03042021-ATR-01.qxd 4/2/2021 11:04 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE BASKETBALL C’SHIP: CITY EVES, LBA MEN TAKE HOME TROPHIES PAGE 2 Eight teams participated in both categories each in the event organised by the Jalandhar Dist Basketball Association. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY KANGANA RANAUT REHEARSED CHALI CHALI SONG FOR A MONTH PAGE 3 Kangana prepared for the song Chali chali in Thalaivi for almost a month before shooting it, says the director. MAX 31°C | MIN 10°C | YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 12°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6:51 PM Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 2 The continuous indifferent attitude of the people in following the government guidelines regarding coronavirus has been taking its toll as cases are spiralling up, despite the fact that the district administration and the Police Department have been repeatedly appealing the people to follow norms like wearing masks and maintaining distance. The Punjab Police along with health teams were also conducting on the spot testing of offenders besides distributing masks. Nevertheless, a large number of people have been outrageously casual in their approach in midst of second wave. Going by the data, the health authorities said on an average over 300 persons were testing positive, while three to four patients were losing their lives. Only yesterday, 11 patients died and 332 persons had caught the infection. While releasing its data Amritsar rural police claimed that it along with health teams got over 33,000 persons tested during the drive, undertaken since March 19 to check violators. Similarly, Amritsar city police got 13,535 people tested. As many as 800 and 538 people were, respectively, challaned by the rural and city police for violating the guidelines during this period. There are three vans being INBRIEF CKD SUBMITS REPLY TO AKAL TAKHT Amritsar: The Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD) on Friday submitted its reply to Akal Takht clarifying its stance on nonamritdhari Sikhs as being members of the organisation. On March 31, Akal Takhat had asked the Chief Khalsa Diwan to furnish details of the nonamritdhari persons, who are its members. CKD president Nirmal Singh said the instructions of the Akal Takht jathedar had been complied with. He said, “All members of the religious body are amritdhari (Baptised) and if anyone among the public has any information, it can be brought to the notice of the executive body.” He said taking action against any member without any evidence would be unjustified. TNS SCHOOLS TO OPEN FOR PRACTICALS Tarn Taran: District Magistratecum-Deputy Commissioner Kulwant Singh has given the nod to open the CBSE-affiliated schools for practical examinations. The administration had already ordered to close all other educational institutions in the district. Ranjit Bhatia, City Coordinator of the CBSE exams and Principal of the local Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, had written a letter to the authorities concerned in the regard to open CBSE schools for practicals. OC PAGE 4 Ankit, who is currently a part of Yash and Mamta’s ongoing show Ishq Mein Marjawaan 2, has tested positive. SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:15 AM Uncaring attitude of masses keeps brewing like Covid-19 PK Jaiswar ANKIT ISOLATES HIMSELF AFTER TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID Authorities doing their best to keep cases in check, but people have been way too casual in their approach SATURDAY | 3 APRIL 2021 | AMRITSAR Police crack grocery store worker’s murder, one held Robbery was motive behind incident: Cops Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 2 Two days after a grocery store worker was shot dead by unknown assailants, the police have cracked the case and arrested one of the accused while his two accomplices were still at large. The arrested accused has been identified as Rahul alias Pindi, a resident of Kot Alia Ram, Sultanwind Road. The absconders include Satnam Singh alias Mani of Bhai Manjh Singh Sahib Road and Anmol Singh of New Gurnam Nagar. According to the police, robbery was the motive behind the incident, which led to the killing of Sunny, who worked at the grocery store. Store owner, Anil Kumar, along with his brother Nikhil Kumar, and a couple of workers were present at the shop when the accused entered with a motive of loot. However, the victims resisted following which the accused fired at them. One of the bullet hit Sunny, who died on way to hospital. