Akali youth leader killed in Punjab

Chandigarh (PTI): A Shiromani Akali Dal leader was killed and three were injured in a clash between party activists during a rally at Anaj Mandi in Ropar district of Punjab on Friday.

Official sources said Harveer Singh died hours before Akali chief Parkash Singh Badal was to address the rally.

According to witnesses, supporters of party youth leaders Rajbir Singh and Kiranbir Singh Kang clashed over slogans being shouted in favour of the latter at the rally.

Rajbir Singh, who was on the stage, allegedly objected to someone screaming from the audience in favour of Kang, and immediately after, several shots of fire were heard.

Police said it was not clear who had fired the shots and nobody had been arrested yet.

Siachen accused asks for proof

Jodhpur (PTI): An army officer accused of staging fake killings in Siachen on Friday urged that the hard disk of the computer on which video data of the alleged “staged encounters” had been stored be produced in the military court here.

Major Surinder Singh, against whom a court of inquiry has recommended disciplinary action, put questions to Colonel K.D. Singh during cross-examination about the video data on the encounters in Siachen on August 24 and September 21, 2003.

When the colonel said he was not qualified to reply to these questions, the major pressed for the computer’s hard disk to be presented in the court as evidence.

On the major’s repeated insistence that the hard disk be produced in court, presiding officer of the court Brigadier Philip Campose said the digital data storage device would be brought to the court and, meanwhile, the accused should continue with the other questions.

Major Singh, however, said he was not prepared for other questions and should be given time, compelling Campose to postpone the recording of evidence to Saturday.

HC order on Salman claim

Mumbai (PTI): Bombay High Court has directed a special court to consider Salman Khan’s claim for recovery of Rs 25 lakh due to him from the sale proceeds of the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke.

The film had been attached by a special court hearing the case of an alleged nexus between Bollywood and the underworld. The actor pleaded that he had agreed to play the lead role in the film for Rs 1.75 crore of which he was paid only Rs 1.5 crore.

Tusks seized

Kotdwar (PTI): Two suspected poachers were arrested for allegedly possessing tusks weighing 20 kg while a tusker was killed in two separate incidents in the forests of Uttaranchal. Officials said Hamid and Mastu were carrying the ivory on their bicycles when they were arrested in the Corbett forest reserve area in Pauri district. The tusker was found dead, apparently killed by another elephant, near the Rajaji park.

Jailed for fraud

Mumbai (PTI): Akhtar Hussain, a Dubai-based businessman arrested by Mumbai police for forging his wife’s academic documents, has been remanded in judicial custody till July 15. The prosecution alleged that the BA (honours) degree of Akhtar’s wife, Razia, purportedly from Ranchi University, had been forged by the businessman from whom an identity card was also seized bearing his name with a captain prefixed to it though he never held any such post.

Bribe arrest

Alibag (PTI): An engineer of the irrigation department has been arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a contractor for clearing the latter’s bills. Mahendra Janardhan Gadekar, who constructed a water supply tank in Mahad taluka, complained to the police who laid a trap and arrested Pralhad Gridharraj Birajdar on Thursday.

Lightning deaths

Akola (PTI): Lightning struck a middle-aged woman dead even as heavy rains lashed parts of the city and adjoining areas. Official sources said Parvatabai Sadar was working in her field when she was hit by lightning. She died on way to Akola district hospital.

India now has over five million people with HIV infection in comparison to the previously estimated 4.5 million, according to a new data released by the government. There is, however, a distinct fall in the rate of growth of HIV infections in the country.