholars from Punjab,Haryana,Chandigarh,Kharagpur,Bhubaneswar,Delhi,Jodhpur and Germany will participate in the debate.