09012023-ATR-01.qxd 1/8/2023 11:58 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY OPEN HOUSE: VAX DRIVE NEEDS TO BE REJUVENATED ARYAN PIC WITH PAK ACTOR SPARKS DATING RUMOURS ANKIT RELEASES HIS SONG BANDA TERA AASHIQ HO GAYA State needs to be ready to deal with any eventuality by keeping health infra operational, say residents. P2 While one cannot confirm rumours, he sure is gearing up for his directorial debut with Red Chillies. P3 MAX 17°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 15°C | MIN 7°C The song depicts a cute love story shot in serene locations of Thailand. It is Ankit’s first song of 2023. P4 » » SUNSET MONDAY 5.31 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 7:31 AM » MONDAY | 9 JANUARY 2023 | AMRITSAR INBRIEF FIVE CELLPHONES SEIZED IN JAIL Amritsar: Amritsar Central Jail authorities confiscated five mobile phones and booked two prisoners. Those booked were identified as Kaka and Balwinder Singh. Subheg Singh, Assistant Superintendent Jail, said the jail staff confiscated one mobile each from the duo. Three cellphones were found abandoned. TNS MAN HELD WITH ILLEGAL WEAPON Amritsar: Anti-gangster staff has confiscated an illegal weapon from a youth identified as Amritpal Singh, alias Vishal, a resident of Bohru village. A case under the Arms Act was registered at the Gate Hakima police station against him and investigation was being carried out. The police said his forward and backward links were being looked into. TNS ONE ARRESTED WITH 3-KG OPIUM Tarn Taran: The Sarhali police arrested one person with 3-kg opium on Saturday from Sarhali Khurd village. SP (Investigation) Vishaljit Singh said a police party led by SHO Sukhbir Singh was on a patrol when it came across a motorcycle-borne person. Upon his checking three-kg heroin was recovered from his possession. A case under Sections 18, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against him. Meanwhile, the Sarai Amanat Khan police arrested two persons with 115-gm heroin. The suspects have been identified as Rajinder Singh Monu of Gandiwind and Avtar Singh of Naushera Dhalla. Their accomplice — Sukhbir Singh — has also been booked by the police. OC Dispute over right of way leads to woman’s murder in Majitha PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 8 A dispute over a minor issue of passing through the street on a cart led to the murder of a woman in Targad Rampura village falling under Majitha police station here yesterday while her husband and his brother got injured. The deceased was identified as Tasvir Kaur of the same village. Following a complaint by the victim’s husband Surjit Singh, the police have booked seven persons on the charge of murder and inflicting grievous injuries. Besides Surjit, his brother Jagir Singh was also injured in the assault. The police handed over the body to the family after the autopsy. Those booked include POLICE BOOK SEVEN PERSONS ■ The police have booked seven persons on the charge of murder and inflicting grievous injuries. No arrest has been made in the incident till now ■ Besides victim's husband Surjit Singh, his brother Jagir Singh was also injured in the assault. The police handed over the body to the family after autopsy ■ Those booked include Bikramjit Singh, Sandeep Singh, Manjit Singh Fauji, Karnail Singh, Jarnail Singh, Jaswant Singh and Nirmal Singh, all residents of the same village Bikramjit Singh, Sandeep Singh, Manjit Singh Fauji, Karnail Singh, Jarnail Singh, Jaswant Singh and Nirmal Singh, all residents of the same village. No arrest has been made in the incident till now. The deceased woman’s husband Surjit Singh told the police that he along with his wife were in the house on Saturday morning when they heard shouts outside. He said when they went out, they saw the accused thrashing his brother Jagir Singh. They came to save him following which the accused attacked them also. Tasvir Kaur fell on the ground while the accused fled from the scene. He said they took her CM flayed for asking devotees not to donate cash at gurdwaras Amritsar, January 8 The recent statement of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asking devotees not to donate cash in offering while paying obeisance at gurdwaras has evoked criticism from Sikh leaders and organisations. The feeling among Sikh sangat is an age-old practice associated with the community. They feel that the utterances have hurt the religious sentiments. Money collected through offerings is spent on managing the affairs of the holy Sikh shrines which include the expenditure on langar, sarais, salaries of the staff, operating schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, and other charitable activities. