Briefly region

Kanda moves HC for bail in Geetika case

New Delhi:Nearly a month after the city police filed chargesheet against him in the air-hostess Geetika Sharma suicide case,former Haryana minister Gopal Kanda on Thursday moved Delhi High Court against the trial court’s order dismissing his bail plea. The plea is likely to be listed for hearing on Friday before the court of Justice P K Bhasin. On September 20,the trial court had denied bail to Kanda,who has been in jail since August 18,saying further probe was needed in view of a police report that the victim was pregnant in March.

NRI PPP leader defends Manpreet

Amritsar:PPP leader Amanpreet Chhina,in a press statement from Oxford on Thursday,said that all allegations made against PPP president Manpreet Badal by party members were “baseless,primarily aiming to achieve their personal goals”. “Being president of the NRI wing of PPP,I confirm that whatever money was donated by Indian citizens residing abroad to PPP was directly deposited into PPP bank accounts by the donors themselves and the party head office had issued receipts against all collections,” Chhina said.

Minimum wages now Rs 5,200 per month

Fazilka:The Punjab government recently notified a hike in minimum wages from Rs 4,300 to Rs 5,200 per month. The hike will be implemented from September 1,2012 onwards. The hike excludes allowances like transport,washing etc.,which will be paid in addition to the minimum wage. Promotion policy,however,has been changed wherein an unskilled worker will need 20 years of experience to be promoted to highly skilled worker as opposed to a former proposal which would have seen the promotion done in just nine years.

Two arrested for rape of minor

Nawanshahr: Police have arrested two men accused in the abduction and rape of a 16-year-old minor girl from Nawanshahr. The girl had gone missing in Karyam village on Tuesday night and was found on Wednesday near a canal at Hansron village. The accused: Ranjit Singh of Shahpur Patti village and Amrik Singh of Niamatpur village have been booked rape and abduction charges.

PPCB fails to find source of leaked gas

Jalandhar:The PPCB and health department have failed to detect the source and nature of gas leakage that left 15 people ill in Waryana village,Jalandhar,on Wednesday. PCCB Executive Engineer Manohar Lal Choahn said they could not be established the kind of gas that was leaked into the area. “We inspected the cold stores today,which many people identified as the source of gas,but found nothing. It was not Ammonia gas and if it had got leaked from cold stores then the worker there would have been affected first,” he added.

Neighbour held for murder of boy

Amritsar:Amritsar police have arrested a youth and his parents Balwinder Singh and Shama Rani for the murder of Mohit (11). ADCP (Crime) Harjit Singh Brar said that the youth,a neighbour of the deceased boy,admitted to the crime during preliminary interrogation. Police also claimed to have recovered a knife allegedly used to kill Mohit.

Man behind Khalistan demand dies

Chandigarh:Khalistani ideologue Dr Sohan Singh died on Wednesday,he was 98. Singh retired from the Punjab government as director of Health in the early eighties and floated the Sikh Sophisticates Forum,which accorded the honour of Sikh of the Year on Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in 1983. Post-Operation Bluestar,Singh established contacts with Damdami Taksal but failed to include the demand for Khalistan in their agenda. However,he was instrumental in the announcement of Khalistan made by the Panthic Committee from the Golden Temple complex on April 29,1986. He later went to Pakistan and then was arrested from Nepal in 1993 and jailed for two years under the National Security Act. He had been living in Mohali ever since.

Punjab extends retirement age

Chandigarh:The Punjab government,on Thursday,amended the Punjab Civil Service Rules enhancing the retirement age limit of Punjab Civil Services (Judicial Branch) officers to 60 years. The extension of two years is subject to the satisfaction and evaluation of the high court that the officer in question will be of continued utility to the Judicial system. If the court is not satisfied,the age of retirement will remain 58.

Sukhbir gives nod to Rs 13,000-cr rural plan

Chandigarh:Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal,on Thursday,gave his nod for a Rs 13,000-crore rural development plan,which will cover all Punjab villages. The development plan will include complete concretisation of all village lanes,phirnis besides providing underground piped sewerage network.

Cong demands holiday on Suba Day

Jalandhar:The Congress on Thursday attacked Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for visiting Rewari to mark the Haryana Day while forgetting about the Punjabi ‘Suba Day’. Former Congress MLA from Bholath Sukhpal Singh Khaira said that it was saddening to note that while Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were celebrating their formation day,Punjab has forgotten November 1— the Punjabi Suba Day. He demanded that November 1 be declared a public holiday.