In Brief

GMCH additional director repatriated
CHANDIGARH: The UT Administration on Thursday repatriated R S Verma,additional director (administration),Government Medical College and Hospital,Sector 32,to his parent state. Municipal Corporation Assistant Commissioner Kamlesh Kumar will be incharge of the post in addition to his own duties.

Cards for BPL families: Camp in Palsora today
CHANDIGARH: A camp for the implementation of the smart card distribution system will be held by the Administration on Friday from 8 am to 8 pm at the government primary school in Lal Bahadur Shastri Colony,Palsora. Biometrics and photographs of all area residents and their families shall be captured during the camp. Ration cardholders attached with M/s Garg Karyana Store and M/s Roop Narain Provisional Store,depot holders of Palsora,are requested to remain present at the camp.

3 Himachal youths held with narcotics
MOHALI: The district police have arrested three youths of Himachal Pradesh and claimed to have recovered 2.3 kg charas from their possession. Ashwani Kumar,Rajesh Kumasr and Vijay Singh allegedly used to supply the contraband to college students in Chandigarh and Mohali,Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said on Thursday. He said the accused were held when they were heading to supply narcotics to students of a private college at Sahoran near Kharar. The police have booked the accused under Sections 22,61 and 85 of the NDPS Act and begun interrogation to ascertain their links and modus operandi.

AICC member condemns entry tax
MOHALI: All India Congress Committee (AICC) member Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha has condemned the move of the state government to impose an entry tax on certain essential items.  In a statement issued on Thursday,Garcha said the additional levy would further add financial burden on the common man. She claimed that the ruling SAD-BJP combine government in Punjab has failed on all fronts and its recent evidence was the imposition of the tax. The Congress leader urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to reconsider the decision.

1.18 lakh kids to get polio drops on Sunday
MOHALI: Nearly 1.18 lakh children in the age group of 0-5 years were identified in Mohali district to be immunised against polio during the next drive scheduled for Sunday,Deputy Commissioner Prabhjot Singh Mand said. He said as many as 453 teams,including 417 stationery,22 mobile and 14 transit,have been deputed to administer polio drops to the children. Remaining children would be covered during a door-to-door campaign on Monday and Tuesday.

Robber arrested
CHANDIGARH: The UT police have nabbed a person allegedly involved in two cases of robbery in the city. The police caught Deepak alias Johny,a resident of Sector 39,on Thursday for robbing two persons. The police said Deepak had stabbed Ramesh Kumar,a Balongi resident,in October last and robbed him of his valuables. In December,the accused had snatched valuables from a man near the Sector-43 bus stand. The accused has been sent to judicial custody.

Mohali biker dies in accident
KHARAR: A resident of Phase VII Mohali,Kulwant Singh,died when a speeding car hit his motorcycle on the Mohali-Kharar National Highway-21 near Desumajra village in Kharar on Thursday afternoon. The injured biker was rushed to Chandigarh PGIMER,where he died,the police said,adding that the absconding car driver has been booked for causing death by rash and negligent driving.

Two dead in separate incidents
AMBALA: A factory worker from Bihar,Gobind,died on way to the PGI in Chandigarh after he was referred from the civil hospital in Ambala Cantonment in serious condition on Thursday. He was reportedly injured while working on a machine in a fruit factory. Meanwhile,a Class IV employee of the Air Force Station,Ravinder Kumar,was found dead in mysterious conditions at his residence in the Air Force quarters.
The body of the deceased was handed over to his family members.

45 kg poppy husk recovered from former ITBP employee
AMBALA: Around 45 kg poppy husk was recovered during a search at the Ambala City railway station by the Government Railway Police (GRP) on Thursday. A former employee of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police,Gopal,was found in possession of the contraband. According to GRP SHO Ishwar Singh,the poppy husk was worth thousands and was being smuggled from Gwalior to Patiala. He added Gopal may have been a conduit for the inter-state smugglers. He said a case under the NDPC Act was registered against Gopal. The accused would be produced in the court on Friday.

Cop who submitted fake certificates leads police to bigger nexus
AMBALA: While investigating the case of a police constable who was dismissed as he had produced fake certificates; the police seem to have hit on a huge racket. The cop disclosed during interrogation that he acquired the certificate from Dr Pradeep Kumar,a medical practitioner of Sadar Bazar,Gohana,on payment of Rs 20,000. He further claimed that Kumar used to get the certificates made from Sampran Vishwavidyalaya in Varanasi on payment of hefty amounts. The accused constable also got a matriculation certificate on payment of some money and managed to get into the police service. During inquiry,he was found guilty of submitting fake certificates. Later,he was dismissed and arrested for cheating. A police team has left for Gohana in Haryana to arrest Kumar for further interrogation.

Experts to discuss safety of genetically modified crops today
CHANDIGARH: The Alliance for GM-free and safe food is organising a seminar titled ‘People’s science forum for GM-free foods’ at the Lajpat Rai Bhawan in Sector 15 on Friday. Leading scientists,bio-technologists,health scientists,doctors,plant geneticists,organic chemists and food and nutrition experts will share the pros and cons of genetically modified food. This will be the first time that experts from different fields of science will present their point of views at a common platform. On October 14 last year,the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC),under the Environment Ministry,gave its approval for the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal,which has received flak from various quarters.

