At a glance

Screening of 'Daayen Ya Baayen'

'Daayen Ya Baayen', which is being publicised as first Uttarakhandi film in Hindi, had a special screening for Governor Margaret Alva in the state Rajbhavan. Set against the backdrop of an Uttarakhand village, the film was shown at an auditorium in the state Rajbhavan, director Bela Negi told reporters here. Negi, who has also written the story, screen-play and dialogue of the film, said she made the film in Hindi instead of local dialects of Garhwali and Kumaon as she wanted to reach out the wider audiences of the country. The film, made with a budget of Rs 2 cr, has also been released in Uttarakhand on Jan 14. However, it has already hit the screens in New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune getting good critical response, she said. Through the film, Negi said, she has touched various issues like unemployment, migration, education, environment and alcoholism, albeit in a light and humourous manner and claimed that the people of hills would be able to identify themselves with the characters. The film has been shot in Chaukuri village and adjoining areas of Pithoragarh district and 97 percent of its cast is from Uttarakhand.

250 gms of heroin seized

Three persons were arrested and 250 gms of heroin worth Rs 2.5 lakhs in the international market were seized from them at Rishikesh near here, police said. The trio -- Deshraj Saini, Akhlaq and Sanwar Ali were intercepted at Ranipokhari area of Rishikesh by a police team, they said. The accused, who have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, told police that they had got the drugs from a person in Jammu and Kashmir and were on their way to sell it in New Delhi, police added.

Man dies in police custody in Haridwar

A man died in police custody when he was being taken to the local court here, police said. Prakash Chandra (50), suddenly collapsed yesterday when he was being taken to the court of city magistrate. He was soon rushed to the district hospital by police where he was declared brought dead, they said. Chandra, a resident of Dehra Dun, had come here to take back his wife Chanda, who was living with her sister following a domestic squabble with her husband, they said. When Chandra reached his sister-in-law's house, he had a scuffle with his wife and her sister Vimla Devi and her husband Naresh after this both the sides registered a case with the police. After preliminary investigations, police arrested Chandra. SP (City) K L Shah said Chandra died after he was badly beaten up by his wife and her relatives and a case under section 304 of IPC has been registered against the accused.