05012023-ATR-01.qxd 1/5/2023 12:10 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE MLA KASHMIR SINGH ELECTED PATRON OF TARN TARAN IMA PAGE 3 In the annual general body meeting of IMA held on Wednesday, Kashmir Singh was elected unopposed. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY PAGE 3 SAMANTHA RUTH PRABHU NOT REPLACED IN CITADEL NAMITA REACTS TO TROLLING OF SHARK TANK INDIA JUDGES Rumours have been doing the rounds of her exit from the flick. Now the actor’s team has rubbished the rumours. MAX 15°C | MIN 4°C | YESTERDAY MAX 13°C | MIN 5°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5:36 PM The fans have called judges biased and said they are showing ‘friendship goals’ rather than judging talents. SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:20 AM THURSDAY | 5 JANUARY 2023 | AMRITSAR Youth shot dead over money dispute, suspects arrested Man killed, son injured in firing at Tarn Taran village Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Amritsar, January 4 A youth was shot dead over a money dispute in Aman Avenue, falling under the Gate Hakima police station, here last night. The police have arrested the suspects and investigation is being carried out in the case. The deceased was identified as Rahul and the suspects were identified as Mohinder Bhatti and his two sons — Mayank Bhatti and Haider Bhatti. Karan, father of the deceased, told the police that he had taken a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh from a moneylender, Mohinder Bhatti. He said till now he had paid Rs 5 lakh along with the interest, despite this the suspect grabbed his house. He said later both the parties reached on a compromise. Tarn Taran, January 4 A man was shot dead in firing at Vein Poin village here on Tuesday night. The incident took place over taking control of the village common marriage palace (Janj Ghar). Nishan Singh (18), son of the victim, had narrow escape as he bent down to save his life during the firing. Five persons had been nominated as accused by the Sri Goindwal Sahib police. The deceased has been identified as Nihang Sukhwinder Singh (45). The police said two of the accused had been identified as Akashdeep Singh and his father Dalbir Singh, residents of Vein Poin village, and three other accused were yet to be recognised. Both the parties had been quarrelling over taking control the village Janj Ghar over the years. The police said victim The family members and relatives of Rahul (inset) stand outside the postmortem room in Amritsar on Wednesdasy. Rahul was shot dead by three persons on Tuesday night. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR He alleged whenever his son Rahul used to go to play outside, Mohinder would threaten him. He said yesterday Mohinder and his two sons had an altercation with his son and later shot him dead. Gurbinder Singh, Station House Officer, Gate Haki- ma Police Station, said the police had registered a case of murder against the suspects and they had been arrested by the police. They were produced in a local court and brought on police remand for investigation. The body of the deceased was handed over to the family after the postmortem. He said the suspect used a licensed pistol which was registered in the name of Mayank Bhatti. The weapon was also seized. He said appropriate action would be taken for cancellation of his arms licence. PAGE 4 Incident happened over control of marriage palace POLICE TOOK NO ACTION Sukhwinder Singh. Sukhwinder Singh and his son Nishan Singh were going to attend a religious function at Shiwala Mandir in the village when they came across the accused on the way. Akashdeep Singh fired at Sukhwinder Singh which hit him in the head killing him on the spot. Akashdeep Singh also fired at Nishan Singh who escaped by ducking. Sukhwinder Singh was brought to the Tarn Taran Civil Hospital in a serious condition where the doctors declared him dead. The family of the victim alleged that the incident could have been avoided had the Sri Goindwal Sahib police taken action as the victim’s family had already informed the police about threat to their lives by the accused, but the police took no action as a result of which the incident took place. Eyewitnesses said the police reached the spot late and at that time the accused had fled the spot. A case has been registered. Gurnam Singh, brother, and Kewal Singh, a close relative of the victim, held the police responsible for the murder. They said Sukhwinder in a written statement submitted to the police on December 2 last year had informed the police about threat to his life from the accused, but the police failed to give him protection. MC seizes 65-kg single-use plastic items Amritsar, January 4 The Health Wing of the Municipal Corporation raided various shops in the New Amritsar and GT Road areas and recovered 65-kg singleuse plastic items here on Tuesday evening. Municipal Health Officer Dr Kiran Kumar along with Sanitary Inspector JP Singh, Sanitary Inspector Sarvjeet Singh, Ganesh Kumar, Anil Dogra and his team raided a “gachak” manufacturing factory in a colony opposite New Amritsar locality. During the raid, 30-kg single-use plastics were recovered from the factory. Single-use plastic was being