Man gets 7-yr jail for raping minor
Bathinda: The fast-track court of Additional Sessions Judge S K Sachdeva on Thursday sentenced a man to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment in a rape case of a minor girl. Even as the victim,aged around 15 years,had turned hostile in the case,the medical evidence and cross examination of the victim by the prosecution corroborated the prosecution version and the court awarded sentence to Sanjay Kumar alias Taari,a resident of Rama Mandi. The court also asked Taari to pay a fine of Rs 1,000. A case of kidnapping and rape was registered against Taari at Rama Mandi police station on the complaint of the victim’s mother in February 2009.

Sugar seized for entry tax evasion
Ludhiana: The mobile wing of the state excise and taxation department on Thursday seized 120 tonnes of sugar loaded in four trucks near the Banur information collection centre. The sugar,worth around Rs 50 lakh,was seized as the traders had not paid any entry tax. They will now have to pay double the 4 per cent entry tax.
Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (mobile wing) T S Sidhu said,“On a tip-off,we sent a team to the Banur ICC and nabbed the sugar.” The trucks were coming from UP,he added. The trader has not been identified yet.

Khimi Ram sets agenda for the year
SHIMLA: The newly re-elected state BJP president,Khimi Ram,has set his agenda for the year. He plans to immediately start off mobilising party workers to raise the issue of price rise against the Central government and gear up for the upcoming rural polls in the state. In a statement,he said his primary focus would be to reconstitute all units of the party and ensure their efficient working. He will tour the entire state shortly.

5-yr-old among Himotkarsh awardees of ’09
SHIMLA: Madhur Negi (5) was awarded the Himachal Shree Bravery award by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Thursday for saving his father’s life in a road accident in Shimla. Negi lost his mother,elder brother and grandmother in the car accident on November 15,2009,but showed exemplary courage to get early medical help for his father by climbing up a treacherous trek from a gorge where the car had fallen. The award ceremony was held in Una. Himotkarsh National Unity awards were given to the J&K Light Infantry Regiment,HP Board of School Education chairman Chaman Lal Gupta,Shimla Chapter of Public Relations Society of India founder chairman B D Sharma,Ashok Aneja of Jalalabad Punjab,Rotary Blood Bank Society,Chandigarh,and international lawn tennis player Sunil Sephiya. The Himotkarsh Himachalshri awards went to Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University for Horticulture and Forestry Vice-Chancellor Dr K R Dhiman,Una Deputy Commissioner K R Bharati,agriculture scientist Dr R R Sharma and Dwijender Dwij of Kangra. The Una Kushthashram was awarded too,said Himtokarsh Sahitya Sanskriti and Jan Kalyan Parishad president Hari Singh.

MC staff seek full arrears of revised pay
SHIMLA: The Municipal Employees Union has assailed the government’s decision to grant only 10 per cent arrears of the revised pay scales and asked Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal to review the decision to fulfil his promise made to the employees to grant full benefits of the Sixth Pay Commission on the lines of Punjab government.

GNDU teachers seek release of revised pay
AMRITSAR: The teachers of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) wore black badges on Thursday in protest against the failure of the Punjab government to implement the revised pay scales according to the Pay Commission guidelines. The call for the protest was given by the Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations. GNDU Teachers Association president Dr T S Banipal and secretary Dr Sukhprit Singh said in case the government did not fulfil their demands,teachers would stage a two-hour dharna on February 16,2010,on their respective campuses.

Proposed hike in petroleum products is adding fuel to the fire,says Badal
LUDHIANA: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has termed the proposed increase in petroleum products,as recommended by the panel appointed by the prime minister,as untimely and uncalled for. “It is like adding fuel to the fire,” said Badal,who was in Ludhiana on Thursday to attend the annual function of Shri Govind Godham on Hambraon Road. On the PM’s instructions to all ministers not to take any grant from the Government of India,he said: “All my ministers are doing good work and none of them has taken any grant from the Government of India.” Appreciating the efforts made by the Shri Govind Godham,he said: “I have seen such a wonderful gaushala for the first time where sick cows are taken such good care of. We will make adequate provision in our annual budget from the next fiscal to give financial assistance to non-government,voluntary and religious organisations running gaushalas.” ENS

Punjab DGP marks inquiry against Moga officer accused of extortion
Moga: Punjab DGP P S Gill has ordered an inquiry against Inspector Satnam Singh,in charge of Moga CIA Staff,after charges of extortion were levelled against him by local chemists. The inquiry has been marked to DIG (Ferozepur Range). The chemists claim that Singh demanded huge amounts of money and threatened to lodge criminal cases under the NDPS Act against them if they failed to pay. SSP Ashok Baath had suspended Singh on Tuesday after the local chemist association held a protest march. A delegation of the association met the DGP on Wednesday after which he ordered the probe.