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigations) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said with the arrest of Rahul, several cases of robberies have been cracked by the police. He said during preliminary interrogation, Rahul confessed that they had robbed three liquor vends near Chitta An alleged accused in the custody of police. Gummat, Civil Hospital and Sangam Chowk, at gun point. He said raids were on to nab Satnam and Anmol, who on the run. The Deputy Commissioner of Police said Rahul has around eight cases of snatchings, burglary and the NDPS Act pending against him, while Satnam has two cases of the NDPS Act, arms and dacoity against him. Similarly, Anmol has two cases of robbery and dacoity against him. The police has been facing criticism over the deteriorating law and order situation after the city witnessed a number of firing, robbery and dacoity incidents in a few days. No arrest in woman’s murder so far WHAT COVID? Flouting social distancing norms, people sans masks at the Heritage Street in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTO operated by the police. On Friday, they conducted tests near Skatari Bagh, Islamabad, Khanna Paper Mill and New Partap Nagar area. At these vans rapid antigen tests (RAT) were conducted. Randeep Singh, rural pharmacist officer, who was attached with the van said at Skatari Bagh and Islamabad area over 200 people were tested out of which five turned out positive. Similarly, four persons tested positive out of 69 near Khanna Paper Mill area, while in New Partap Nagar area seven out of 94 were positive. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Parminder Singh Bhandal, said the police was not only taking punitive measures but also spreading awareness against the virus and distributing masks to people with the help of NGOs. “The only way to contain the virus is by following the guidelines diligently and for the betterment of the society, the people should let this sink in,” he said. Dhurv Dahiya, SSP Amritsar rural police said, “Precautions are better than cure. By ignoring guidelines, they were not only endangering their lives but also their loved ones. Better, they should understand this earlier before it’s too late.” Amritsar, April 2 Even after 24 hours, the police have failed to arrest the accused involved in the murder case in which a woman was shot dead in Sandhu colony on Majitha Road. The police have booked Sunny Gill and his wife Sandheya, Labh Singh and his son Gora, Sonu Gill and Surinder Kaur, on charges of murder and the Arms Act. Assistant Commissioner of Police (North) Sarabjit Singh said a manhunt has been launched to nab the accused who were at large. Lata (52), a resident of Sandhu colony, was shot dead in a broad daylight on Thursday. An old enmity was stated to be a reason behind the incident. Prahlad Kumar, son of the deceased, told that he along with his brother, Sunny, used to work as labourers. He said around four months ago, Sunny and his maternal uncle Labba accused his brother of teasing a girl. The matter reached the police, however, the accused failed to prove the charge and later, both groups striked a compromise. He said the accused had a grudge and entered in a verbal dual with his brother. He said a few days later, the accused along with their unidentified armed accomplices started firing outside their house. He said a gunshot hit his mother, Lata, who died on way to hospital. — TNS 3 peddlers nabbed with 6 deaths, 337 new cases in district 755-gm heroin, pistols Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 2 CIA staff arrested three drug peddlers and confiscated heroin and foreign-made weapons from their possession in two separate incidents here on late evening. The police also seized Rs 50,000 of drug proceeds from them. Those arrested were as identified Sunil Kumar, alias Noni Boxer, Kapil Kumar, alias Popli, and Sukhpreet Singh, alias Sukha, all residents of Pal Avenue. Talking to mediapersons here on Friday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigation) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said the police seized 755 gm of heroin worth Rs 3.77 crore in the international market, Rs 50,000 (Indian) currency notes, two foreign pistols with five live bullets and two luxury cars Drug peddlers in the custody of the Amritsar police on Friday. from their possession. He said 500 gm of heroin and a pistol were seized from Noni Boxer and Kapil Kumar and 255 gm of heroin and a pistol were seized from Sukhpreet Singh. Earlier, Noni had a case registered against him under sections of the NDPS Act case at the Cantonment police station while Sukhpreet had four different cases, including murder