used while packaging gachak. The sanitation condition inside and outside the factory was very poor. Challans were issued by the MC team for using single-use plastic and dirt. Dr Kumar and his team raided another shop near Sultanwind Road. A large amount of plastic was found in this shop. — TNS Farmers demand action against WhatsApp call from ‘relative’ can cost you dearly Zira liquor manufacturing unit The police have already received many such complaints and advised people to be cautious Manmeet Singh Gill Farmers to organise massive protest in Zira on Jan 9 Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 4 The activists of Bharti Kisan Union Ekta Sidhupur burnt an effigy of the state government outside Hall Gate here on Wednesday, demanding action against an alcohol manufacturing unit in Zira. The BKU activists stated that the action was held as per the call given by the sanjha morcha of various farmer unions. They stated that the residents of Zira were protesting against the said factory for the past six months and the government seems to be supporting the factory owners not the residents, who are suffering due to the alleged pollution caused by the factory. Palwinder Singh Mahal, district general secretary, Bharti Kisan Union Ekta Sidhupur said, “We want to know from the state govern- Mobile eateries hamper traffic, MC acts tough Amritsar, January 4 The Municipal Corporation (MC) has tighten the noose on mobile restaurants in the city. The MC has been getting complaints that vehicles selling food items have been obstructing the traffic movement leading to snarl-ups in the city. Yesterday, the MC seized such vehicles from Kabir Park. MC Estate Officer Dharmendrajit Singh said, “These mobile restaurants have been set up illegally in Kabir Park market in front of Guru Nanak Dev University. After receiving a complaint, the estate wing of MC first warned the mobile restaurant owners and after the warning, the Municipal Corporation swung into action and seized the vehicle along with goods.” Meanwhile, the team of the Estate Department removed an illegal encroachment at Kabir Park Market. — TNS Farmers burn an effigy of the government in Amritsar. ment and especially from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann that why he has changed his stand on these issues. Before elections, he was criticising such factories for ground water pollution and the traditional political parties of patronising these factories, he now seems to be doing the same.” Mahal said that the farmers would organise a massive protest in Zira on January 9 to express solidarity with the residents of the area, who are protesting to save ground water from being polluted. Raising slogans against the state government, the farmers asked the government to stand with the people and not the corporate houses. They demanded that all kinds of pollutants being thrown into water bodies needed to be checked. MC initiates ‘Walk the ward’ drive to improve sanitation Amritsar, January 4 ‘ Walk the Ward’ is the new plan prepared by the Amritsar Municipal Corporation to inspect the state of sanitation, management of garbage and address other issues in the city by asking the officials to visit all the civic wards. Senior officials of the health wing of MC would lead the drive. In the wake of expected visits of teams from the Central Gov- ernment to inspect the sanitation for a nationwide survey, the MC has been making efforts to improve its ranking this time. In 2022, the MC improved only two ranks in the Swachh Survekshan Survey 2022. Before the visit of the Central teams, the MC officials have decided to keep a check on sanitary conditions on Ground Zero on their own. — TNS Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 4 A number of people have been receiving audio calls on WhatsApp these days from phone numbers registered in foreign countries wherein the caller impersonates an old friend or a relative to extract money. With most people having relatives, family members or friends living in foreign countries, the fraudsters try to exploit people into sending some money by faking emergencies. Sharanjit Singh, a local resident, revealed, “I received a phone call from an unidentified number where a person greeted me as if he was a close friend. When I asked for his name, he asked how I could forget him? He behaved as if he was offended when I could not recognise his voice.” Singh said that as he was aware of these fraud calls, the caller finally asked if he did not have any friends or relatives in any foreign country. “When I said no, he disconnected the call,” he added. Other residents too reported similar incidents where the caller tried to establish a connection with the victim and later on asked for money. While most people smelled a scam and did not entertain the caller by sending money, there are a number of incidents where people fell prey to these conmen. Jagmeet Singh, a local resident, had an interesting experience earlier this week when he received a WhatsApp call from a UK-based number. Having heard of such fraudsters on the prowl, the receiver decided to play along. “When I received the call, I decided to have a little substance abuse in Punjab has taken its toll on the