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal called the CM an atheist for asking the sangat not to donate money in the golak. He said the CM should care about the traditions of all religions. Simranjit Singh Mann, president of SAD (A), who was also in the city yesterday, while expressing his resentment at the statement of the CM, declined to comment on the statement. — TNS Stop politicising SYL issue: BJP Amritsar, January 8 In an appeal to all political parties to come together on the SYL issue, BJP leader Sarchand Singh has asked leaders of political parties to stop politising the issue. Criticising SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal for his alleged efforts to portray him as a protector of Punjab’s water, Sarchand said it was during SAD’s rule that the procedure to acquire land for the SYL canal was initiated. He said BJP state chief Ashwani Sharma had already said Punjab did not have any water to share with other states. He said state government should look into the matter from state’s viewpoint and not from its political interest. — TNS to a private hospital where doctors declared her dead. Sub-inspector Manmeetpal Singh, Investigating Officer, told the police that Jagir Singh was driving a cart and passing through the street while the accused Bikramjit Singh and Jaswant Singh came on a tractor from the opposite side. An altercation ensued. Hearing the shouts, Surjit and his wife came out. The couple tried to intervene and pacify them. But the accused called his accomplices and started thrashing them leading to the death of the woman. The police official said a case under Sections 302, 323, 324, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the suspects and raids were on to nab them. Now, get SMS alert for power cuts Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 8 Power consumers of 22 villages in the Jandiala area will now receive an SMS prior to imposition of power cuts with Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO inaugurating the service on Sunday. According to the guidelines of the Powercom management, the service of informing its large number of customers about power outages through SMS has already been started in the area. Before this, the service was being provided in Batala, Amritsar Urban and Ludhiana. The minister said he observed the pilot project at Batala and was highly appreciative of it. He expressed the desire to start the service in the entire state. He said about 20,117 consumers of different categories of the 22 villages, Minister inaugurates service in 22 villages of the district Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO (2R) inaugurates the service. including Jandiala Guru, Manawala, Daburji, Ekal Gada, Nijrapura, Jahangir, Bhaini Siddwan, Amarkot and Rampura will get direct benefit of this service. Gang of blackmailers busted Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, January 8 Harike police claimed to have busted a gang of blackmailers that had been collecting money from unsuspecting persons after preparing their obscene videos. The women members of the gang would call people to their location and prepare the video and then threaten to post it on social media with the aim of extorting money, police said. The six members of the gang have been identified as Manjinder Kaur, Baljit Kaur of Harike, Parveen Kaur of Sarhali, Karanjit Kaur of Adda Chabal, Gurwinder Singh of Chohla Sahib and Dilbag Singh Bagga of Kalanjar (Valtoha). The police bust- Prepared obscene videos with aim of extorting money ed the gang on the complaint of one Balwinder Singh (65), a resident of Firozwal (Moga). The police said here on Sunday that Balwinder Singh had been receiving phone calls from different cell numbers from a woman who tried to lure him as he was a widower. He was called to Harike by the woman and brought to her residence. The other accused were already present there. He was beaten up by the accused who snatched Rs 5,000 in cash from him and his mobile. The accused clicked his video in obscene position. The accused then demanded Rs one lakh in cash and threatened to post the video on the social media in case he refused. Balwinder Singh said the accused took Rs 30,000 more in cash from him. The police said that as per the preliminary information, the accused were involved in more such activities with other unsuspecting persons. Sub-inspector Harjit Singh, Investigating Officer (IO), said a case under Sections 384, 386, 388, 506, 342, 148, 149 and 120-B of the IPC had been registered in this regard. The accused were absconding and raids were being conducted to nab them at their possible hide-outs, said the police. Earlier, Balkishan, chief engineer, PSPCL (Border zone), welcomed the Power Minister and congratulated the PSPCL team on the achievement. 