Amritsar: The rural police have arrested three persons on the charge of illegal mining in the Beas area. The accused have been identified as Lakhwinder Singh of Daulenangal village, Vikramjeet Singh of Budha Theh and Jagjeeven Singh of Bhole village. The police also seized two trucks and a ditch machine from the spot. Inspector Binderjeet Singh, Station House Officer (SHO), Beas, said the police got information that illegal sand mining on the banks of the river Beas was going on. The police raided Kot Mehtab village and arrested three persons in this connection. A case under Sections 379 and 21 of the Mining Act has been registered against the three accused. TNS

Rise in bike theft cases from court

Tarn Taran: Ranbir Singh, a local resident, in his complaint to the local Sadar police said he parked his motorcycle in the district court complex on Thursday and when he came back the bike was not there. Similarly, Nishan Singh, a resident of Majitha, had complained to the police that his vehicle was stolen from the court complex on April 19. The police had registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC. ASI Vipin Kumar of the court police station said they had been receiving complaints of vehicle thefts for the last one year as the court complex was situated on the outskirts of the town and it was easy for vehicle thieves to escape with the stolen bikes. Moreover, there is no proper parking arrangement in the complex. OC

Essay writing contest begins

Amritsar: As per the schedule for conducting academic competitions to mark the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the first phase of the essay writing competitions began on Thursday across government schools in district. The online competition on essay writing/ reciting was based on the life and principles of Guru Tegh Bahadur. The school-level winners of the essay competitions that will be conducted till May 31, will take part in the block, tehsil, district and state-level competitions. The winners of each level will also be honoured by the department. TNS

Sophia Duleep Singh lecture

Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University Department of History organised Princess Sophia Duleep Singh Annual lecture, initiated by Mahan Singh Dhesi family. The topic of the webinar was “Perceptions of educated women: A comparative analysis of Shraddha Ram Phillauri, Lala Devraj and Bhai Takhat Singh.” Department of History Head Prof Amandeep introduced the lecture while Prof Radha Sharma, an eminent scholar and former Professor of the Department, was the key speaker. Prof Radha compared the contribution of social reformers Shraddha Ram Phillauri, Lala Devraj and Bhai Takhat Singh in eradicating social evils and their contributions in educating women. She also said Lala Devraj had founded the first exclusive girls’ school in Jalandhar named Arya Kanya Pathshala, presently known as Kanya Maha Vidyalaya. TNS