TIMERGARA, June 9: The Talash police claimed on Thursday to have arrested seven proclaimed offenders wanted in a number of cases.

Talking to this reporter the SHO Mohammad Akbar Khan said police also recovered 500 gram of charas, 2 pistols and 50 cartridges of different bores during raids against criminals and outlaws. He said the arrested POs included Sardar Amin, Muslim Amin, Tehsinullah, Yasin, Lal Badshah and Kashar Khan. They were captured during a raid on their hideouts in Dewlai area of Talash. The SHO said raids for the arrest of other POs were also being conducted.

ROAD ACCIDENT: At least 16 school-going children were injured when the bus they were traveling in plunged into a ravine at Tarai Badwan on Thursday, residents and police told Dawn. They said the bus of the University Public School (UPS), Chakdara was its way to Badwan area to drop some 25 children. The driver lost control over it at Tarai and as a result the vehicle plunged into a ravine. Sixteen children were injured who were taken to hospitals in Chakdara and Batkhela where their condition was stated to be normal.

JIRGA: A tribal jirga in Khall on Thursday demanded of the government to initiate reconstruction work on the damaged Sultankhel-Paina Dara link road and Khall bridge. The demand was made at a meeting of the jirga with tribal elder Akhunzada Inayat Syed in the chair. A large number of people from Sulthankhel tribe attended the meeting.

They said last year devastating floods had washed away the Khall bridge and the link road. They said the works and services department and district administration later assigned a local construction company to rebuild the bridge and the road on the basis of its past performance. “Now some vested interest groups want to create hurdles for this company, which will further delay the pace of work,” the jirga said and resolved to strongly resist the trouble makers.