Regional Beat — Chandigarh

Two killed in blast
Hoshiarpur: Two migrant brick-kiln workers were killed when a hand grenade exploded in their face while they were extracting metal from it in their hut near village Saleran this morning, police said. However, their mother escaped with a minor injury. Those killed have been identified as Sheosingh (25) and his younger brother Mahesh Kumar (18) residents of village Alipore in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Their mother Chaman Devi suffered a minor head injury and was given first aid on the spot. Sheosingh’s wife Sushma and his two children escaped unhurt as they were all outside the hut which was blown off, witnesses said.

Man murdered by landlord
Ludhiana: A resident of Ramnagar, Jitender Singh, was killed by his landlord Nirvair Singh and his brother Ranjodh Singh last night and his body was dumped in the fields near Ranjodh Singh’s house. SHO Paramjit Singh said that according to the statement given by Jitender’s wife, the landlord suspected that Jitender had illicit relations with his wife. Yesterday, Nirvair Singh took Jitender to his brother’s house in New Preet Nagar and after drinking, the brother hit him with a gatra on his forehead. A case has been registered and no arrests have been made so far.

Boycott decision put off
Patiala: The Punjab Government College Teachers Associaion (PGCTA) has decided to postpone its decision to boycott board and university examinations till April 10. Dr P. S. Bhatti, president of the association said that the decision had been taken in the interest of the student community and ongoing tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth. The association appeals to the state government to concede the genuine demands of the state government college teachers.

UGC course
Patiala: The Department of Forensic Science of Punjabi University here organised a University Grants Commission (UGC) refresher course in criminology and forensic science. Dr B.S. Bhatia, Dean Academic Affairs, while addressing the valedictory function said in spite of being a small department it had contributed a lot to the subject itself. He said this is a multi-disciplinary field in which the teachers from various facilities like Botany, Zoology, Human Biology, Chemistry and Psychology were brought to a common platform. The course coordinator and head of the department, Dr R.K. Garg proposed the vote of thanks. Delegates from Manipur, Karnataka, and Maharashtra also took part in this course.