Regional Beat

Arrested
Hoshiarpur: Hoshiarpur police has unearthed a gang of poppy husk smugglers doing smuggling through mobile phone fitted in a car. According to a police press release, six members of the gang have been arrested and recovered 40 bags of poppy husk valued over Rs 1 lakh from their possession.

Flayed
Amritsar: Shiromani Youth Akali Dal Kahlon president Kuldip Singh Kahlon has flayed the killing of Tara Singh Hayer, publisher of the Indo Canadian Times, the largest Punjabi newspaper of North America. While lashing out at the killers of Hayer here yesterday, Kahlon described the incident as a coward act of the accused, who were bent upon suppressing the voice of Press. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Luxmi Kanta Chawla has cautioned the government against the terrorists network, who, she said, were capable of striking anywhere.

Elections
Patiala: Prof C S Virk and Prof Manjit Singh have been declared elected president and general secretary, respectively, of Government College Teachers Association GCTA Mohindra College, according to Bhagwan Singh, returning officer.

Training
Moga: The Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, aiming to cope up with the increasing demand of hybrid varieties of seeds has formulated a programme to motivate and train selected progressive farmers to produce these varieties at their farm house. According to university sources, the farmers for this purpose are being selected in consultation with the farm advisory service.