In Brief

One killed in Bathinda blast,three injured
A powerful blast at a bakery shop near Gaushala on the Bathinda-Dabwali road on Saturday morning killed an employee of Powercom and injured three persons. Assistant linemen Suresh Chand (48) and Sham Lal (40) were working on a transformer opposite the shops and the moment they turned on the power supply,the shutter of bakery shop splintered with a blast and hit the linemen. Chand succumbed to injuries at DMC Ludhiana while Lal,a passerby and a tailor received minor splinter injuries. Till the filing of this report,the reason behind the blast was not known. Some believed it may have caused by the bursting of refrigerator compressor or leakage of gas inside the shop. Others suggested a strong electro-magnetic field induced the blast where shutters of a couple of shops were uprooted and roofs collapsed. SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill has ruled out any sabotage. “Divergent reasons are being attributed to the blast. Nothing conclusive could be said at the moment. But a sabotage theory can be ruled out. The accident took place most likely due to pressure created by some gas inside the shop. There are also talks that a strong electro-magnetic field may have caused the blast,” Gill said.

Two booked for attempt to murder
The police on Saturday booked Rajinder Singh of Kothe Lal Singh Ablu village and Harjeet Singh,a resident of Gidderbaha,for attempt to murder and under the Arms Act. Bathinda Anti-narcotics Cell incharge Dinesh Sharma said that Rajinder and Harjeet were spotted by a team of the cell purchasing habit-forming drugs,a bottle of a syrup and a strip of tablets from PG Pharma located on Railway Road. “When the police in plainclothes confronted the duo,Harjeet took out a revolver and pointed towards them. But the policemen overpowered them,” he said. He added that a case under the Indian Medical Council Act was registered against Gopal Das Garg of PG Pharma.

Sidhu wants BPL norms revised
While demanding acceptance of the Tendulkar Committee report about below poverty line (BPL),BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday demanded from the UPA government to redraw BPL norms. Sidhu said the report was submitted in the second week of December last but government had not accepted it. “It is ridiculous that the government is accepting only those as BPL whose per capita consumption is up to Rs 15 a day. The cut-off should be Rs 50 a day,” he added.