Bank robbers held

PATIALA: The Rajpura Sadar police has claimed to have busted a gang of thieves responsible for around a dozen thefts, including the one at Haryana Co-operative and Dairy Development Bank in Chandigarh on Sunday last.
Talking to mediapersons at Rajpura on Saturday, SSP Patiala Paramraj Singh Umranangal disclosed that a police party raided an isolated place near Jansua and arrested two members while three managed to escape.The arrested have been identified as Satpal Singh and Satwinder Kumar alias Sunny of Ram Darbar, Chandigarh. Varinder Kumar, Rashid Ahmed of Dadu Majra village and a third managed to escape.
Umranangal said a sum of Rs 3.05 lakh, part of the Rs 6.08 lakh looted from Haryana Co-operative Bank, was recovered from the accused. Besides, the police have also recovered goods worth Rs 30,000, reportedly purchased with the looted cash. During interrogations the accused confessed that they had looted Rs 8000 and some silver and gold ornaments from Happy Jewellers in Sector 38, Chandigarh. They also confessed to looting wine shops in Raipur Khurd, Dadu Majra and Sector 39, a utensils shop in Ram Durbar and a departmental store Mauli Jagran, the SSP said.
Bhatinda, Faridkot worst hit by drought: Punjab agriculture minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, talking to mediapersons in Jungpura during a visit to drought-hit areas, said almost all districts of the state had been affected by drought but Bhatinda and Faridkot were the worst affected.
The minister said the government had urged the Centre to provide Rs 100 crore to give immediate relief to farmers for purchase diesel etc, while Rs 500 crore had been demanded by the revenue department.