bid, under the Arms Act and the NDPS Act, registered against him at different police stations. Amritsar, April 2 The district reported six more deaths due to Covid-19 on Friday, pushing the toll to 693. The district health authorities also reported 337 new positive cases, taking the tally to 21,679. The deceased have been identified as 31-year-old Mandeep Singh of Sultanwind Road, 62-year-old Chanchal Singh of Friends Avenue, 55year-old Neelam, a resident of Fateh Singh colony (Gate Hakeema), 80-year-old Jawant Kaur, a resident of Othian village, 52-year-old Dalbir Singh, a resident of Imperial city locality (Lopoka Road) and 70-yearold Harbas Kaur, a resident of Indira colony (Kot Khalsa). The new cases include 267 influenza-like illness cases and 70 contacts of positive cases. The district health authorities said special efforts were being made to collect samples from the most-affected areas in the HELPLINE NUMBERS FOR COVID PATIENTS ■ City Control Room Numbers: COVID UPDATE NEW CASES TOTAL CASES NEW DEATHS TOTAL DEATHS NEW RECOVERY TOTAL RECOVERY ACTIVE 337 21,679 6 693 190 17,689 3,297 0183-2500398, 2500498, 2500598 ■ Health Department helpline: 0183-2535322, 0183-2535323 ■ Medical helpline: 104 ■ Contact a doctor: 1800 180 4104 ■ Bed availability and status: Punjab Covid App (updated daily at 5 pm) district. As part of the drive, 94 samples were collected from the New Partap Nagar area which was notified as a micro- containment zone. Officials said seven of 94 tested positive. Meanwhile, with recovery of 190 patients, the recovery count has also improved to 17,689. At present, the district has a total of 3,297 active cases. The district health officials said 5,024 persons were given the vaccine jab on Friday. These included 221 healthcare workers, 831 frontline workers, 1,631 in the age group of 45-59 years and 1,830 senior citizens who were given the first dose of vaccination. Besides, 58 healthcare workers, 177 frontline workers, 69 persons in the age group of 4559 years and 208 senior citizens were given the jab. Meanwhile, the district has also started the vaccination drive for those citizens who are above 45 years. “Now anyone above 45 years of age, even if he or she does not have any health condition as earlier specified by the government is eligible to get the injection,” said Civil Surgeon Dr Charanjit Singh. He said vaccination for those above 45 years had started on April 1 and the response from public was encouraging. Kewal Dhaliwal’s latest play depicts Guru Tegh Bahadur’s life story Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 2 Noted theatre director and playwright Kewal Dhaliwal has come up with his latest production based on the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur. Titled Sees, the play has also been turned into a book by Dhaliwal that was released recently. Documenting and depicting significant moments of the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the play focuses on presenting the Guru’s life story as a unique example in courage, secularism and self-sacrifice. “The idea is that we all have heads but not everyone has got sees. From his journey as a sage to his being selected as the next guru and years he spent meditating in Bakala, the play only highlights the most important moments from his life. His beheading at Chandni Chowk and how he came to the rescue of Kashmiri pandits before that are some of the most striking parts of the play,” shared Dhaliwal. Titled Sees, the play has also been turned into a book by Kewal Dhaliwal that was released recently. Documenting and depicting significant moments of the life of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the play focuses on presenting the Guru’s life story as a unique example in courage, secularism and self-sacrifice. c m y b While the play has the usual aspects of grandeur and largerthan-life design as found in Dhaliwal’s other works, one thing that stands out is that Guru Tegh Bahadur is not depicted physically throughout the play. “It’s a two-hour play and we have used the chorus and intangible elements in the narrative to portray Guru Tegh Bahadur. It has been done since, being a Sikh Guru, we could not depict Guru Tegh Bahadur through any per- son,” Kewal Dhaliwal explains. The play was scheduled to make a stage debut today (on April 1), but due to Covid-19 curbs and recent spike in cases, it has been postponed indefinitely. “We plan to do a live performance only when the situation improves. Given the scale of the production, with its grand sets and costumes and actors that are part of it, I want to stage it first at Sultanpur Lodhi and Anandpur Sahib,” he said.