4 booked for extortion bid Tarn Taran, January 8 The police on Saturday booked four persons for threatening a Chohla Sahib resident and demanding money from him. The victim, Harmeet Singh Sonu, in his statement to the police said Satnam Singh Satta and his brother Jagjit Singh Jaggi of Naushehra Pannuan along with two other unidentified persons had been calling on his mobile phone and sending him WhatsApp messages demanding money since the past over two weeks. He said the accused also threatened to kill his family. The police said the accused had been booked under Sections 387, 506 and 34 of the IPC and raids were on to nab them. — OC Driving in fog entails rule adherence, proper infrastructure Tribune News Service The ill-fated car that met with an accident in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR 1 dead, another injured in two road accidents Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 8 One person died while another was injured in two road mishaps on the Vallah bypass and near Shivala Bagh Bhaiyan on Batala Road here last night. A car occupant died in an accident when his car skidded off the Vallah bypass (on the Attari-Wagah bypass) road last night. The exact cause of the mishap was yet to be ascertained. The occupant, identified as Rajiv (40) of Kanwar Avenue on Sultanwind Road, succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. He had gone to attend a wedding function at a resort on the bypass road. According to the police, after dropping some relatives home, he was returning to the resort. Vallah police post in-charge Jasbir Singh said his car apparently hit a tree on the side of the road and rolled down the adjoining underconstruction road along the bypass. Currently, a project was underway to widen the Attari-Wagah bypass. He said the body was handed over to the family after the autopsy. Meanwhile, another road mishap occurred near Shivala Bagh Bhaiyan when a speeding car hit a scooter and later banged into the BRTS grill. The scooter driver, Monu Suri, was admitted to a hospital with serious injuries, while the driver of the car fled the spot. Family members of the victim alleged that the car belonged to a policeman. Two sharp-edged weapons were also found in the car. ASI Pawan Kumar said investigation was on to identify the owner of the car and the weapons had been confiscated. He said as per records, the car belonged to one Gurpreet Singh Kahlon. A case has been registered in this regard. Amritsar, January 8 With road accidents being reported almost daily due to fog resulting in death and injuries, commuters have once again pointed towards the non-availability of userfriendly infrastructure to guide drivers during the fog. Even on Saturday night, at least three road accidents were reported. In one of these, a car fell off the flyover near Verka bypass after hitting the railings. In another, a car hit a biker from behind and then hit the safety grills of the BRTS corridor. Earlier this week, four lives were lost in an accident near Attari after a car hit an autorickshaw from the rear. The rickshaw reportedly had 12 passengers at the time of the accident. While the lack of required infrastructure is a serious concern, the drivers of most vehicles also seem to disregard the road safety norms. Said a traffic police officer, “In most accidents occurring during the foggy season, a vehicle hits another from the rear. This happens when the vehicle going ahead does not have proper tail lights and reflectors as a result of which the driver fails to spot the vehicle going ahead of him.” He said that residents should check the tail c m y b Motorists switch on headlights of their vehicles due to low visibility at the Golden Gate. VISHAL KUMAR lights of their vehicles and ensure that these are in proper working condition. It has also been seen that even though most drivers switch on their front head- lights, they keep it on high beam which gets reflected and further decreases the vis- ibility. For better results, the drivers should adjust their headlights on low beam. The drivers are also required to use the indicators or parking lights to alert the driver of an approaching vehicle. “The urge to overtake vehicles, especially buses, trolleys and trucks, should be kept under control. You can see the vehicle going in front of you but you fail to see what is coming from the opposite side,” said Gurmel Singh, a roadways driver. He said that in his experience, he has seen that the drivers of vehicles who are high on alcohol fail to respond in time which results in an accident.