New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) These are the top stories from the northern region at 9.45 pm. DEL84 PM-4THLD GORAKHPUR PM sounds "red alert" against SP, says red-capped people want to form govt to `free terrorists" Gorakhpur (UP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday equated the red caps worn by Samajwadi Party workers with “red beacons” that suggest a hunger for power and sounded a “red alert”, claiming that the SP wants to form the next state government to free terrorists. DEL65 PM-ETHANOL Stepping up ethanol production may help reduce crude oil import: Modi Gorakhpur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said stepping up ethanol production can help reduce the import of crude oil and prove to be an extra means of earning for sugarcane farmers. DES23 UP-PM-AKHILESH Red cap will oust BJP from power in UP: Akhilesh Lucknow (UP): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday asserted that the people wearing red caps, a trademark headgear of his party members, are “red alerts” also for the BJP as they will oust it from the power in the next UP assembly polls. DES44 PB-KEJRIWAL-LD PROMISES Punjab polls: Kejriwal woos SC community, promises free education, coaching for their children Chandigarh: In a bid to woo the Scheduled Caste community ahead of the Punjab assembly polls, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday promised to provide free education to their children, besides bearing their coaching fees for higher studies, if his party comes to power. DES45 PB-AMARINDER-BJP Punjab polls: Amarinder meets BJP leader Gajendra Shekhawat Chandigarh: Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh and BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday met over lunch and are learnt to have discussed possible seat-sharing arrangement for the Punjab Assembly polls. DES56 PB-MAKEN-AMARINDER Amarinder questions Maken"s appointment to key poll panel of Congress Chandigarh: Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on Tuesday questioned the Congress over the appointment of Ajay Maken as the chief of its key panel for the state Assembly polls, alleging that the leader’s uncle was involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. DES33 RJ-GEHLOT-PHONE TAPPING Phone tapping: Gehlot demands Shekhawat give his voice sample for probe Jaipur: A day after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot"s OSD appeared before the Delhi Police"s Crime Branch in connection with a phone tapping case lodged on a complaint by Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the senior Congress leader on Tuesday said the minister should give his voice sample for investigation. DES49 RJ-VIRUS-CASES 2 4 fresh Covid cases in Rajasthan Jaipur: Twenty-four more people tested positive for coronavirus in Rajasthan, pushing the infection tally to 9,54,944 on Tuesday, according to an official report. DES30 HR-DISMISS Dental surgeon recruitment scam: HPSC dy secy dismissed Chandigarh: A suspended deputy secretary of the Haryana Public Service Commission, arrested earlier for allegedly taking bribes to manipulate marks of candidates for their recruitment as dental surgeons, was sacked on Tuesday. DES40 HR-CONG-PROTEST-LD-DETAIN Dental surgeon recruitment scam: Haryana Cong seeks to gherao HPSC building in Panchkula Chandigarh: The Haryana Congress on Tuesday held a demonstration in Panchkula against the “corruption” in the recruitment of dental surgeons in the state and reiterated their demand for a judicial probe into it to unravel the alleged complicity of higher-ups in it. DES50 HR-VIRUS-CASES COVID-19: Haryana reports one Covid death, 24 fresh cases Chandigarh: Haryana reported 24 COVID-19 cases and one fatality due to the disease on Tuesday, pushing the state"s infection tally to 7,71,875 and its death toll to 10,055. DES68 HP-VIRUS-CASES Two Covid deaths, 54 new cases in Himachal Pradesh Shimla: Himachal Pradesh recorded two coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesday that raised the toll to 3,838, while 54 fresh cases pushed the infection count to 2,27,684, an official said. PTI RDK RDK