Punjab police as well. This is not the first time that cops were found indulging in drug abuse. In 2020 the Amritsar rural police had conducted dope test among the cops and had found several policemen consuming drugs. Similarly, in half the amount he gets from that person to me,” claimed Jagmeet, adding that the caller gave him his other number and asked him to call him whenever he is ready. Well, the incidents clearly indicate how scammers are trying to dupe people and even get information about potential victims from the people. The police have already received many such complaints and advised people to exercise caution while dealing with unidentified callers and suspicious web links. Endangered vulture falls prey to Chinese string Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 4 An endangered vulture (an endangered species) was killed after being injured by Chinese synthetic kite string here on Wednesday. It was found dead on the rooftop of a house on the Majitha road. The house owner immediately called the animal lovers who informed the Forest Department and the veterinary hospital at Verka. However, a delay in the treatment due to late arrival of forest officials led to its death, rued Dr Rohan Mehra, president, Anti-Crime and Animal Protection Association. Representatives of different NGOs involved in animal 1 HELD WITH BANNED KITE STRING ■ Divison B police have arrested a man, identified as Ishan of Khazana Gate, and confiscated five rolls of Chinese string along with Rs 45,000. The police said he was involved in the illegal sale of ‘gattu’ (rolls) of synthetic string. A case was registered against him. welfare today met Police Commissioner Jaskaran Singh urging him to take stringent action against those involved in the illegal sale and purchase of the Chinese string. Dr Mehra said as Lohri and Basant festivals were approaching, unscrupulous elements were involved in the sale of synthetic kite string which was not only proving dangerous for commuters but also killing birds. He said a large number of birds died after being injured due to Chinese string. They got entangled in these flexible and unbreakable strings and lost their lives. The Police Commissioner assured that the police had already banned the use of the string and if anybody was found involved in the illegal act, he would be brought to book. Another video of cop under influence of drugs goes viral Amritsar, January 4 Two days after two cops were arrested for consuming drugs in a car by the Chheharta police, another video has gone viral on social media in which a cop can be seen allegedly under the influence of drugs on Chamrang Road yesterday. The incident highlights the fact that rampant fun. I told the caller that I know that he is a fraudster and that I do not have the money but I can talk as I am bored,” he said. Jagmeet Singh further said, “I also told him that people are aware of such calls and nobody pays any money these days and that he is just wasting his time.” The caller asked Jagmeet to send a copy of a person’s identity card and his phone number. “The scammer asked me to send the number of the person who does have the money and promised me that he would send 2019, dope tests’ of 13 cops were found positive. An ASI posted with the Tarn Taran police was dismissed by the Punjab Government after a video of him taking drugs went viral on social media in August 2020, while an ASI and a constable posted with the amritsar rural police were arrested c m y b after their video of consuming drugs went viral in 2017. On Monday, the Chheharta police arrested two cops after they were caught by the residents of the area consuming drugs in a car in Dhingra Colony located on the Ram Tirath road. They were later identified as head constable Kanwaljit Singh posted at the Daburji police station and head constable Jang Bahadur posted at the Lopoke police station here. CP Jaskaran Singh said the department takes necessary action whenever a cop is found to be a drug addict. He said investigations were being carried out to identify the cop. — TNS The arrested suspects in the police custody. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Three gang members held for extortion bid Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, January 4 The Chabal police on Wednesday arrested a gang of three persons who had made an extortion call to Karamjit Kaur of Kot Sivian (Chanal) demanding Rs 5 lakh in ransom. They were arrested from Chabal area here. SP (Investigation) Vishaljit Singh informed newsmen here on Wednesday that the accused had been identified as Lovpreet Singh Lav of Baghiari, Shamsher Singh Shera and Lovpreet Singh Lav of Kot Sivian. The SP said the accused had demanded a ransom of Rs 5 lakh from Karamjit Kaur and threatened to eliminate all members of her family in case she failed to oblige them. The SP said the police in its technical investigation located the phone number used by the accused for demanding the ransom. The SP said the Chahal police led by Station House Officer Inspector Prabhjit Singh arrested all three accused involved in the crime today. A case under Sections 384, 506 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code had been registered against the accused.