Ranchi: Jharkhand High Court justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, who is the executive chairman the Jharkhand Legal Services Authority (Jhalsa) and High Court justice, Anubha Rawat Choudhary, member of state level mediation monitoring committee jointly inaugurated a 40-hour intensive mediation training program, for the first batch of 22 advocates at Nyaya Sadan, Ranchi. As per the approved schedule, training will be provided to 156 advocates and experts of different districts of Jharkhand in seven batches between August 21 to October 7. Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh highlighted the importance of mediation in the present time and said that it is the duty of mediators to help the parties to find a solution. (Our Correspondent)

SP Palamau Chandan Kumar Sinha (in white chair) with the arrested gang members on Saturday. The Telegraph picture

Palamau police arrest 9 inter-state highway robbers

Daltonganj: Nine members of an inter-state gang of highway robbers were remanded in judicial custody on Saturday in Daltonganj said SP Palamau Chandan Kumar Sinha. Sinha said all the 9 highway robbers hail from Bihar but were operative on the national highway 98 falling in Jharkhand. He said the interstate highway robbers used to loot pick up vans. They had looted two vans in a period of less than a month said the SP. Sinha said these interstate highway robbers who looted pick up vans did this only to smuggle illicit wine from Jharkhand to Bihar. (Our Correspondent)

The Kathotia Bhagwandas village pond in Chatra on Saturday. Vishvendu Jaipuriar

Man drowns in an attempt to take out duck from pond

Hazaribagh : A youth who went to take out his duck from a pond in Kathotia Bhagwandas village in Chatra district got tired after reaching midway and drowned on Saturday morning. Police officials said youth was identified as Raju Bhuiyan. They said after getting tired in mid of the pond, he failed to swim and finally drowned. The body was sent for post mortem to Chatra sadar hospital. (Vishvendu Jaipuriar)

Jori police station in Chatra. Vishvendu Jaipuriar

Superstition proves fatal for woman

Hazaribagh: Superstition proved fatal for a 35-year-old woman in Raksi village under Jori police station of Chatra after she wrapped a poisonous snake around her throat believing it to be a messenger of Lord Shiva. Runiya Devi was going to attend a special puja organised at village temple on the last Monday of auspicious sawan. Seeing her with a snake, villagers started singing bhajans and mantras encircling Runiya maintaining safe distance. No one cared to see that by that time, the snake had bitten the woman number of times. Everyone considered it as a blessing that a snake appeared on such an auspicious day. “Superstition has taken a life in the village,” said eyewitnesses. (Vishvendu Jaipuriar)

Man kills before before dying by suicide

Garhwa: A man murdered his wife with a sharp iron rod before dying by suicide near his house in Chutiya village under Ranka police station of the district on Saturday. The deceased were identified as Sheonath Manjhi, 36, and his wife Chandrawati Devi 34. According to Ranka police, the incident happened early morning when the couple’s child heard the sound of his parent's quarrel. Police said the couple were very poor and had frequent fights. (Our correspondent)